Being a personal trainer is, for many of us, the culmination of a lot of hard work. We dreamt of turning our passion for health and fitness into a profession and, with plenty of guidance, you made it a reality.

The first thing that many newly qualified personal trainers do with their certification is to head to their nearest gym and push for a position within their in-house training team. Such a position isn’t always easy to come by, and requires initiative and guile to keep, but it’s not for everyone.

Although gyms often guarantee a wage packet and offer a degree of structure that makes for a pleasant introduction to the world of personal training, but that’s not why many of us joined the profession.

Indeed, for lots of us, the goal of becoming a personal trainer was to be our own boss, define our own hours and seek out our own clients. Put simply, many of us dreamt of going freelance. But what skills do we need to become successful freelance personal trainers? Join us as we share with you the top three.

1. Top personal training skills

First and foremost, you’re going to need to be great at the foundational element of your job – helping people better themselves physically. As a personal trainer you know that, ultimately, your successes or failures are intrinsically linked to those of your clients.

Should somebody come to you with the goal of returning to a healthy BMI within a certain timeframe and you fail to do so, that failure will follow you around.

Working within a gym, you’ll find there’s a little more tolerance for missteps, but as a freelance trainer trying to develop a positive reputation, there’s none. Absolute dedication and a desire to succeed are the hallmarks of a great freelance personal trainer. Learn what your client wants and work with them to achieve their goals, and you’ll find yourself inundated with work.

2. A talent self-promotion

A great reputation will see you far in the freelance personal training space, but you’ll need more than that to reach out and new clients. That means a few things, but today it largely means making effective use of social media.

The current fitness boom is being driven largely by social media fitness stars. From the likes of Lean in Fifteen star Joe Wicks to the literally thousands of fitness inspired Instagram and Twitter accounts, there’s never been more inspiration out there for those looking to lose weight and get in shape. So, if you want to increase your reach, you’re going to have to begin to reach out to these markets.

By sharing your clients progress, updating potential clients on spaces in your diary and offering free tips and advice, you can expand your client base and get your name out there for all the right reasons.

3. Amazing organisational talents

One of the most underrated talents that every successful freelance personal trainer possesses is the ability to organise their life effectively. By going freelance, you’re putting your schedule at the mercy of your clients, and effectively balancing face-to-face sessions, follow-up messages and fitness planning is no simple task.

That’s why you’ve got to be on the ball and ready to adjust your schedule at a moment’s notice, it’s not easy, but nobody said it would be!

If you can master these three skills, you can leave your gym job behind and carve out a successful career as a personal trainer, earning up to £66,000 per year, compared to just £31,000 as a gym employee. So, what are you waiting for?