July 17, 2025 • 31 mins
In this episode of the Optimal Aging Podcast, host Jay Croft sits down with online coaching expert Chris Liddle to explore how fitness professionals can launch and grow an online business, particularly focused on serving adults over 50. Chris offers practical advice on getting started, choosing the right tools, and creating meaningful client relationships in a virtual environment.
Chris shares how he transitioned from in-person training to a thriving online coaching model, including how his own parents in their 70s inspired him to refine his tech onboarding and communication style. The conversation covers why the older demographic is not only viable but ideal for online training—offering reliability, consistency, and a genuine desire to improve.
This episode is packed with insights for any coach looking to grow sustainably and meaningfully. Jay and Chris dive into topics like using WhatsApp and YouTube for low-cost delivery, building trust with tech-hesitant clients, and using thoughtful onboarding to reduce friction. Chris also breaks down scalable coaching models, shares tips for pricing and retention, and discusses the mindset needed to succeed in today’s remote fitness landscape.
If you’re a trainer who’s been curious about online coaching, or if you’ve struggled with finding the right market to serve, this conversation will shift your perspective and equip you with strategies to take action immediately.
💼 Guest: Chris Liddle
Bio:
Chris Liddle is a Canada-based online coach and educator who coaches the general population but also helps other trainers launch and grow their online coaching businesses through some of the work he does with BSimpson Fitness. He’s passionate about serving the older adult population and is known for simplifying tech, delivering customized programming, and building deep, supportive client relationships.
Links:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/christianliddle
- Podcast: https://podcast.invigoratetraining.com
📌 Episode Highlights
Why Online Coaching Still Matters Post-Pandemic
- Demand for virtual fitness hasn’t faded. Chris explains how coaches can meet this need effectively, especially with older clients.
Simplified Tech for Seniors
- Tools like WhatsApp, spreadsheets, and YouTube can go a long way. Chris explains how to keep your systems low-cost and accessible.
Identifying the Right Niche
- Why elite athletes aren’t the best target market—and why older adults are often your best long-term clients.
Getting Started with No Budget
- You don’t need fancy apps. Chris shares how to begin with free tools and build a profitable model step by step.
Should You Become an Online Trainer?
- Chris breaks down the traits of successful online coaches and how to know if this career path is right for you.
📅 Timestamps
00:00 Why online fitness is still growing
01:15 Meet Chris Liddle
04:00 How Chris got started in online training
06:00 Coaching clients over 50 online
08:00 Tech onboarding tips for older adults
12:00 Helping trainers identify their ideal niche
16:00 Simple tools to start coaching online
20:00 WhatsApp, YouTube & spreadsheets: low-cost tools
24:00 Group coaching and scalability
26:00 Is online training right for you?
30:00 Final thoughts & connect with Chris
🎤 Host: Jay Croft
Jay helps fitness professionals grow their businesses by engaging clients over 50 with expert marketing strategies and storytelling.
🌐 Podcast Website: https://primefitcontent.com
✨ Calls to Action
📥 Download our free guide for fit pros – https://primefitcontent.com
📱 Follow on Instagram – https://instagram.com/primefitcontent
🔍 Loved this episode? Share it with a friend or tag us on social using #PrimeFitContent
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
But ever since the pandemic, this hasn't died down
at all.
There's still a lot of peoplewho want online fitness and
there's still a lot of trainerswho want to provide it.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
My parents actually started to catch on how
accessible it was to get someguidance with training, and my
parents are in their 70s, so forme it's a big achievement to
get them on board with anythingthat involves an app or anything
that involves technology,because there's a certain amount
of onboarding and teaching thetech to them to get them to
(00:31):
embrace, like how to follow theprogram.
You create a good experiencefor one person at a time.
Even if you have like 30, 60clients, you treat each one of
them like your only client.
Just publish them to youtubeand put the whole exercise
description in there.
Just like give away all yoursecrets, because if somebody
(00:52):
finds them they're going to needyou to help them with the
structure and the accountabilityonline training became a huge
thing during the pandemic, ofcourse, about five years ago now
(01:13):
, and you know it stuck around.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
It didn't go away after the pandemic did finally
right, and I am often asked bytrainers how they can get
started online training and Ihave to say, you know, I'm not
really sure.
Let me find out a little bitmore about what you're looking
for, see if I can find someoneto connect you with.
Well, today's guest on OptimalAging is one of those someones I
(01:38):
can connect you with.
His name is Chris Little,l-i-d-d-l-e Chris Little, and
he's up in Canada and he's agenius at all of this and I
think you're really going toenjoy what Chris has to say
about launching your services inonline training.
He can get you set up andeverything, ask you all the
right questions, get you goingin all the right directions, and
(02:01):
I'm delighted that he couldjoin me today on Optimal Aging.
You know this show is forfitness and health and
well-being professionals whowant to grow their businesses
with more people over 50 andsupports my business, prime Fit
Content, and that's where Icreate and sell original,
premium marketing materials,primarily to gyms who want to
(02:23):
reach people in this demographic.
Marketing materials primarilyto gyms, who want to reach
people in this demographic.
So it was interesting whenChris told me that he enjoys
training people online who arein this older demographic and I
think you'll enjoy hisexperiences and his insight and
his guidance.
Here's the conversation withChris Little.
All right, chris hi, how areyou doing today?
(02:43):
Good to see you.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
I'm doing great, jay.
Thanks for having me on theshow.
I have no complaints.
I got my puppy dog mug here forthe people watching on YouTube,
so today is a good day.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Very good.
Today is a good day here for meas well.
My mug does not have a puppydog on it, but I love this mug
because it keeps the coffee hotand because it has a lid on it
so I can carry it from mykitchen upstairs to my office
and not worry about spillsperfect very important very
(03:17):
important.
So I want I'm really glad thatyou're here today, because I am
often asked by trainers abouthow they, how I can help them
get started in online training,to start their business in
online training and I have tosay I don't know much about that
I can help them with thecontent to promote themselves,
(03:38):
because that's that's what I do,and it's all kind of the same
same thing whether they're doingit in a brick and mortar or
online.
But ever since the pandemic I,this hasn't died down at all.
There's still a lot of peoplewho want online fitness and
there's still a lot of trainerswho want to provide it.
So I'm excited to have you hereto talk about this.
And before we get down to it,to all of that, just give us
(04:00):
your story about how you gothere and what you do with online
trainers.
Give us your story about howyou got here and what you do
with online trainers, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
So I started in the fitness industry just as an
old-fashioned personal trainerand then, before the pandemic
actually hit, I started betatesting some online coaching.
So I had just a few people thatI worked with where they got
like a weekly video call.
They got customized programmingthrough an app and it worked
(04:28):
really well.
And then as time went on, thenI started to contract for other
coaching companies, justhandling fulfillment, like when
you need, when you're at ashortage of coaches, cause
there's such a demand.
Then that's kind of what Istepped in and did and
throughout this journey myparents actually started to
catch on like how accessible itwas to get some guidance with
(04:51):
training, and my parents are intheir 70s, so for me it's a big
achievement to get them on boardwith anything that involves an
app or anything that involvestechnology, because there's a
certain amount of onboarding andteaching the tech to them to
get them to embrace, like how tofollow the program.
But yeah, within the realm ofthe fitness side and the
(05:14):
nutrition coaching side ofthings that I do, it was a
natural evolution.
But fortunately I kind of gotsome hands-on experience before
the pandemic so that when thepandemic hit then I had some
momentum and I found that thepeople who tend to resonate with
me the most are actually likethe older mature population,
(05:36):
anywhere from ages like mid-40sand beyond, because of that
connection that I bring to thatcoaching coaching role, so like
they learn from me about fitnessand nutrition, but then we also
are able to kind of like haveour life experiences sort of as
like a catalyst for new ideasfor how to meal prep, for how to
(05:58):
solve problems, for how fitnesscan be done with family, for
how strength training doesn'tnecessarily need to be in a gym.
Sometimes you can get creativeand haul buckets of water to the
garden.
Gardening is a great way tostay active, things like that.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Right Gardening.
I'm so glad you mentioned thatbecause I mentioned that
sometimes and people in thefitness world look at me like
I'm like I'm a little old ladywith my bonnet on and I'm like,
hey, you get out there and startpulling weeds in the 90 degree
heat and we'll talk about howyou feel.
It's a workout, it's hard,totally.
My own mother died a couple ofyears ago at 87 and she couldn't
(06:38):
do it in the last few years butshe had loved gardening and
would have enjoyed being able todo it right up to the end, but
you know she just couldn't.
It's hard.
I love that about your parentsbecause you know my business
focuses on helping people whoare a little bit older Over 50,
I say, but that also means 60s,70s, 80s, the whole thing and
(07:01):
I'm often asked if technology isa problem for them.
I want to say that sometimes itis and sometimes it isn't, that
many people in their 50s, 60s,70s can hop on their phone and
do everything and that somemight be a little bit more like
your parents, where they need alittle hand-holding.
How do you find that?
(07:21):
Is technology more of a barrierfor older people or not?
What do you think?
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Yeah, it all depends.
So what I find is like ifsomebody is stepping into online
coaching and they haven'tworked with older people before,
they're going to find that theonboard process is like gold is
like gold.
And then, by creating sort oflike a place where, like a
(07:48):
library, where they can go torefer to things again as part of
the onboard process, that canbe helpful.
And what I mean by that is likeif you're asking somebody to
use an app or even a spreadsheet, if you have shown them how to
do it at least once, that'sgoing to make it a lot easier
for them to put in their inputsthat you might expect from them.
But then you have to have theexpectation that, like, you can
teach them once but you may haveto remind them and you have to
(08:10):
be really patient with how manyreminders that happen.
And then, second to that, I'velearned to be a little bit more
lenient on like how they use theapp or how they follow the
workouts.
Some of the people that I workwith they might be like mid
fifties, early fifties, and Iprogram customized workouts for
(08:32):
them every week, but theyhaven't looked at them in like
two months.
But I can in the role that Ihave as their coach, I've still
been able to improve theirhealth markers, things like
blood pressure, cardiovascularhealth because we'll do text
check-ins and we will kind ofhave like a system of like okay,
(08:55):
for this day, I'd love to knowwhat's your highest protein meal
that you had and, at the end ofthe day, how many steps did you
get and how did you get thosesteps?
And at the end of the day, howmany steps did you get and how
did you get those steps?
And the reason that why I askhow they got the steps is
because it allows me to bettersupport them in creating like a
sustainable model for theirhealth so that they can carve
(09:15):
out a way to make this happenagain and again through all the
seasons.
Because I work with some peoplein like Michigan.
I work with some people I'veworked with some people in
Florida and obviously lots ofpeople in like Michigan.
I work with some people I'veworked with some people in
Florida and obviously lots ofpeople in Canada.
As the seasons change, like themotivation changes, the things
that are accessible to peoplewho may have just mobility
limitations change toconsistently get a certain
(09:45):
amount of steps.
Because they got those steps atlike a university campus, then
we'll know that if they have anexcuse in winter we can suggest
try doing your walks at theuniversity campus.
And I've worked retail manytimes in the past so I've seen
all the mall walkers like peoplewho will get like 10,000 steps
in the mall.
So I'll suggest that I'llsuggest things like big
department stores and I'll kindof gamify it.
(10:06):
One of my clients.
I have a rule with her and I'mlike you got to make fitness fun
, so like if you're not havingfun, let's just find a way to
make it fun.
So she is a caretaker for a lotof little kids, like kind of as
a contracted nanny or babysitter.
So she'll get like 16,000 stepsin the day and maybe 8,000 of
(10:29):
those will be spent hanging outwith the kids and having fun.
And then the other remaindershe might be gardening, she
might be doing housework, she'llgo on an evening walk, maybe
with her husband, but then thatallows it to be kind of part of
her identity instead of herfeeling like she has to reinvent
herself to be like a gym bro orbe some like fitness fanatic,
(10:53):
and then also allows her tocontinue to have like that, that
autonomy to do what she wantsto do when she wants to do it
book a trip, go on a hike, hangout with her kids because a lot,
of, a lot of people that I workwith their, their kids are my
age and that's why I work wellwith them, because I'm like,
okay, I know how to work with myparents, so I know how to work
(11:13):
with all these people who arebetween, like it could be
between, 50 and 70, because myparents are a bit older when
they had me.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
But yeah, okay, so let me ask you then.
Let's, let's back up a littlebit.
I said that a lot of trainersasked me about how to get
started in online coaching.
So let's say that the nexttomorrow someone asked me that
and I give them your number andthey call you and do you?
Do you advise them to work witholder people, or do you?
(11:45):
Does it not really matter to youwho they're working with?
Like how?
How important is it to you thatthe opportunity that the older
market represents and I don'tmean in a in a nice way, like oh
, it's so nice that you want tohelp old people I mean in a from
a business opportunity, becausea lot of trainers I talked to
want to work with.
They say they want to work withelite athletes and I'm like,
(12:07):
well, that's great, but theydon't need you.
They've got it covered right.
So who needs you?
Who's got money to pay you?
Who cares enough to beconsistent over time?
And every time I ask thosequestions, it comes down to
older people.
So how do you handle that whensomeone comes to you and wants
to get started?
As far as yeah, the.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
the thing that I've seen come up a lot is especially
with people who have kind oflike mismatched expectations as
what it is to be in the fitnessindustry.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
They might say that they're looking for a certain
like niche, they're looking fora certain demographic.
Then, all of a sudden, thepeople who raise their hands are
like their parents, their auntsand uncles and they're like I
want coaching.
And then I hear those peoplesay, oh, they're not in my niche
.
I'm like can you talk to them?
And they're like, well, yes, Italk to them all the time.
(13:00):
I'm like, okay, do you careabout them?
Like you want them to get thebest possible outcome.
And they're like, yes, I'm likedo you know how to get them
there?
And like, yeah, it's just, it'snot, it's not my like niche, my
target market, and so I'll justhelp them.
(13:22):
To see that, like, when you arebuilding your momentum in the
fitness industry, it is not.
You don't fit it into a box.
You create a good experiencefor one person at a time.
Even if you have like 30, 60clients, you treat each one of
them like your only client.
And most likely, the people whoare going to be your best
clients ever are going to be thepeople who come to you saying
(13:45):
I'd love to do that.
I need help, I don't know whatto do.
I need answers.
So it's helping them come tothe conclusion to work with the
people who are surrounding themnow.
And then the other thing, justfrom a like bigger picture
perspective, on my thoughtstowards supporting, like the
older population, like I havebenefited so much like
(14:08):
personally working with peoplewho are older than me benefited
so much like personally workingwith people who are older than
me because, as I help them domore in life and as I help them
feel that sense of purpose andfeel seen and supported, they've
taught me so much and they aresome of my biggest supporters.
Like most of the people that Iwork with in that population, I
(14:28):
can guarantee they're going tolisten to this podcast, even if
I don't tell them about it.
They'll Google it, they'll findit and that's amazing, and none
of the younger people that Iwork with will do that.
So it's just all thesedifferent factors, but I know
that if I tell somebody howthey're supposed to do something
, they're not going to listen.
So I try to help them find thatconclusion themselves.
(14:51):
If they're like I need to findmy first five clients, I'm like
well, your aunt would like towork with you, so I think you
should start with them, eventhough they're a little bit
older and you said that you wereworking with your parent or
something.
Get some practice, maybe.
Enroll them into your programso you can get some practice
onboarding somebody, and they'reoh, that's not a's not a bad
idea, and then that's kind ofhow I bridge that gap.
(15:13):
Okay, it is tricky, though,because some people are stubborn
.
They're like no, I want to workwith the basketball players,
I'm like it's not that easy.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
No, no, it's not and, like I said before, they've got
it covered.
Elite athletes don't need abeginner trainer who's just
trying to get off the businessoff the ground.
Do you ever get calls fromtrainers who already know that
this is what they want to do andthey want?
Speaker 2 (15:41):
to help.
They want to focus on thismarket.
I would say that there isdefinitely some times where I
will support trainers whospecialize in the older
demographic.
They just don't know how todeliver that online.
So that's definitely a thing,and what often happens with them
is they'll be like oh, I needan app, I need this, I need that
, I need like all thesebiomarker testers.
(16:03):
I'm like you just need like aWhatsApp number and start from
there and it's like.
The other thing is with a lot ofthe clients that I work with
not all of them, because it kindof depends on the offer, but
with a lot of them we do like aweekly FaceTime call.
It's just a quick, short one,but within that you're able to a
(16:24):
kind of provide some likeweekly connection, because
sometimes as a coach, you're oneof their like strongest social
connections.
Like you remember theirbirthday, you talk to them every
day, you're a good soundingboard if they've had something
that's happened.
And so if somebody is like yes,I want to work with the older
(16:45):
population, but I myself amhaving a learning curve with the
tech, I'm like just startsimple, because wherever you're
at is probably where they're atand there's no sense trying to
impress other trainers andcoaches as to, like, what kind
of platforms you use, becausethe end user, they don't care,
like they just they just want tounderstand what to do, how to
do it.
And then, as far as like, ifsomebody was like, well, I need,
(17:06):
I need to have videos to showthem.
How do I do that?
I'm like, okay, just publishthem to YouTube and put the
whole exercise description inthere and just give away all
your secrets, because ifsomebody finds them, they're
going to need you to help themwith the structure and the
accountability.
So if you put everything out inpublic, it's only going to help
(17:27):
to improve the SEO of yourbusiness.
People can reach out to youthrough there and then it
becomes no cost.
You could use WhatsApp, youcould use Google, you could use
a Google sheet for the programand link the videos to YouTube
and then you have no operatingcosts and you could probably
find five people that would payyou reoccurring monthly and you
(17:53):
could get your business off theground just like that and it
wouldn't be a big deal.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Hey, are you a fitness professional trying to
grow your business with peopleover 50?
If you are, then you need toknow how to communicate with
them, how to market to them andhow to get them to trust you
with their fitness, well-beingand money.
We're talking about millions ofpeople who are a little older
than the typical market that thefitness industry usually
pursues.
They have more money, more timeand better motivation to make
(18:25):
the best long-term fitnessconsumers you'll find anywhere.
If you're not focusing on them,you should be.
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(18:45):
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That's prime like prime of yourlife, fitcontentcom.
Back to the show.
Okay, you mentioned WhatsApp acouple of times.
Why did you mention WhatsApp?
Speaker 2 (19:00):
For me primarily it's because I work with a lot of
international clients and so ifwe have any kind of like a
restrictive phone plan, Like ifthey would get charged for
texting a Canadian coach, then Idon't want that to happen.
Also, just like the encryptionof it.
And then, thirdly fun fact whenyou are transferring like a
(19:22):
video file to a person, itdoesn't compress it as much when
you send it over WhatsApp,especially if you send it as a
video file or like yeah, it'slike just a file itself, not
just like uploading the video.
And what I find is like, forexample, I've had some clients
where they're like okay, I havelike a foot injury and I need a
(19:48):
regression, and then so I'lljust off the cuff, film an idea
for them, something that theycan do.
It'll probably use like somefurniture on the house, maybe
some pillows and stuff, so thatthey can understand right away
what to do.
And if I find that that comesup often, then I might post it
to my YouTube or put it into aGoogle drive, because then when
(20:09):
the next client asks the samething, I can pull up that video
and drop it into the Googledrive.
Because then when the nextclient asks the same thing, I
can pull up that video and dropit into the chat.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Right.
What other technical things dopeople need to get started as an
online trainer, particularlywith older people?
If anything, what like?
Do I have to go buy a bunch ofextra stuff?
Do I have to learn a bunch ofnew software or do I just need
like, do I need certification onhow to train older people?
Do I need certification on howto train older people?
Do I need certification onbeing an online trainer?
What else do I need to getgoing?
Speaker 2 (20:39):
I would say that some of the biggest things are
making sure that you have somekind of a certification.
And then one of the things thatI like is to go to as many
in-person practical seminars aspossible, not only to learn the
information firsthand but alsoto connect with other
(21:01):
professionals where when youhave like that weird, like
outlier question that you'venever thought you have to answer
, then you have somebody thatyou can quickly message or text.
Or for some people like I, havea podcast of my own and
sometimes when I have a questionthat I can't answer myself,
I'll bring somebody on and we'lltalk about that and then I'll
share that podcast with thatclient and then I'll share that
(21:23):
podcast with that client.
So a lot of the times when itcomes to like female related
questions, then I'll bring on aguest and we'll talk about that
that way and then we can workthrough it.
But generally speaking, I wouldsay, if you're trying to get
the business off the ground,have at least one certification,
ensure your liability insurancecovers, like all those things.
(21:45):
And then there are likespecialty certifications and
stuff.
But I would say that getting alittle bit of opportunity to
like shadow somebody or go to aconference or just having like a
test round where you work withpeople at like half the cost
(22:05):
that you would initially chargeand you are just totally
straightforward and transparent,like this is a beta launch.
This is going to run for sixmonths.
You are all going to provide mewith feedback and a testimonial
at the end and that's why it'sdiscounted.
And then, just being honest andforthcoming, that you might not
(22:26):
always be right, you might notalways get it right, right, but
after that first cohort ofpeople you're going to be that
much better.
And if they have feedback, iffuture clients have feedback,
that you're always open to it,willing to learn and adapt and
grow, because lots of times thatpeople will tell me they're
like, hey, when I go through theapp, I can't actually like see
the thing, is there anything youcan do about this?
(22:48):
And then I fix it.
Or some people like I don't likethe app, can I just do like a
piece of paper.
I'm like, okay, I'll create apdf for you and you can print it
off at home and you're good togo.
We'll just talk over text.
You know what you're doing.
So being open open to feedbackI think is critical and just
from a legality standpoint,having that liability insurance
(23:08):
which will imply that you havesome kind of a certification,
because most liability insurancerequires the necessary
certifications and it's justthat, like your population of
people that you work with isdifferent, going to be different
from others, but it's likelythat you have one or two clients
that are similar to anotherprofessional as one or two
clients where you can kind ofhave a meeting of the minds yeah
(23:29):
, okay, and then do.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Do you help people train their clients via live
online sessions?
Is it all about developing anapp?
Is it about creating a libraryof video content?
What's the delivery method ofthe training?
Speaker 2 (23:49):
So, I have done both over the years.
From a scalability standpoint,I find that having a DIY model
works really really well, butthen from a results standpoint,
I think the virtual model worksreally really well.
But then from like a resultsstandpoint, I think the virtual
model works really really well.
So there's room for both.
But the virtual model you aregoing to be forced to be in like
(24:14):
a premium, like cost, likeyou're not going to be able to
make that low barrier to entry.
It would be like 1000 thousandsof dollars a month if they're
doing multiple sessions per weekwith you live, because, as the
professional giving out thestuff, you have bills to pay,
you have to pay your housing,you have to pay your expenses
and it's gobbling up a lot oftime.
(24:35):
And then also with like anykind of a video meeting, just
because they're scheduled for anhour doesn't mean it's only
going to take up an hour in theschedule.
They might have to move to adifferent time last minute and
then you have to block outanother hour or maybe there's
some tech difficulties.
There's a lot of things likethat that come up.
But even if it's just like fora lot of people, I think people
(24:57):
are getting used to doing videocalls just straight from their
cell phone.
So a person could set it uplike that where they don't have
to use something like Zoom, andthen some people are clever
enough that they'll do like acall through their cell phone
and then they'll do like you canscreen share to your TV.
And so if somebody who's like60 years old is trying to follow
the exercises and they see youon their TV instead of their
(25:20):
cell phone, that'll be a lotmore helpful.
And then another method peoplecould do that I've seen in
practice and works well is ifyou have a big enough community,
you could offer likereoccurring, like virtual
workouts, so like on a setschedule, and then people can
subscribe to like a membershipor maybe a punch pass of like
(25:42):
they get 10 classes or somethingyeah and it doesn't necessarily
have to be complicated.
It could be that at the start ofthe week everybody in your
community gets like the googleform for the week and then they
can fill in which classes thatthey are going to attend.
And if they don't make it, thenthey can't like they don't get
refunded, so they have to makeit and then from there you can
(26:06):
add their email to like thecalendar invite and then it'll
be on their calendar.
They'll have the link and thenif they didn't register, they
don't have the link.
So there's like 12 differentways to go about it.
But what I would say is justthink about it linearly, think
about it methodically and thenlet's make it the least
(26:28):
complicated that we can, butthen ensure that on the back end
your billing processes aresimplified and that it is a
profitable model.
So some people will just dostuff just to do stuff, and then
tax time comes and they feellike 20 grand.
They didn't plan for that.
Yeah, so you still have to havethat profit margin to make it
make sense okay.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
So this is a lot of work.
It's kind of a.
I'm getting a headache justthinking about all of this.
So tell me, why do I want to dothis?
Why?
Why I got so excited?
I'm a trainer, I called you upto talk about getting started
and and now it's like, oh man,that's a lot.
I thought I could just turn onmy zoom and start a business.
What do you tell people to tomake sure that this is right for
(27:13):
them, that this really is whatthey should be doing and that
they can make it work?
Speaker 2 (27:18):
One of the filters that I run through when I'm
talking to people who actuallywant to be a coach themselves is
I'm like, why do you want to dothis?
And if someone's like, oh, Iwant to make money, I don't know
if you want to do this, thenand it's not like, I know lots
of people who are doing verywell for themselves and they
probably specialize in the olderpopulation, so it's possible.
(27:39):
But, like, your north star mostlikely has to be like around
having a sense of purpose.
That is definitely what it isfor me.
Like I used to work labor workin a warehouse.
I would operate like threedifferent forklifts do
deliveries with a one-ton truck,do shipping and receiving and
all kinds of stuff, and I feltthat if I died the next day it
(28:02):
would nothing, would matter.
They would just go onmarketplace, find new guy that
looks like me, talks, talks likeme, walks like me, and they'd
be good to go.
But then, when I stepped intocoaching, I realized that you
can have a profound impact onsomebody through creating a
really strong connection withthem and then also by helping
them to either maintain whatthey're able to do or empower
(28:25):
them to do even more things.
And throughout that journeywith them, they will probably
enrich the way that you see theworld.
They will be your biggestsupporters, your biggest
cheerleaders on your darkest ofdays, Like some people are.
Like Chris, why do you stay sopositive?
How do you stay so positive?
I'm like I'm not alwayspositive, like Chris.
why do you stay so positive?
How do you stay so positive?
I'm like, I'm not alwayspositive but, like I would say,
(28:46):
my secret is that I have so manypeople with so much life
experience in my corner, becausethey're the people that I work
with and they're the people Iclosely support.
That it gives me more grit andresilience than if I was to work
with a bunch of people who arelike 18 years old.
They've never had any kind oflife thing happen to them.
They think that everythingshould just happen overnight and
they're entitled to things.
So it's just basically taking aself-assessment as to like are
(29:09):
you doing this because it givesyou a sense of purpose or you
feel a calling to help people beharder to kill, like I?
I love knowing that people aremore resilient because of me and
that people feel moreencouraged to book a trip to
(29:30):
Costa Rica just because theywant to because of me.
And so if somebody else feelsthat same sentiment, I'm like
okay, buckle up.
It's not going to be easy, butI think you'll be just fine in
this industry.
And if somebody's like I wantto make like 20 K a month, just
somehow, I'm like I don't thinkyou want to do this for the
right reason.
You may later, but right nowyou don't.
(29:52):
That's what I would say.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Okay, beautiful.
Tell folks where they can goonline to find you, learn more
about you, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Absolutely so I think the easiest way is just find me
on instagram at christian,little little spelled with these
l-i-d-d-l-e.
And then I, because I workwithin media and I work within
people with their training andstuff.
I post all kinds of stuff.
I'm very passionate about mypodcast, but you'll be able to
kind of like expand from thereon all the things that I do by
(30:23):
finding me on Instagram.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Okay, good Well, chris Little with D's, not T's
thank you for all of this.
I feel like we could talk aboutit and not answer all the
questions that people have outthere, but they can just find
you at Instagram and get moreinformation from you directly,
and I want to thank you forjoining me today.
It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Absolutely.
Thank you, Jay, so much forhaving me.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Okay, see ya.
Thank you for listening to theOptimal Aging Podcast.
I'm your host, jay Croft ofPrime Fit Content.
I hope you enjoyed it and Ihope you'll subscribe, review
and tell a friend.
All of that helps me grow myaudience.
I hope you'll share anycomments you have with me,
including suggestions aboutpeople I should interview and
(31:11):
topics I should cover.
You can learn more about mynewsletter and content business
at primefitcontentcom and writeme at jay j-a-y at
primefitcontentcom and I'm onall the social channels.
Again, thanks for listening.
Join me next time.
But ever since the pandemic, this hasn't died down
at all.
There's still a lot of peoplewho want online fitness and
there's still a lot of trainerswho want to provide it.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
My parents actually started to catch on how
accessible it was to get someguidance with training, and my
parents are in their 70s, so forme it's a big achievement to
get them on board with anythingthat involves an app or anything
that involves technology,because there's a certain amount
of onboarding and teaching thetech to them to get them to
(00:31):
embrace, like how to follow theprogram.
You create a good experiencefor one person at a time.
Even if you have like 30, 60clients, you treat each one of
them like your only client.
Just publish them to youtubeand put the whole exercise
description in there.
Just like give away all yoursecrets, because if somebody
(00:52):
finds them they're going to needyou to help them with the
structure and the accountabilityonline training became a huge
thing during the pandemic, ofcourse, about five years ago now
(01:13):
, and you know it stuck around.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
It didn't go away after the pandemic did finally
right, and I am often asked bytrainers how they can get
started online training and Ihave to say, you know, I'm not
really sure.
Let me find out a little bitmore about what you're looking
for, see if I can find someoneto connect you with.
Well, today's guest on OptimalAging is one of those someones I
(01:38):
can connect you with.
His name is Chris Little,l-i-d-d-l-e Chris Little, and
he's up in Canada and he's agenius at all of this and I
think you're really going toenjoy what Chris has to say
about launching your services inonline training.
He can get you set up andeverything, ask you all the
right questions, get you goingin all the right directions, and
(02:01):
I'm delighted that he couldjoin me today on Optimal Aging.
You know this show is forfitness and health and
well-being professionals whowant to grow their businesses
with more people over 50 andsupports my business, prime Fit
Content, and that's where Icreate and sell original,
premium marketing materials,primarily to gyms who want to
(02:23):
reach people in this demographic.
Marketing materials primarilyto gyms, who want to reach
people in this demographic.
So it was interesting whenChris told me that he enjoys
training people online who arein this older demographic and I
think you'll enjoy hisexperiences and his insight and
his guidance.
Here's the conversation withChris Little.
All right, chris hi, how areyou doing today?
(02:43):
Good to see you.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
I'm doing great, jay.
Thanks for having me on theshow.
I have no complaints.
I got my puppy dog mug here forthe people watching on YouTube,
so today is a good day.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Very good.
Today is a good day here for meas well.
My mug does not have a puppydog on it, but I love this mug
because it keeps the coffee hotand because it has a lid on it
so I can carry it from mykitchen upstairs to my office
and not worry about spillsperfect very important very
(03:17):
important.
So I want I'm really glad thatyou're here today, because I am
often asked by trainers abouthow they, how I can help them
get started in online training,to start their business in
online training and I have tosay I don't know much about that
I can help them with thecontent to promote themselves,
(03:38):
because that's that's what I do,and it's all kind of the same
same thing whether they're doingit in a brick and mortar or
online.
But ever since the pandemic I,this hasn't died down at all.
There's still a lot of peoplewho want online fitness and
there's still a lot of trainerswho want to provide it.
So I'm excited to have you hereto talk about this.
And before we get down to it,to all of that, just give us
(04:00):
your story about how you gothere and what you do with online
trainers.
Give us your story about howyou got here and what you do
with online trainers, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
So I started in the fitness industry just as an
old-fashioned personal trainerand then, before the pandemic
actually hit, I started betatesting some online coaching.
So I had just a few people thatI worked with where they got
like a weekly video call.
They got customized programmingthrough an app and it worked
(04:28):
really well.
And then as time went on, thenI started to contract for other
coaching companies, justhandling fulfillment, like when
you need, when you're at ashortage of coaches, cause
there's such a demand.
Then that's kind of what Istepped in and did and
throughout this journey myparents actually started to
catch on like how accessible itwas to get some guidance with
(04:51):
training, and my parents are intheir 70s, so for me it's a big
achievement to get them on boardwith anything that involves an
app or anything that involvestechnology, because there's a
certain amount of onboarding andteaching the tech to them to
get them to embrace, like how tofollow the program.
But yeah, within the realm ofthe fitness side and the
(05:14):
nutrition coaching side ofthings that I do, it was a
natural evolution.
But fortunately I kind of gotsome hands-on experience before
the pandemic so that when thepandemic hit then I had some
momentum and I found that thepeople who tend to resonate with
me the most are actually likethe older mature population,
(05:36):
anywhere from ages like mid-40sand beyond, because of that
connection that I bring to thatcoaching coaching role, so like
they learn from me about fitnessand nutrition, but then we also
are able to kind of like haveour life experiences sort of as
like a catalyst for new ideasfor how to meal prep, for how to
(05:58):
solve problems, for how fitnesscan be done with family, for
how strength training doesn'tnecessarily need to be in a gym.
Sometimes you can get creativeand haul buckets of water to the
garden.
Gardening is a great way tostay active, things like that.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Right Gardening.
I'm so glad you mentioned thatbecause I mentioned that
sometimes and people in thefitness world look at me like
I'm like I'm a little old ladywith my bonnet on and I'm like,
hey, you get out there and startpulling weeds in the 90 degree
heat and we'll talk about howyou feel.
It's a workout, it's hard,totally.
My own mother died a couple ofyears ago at 87 and she couldn't
(06:38):
do it in the last few years butshe had loved gardening and
would have enjoyed being able todo it right up to the end, but
you know she just couldn't.
It's hard.
I love that about your parentsbecause you know my business
focuses on helping people whoare a little bit older Over 50,
I say, but that also means 60s,70s, 80s, the whole thing and
(07:01):
I'm often asked if technology isa problem for them.
I want to say that sometimes itis and sometimes it isn't, that
many people in their 50s, 60s,70s can hop on their phone and
do everything and that somemight be a little bit more like
your parents, where they need alittle hand-holding.
How do you find that?
(07:21):
Is technology more of a barrierfor older people or not?
What do you think?
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Yeah, it all depends.
So what I find is like ifsomebody is stepping into online
coaching and they haven'tworked with older people before,
they're going to find that theonboard process is like gold is
like gold.
And then, by creating sort oflike a place where, like a
(07:48):
library, where they can go torefer to things again as part of
the onboard process, that canbe helpful.
And what I mean by that is likeif you're asking somebody to
use an app or even a spreadsheet, if you have shown them how to
do it at least once, that'sgoing to make it a lot easier
for them to put in their inputsthat you might expect from them.
But then you have to have theexpectation that, like, you can
teach them once but you may haveto remind them and you have to
(08:10):
be really patient with how manyreminders that happen.
And then, second to that, I'velearned to be a little bit more
lenient on like how they use theapp or how they follow the
workouts.
Some of the people that I workwith they might be like mid
fifties, early fifties, and Iprogram customized workouts for
(08:32):
them every week, but theyhaven't looked at them in like
two months.
But I can in the role that Ihave as their coach, I've still
been able to improve theirhealth markers, things like
blood pressure, cardiovascularhealth because we'll do text
check-ins and we will kind ofhave like a system of like okay,
(08:55):
for this day, I'd love to knowwhat's your highest protein meal
that you had and, at the end ofthe day, how many steps did you
get and how did you get thosesteps?
And at the end of the day, howmany steps did you get and how
did you get those steps?
And the reason that why I askhow they got the steps is
because it allows me to bettersupport them in creating like a
sustainable model for theirhealth so that they can carve
(09:15):
out a way to make this happenagain and again through all the
seasons.
Because I work with some peoplein like Michigan.
I work with some people I'veworked with some people in
Florida and obviously lots ofpeople in like Michigan.
I work with some people I'veworked with some people in
Florida and obviously lots ofpeople in Canada.
As the seasons change, like themotivation changes, the things
that are accessible to peoplewho may have just mobility
limitations change toconsistently get a certain
(09:45):
amount of steps.
Because they got those steps atlike a university campus, then
we'll know that if they have anexcuse in winter we can suggest
try doing your walks at theuniversity campus.
And I've worked retail manytimes in the past so I've seen
all the mall walkers like peoplewho will get like 10,000 steps
in the mall.
So I'll suggest that I'llsuggest things like big
department stores and I'll kindof gamify it.
(10:06):
One of my clients.
I have a rule with her and I'mlike you got to make fitness fun
, so like if you're not havingfun, let's just find a way to
make it fun.
So she is a caretaker for a lotof little kids, like kind of as
a contracted nanny or babysitter.
So she'll get like 16,000 stepsin the day and maybe 8,000 of
(10:29):
those will be spent hanging outwith the kids and having fun.
And then the other remaindershe might be gardening, she
might be doing housework, she'llgo on an evening walk, maybe
with her husband, but then thatallows it to be kind of part of
her identity instead of herfeeling like she has to reinvent
herself to be like a gym bro orbe some like fitness fanatic,
(10:53):
and then also allows her tocontinue to have like that, that
autonomy to do what she wantsto do when she wants to do it
book a trip, go on a hike, hangout with her kids because a lot,
of, a lot of people that I workwith their, their kids are my
age and that's why I work wellwith them, because I'm like,
okay, I know how to work with myparents, so I know how to work
(11:13):
with all these people who arebetween, like it could be
between, 50 and 70, because myparents are a bit older when
they had me.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
But yeah, okay, so let me ask you then.
Let's, let's back up a littlebit.
I said that a lot of trainersasked me about how to get
started in online coaching.
So let's say that the nexttomorrow someone asked me that
and I give them your number andthey call you and do you?
Do you advise them to work witholder people, or do you?
(11:45):
Does it not really matter to youwho they're working with?
Like how?
How important is it to you thatthe opportunity that the older
market represents and I don'tmean in a in a nice way, like oh
, it's so nice that you want tohelp old people I mean in a from
a business opportunity, becausea lot of trainers I talked to
want to work with.
They say they want to work withelite athletes and I'm like,
(12:07):
well, that's great, but theydon't need you.
They've got it covered right.
So who needs you?
Who's got money to pay you?
Who cares enough to beconsistent over time?
And every time I ask thosequestions, it comes down to
older people.
So how do you handle that whensomeone comes to you and wants
to get started?
As far as yeah, the.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
the thing that I've seen come up a lot is especially
with people who have kind oflike mismatched expectations as
what it is to be in the fitnessindustry.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
They might say that they're looking for a certain
like niche, they're looking fora certain demographic.
Then, all of a sudden, thepeople who raise their hands are
like their parents, their auntsand uncles and they're like I
want coaching.
And then I hear those peoplesay, oh, they're not in my niche
.
I'm like can you talk to them?
And they're like, well, yes, Italk to them all the time.
(13:00):
I'm like, okay, do you careabout them?
Like you want them to get thebest possible outcome.
And they're like, yes, I'm likedo you know how to get them
there?
And like, yeah, it's just, it'snot, it's not my like niche, my
target market, and so I'll justhelp them.
(13:22):
To see that, like, when you arebuilding your momentum in the
fitness industry, it is not.
You don't fit it into a box.
You create a good experiencefor one person at a time.
Even if you have like 30, 60clients, you treat each one of
them like your only client.
And most likely, the people whoare going to be your best
clients ever are going to be thepeople who come to you saying
(13:45):
I'd love to do that.
I need help, I don't know whatto do.
I need answers.
So it's helping them come tothe conclusion to work with the
people who are surrounding themnow.
And then the other thing, justfrom a like bigger picture
perspective, on my thoughtstowards supporting, like the
older population, like I havebenefited so much like
(14:08):
personally working with peoplewho are older than me benefited
so much like personally workingwith people who are older than
me because, as I help them domore in life and as I help them
feel that sense of purpose andfeel seen and supported, they've
taught me so much and they aresome of my biggest supporters.
Like most of the people that Iwork with in that population, I
(14:28):
can guarantee they're going tolisten to this podcast, even if
I don't tell them about it.
They'll Google it, they'll findit and that's amazing, and none
of the younger people that Iwork with will do that.
So it's just all thesedifferent factors, but I know
that if I tell somebody howthey're supposed to do something
, they're not going to listen.
So I try to help them find thatconclusion themselves.
(14:51):
If they're like I need to findmy first five clients, I'm like
well, your aunt would like towork with you, so I think you
should start with them, eventhough they're a little bit
older and you said that you wereworking with your parent or
something.
Get some practice, maybe.
Enroll them into your programso you can get some practice
onboarding somebody, and they'reoh, that's not a's not a bad
idea, and then that's kind ofhow I bridge that gap.
(15:13):
Okay, it is tricky, though,because some people are stubborn
.
They're like no, I want to workwith the basketball players,
I'm like it's not that easy.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
No, no, it's not and, like I said before, they've got
it covered.
Elite athletes don't need abeginner trainer who's just
trying to get off the businessoff the ground.
Do you ever get calls fromtrainers who already know that
this is what they want to do andthey want?
Speaker 2 (15:41):
to help.
They want to focus on thismarket.
I would say that there isdefinitely some times where I
will support trainers whospecialize in the older
demographic.
They just don't know how todeliver that online.
So that's definitely a thing,and what often happens with them
is they'll be like oh, I needan app, I need this, I need that
, I need like all thesebiomarker testers.
(16:03):
I'm like you just need like aWhatsApp number and start from
there and it's like.
The other thing is with a lot ofthe clients that I work with
not all of them, because it kindof depends on the offer, but
with a lot of them we do like aweekly FaceTime call.
It's just a quick, short one,but within that you're able to a
(16:24):
kind of provide some likeweekly connection, because
sometimes as a coach, you're oneof their like strongest social
connections.
Like you remember theirbirthday, you talk to them every
day, you're a good soundingboard if they've had something
that's happened.
And so if somebody is like yes,I want to work with the older
(16:45):
population, but I myself amhaving a learning curve with the
tech, I'm like just startsimple, because wherever you're
at is probably where they're atand there's no sense trying to
impress other trainers andcoaches as to, like, what kind
of platforms you use, becausethe end user, they don't care,
like they just they just want tounderstand what to do, how to
do it.
And then, as far as like, ifsomebody was like, well, I need,
(17:06):
I need to have videos to showthem.
How do I do that?
I'm like, okay, just publishthem to YouTube and put the
whole exercise description inthere and just give away all
your secrets, because ifsomebody finds them, they're
going to need you to help themwith the structure and the
accountability.
So if you put everything out inpublic, it's only going to help
(17:27):
to improve the SEO of yourbusiness.
People can reach out to youthrough there and then it
becomes no cost.
You could use WhatsApp, youcould use Google, you could use
a Google sheet for the programand link the videos to YouTube
and then you have no operatingcosts and you could probably
find five people that would payyou reoccurring monthly and you
(17:53):
could get your business off theground just like that and it
wouldn't be a big deal.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Hey, are you a fitness professional trying to
grow your business with peopleover 50?
If you are, then you need toknow how to communicate with
them, how to market to them andhow to get them to trust you
with their fitness, well-beingand money.
We're talking about millions ofpeople who are a little older
than the typical market that thefitness industry usually
pursues.
They have more money, more timeand better motivation to make
(18:25):
the best long-term fitnessconsumers you'll find anywhere.
If you're not focusing on them,you should be.
Prime Fit Content is the onlycontent marketing company
designed specifically to helpyou engage people in this group
and to help you distinguishyourself from competitors in
your community.
It's effective, affordable andsuper easy to use.
(18:45):
Check it out atprimefitcontentcom.
That's prime like prime of yourlife, fitcontentcom.
Back to the show.
Okay, you mentioned WhatsApp acouple of times.
Why did you mention WhatsApp?
Speaker 2 (19:00):
For me primarily it's because I work with a lot of
international clients and so ifwe have any kind of like a
restrictive phone plan, Like ifthey would get charged for
texting a Canadian coach, then Idon't want that to happen.
Also, just like the encryptionof it.
And then, thirdly fun fact whenyou are transferring like a
(19:22):
video file to a person, itdoesn't compress it as much when
you send it over WhatsApp,especially if you send it as a
video file or like yeah, it'slike just a file itself, not
just like uploading the video.
And what I find is like, forexample, I've had some clients
where they're like okay, I havelike a foot injury and I need a
(19:48):
regression, and then so I'lljust off the cuff, film an idea
for them, something that theycan do.
It'll probably use like somefurniture on the house, maybe
some pillows and stuff, so thatthey can understand right away
what to do.
And if I find that that comesup often, then I might post it
to my YouTube or put it into aGoogle drive, because then when
(20:09):
the next client asks the samething, I can pull up that video
and drop it into the Googledrive.
Because then when the nextclient asks the same thing, I
can pull up that video and dropit into the chat.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Right.
What other technical things dopeople need to get started as an
online trainer, particularlywith older people?
If anything, what like?
Do I have to go buy a bunch ofextra stuff?
Do I have to learn a bunch ofnew software or do I just need
like, do I need certification onhow to train older people?
Do I need certification on howto train older people?
Do I need certification onbeing an online trainer?
What else do I need to getgoing?
Speaker 2 (20:39):
I would say that some of the biggest things are
making sure that you have somekind of a certification.
And then one of the things thatI like is to go to as many
in-person practical seminars aspossible, not only to learn the
information firsthand but alsoto connect with other
(21:01):
professionals where when youhave like that weird, like
outlier question that you'venever thought you have to answer
, then you have somebody thatyou can quickly message or text.
Or for some people like I, havea podcast of my own and
sometimes when I have a questionthat I can't answer myself,
I'll bring somebody on and we'lltalk about that and then I'll
share that podcast with thatclient and then I'll share that
(21:23):
podcast with that client.
So a lot of the times when itcomes to like female related
questions, then I'll bring on aguest and we'll talk about that
that way and then we can workthrough it.
But generally speaking, I wouldsay, if you're trying to get
the business off the ground,have at least one certification,
ensure your liability insurancecovers, like all those things.
(21:45):
And then there are likespecialty certifications and
stuff.
But I would say that getting alittle bit of opportunity to
like shadow somebody or go to aconference or just having like a
test round where you work withpeople at like half the cost
(22:05):
that you would initially chargeand you are just totally
straightforward and transparent,like this is a beta launch.
This is going to run for sixmonths.
You are all going to provide mewith feedback and a testimonial
at the end and that's why it'sdiscounted.
And then, just being honest andforthcoming, that you might not
(22:26):
always be right, you might notalways get it right, right, but
after that first cohort ofpeople you're going to be that
much better.
And if they have feedback, iffuture clients have feedback,
that you're always open to it,willing to learn and adapt and
grow, because lots of times thatpeople will tell me they're
like, hey, when I go through theapp, I can't actually like see
the thing, is there anything youcan do about this?
(22:48):
And then I fix it.
Or some people like I don't likethe app, can I just do like a
piece of paper.
I'm like, okay, I'll create apdf for you and you can print it
off at home and you're good togo.
We'll just talk over text.
You know what you're doing.
So being open open to feedbackI think is critical and just
from a legality standpoint,having that liability insurance
(23:08):
which will imply that you havesome kind of a certification,
because most liability insurancerequires the necessary
certifications and it's justthat, like your population of
people that you work with isdifferent, going to be different
from others, but it's likelythat you have one or two clients
that are similar to anotherprofessional as one or two
clients where you can kind ofhave a meeting of the minds yeah
(23:29):
, okay, and then do.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Do you help people train their clients via live
online sessions?
Is it all about developing anapp?
Is it about creating a libraryof video content?
What's the delivery method ofthe training?
Speaker 2 (23:49):
So, I have done both over the years.
From a scalability standpoint,I find that having a DIY model
works really really well, butthen from a results standpoint,
I think the virtual model worksreally really well.
But then from like a resultsstandpoint, I think the virtual
model works really really well.
So there's room for both.
But the virtual model you aregoing to be forced to be in like
(24:14):
a premium, like cost, likeyou're not going to be able to
make that low barrier to entry.
It would be like 1000 thousandsof dollars a month if they're
doing multiple sessions per weekwith you live, because, as the
professional giving out thestuff, you have bills to pay,
you have to pay your housing,you have to pay your expenses
and it's gobbling up a lot oftime.
(24:35):
And then also with like anykind of a video meeting, just
because they're scheduled for anhour doesn't mean it's only
going to take up an hour in theschedule.
They might have to move to adifferent time last minute and
then you have to block outanother hour or maybe there's
some tech difficulties.
There's a lot of things likethat that come up.
But even if it's just like fora lot of people, I think people
(24:57):
are getting used to doing videocalls just straight from their
cell phone.
So a person could set it uplike that where they don't have
to use something like Zoom, andthen some people are clever
enough that they'll do like acall through their cell phone
and then they'll do like you canscreen share to your TV.
And so if somebody who's like60 years old is trying to follow
the exercises and they see youon their TV instead of their
(25:20):
cell phone, that'll be a lotmore helpful.
And then another method peoplecould do that I've seen in
practice and works well is ifyou have a big enough community,
you could offer likereoccurring, like virtual
workouts, so like on a setschedule, and then people can
subscribe to like a membershipor maybe a punch pass of like
(25:42):
they get 10 classes or somethingyeah and it doesn't necessarily
have to be complicated.
It could be that at the start ofthe week everybody in your
community gets like the googleform for the week and then they
can fill in which classes thatthey are going to attend.
And if they don't make it, thenthey can't like they don't get
refunded, so they have to makeit and then from there you can
(26:06):
add their email to like thecalendar invite and then it'll
be on their calendar.
They'll have the link and thenif they didn't register, they
don't have the link.
So there's like 12 differentways to go about it.
But what I would say is justthink about it linearly, think
about it methodically and thenlet's make it the least
(26:28):
complicated that we can, butthen ensure that on the back end
your billing processes aresimplified and that it is a
profitable model.
So some people will just dostuff just to do stuff, and then
tax time comes and they feellike 20 grand.
They didn't plan for that.
Yeah, so you still have to havethat profit margin to make it
make sense okay.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
So this is a lot of work.
It's kind of a.
I'm getting a headache justthinking about all of this.
So tell me, why do I want to dothis?
Why?
Why I got so excited?
I'm a trainer, I called you upto talk about getting started
and and now it's like, oh man,that's a lot.
I thought I could just turn onmy zoom and start a business.
What do you tell people to tomake sure that this is right for
(27:13):
them, that this really is whatthey should be doing and that
they can make it work?
Speaker 2 (27:18):
One of the filters that I run through when I'm
talking to people who actuallywant to be a coach themselves is
I'm like, why do you want to dothis?
And if someone's like, oh, Iwant to make money, I don't know
if you want to do this, thenand it's not like, I know lots
of people who are doing verywell for themselves and they
probably specialize in the olderpopulation, so it's possible.
(27:39):
But, like, your north star mostlikely has to be like around
having a sense of purpose.
That is definitely what it isfor me.
Like I used to work labor workin a warehouse.
I would operate like threedifferent forklifts do
deliveries with a one-ton truck,do shipping and receiving and
all kinds of stuff, and I feltthat if I died the next day it
(28:02):
would nothing, would matter.
They would just go onmarketplace, find new guy that
looks like me, talks, talks likeme, walks like me, and they'd
be good to go.
But then, when I stepped intocoaching, I realized that you
can have a profound impact onsomebody through creating a
really strong connection withthem and then also by helping
them to either maintain whatthey're able to do or empower
(28:25):
them to do even more things.
And throughout that journeywith them, they will probably
enrich the way that you see theworld.
They will be your biggestsupporters, your biggest
cheerleaders on your darkest ofdays, Like some people are.
Like Chris, why do you stay sopositive?
How do you stay so positive?
I'm like I'm not alwayspositive, like Chris.
why do you stay so positive?
How do you stay so positive?
I'm like, I'm not alwayspositive but, like I would say,
(28:46):
my secret is that I have so manypeople with so much life
experience in my corner, becausethey're the people that I work
with and they're the people Iclosely support.
That it gives me more grit andresilience than if I was to work
with a bunch of people who arelike 18 years old.
They've never had any kind oflife thing happen to them.
They think that everythingshould just happen overnight and
they're entitled to things.
So it's just basically taking aself-assessment as to like are
(29:09):
you doing this because it givesyou a sense of purpose or you
feel a calling to help people beharder to kill, like I?
I love knowing that people aremore resilient because of me and
that people feel moreencouraged to book a trip to
(29:30):
Costa Rica just because theywant to because of me.
And so if somebody else feelsthat same sentiment, I'm like
okay, buckle up.
It's not going to be easy, butI think you'll be just fine in
this industry.
And if somebody's like I wantto make like 20 K a month, just
somehow, I'm like I don't thinkyou want to do this for the
right reason.
You may later, but right nowyou don't.
(29:52):
That's what I would say.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Okay, beautiful.
Tell folks where they can goonline to find you, learn more
about you, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Absolutely so I think the easiest way is just find me
on instagram at christian,little little spelled with these
l-i-d-d-l-e.
And then I, because I workwithin media and I work within
people with their training andstuff.
I post all kinds of stuff.
I'm very passionate about mypodcast, but you'll be able to
kind of like expand from thereon all the things that I do by
(30:23):
finding me on Instagram.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Okay, good Well, chris Little with D's, not T's
thank you for all of this.
I feel like we could talk aboutit and not answer all the
questions that people have outthere, but they can just find
you at Instagram and get moreinformation from you directly,
and I want to thank you forjoining me today.
It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Absolutely.
Thank you, Jay, so much forhaving me.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Okay, see ya.
Thank you for listening to theOptimal Aging Podcast.
I'm your host, jay Croft ofPrime Fit Content.
I hope you enjoyed it and Ihope you'll subscribe, review
and tell a friend.
All of that helps me grow myaudience.
I hope you'll share anycomments you have with me,
including suggestions aboutpeople I should interview and
(31:11):
topics I should cover.
You can learn more about mynewsletter and content business
at primefitcontentcom and writeme at jay j-a-y at
primefitcontentcom and I'm onall the social channels.
Again, thanks for listening.
Join me next time.
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