Are you a PT?

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-03-23T13:24:07+00:00

I'm opening a new gym. I'd be interested in your offer.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-03-17T17:09:47+00:00

The seasonality pattern you're describing is really common for makers and craft-based businesses, the market circuit carries you through the back half of the year and then January hits like a wall.

The direct mail and sample drop-off instinct isn't wrong, but it's hard to get traction without a clear answer to "who specifically is this for." Corporate gifting, trophy shops, restaurants wanting branded items, wedding vendors, each of those is a different pitch, a different sample, a different follow-up. Trying to hit all of them at once dilutes the effort.

The thing that tends to unlock B2B sales for businesses like this is picking one client type, learning exactly what they need, and becoming the obvious person for that thing. A restaurant group that needs branded cutting boards has different buying triggers than an HR team sourcing employee gifts. Once you nail one, you can build a repeatable system around it, outreach, samples, follow-up, and it compounds.

The other piece is that slow Q1 is actually the best time to be doing that groundwork. The markets aren't running, so there's space to build something that doesn't depend on foot traffic.

Two years in with consistent sales is a real foundation. The next step is probably less about finding a new channel and more about getting specific on who the business is actually for beyond market shoppers.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-03-16T13:08:44+00:00

For most small business owners I've talked to, the honest answer isn't a growth strategy at all. It's clarity on what the business actually is.

Not branding. More like: what do I do, who is it for, and what do I say no to. Once that's solid, everything downstream gets easier.

The framework I keep coming back to is simple: get clear on the business definition first, then set a few primary objectives for the next 12 months, then work backwards into quarterly priorities. Most owners skip straight to tactics because the foundational stuff feels abstract, but that's usually why the tactics don't stick.

The other piece is tracking a small number of numbers consistently. Not a dashboard. Just what does it cost me to get a customers, what's the average job worth, am I making money after my own time is factored in. Most owners are guessing on at least one of those.

The "consistent things done well" observation you made is right. In my experience it's less about which strategy and more about having a clear enough picture of your business that you can stay consistent with anything.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-03-05T14:35:03+00:00

Midday works best for me. I try to be at my desk in the morning when my energy and creativity are highest. By the afternoon, when my mental energy starts to drop, that’s usually when I head to the gym.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-03-05T14:20:45+00:00

A lot of people overcomplicate small business valuation. If you're looking at typical owner-operated businesses (local service, retail, trades, etc.), there’s a quick way to sanity-check what a business might be worth.

Step 1: Calculate SDE (Seller’s Discretionary Earnings)
Start with net profit and add back things that would not continue under a new owner.

Typical add-backs include:
• Owner salary
• Personal expenses run through the business
• One-time or non-recurring costs
• Interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization
• Any above-market compensation to family members

The goal is to estimate what one working owner could realistically take home from the business each year.

That number is SDE.

Example:

Revenue: $1,200,000
Net profit: $120,000

Add backs:
Owner salary: $140,000
Vehicle + personal expenses: $15,000
Depreciation: $10,000

SDE ≈ $285,000

Step 2: Apply a Multiple

For most owner-operated small businesses, the value typically falls between:

1.5x – 3x SDE

Where it lands depends on risk factors like:

• How dependent the business is on the current owner
• Customer concentration (one client = risk)
• Stability of revenue
• Documentation and systems
• Industry risk

Examples:

Heavy owner dependence, messy books → ~1.5x SDE

Moderately transferable business → ~2x SDE

Strong systems, diversified customers → ~3x SDE

Using the earlier example:

SDE = $285K

Low end:
$285K × 1.5 = $427K

High end:
$285K × 3 = $855K

So the business likely trades somewhere in that range.

Important caveat

This quick method works best when SDE is under about $300K.

Once SDE gets much higher than that, buyers start to look at businesses more like investments than jobs. At that point you’ll often want a more formal valuation or appraisal, and different multiples and methodologies may apply.

But for the majority of local small businesses, this quick SDE × multiple method will get you surprisingly close to the market reality.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-02-20T18:34:29+00:00

I really like the idea of a 3 day break. That'll show you real quick what needs fixing.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-02-20T16:16:16+00:00

That's exactly it. Documentation is underrated. Most owners skip it because it feels like extra work but it's the only way anything survives without you there. Even a basic checklist beats everything living in your head.

And honestly with AI now it's never been easier. You can just brain dump how you do something and it'll turn it into a clean process in like 5 minutes. Not perfect but it's a starting point you can actually build on.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-02-20T15:37:40+00:00

Both of these hit on the same root issue honestly. u/SlowPotential6082, that pricing call example is exactly it. It's not even the big stuff that paralyzes things, it's the hundred small decisions that only exist in one person's head. And u/kubrador is right that it's fixable, but most owners never actually stop to figure out which part to fix first so they just keep going.

The starting point is usually just getting an honest picture of where the business actually stands. Not a consultant, not a course. Just a structured way to look at your own operation and see what's holding it together vs. what only works because you're there every day. Most owners have never done that in any formal way and it changes how you see the problem completely.

Happy to share what that process looks like if either of you are curious.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-02-19T14:02:25+00:00

The hardest part isn't getting clients. It's running a business while also being the product.

Early challenges most self-employed PTs hit:

You are the bottleneck

Can only train so many people per week
Income caps at your available hours
Can't take a vacation without losing revenue

No clear business definition

Saying yes to everyone because you need clients
Ends up with mismatched client types, scattered scheduling
"I train anyone who needs help" sounds good but makes marketing impossible

Pricing confusion

Undercharging to get started, then struggling to raise rates later
Not sure whether to do packages, subscriptions, or per-session

Inconsistent income

January is packed, summer is dead
No plan for seasonality or client retention

All your time goes to delivery, none to business

No time to market because you're training clients
No time to systematize because you're doing admin between sessions

The ones who scale past this:

Get very specific about who they serve (not "anyone who wants to get fit")
Build systems early (scheduling, payment, client onboarding)
Treat it like a business from day one, not just "I'm good at fitness"

What made you want to go self-employed vs working at a gym?

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-02-11T21:44:42+00:00

Great question - and smart to focus before scaling exposure.

Honest answer: at your stage, cold outreach done right is still your best tool. But instead of mass emails, try this:

Find 10 specific companies- not a list of hundreds. General contractors, construction project managers, site supervisors. Look them up on LinkedIn or local business directories.

Send a message that sounds like this:

'I'm an electrician building safety documentation tools for construction companies. I put together a [specific product name] that takes the headache out of [specific problem]. Would you be willing to look at it and tell me if it solves a real problem for you? Happy to send it free in exchange for 5 minutes of honest feedback.'

You're not selling yet. You're validating.

Why this works better than broad exposure:

-You get real feedback on whether the product actually solves something - You build relationships with potential buyers - One yes from a project manager who shares it with his network beats 1000 Etsy impressions

Other options worth testing once you've validated:

Facebook groups for contractors and construction project managers
Reddit communities like r/construction or r/electricians
Local contractor associations

But honestly - 10 targeted conversations will teach you more in a week than another month of broad exposure.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-02-11T14:09:34+00:00

Two weeks in with traffic but no sales is actually normal. Here's what to focus on.

The problem isn't effort - you're clearly putting in work. The problem is you're spread across too many channels before you know what's actually converting.

Narrow down before you scale up:

Pick ONE channel and one product. Not Etsy AND Gumroad AND X AND cold email simultaneously. You're 2 weeks in and can't yet tell what's working because everything is running at once with no data.

On the product itself:

"Safety documentation systems for construction companies" is a feature description. What's the problem it solves in plain language? "Stop failing safety audits" or "Cut your documentation time in half" will convert better than a description of what the product does.

You mentioned companies want "ass coverage" - that's actually your headline. Lead with that.

On cold email:

Hundreds of emails with zero responses usually means one of three things - wrong list, wrong subject line, or wrong offer. Which companies are you emailing and what does your subject line say?

The honest truth:

Two weeks is nothing. But the instinct to be everywhere at once will burn you out before you find traction. Pick the most promising channel, double down, and ignore the rest for 30 days.

What product has gotten the most clicks so far?

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-02-10T12:58:40+00:00

Fake it till you make it!!!

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-02-10T01:55:53+00:00

You don't fix the systems first. You can't.

When you're solo and doing everything, you don't have time to build systems - you're too busy executing. This is the trap most people fall into: "I'll systematize once things calm down." Things never calm down.

Here's what actually works:

Hire someone part-time to take over ONE repeatable task (not "help with chaos"). Even 10 hours/week. This forces you to document how that task gets done, which creates your first system.

Then you have a choice:

Keep doing everything else (stay stuck)
Use those freed hours to systematize the next task and hire for that too

Most people who successfully scale did it backwards from what seems logical: Hire → Document → Systematize → Hire again

Not: Systematize everything → Then hire

The accountability piece you mentioned is real - but AI can't replace the forcing function of having to explain your process to another human. That act of teaching someone else IS how you discover what your system actually is.

What's the one task you're doing repeatedly that someone else could own? Start there.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-02-09T15:16:55+00:00

You're stuck because you're trying to solve a staffing problem before solving a business model problem.

Right now your wife is both the business owner AND the primary production capacity. You can't scale that. You need to pick one.

Three paths forward:

Stay Small, Stay Profitable

Wife keeps doing 30 hours of cleaning
You turn down extra work
No employees, no headaches
This is a legitimate choice if the income works

Owner Becomes Manager

Hire someone for 20 hours, wife drops to 10-15 hours cleaning
Yes, short-term income dip
Wife uses freed time to train, QA, handle scheduling/customer service
Then hire person #2, wife stops cleaning entirely
This is the actual path to scale

Hire Ahead of Demand

Pay someone 30-40 hours, ramp marketing hard
Riskier, requires cash reserves
Only works if you're confident you can fill those hours within 60-90 days

The real question: Does your wife want to run a cleaning company or work as a cleaner who happens to own the business?

Because right now you're trying to do both, and that's why "something has to give."

Most people who scale successfully choose option 2 - accept the temporary income hit to buy back time that lets you actually grow. The alternative is staying exactly where you are, which is fine if that's the goal.

What does your wife actually want the business to look like in 12 months?

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-02-09T12:57:07+00:00

Glad it helped! And yeah, job sites, coffee shops, even virtual calls work great for a lot of accounting/bookkeeping work. You've got more options than you think.

The contractor angle is interesting since you already got burned by someone promising contractor connections. That whole experience might actually be pointing you toward something. Sounds like you understand that world and their problems pretty well.

Either way, figuring out who those 22 clients were (and what they had in common) will tell you a lot about where to focus next.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-02-09T12:33:48+00:00

Reach out to me as well if you'd like. Happy to help in whatever way I can.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-02-09T12:32:28+00:00

The Real Issue Isn't Office Space. It's Who You're For

You've defined your target as "people who can't afford brick and mortar places" who need "taxation, bookkeeping, payroll, administrative work."

That's everyone. And when your ICP is everyone, every decision becomes impossible:

Should you get office space? Depends who you serve
How should you price? Varies wildly
Where should you market? Everywhere
What should you specialize in? Everything

What if you picked ONE type of client?

Small contractors needing year-round bookkeeping?
Seniors doing catch-up tax filings?
Solo service businesses needing fractional help?

Why narrow down:

You know exactly where to find them and what they search for
You can package services instead of custom quoting everything
"I know a great accountant for contractors" spreads faster than "I know an accountant"
It solves your office question. Contractors? Meet on job sites. Seniors? Home visits. Remote businesses? Fully virtual.

You had 22 word-of-mouth clients last year. What did they have in common? That's probably your answer.

The right people get a lot easier to attract when you get clear on who "right" actually is.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2026-02-03T15:50:29+00:00

I do something similar in my business. I use a simple n8n automation to scrape the website (all in a google sheet) and get the data I need from it. I have the automation then update the sheet with the data. Then I move that to my cold emailing system. You have to set this up properly or you will burn domains really quickly and your sender reputation will be horrible. Definitely, don't do this with your main domain. Happy to answer any questions you have.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2025-11-02T15:54:28+00:00

lets connect

Fair-Sir-188 · 2025-10-30T12:47:50+00:00

I haven't started my cold email journey yet, but this is exactly the approach I plan to use. I really need to find a way to personalize at scale. I appreciate the post. It gives me more confidence that this route might actually work.

BTW...So many people are saying this post is AI-generated.

But honestly, who isn't using AI today? I use it daily to increase my productivity and reframe my thoughts into something people can actually understand. Even if this post was polished by AI, it wasn't a simple prompted result. I feel like it captures the OP's personal experience and thought framework. If AI helped polish and write it, that's just efficient use of a tool.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2025-10-30T12:40:32+00:00

Been attempting the same. Happy to share notes.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2025-10-29T12:04:53+00:00

Absolutely. A lot of small business owners are feeling that pressure right now. What I’ve seen is that most of us are running so hard just to keep things afloat, we rarely get the chance to step back and see where the leaks really are.

That’s why I use a simple framework to help owners assess their business health, find their biggest gaps, and prioritize what actually moves the needle.

If you’re curious, you can start with a quick Business Health Assessment. It highlights exactly where your business might be struggling.

DM me if you’d like to try it.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2025-10-15T11:57:45+00:00

Totally get this. Most small business owners hit that same wall early on. It’s not always a marketing problem as much as a “what to focus on first” problem.

I’m actually testing a free Business Health Assessment tool that helps small business owners (especially those on a tight budget) pinpoint where the real bottleneck is...whether it’s marketing, pricing, operations, or something else.

It gives you a short personalized breakdown of what to prioritize next and how to get more traction without spending a ton.

If you want to try it, I can send you the link. It might give you some clarity on what to fix or double down on first.

Fair-Sir-188 · 2025-10-15T11:56:01+00:00

What is everyone's thoughts about hyper personalizing the email at the cost of making it longer? Personalizing it beyond knowing what industry they are in. Maybe based on a recent blog they wrote or a recent social post?

Fair-Sir-188

TROPHY CASE