The 4 Levels of Legal Protection You Need for your Fitness Business

I am thrilled to share this guest blog post from my good friend and mentorship program client, Matt Dearden. I work with thousands of women who are ramping up fitness businesses, and I find this information to be extremely valuable. Read his post below regarding the 4 levels of legal protection you need for your fitness business I’ve been working with several great fitness businesses recently through my law firm, and there is one question that clients always ask without fail: how can I best shield myself from liability if one of my clients gets injured during a workout?  While it’s impossible to fully insulate yourself from all liability, you can definitely take steps to protect yourself.  Whether you train clients virtually, in person, or via DVD, there are four levels of protection that every fitness business owner should have in place:

1. Form an LLC.

It is important that you shield your personal assets from the debts and liabilities of your business, and forming a limited liability company (LLC) is a great way to do that.  In the eyes of the law, an LLC is a separate entity from you personally.  Therefore, if your LLC is sued in the future, only the assets of the LLC—and not your personal assets—are at risk.  Additional benefits of LLC’s include pass-through taxation (they are treated like sole-proprietorships), heightened credibility and minimal state compliance regulations.  In Ohio, an LLC is created by filing Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State.  The cost is only $125.

1. Utilize a great release.

As much as possible, require your clients to sign liability releases before participating in your programs.  In Ohio, a clear and unambiguous release that relieves your business from liability for its own negligence will generally be upheld by courts.  Moreover, a release of a cause of action for damages is ordinarily an absolute bar to a later lawsuit on any claim encompassed within the release.  To be enforceable, a good release should (1) clear and unequivocal in every way, (2) state exactly which person/entity is being released from liability (you should include both your business and you personally) and (3) clearly outline the claims that are barred in the future.  Courts in most jurisdictions tend to look favorably upon well-written releases, so do it right the first time!

1. Buy general liability insurance.

Every fitness business should buy general liability insurance.  These traditionally broad policies insure against the risk that the insured may cause injury to clients or other third parties.  You will need to check with a broker for quotes, but insurance for personal trainers and non-traditional fitness businesses is usually quite affordable.

1. Be nice.

This is the number one piece of advice I give my fitness business clients (and all my business clients).  The best protection you can give yourself is to be friendly and accommodating.  Even if you occasionally err, clients who like you will almost never sue you.

Please feel free to reach out to me at mdearden@deardenlawoffices.com if you want to discuss how to best manage risk in your fitness business.

**The above blog post is not legal advice and should not be construed as such.  Every business is different, so business owners should consult an attorney to determine which solutions might work best for them.

Million Dollars Per Quarter Goal and VIP Days

Every summer, Brandon and I sit down to create our goals for the fiscal year. I wanted to share one of my goals with all of you and communicate why it's so important to me. You'll hear my heart and purpose for my business this year, and learn about my million dollars per quarter goal.

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In the video, you'll hear why I believe it's important to develop a "Why" and goals that go beyond yourself, and how passionate I am about helping women channel significant wealth to their businesses to recirculate money to their family, church, and community.

Before you can set your goals for the year, you have to find your personal purpose.  I love teaching other women to give back which is an often missed step and so crucial to the success of any business. You can have material success but lack purpose. If you lack purpose you will not be happy. Financial goals are good and necessary, but they will not fulfill you. Success is far more about living your purpose and serving others.

So, how do you set up your fiscal year business goals while also focusing on others and a purpose that goes outside yourself?

Ask yourself the following questions:

What is your life's work? What do you stand for? What are you passionate about? What fires you up? What do you wake up in the morning to accomplish, and who do you truly want to help?

Take some time this afternoon and really pinpoint your purpose. We are on the earth to live out a purpose. What is your purpose as a woman and as an entrepreneur? What kind of leader do you want to be in the world and community and for your children? Your business is a vehicle to achieve your purpose. When you go through hardships what keeps you going?

If you're 100% clear on your purpose, you'll get out of your own way and you'll be energized to service your clients even when you hit up against challenges.

If you're having a hard time pinpointing the unique purpose that drives your business, I'm here to help. Feel free to contact me and I can help you articulate your passion to service others and the unique purpose that drives your business.

This year, I will be introducing a very exciting aspect to my business coaching and mentorship programs: VIP days. You will have the opportunity to spend the day at my home while we accelerate your business.

VIP days will include the following:

• Intensive branding and marketing training
• Business plan creation
• Professional branding photo shoot
• Website development
• Residual wealth strategy and creation
• Accounting and tax advice, and much more.

This is going to be a phenomenal way to take your business to the next level and I can't wait to work with several women through VIP days this year. If you would like information about VIP days, please fill out the form below:

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Can Money Buy Happiness?

Can money buy happiness?

We've all heard the saying, "money can't buy happiness." But do you really believe that to be true? Or do you think that once you hit a certain salary level, receive a promotion, or reach "millionaire" status, you will be happy? As a young professional still in my 20s, my career and financial situation has rapidly changed and grown. Since our first year of marriage (he was 20, and I was 22 when we got hitched), the hubs and I have set and achieved specific financial goals, and we've been extremely blessed through our short careers with raises, promotions, and the ability to pursue some fun projects via my self-employment. But has an increase in money correlated with an increase in our happiness?

Six years ago, Brandon and I lived in a 500 square foot apartment, had significant student loan debt, and made minimum wage working 70 hours per week. We had very little money in the bank.

And we were happy.

Our first year of marriage was full of adventures, new friendships, some fun employment opportunities, and contentment.

Due to the blessings of God, hard work, and some good decision-making, both of our salaries have tripled in 6 years. We've been able to pay off our school loans, build our dream home, install a pool, purchase nice cars, go on several vacations, and much more.

And we are happy.

However - I can say without a shadow of a doubt, that money and "things" is not what makes us happy.

Watch my most recent video with my honest perspective. FYI: I did have some technology issues while filming this video - bear with me. The message is one I want you to hear, so you may consider simply listening to the video versus watching since the audio doesn't match up the whole way through. XO

I love this quote from Billionaire, Mark Cuban, when the question was posed, "Can money buy you happiness."

“It’s creating a goal for yourself and accomplishing a goal and setting a dream, and living that dream through your effort that can make you feel a whole lot better about yourself [and happy],” he says. “It worked for me..."

I would add to Marc Cuban's quote and say the following about what truly makes me happy. "Inspiring and empowering other women to set and accomplish goals and fulfill their dreams, in addition to setting and accomplishing my personal goals while staying balanced with family and career is what truly makes me happy."

Through the years, I've discovered that what makes me "happy' is inspiring women to do what inspires them. As a business coach, nothing gives me more joy, satisfaction, and happiness in my life than watching a fellow mom ramp up a successful fitness business.

This past month I hit a financial milestone for business. However - was I any happier the day after I hit the goal versus the day before? No, not really. In fact, my lack of personal enthusiasm about hitting the financial milestone is what prompted me to re-post this blog from my fitness site. I consider myself to be extremely fortunate to have learned this valuable life lesson so early in my life and career - money truly cannot buy happiness.

You want to know what truly made me happy last week? Hearing that one of the women in my fitness business mentorship program was able to give in her 2 week notice and quit her job to pursue her passion for fitness full-time. Wow - nothing inspires me more than to help women pursue what inspires them.

Want to know what else makes me happy? A sense of balance.

For example, being able to go on a spontaneous play date with a business mentorship client to the park for a couple of hours this morning, sitting outside by the pool right now listening to professional development and writing this blog post for you, and having a feeling that my life is balanced versus jam-packed makes me happy.

There have been times of unrest and unhappiness in my life over the past 6 years. But what I've found is that most of those times are directly related to work stress and excessive work hours. I've had a tendency to say "yes" to far too many things. Last year at this time, life without balance cost me my health, family time, and my happiness.

Working excessive hours is an expense I can no longer afford. This year I decided to focus on residual/passive income and stop simply trading hours for dollars. It has made a world of difference for me, and I am able to be far more intentional about how I spend my time.

So, what makes you truly happy? I encourage you to think beyond the things that money can buy - and consider what makes you happy outside of "things." Do more of what makes you happy, seek to serve and inspire others, and find balance.

The Value of An Early Morning Routine

Are you an entrepreneur who seeks to be highly productive and manage time well? Perhaps you're a mom who works from home. There are unique challenges that accompany a work-from-home scenario and I am thrilled to share my best practices with you. I believe that it's valuable to have a very specific early morning routine. Watch my video about the value of an early morning routine.

After you watch the video, feel free to share your tips for "getting things done."

A Focus On Mentoring, Empowering, and Uplifting Women in 2015

Welcome to amandatress.com - a brand new site for my business coaching and mentoring programs and services. This year, my focus is on mentoring, empowering, and uplifting women. My passion is to help women earn a significant income working from home in a career that is both flexible and fulfilling.

At this time, I have two main coaching programs:

• Instagram Academy: for ladies who are hoping to grow their Instagram platforms and increase conversions (sales).
• Fitness Business Mentorship Program: specifically aimed at women who want to start a fitness business or take their current business to the next level online.

I've been privileged to mentor close to 200 women already this year.

I am purpose-driven in my selection of clients this year, and the majority of my new clients are motivated, young, professional moms who want to create significant income for their families via a work-from-home scenario in the wellness industry.

While I will maintain an equal opportunity approach and continue to service a small number of male clients, my niche market is young, motivated moms. Why my shift in focus? I recently heard a statistic that helps verbalize my reasoning and passion to help other women. "A woman will spend 90 percent of her income on family and community. Conversely, men will only spend an average of 30%-40% of his salary on his family and community. By investing in women, it's not simply a heart issue, it's an understanding that leaders will say that if you want to be serious about solving problems in the world, you need to invest in women (Entreleadership podcast, Barret Ward)." If my passion is to influence our world and economy for the better, my focus will be to empower women to generate significant income.

Since Miss Emma was born, I have worked in a variety of job scenarios. I've worked part-time out of the home and part-time at home, full-time out of the home, and full-time at home. I believe that the best scenario for my family is a full-or-part-time-work-from-home scenario. Most of the ladies who enroll in my mentorship program are also hoping to scale back from a full-time working scenario out of the home. One of my biggest accomplishments this past year has been to empower women to start-up a successful in-home fitness business and quit their full-time jobs.

My mentorees are not afraid to dream big. In the very first consult, I usually ask the ladies how much they would like to make per month. I LOVE working with women who come back with answers in the 6,000-10,000 per month (or more) range. I am happy to match their pace and give them the essential marketing tools to be successful.

I've spoken with countless entrepreneurs this year who cannot understand why I am training other women in how to compete with me in the fitness industry. I am literally sharing and handing them every single strategy that works well for me in my own business. I am taking the guess-work out for fellow-moms, and helping them to spend time on activities that bring the greatest ROI versus spinning their wheels via sound marketing strategies. Why am I doing this? I truly believe that someone does not need to fail for me to succeed. No other woman needs to lose for me to win. We are all on the same team and this should be a win-win scenario. Unified women GET STUFF DONE. Her success is my success.

2015 is panning out to be a phenomenal year. I've had the privilege of working with some amazing young professionals via my mentorship/business coaching program.

What will your business focus be for 2015? Are you purpose-driven in how you select clients? Have you taken the time recently to thank your mother, wife, friend, or other motivated women who have influenced and invested in you?