What It Takes to Run a Personal Training Business

Personal trainers work with clients who need instruction and coaching in the areas of exercise physiology, kinesiology, injury prevention, recovery and rehabilitation, nutrition, supplementation, fitness assessment, exercise programming, sports conditioning, flexibility techniques and more. Personal trainers train both one-on-one and in group instruction.

5 Favors to Call in When Launching a Business

Starting a new business, particularly in the early stages, is a big commitment. In making the leap into entrepreneurship, would-be entrepreneurs would do well to leverage their network of people -- their family, friends and business associates -- as a critical resource. Here are five favors that all new entrepreneurs should call in during the early stages of their startup journey.

1. Try out my prototype.

Starting lean is the reality for most entrepreneurs. Making a large investment in a fully developed product or service offering may not be possible, let alone a good strategy. Eric Reis, in his book The Lean Startup, popularized the concept of the minimum viable product -- the most basic useable prototype. Friends and family can be a great resource, willing to review or try out an early prototype and provide critical feedback to the design process.

Gathering as much information as you can early on can reduce the amount of uncertainty around a potential business. It clarifies the extent customers would be interested in what you want you have in mind. It will also indicate how much design work would be necessary to get your product or service to a level of interest sufficient to consider launching a business.

8 Reasons Your Business Loan Was Rejected

Securing a business loan or financing for your small business can be incredibly frustrating, especially for first-time business owners who don’t know the ropes.

In fact, in its Spring 2015 small business survey, Nav discovered that despite having more business financing options available, such as online lenders, it’s still an uphill battle for small business owners to access capital. If that wasn’t bad enough, the increasing amount of financing options currently available may actually be making things worse for small business owners. The survey found that of those who were denied financing, 45 percent had been turned down more than once, and 23 percent didn’t even know why their applications were denied.

To clear thing-up, here are eight common reasons why your business loan was rejected, and how to make sure that won’t happen again.