I'm In This For The Money

There’s a lot of ‘I’m not in it for the money in the fitness industry’

And I get it - it’s an honourable gesture, the statement that we love helping our clients so much that we would do it even if we didn’t get paid.

(Although no one ever does do that, interestingly)

I will categorically state now, for everyone - that I’m in it for the money.

Which I see as only being a good thing, for the following reasons.

Firstly, we need to acknowledge that it’s a false dichotomy. People always say this like you only care about your coaching, or you care about making as much money as possible, which when we think about it is a load of nonsense. All good coaches want to have the most impact they possibly can, and all business owners want to have a profitable business.

When coaches say they’re in it ‘for the love of the game’, they actually mean they care deeply about helping people. But loving the craft doesn’t mean you should martyr yourself to it. What if earning more money made you a BETTER coach?

In a coaching business that’s incredibly profitable, you gain the freedom to do the work you actually believe in. You can turn down misaligned clients, take creative risks, share your opinions (even if they don’t please everyone), and keep working without the overwhelm of ‘Will I be able to pay the mortgage this month’. Financial stability doesn’t corrupt your integrity, it actually protects it.

There’s a chicken and egg situation where the coaches who have the best impact, earn the most money. But the coaches who earn more money, can also maximise their impact. A strong business gives you the mental space, confidence, and time to innovate. You can reinvest in better systems, education, and experiences for your clients. The people who make the biggest difference aren’t the ones scraping by, they’re the ones who’ve built enough margin to think long-term.

I want to maximise my revenue, and maximise my LTV - not at any costs, or at all costs, it has to be ethical and aligned with my values. But once I’ve considered this, these metrics are just a scorecard for how well I’m doing my job. If my revenue is up, my lifetime value is up - I’m doing great work that’s needed, that people are valuing.

So maybe it’s time to retire the false dichotomy. You don’t have to choose between doing it for love or for money. You can build something that’s wildly profitable because you love it - not in spite of it.