What should I check before buying an online personal training business?

An online personal training business sells programs, check-ins and accountability through an app, a membership site or social media. It has no room and little equipment, so the assets are mostly accounts, content and an audience. These are the points to look at before you commit.

Subscriber churn and retention

Ask for the history of who joined, who stayed and who cancelled, month by month. Compare how long subscribers stay with how many new ones the business must sign each month. Ask what the owner does to keep subscribers, and whether that effort is something you can repeat without them.

Platform, app and payment accounts

Find out which platform hosts the programs, which app clients use and which service takes the payments. Ask whose name each account is in and whether it can be moved to you. Some accounts are tied to the owner personally, and the provider’s own terms may limit a transfer. Your lawyer can read those terms with you.

Who owns the programs

Ask whether the owner wrote the programs, videos and meal guides, or whether any were licensed, bought or made by a contractor. Ask your lawyer whether content made by someone else would pass with the business. Ask them to confirm the chain of ownership and what the agreement should say.

The coach’s personal brand

If the audience follows one person, ask whether the owner would stay on in some role, and for how long. See what if the owner is the business. For how the choice differs from a shop selling goods online, read whether to buy an online store or start one.