ECONOMICS: Costs groups

All of my business expenses are ongoing. Website design is the only expense that does not occur monthly since I have a new site designed every 2 years. My start-up/one-time costs could include some of the branding and design work I've needed, but even that changes on a very frequent basis.

Fixed Cost Requirements

(f)Instapage: $30

(f)Box.com: $50

(f)Website Hosting: $12

(f)Domain: $2

(f)Robolike: $8

(f)Como App: $27

(f)Salaries: $5,000/month (me)

(f)Marketing: $1,500

(f)Insurance: $17

(g)Sound Engineer: $80 per episode at 2 episodes per week = $160/week

Determining a Unit of Analysis

Variable Cost Requirements

(v)AWeber: $30/mo. up to 2,500

(v)Blubrry: $20 (will increase to $40 when show frequency is increased to 3 shows per week)

(v)Labor: $500/month (currently for my virtual assistant… will change once 12 Week E-Course Program enrollees is greater than 30 per month.)

(v)Merchant Services: 2.5%

(v)Income Tax: 12% Self Employment Tax + State and Federal

Travel/Entertainment: $10,000 per year

Website Designer: New site every 2 years: $2,400

Graphic Designer: $50/hour rates as needed

ECONOMICS: List of Costs

I have been in business for over 4 years so I came up with my list from a combination of what I currently use as well as what I plan to use in the future. My sources for information were mainly from the business podcasts I listen to and blogs I read.

Instapage

Box.com

Website Hosting

Domain

Robolike

Como App

Salaries

Marketing

Insurance

AWeber

Blubrry

Labor

Merchant Services

Income Tax

Travel/Entertainment

Sound Engineer

Website Designer

Graphic Designer

COMPANY: Rewrite

Problem description: We've all heard the warnings about how we need to get moving more, but how do we increase our current statistics of less than 5% of adults participating in 30 minutes of physical activity each day, or only one in three adults receiving the recommended amount of physical activity each week? Physical activity used to be a natural part of surviving, but we've engineered ourselves into a corner where we must now make the time to be physically active, as well as locate a convenient enough space to get that physical activity accomplished. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, only about one in five homes have parks within a half-mile, and about the same number have a fitness or recreation center within that distance. Many people, especially busy professionals and mothers, struggle to find a program that works for their logistical challenges of time and location, as well as their need for affordable workout design and coaching. 

Solution description: The SKFitLife virtual fitness training programs offer a solution to the issues of time, location, programming considerations, cost, and flexibility. The SKFitLife 12 Week Online Fitness Challenge provides monthly workouts (video links included), weekly cardio routines, a 30 day meal guide with recipes, and virtual coaching. The workouts are designed to use minimal equipment and can be performed anywhere from the living room to a hotel room to a backyard, and of course in a traditional gym. The workouts can be broken up just in case you are trying to squeeze them in between napping kiddos. Busy professionals, you can close your office door and get your workout in during lunch (or while on a conference call... no one has to know). The workouts, along with the accompanying weekly course information, are also designed to make you look as fit as you are. No more chalking up stubborn bodyfat to age or genetics. The virtual small group coaching aspect creates a community atmosphere where the SKFitLife accountability and support is the real differentiator. SKFitLife makes money by charging for the 12 Week Program upfront and then members continue on as monthly clients for a monthly fee. 

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First, write what you decided to adjust and why (provide at least three points). Please consider the feedback that you received from your fellow students, results of your recent research efforts, or your general thinking about your business idea:

1. SKFitLife isn't your typical online training program. People don't need more information, they need more action. 
2. The SKFitLife training programs include the regular 3 day per week option as well as the advanced 4-day per week option at no additional charge. 
3. SKFitLife training programs use progressive weight training that is specifically designed with the aesthetic perspective in mind. My main competition doesn't have the same fitness competition coaching experience and design programs for general health. While the SKFitLife clients will definitely achieve general health, they will also LOOK as fit as they are as well as be able to perform well in their recreational sports and military physical fitness tests. 

Second, provide the revised versions of your COMPANY group exercises:

REWRITE: Solution description: The SKFitLife virtual fitness training programs offer a solution to the issues of time, location, programming considerations, cost, and flexibility. The SKFitLife 12 Week Online Fitness Challenge provides monthly workouts (video links included), weekly cardio routines, a 30 day meal guide with recipes, and virtual coaching. The workouts are designed to use minimal equipment and can be performed anywhere from the living room to a hotel room to a backyard, and of course in a traditional gym. The workouts can be broken up just in case you are trying to squeeze them in between napping kiddos. Busy professionals, you can close your office door and get your workout in during lunch (or while on a conference call... no one has to know). The workouts, along with the accompanying weekly course information, are also designed to make you look as fit as you are. No more chalking up stubborn bodyfat to age or genetics. The virtual small group coaching aspect creates a community atmosphere where the SKFitLife accountability and support is the real differentiator. SKFitLife makes money by charging for the 12 Week Program upfront and then members continue on as monthly clients for a monthly fee. 

SKFitLife isn't your typical online training program. People don't need more information, they need more action. The SKFitLife training programs include the regular 3 day per week option as well as the advanced 4-day per week option at no additional charge. SKFitLife training programs use progressive weight training that is specifically designed with the aesthetic perspective in mind. My main competition doesn't have the same fitness competition coaching experience and design programs for general health. While the SKFitLife clients will definitely achieve general health, they will also LOOK as fit as they are as well as be able to perform well in their recreational sports and military physical fitness tests.

MARKET: Reflection

1. What exercises were hard or easy for you? Why?

• The hardest ones were assessing the competition. I prefer to look to other industries for ideas and then adapt them to fitness. I feel like so much of the fitness industry is "me too". I also don't agree with the philosophies of some of my competitors where the marketing appeals to people's fears and fantasies. The promises of quick results for very little work screws us up in our expectations, leading so many people to quit within the first few weeks of a new training program. Too many people feel like they must be on the wrong program if they haven't made a full transformation in a month. Looking at this information is emotionally challenging for me.  

1. What are the most interesting things that your learned about your customers?

• How much they are like me. This surprised me and didn't because I know like attracts like. Just surprising when you talk to them and hear yourself talking back:). I was also surprised about just how many people found me through an organic google search and then how many people my website converted to clients.

1. What are the most interesting things that you learned about your competitors?

• How sleazy and half-honest their marketing tactics are. 

1. Do you like your final result or you think it can be improved. What would you improve when you have time?

• Love it. The interviews were AWESOME and I am going to start implementing their suggestions, creating more phone calls with my virtual clients, and getting all of these clients on my podcast schedule because they are incredible testimonials. 

MARKET: Four levels of Product/Service

I selected the businesses I compared originally. LHF is probably the the closest comparison to my business. As I mentioned before, we are friends and share some of the same philosophies, but there are several differences in our businesses. This exercise was interesting because I typically try to not follow LHF too closely since we are friends and I don't want to end up copying anything she is doing. Not because we are friends, but because I think there are plenty of ideas out there that can be applied to fitness without copying my competitors. That's what gives me an edge too. If everyone else is doing it the same, I want to offer something unique. 

I feel like Beachbody is a temporary competitor. If you look at the history of all MLMs, they all rise and fall in cycles. Who knows, there will probably be a new competitor in this category once everyone gets burned out by Beachbody. I am already having several people coming to/returning to me telling me how sick of Beachbody they are. Based on my experience in training and transformations, I can tell the Beachbody workouts are good for beginners, but more advanced clients will see diminishing returns from Beachbody as their bodies adapt. 

NJF's branding is "at-home workouts" but she uses almost exclusively body-weight training and many of my clients want to lift weights. One of my client interviews said she compared me to NJF, but then she looked at all the other DVDs and workout books she had on the shelf and decided she didn't want to add to the collection that wasn't prompting any action. 

MARKET: Competitors

• Identify direct and indirect (and potential) competitors. DO NOT INDICATE THAT THERE IS NO COMPETITION.  Make a realistic assessment of their strengths and weaknesses. Discuss the 3 or 4 key competitors and why customers buy from them, and determine why customers might leave them.
1. Lori Harder - www.loriharderfitness.com is a similar online training business offering digital downloads and online training groups. Lori and I are actually friends and have a very similar fitness competition background. Lori has been at this longer than I have and her branding is, as my client described as "more buttoned up" marketing which attracted her to Lori's 3 month program when she was searching for a program. The feedback I received from several of my clients said they chose me over a better-marketed competitor because I seemed more relatable and they didn't feel like they were just going to get some digital downloads and some fitpro's "team" to coach them. Some people have left Lori's program to try mine out because according to them, she doesn't really even interact with her clients in her online coaching groups so much. It is her "team" managing communications. I've also had my clients leave me and try her program since they are so similar and their marketing is much more persistent than mine. Lori's job description on her social profiles is "Self Love Expert". She also runs The Bliss Project which is along the same lines and the "spirit junkie" movement. This is highly popular with some people, but most people who are drawn to my non-nonsense training and military background are not as drawn to the follow your bliss philosophy. Our pricing is very similar for the 3 month programs we offer, but her program recommends purchasing over $300 in supplements to get started. I don't make these recommendations, only a guide to which protein powders/meal replacements I recommend and why. LHF has many more financial resources than I do for branding/marketing. While my resources and marketing budget are not as large, I still feel like I can compete based on offering clients something they aren't getting from the manufactured feeling of this larger operation. I don't have a large overhead expense and don't need to have tens of thousands of clients to consider myself successful. 
2. Beachbody - these are workouts that can be done at home which is highly attractive to my current and potential clients. Many of my clients come to me after trying or give Beachbody a try. Most have been highly disappointed by Beachbody because the "coaches" don't have any of the experience I have. They are more like cheerleaders than coaches or trainers and typically apply high pressure on clients to also buy into the Shakeology shakes. Obviously their marketing materials and DVDs are professionally produced while a lot of mine have been created by me. The power of MLM is strong... to the point where some people treat it like a religion. This means people who buy in usually buy in big, but the ones who are turned off by the rah, rah, are extremely opposed to whole operation. Beachbody has many more financial resources than I do for branding/marketing as well as a huge sales force. While my resources and marketing budget are not as large, I still feel like I can compete based on offering clients something they aren't getting from the manufactured feeling of this larger operation. I don't have a large overhead expense and don't need to have tens of thousands of clients to consider myself successful. 
3. Natalie Jill Fit - Natalie Jill Fit sells mostly digital downloads and DVDs. The quality of these products is high and she has a huge social media presence and excellent branding. Clients said they chose me over NJF due to the personal touch and coaching I provide. NJF also focuses on body weight training and my clients prefer the weight training I program for them. While my resources and marketing budget are not as large, I still feel like I can compete based on offering clients something they aren't getting from the manufactured feeling of this larger operation. I don't have a large overhead expense and don't need to have tens of thousands of clients to consider myself successful. 

MARKET: Customer Segments

1) Describe your segments. You need to come up with at least 3 segments. Be creative and insightful in describing the existing the existing segments. Note that potential customers need to be classified by relatively homogeneous groups having common identifiable characteristics (they must be homogeneous in terms of needs or buying behavior). 

Market Segmentation - 3 Groups:

1.) Busy moms looking for a fitness program they can fit into their busy schedules.

2.) Women in their 40's and 50's looking for a solid program that will both work for them and have a deeper meaning than some 25 year old bouncing around trying to perfect her already perfect bikini-bod.

3.) Men who just want their marching orders to take to the gym and get the job done. 

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2) Include a table summarizing the various segments. In this table list characteristics that define your target customers (demographics, psychographics, benefits sought, information sources utilized, product usage rates, etc.). Here you can see the examples of how such a table may look like. 

3) Indicate which segments (no more than two) you will be prioritizing. Which segments represent the greatest sales potential and why.

I will continue to focus on my moms and mid-life-aged women as my primary segments since they already represent the largest segment and have always represented the largest segment.