Personal trainer builds business from experience

After more than a decade as an independent personal trainer at various area gyms, Tammy Eaton decided to test her mettle as an entrepreneur.

Eaton opened Git Fit Headquarters LLC, a 3,000-square-foot fitness training facility, on Jan. 5 at 640 W. Republic Road, Ste. 108, in Corporate Village.

Services include strength training, nutrition education and help with general fitness.

While many clients focus on weight loss, Eaton also helps clients address issues with back pain, mobility, balance and flexibility.

"I love to work with Parkinson's patients and post-stroke patients," said Eaton, who earned a health and wellness degree with minors in business and psychology from College of the Ozarks. She is certified by Dallas-based The Cooper Institute and the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Eaton, who previously worked under the name Git Fit With Tammy LLC, has about 30 individual clients, charging $50 for individual hourlong sessions, which she recommends three times a week. Git Fit Headquarters also offers small group sessions for $25 and a limited number of general memberships for $135 a month.

An important goal Eaton has with her business is enabling other personal trainers to earn a good living, and she contracts with two personal trainers and four massage therapists to serve customers.

Rather than an hourly wage, she said, the trainers work on a five-year tiered fee split that starts at 60-40 and increases to 80-20 as the trainers build up their client volumes.

While Eaton declined to disclose her startup costs for equipment and the space she's purchasing, she said she worked with Peoples Bank of the Ozarks President and CEO Jim Huff to secure financing.

Huff said Eaton's experience in personal training was among many factors that worked in her favor.

"She had an existing clientele who followed her over to her new place, so that certainly helped with the cash flow of a startup," he said.

"You have to look at projections and financial capacity. ... She's got some additional trainers in there, and that enhances her cash flow once she gets their clientele built up."

Huff said that the way Eaton conveys her personal interest in the business and her clients is what most sets her apart as a small-business borrower. And contrary to what many businesspeople might think, Huff doesn't think it's any harder now for businesses to get loans - though they probably won't be able to get 100 percent financing in the current economic climate.

"Bankers and lenders are looking for solid loan deals, just like they always have," Huff said. "I think the banks are kind of getting a bad rap, really."

As Eaton settles in to her new venture, she's working to spread awareness of Git Fit Headquarters, and she's not ruling out expanding into additional Corporate Village space someday.

She also is studying to become a personal coach with the Bodybugg, a weight-loss tool recently featured on the TV show, "The Biggest Loser."

Outfitted with four sensors, the Bodybugg is worn on the arm and tracks data including body temperature and how many calories are burned each day. Data can be uploaded to a computer, and users enter what they eat, so they can find out how what they eat compares to what they burn.

Once she completes certification, Eaton will sell Bodybuggs for $249 apiece, which includes six months of online monitoring and 45 minutes of phone coaching.

"It's not just for weight loss, but also for nutrition in general" such as calcium and iron, Eaton said.

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