CHILL APPLE Groups First Anniversary Celebrations !

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CHILL APPLE Groups First Anniversary Celebrations !

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How To Make More Money In Fitness

You love what you do, but can you make it pay off? The answer is Yes.....with help from this article. Whether you looking for an idea that will build booming profits, or earn you a little extra cash, I've got the business ideas, hot tips and testimonials form other successful fitness entrepreneurs to get you moving forward for 2007.

There is a financial ceiling on teaching fitness classes in clubs and leisure centres, you may be working for exactly the same rate that you started teaching on, even though you've furthered your education by taking courses and attended regular workshops and conventions but that makes none or very little difference to our rate of pay in this industry. It's one rate and one rate only and that very rarely goes up!

Establish how much money you want to make per hour

First things first, let's establish how much money you want to make per class per hour. Before you take on another classes or venture you must work out your costs and profit. How much does it cost you in petrol to get to and from a venue, include any parking charges and then work out how much time you spend getting to and from the class.

Consider how much you spend on cd's, insurance, and memberships so before you even walk in the studio door you are aware of the cost you've incurred. Next divide the class rate you currently receive into how many hours you have used travelling to and from the venue.

Example Pay per class £25 Takes 20 minutes to get to and from the club. 20minutes set up time and questions. Time away from home is 2hours 10 minutes dived by £25 gives you an hourly rate of £12.50 minus petrol/parking/insurance/music.

Next, Decide how much you want to earn per hour and write it down

By writing it down and seeing the figure in black makes it REAL and ATTAINABLE so lets work on getting your desired rate.

Teaching Ideas

Classes in hired venues - Move out of the health clubs and leisure centres and hire your own space, seek out every venue that can fit a minimum of 40 people exercising in. Think big; if you hire a small room you are limiting the amount of people who can attend immediately. Ideally then venue would be within a 10mile radius of your house to cut out unnecessary travelling time. Below is a list of venues you must find and check out. Look in yellow pages under Halls for Hire, Churches, and Sports Clubs or try http://www.yell.com and scour local papers for information on rooms for hire.

Church Halls - The best rooms to hire are church halls, they are always cheap, they don't close for school holidays and they are community based. Many have been modernised, have central heating, toilets, parking and many have a stage and a sprung floor.

"I pay £7.50 for one of my church a halls that is located in the centre of town with parking for 100 cars next to it and it has a big stage, my dearest church hall costs £11 for 2 hours" Caroline Yates, Wilmslow, Manchester

School Halls - Usually more expensive and many close for school holidays or charge you more for the caretaker to open and lock up. The benefits of being based in a school hall or gym are the many parents who will be interested in attending your classes. Ask your contact at the school if flyers can be handed out to children and staff. Every School Hall class I have ever taught has been packed with mums and teachers as well as local residents.

Check out if the school remains open during holidays and if it is check the extra caretaker fees. Lots of community schools also have a minimum hire of 2 hours so you 2 complimentary classes taught back to back. School halls generally cost between £18 - £30 per hour.

Function Rooms - Read the local papers and find out which Pubs have large function rooms. Ring round and find out costs. Many function rooms are empty in the week and any landlord would welcome the prospect of 40 - 50 extra people stopping at the end of your class for a drink.

Barter your services and ask for a low room rent if clients stop for a drink. Busy pubs are a great way of advertising your classes and getting the locals attending, stick posters on the back of toilet doors and get the bar staff talking about your new class to the regulars.

Vikki Scovell in Bristol runs "Yoga in the Pub" and "Pilates in The Pub" all held in a large function room. She get s the room free as most people will stay and have a drink afterwards so the landlord is more than happy
So you've found a suitable venue?

Decide which evening and which times slot you will go for. Monday, to Thursday being the best evenings, with Friday evening being unpredictable. Ask for availability at weekends, Saturday and Sunday morning can be extremely busy if it's the right kind of class.

Next, work out what type of class to teach. It has to be a class that people of all ages and abilities can do it won't work if its too hard, too fast or too complicated. Consider any type of Body Conditioning. Weight Management, Mind/Body, Yoga, Pilates, Dance classes such as salsa, Ceroc, street dance, Stretch, Abdominal Classes, or come up with something new.

Step by step guide into setting up your class

1 Have professional posters made and designed include a photo and class details, include what to wear, what to bring. Laminate posters and put up every 2 weeks in
Hairdressers, Nurseries, Playgroups, Schools, Chiropractors, Nail bars,
Beauticians, Chiropodists, Sports Massage therapists, Physiotherapists, Doctors, Dentists, supermarkets, post offices, library, shops, offices,
2. Design A5 Flyers and put contact newsagents to get a fee for your flyer to be delivered with newspapers
3. Send press releases and a photo of bi monthly to all local papers
4. Write 5 short interesting fitness articles and send to all local papers and enquire about writing for FREE a weekly/monthly fitness article in exchange for free advertising for you.
5. Make or have professionally made sandwich board advertising your class and put it outside your venue when you are teaching, invite new people to come and have a look at the class before they join.
6. Advertise your class regularly in the leisure guide or what's on section of your local paper.
7. Organise a Bring a Friend For Free week.
8. Sell blocks of classes and give a class for free e.g. buy 10 classes and get the 11th free.
9. Run a loyalty scheme. Have cards printed or make your own and sign each time the client comes to class, offer a prize or free class when the clients attends 10x, 20, 50x, 100x
10. Always carry business cards, timetables, flyers and posters where ever you go. Always give out at the end of class and pass on complimentary cards to friends.
11. Ensure clients rely on your for them fitness information. Photocopy fitness articles and information or write your own and give out at the end of class.
12. Align yourselves with other Health related professionals in your area. Keep a stock of business cards for your favourite beautician, nail technician, phsio, Osteopath etc and give out their cards at the end of the session in return for them endorsing your classes.
13. Give posters out to your class members to put up at their place of work, play group, nursery etc
14. Give out comment cards and get regular feedback from classes.
15. Invest in professional sound and mic equipment.
16. Hire a school Hall to teach in and ensure all the children take a flyer home to parents, if you hire a Secondary school offer discount to the older children 15 - 16year old girls.
17 Encourage mothers to bring along their teenage daughters by allowing the teens to come for ½ price...
18. Take everyone who attends you class, name, address, telephone number and email address and when clients stop attending or drop of from your class send them an email, a postcard explaining that they are missed and invite them back into your class.

Find the USP of the class and of you - what makes your class special, what's different about your class. Write down all the Unique Selling People of your class.

Your class should be Entertaining, Educational, Escapist and Aesthetic, create a memorable experience.
Maximise your class participation by keeping the class fresh and exciting.

Brand loyalty - You need to build loyalty to YOU and YOUR CLASS
Never waste an opportunity to promote you and your class.

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Comparing Crossbows To Archery Bows

Long-established archery members have debated that crossbows are more like a gun than a bow because they require little practice and it doesn't have the same challenging skills to tag the hunt as compared to traditional archery equipment.  This is one of the reasons why crossbows have gained favoritism among hunters.

What was once an ancient weapon during the medieval times or a bow of choice for those that couldn't draw a common bow is becoming a new option for conventional and new hunters?  States are relaxing the restrictions on crossbows in which standard archery equipment is used and some states changed the age and physical requirements for hunters who want to use a crossbow. 

We have a complete list of all the Department of Natural Resources by State so you can check on your state's regulations. Another reason crossbows attract new hunters is because a crossbow can remain in the drawn to shoot position or cocked and anyone that can lift a crossbow can surely hunt with it.  Crossbows are light and may also be used in conjunction with stands, monopods or equipment to help find a target and steadily hold the line of shot.

Crossbows don't have much in common with a compound bow or a recurve – longbow.  Compound bows and crossbows rely on the energy that is stored from the use of wheels or cams that increase arrow speed.  A traditional bow hunter uses a bow with a draw weight of about 70 lbs, but a crossbow draw weights can be up to 175 lbs.

It might seem like a bullet compared to a bowling ball, but both of them shoot arrows (bolts) at about the same speed because the limbs on a crossbow are much shorter.  High quality compounds can thrust an arrow at 300 fps (feet per second).  A crossbow that shoots in the same 300 fps range will also shoot up to 350, but the extra speed doesn't give any advantages in the field.

Advancements in speed and accuracy have been helped by tech advancements, but what hasn't changed much is the weight.  They usually weigh 7 to 10 pounds, which is as much as a standard rifle or more, but they can also be an encumbrance because of the limbs.  But you don't really want a light crossbow because it is less accurate and has a kick.  More energy is transferred backwards with a light crossbow.

Are expensive crossbows worth the price?

A crossbow can cost upwards of $1,000 but will include a lot of accessories in a packaged deal.  The package usually includes a scope, quiver, arrows and an assortment of other accessories.  A cocking device comes with the crossbow and it aids in drawing the string back into the cocked position. 

They are not required but it is a feature that is well worth the money spent.  Although you don't need to spend more than a grand to buy a nice crossbow, cheaper bows from notable manufacturers will tag a deer just as good as an expensive crossbow.

One downfall to a crossbow is that it isn't too quiet, because the short limbs and high speeds create as surprising vibration that may spook a deer.  It is just something that we can't get away from and no manufacturer can change it because that is just the dynamics on how they are made.  Even the most high end quality crossbows have a loud twanging noise when they are shot.

Although all the crossbows have the same basics, each crossbow manufacturer, model and brand have something just a bit different and some may feel better than others.

 

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How To Aim A Bow And Arrow And Hit The Target Every Time !

Aiming a bow and shooting the target is a matter of practice

When I picked up a bow to start archery for the first time I found that aiming was a very difficult thing to do. I had been used to rifle shooting and I was trying to aim my arrow by sighting down the shaft. It's not very practical to do that with a bow and arrow. My coach was an elderly relative who was a veteran target archer and he gave me a few tips when I asked him how do I aim my bow? My aim improved a lot when I took his advice.

Practice, practice, practice

My archer relative told me that I should draw the bowstring so that it touched the side of my face. Look at the target while pointing the arrow in the right direction then release the arrow smoothly. Sounds easy enough doesn't it? I guess it is once you've practiced enough.

I still didn't understand how to aim the arrow at the center of the target though and my coach kept telling me to always pull the bowstring so that it came to rest at the same place on my face. He also told me that the secret to accurate shooting was practice and a lot of other things that I don't remember now but I got the idea. At least I thought I did - some kind of Karate Kid wax on... wax off deal I thought.

Consistency is the key to accurate archery

Then it slowly came to me that there was no definitive way to sight an arrow or aim a bow at a target. Well there might be but I still don't know what it is. The secret truly was in the practice, which enabled me to become consistent in the way that I drew and released the arrow. Where the arrow hit the target was initially just trial and error but if you're consistent with the draw and release then you should be able to hit the same point of the target with every arrow. Sometimes I can destroy the flights on arrows in the target. That's good aiming but expensive on arrows.

How do I aim a bow at the center of the target?

Of course it then follows that if you can consistently hit the same place on the target every time then all you  need to do is make that place be the little circle in the center and you have cracked it. Just concentrate on shooting as many bulls eyes as you can as often as you can.

I'm still very much a beginner and there are a lot of very neat secrets to archery and how to aim a bow that I still have to learn. Most things require lots of practice but you need to read as much as you can about techniques too to make sure that you practice the right things. If you practice enough you will get better.

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