What races have you won? What accreditations have you earned? Have you developed a pedigree of either of these?

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*****
It's a dry heat!

Never won a race, have taken first amateur several times though, raced Junior Development series, coached by some top level coaches. I have a fairly extensive race resume, I have won my age group in almost every race I've ever done, but it's a lot easier as a young guy to do that.

My wife is a successful personal trainer and running coach. She started personal training just for some extra money in university. She hasn't stopped since and has found ways to enjoy her career and make an excellent income.

You can absolutely be successful in the fitness / multisport industry. Everyone has to start their career at some point, and what better time to start building than when you're 20! Perhaps it might be in your best interests to start working for a fitness club as a personal trainer / coach just to get some income coming in and to develop your reputation and your skills as a coach. At some point down the road, you may very well have enough of your own client base to work on your own.

There are triathlon coaching certification programs that incorporate a 'how to be successful in business' element. Even if you feel like you have a handle on the sport side of things, the certification will give a much better understanding of how to approach the coaching side of the sport.

Sell your triathlon equipment and find another hobby. :-)

I'm selling as much as I can, but it's tough! I'm so addicted but I can see it costs a ton!

I'm 49 and attempting to start a new career owning a running store. Well I'm attempting to attempt it...I've yet to do any positive action yet other than to be an athlete, but with luck fairly soon I'll be getting some experience in the field.

So one possibility is a triathlon-related store. As the owner of such a thing, you're in a perfect position to help with local runs/rides/races and get involved with clubs. Maybe get a side job as a track coach at a school. (These are all things I consider I could do as well.)

Start networking. This is my personal failure. (That and a complete lack of cash onhand.) Don't let it be yours.

Keep dreaming and asking around, talk to people, and keep all your options open. It's good to dream and plan. You never know.

My thought is get involved in your local tri club and work with newbies or intermidiate. Not everyone wants to pay big money for a coach at the begining, but would be willing to pay something for your hands on experience. To me hands on in the begining is a really valuable tool that on line does not offer.

My parents both think that I should try to get involved in the multisport industry, but we don't have the money for a store and the ones near us don't hire often, and when they do the hours don't work out.

I haven't the money either. Hell I can say right now that retirement for me is out of the question. I'll die working.

All I can do is make a business plan and hit up friends/relatives and rich people on ST to invest. (Triathletes are rich!)

So, step 2 (after gaining some experience in retail and as an athlete): I need to learn to make a business plan. That's a start for you too, possibly.

You have the advantage of age on your side. Plenty of time to learn.

Maybe become a product rep??? If you like traveling and trade shows, might be fun.

Some of the best career advice I got when I was 20 was "Do your best to build credibility because you have a 'manageable liability'". What the person who gave me that advice meant was being 20 is a 'liability' because the age seems "too young" to have specific-knowledge job credibility... But with professionalism and a great work ethic, that "liability" may be managed by the individual.

Whatever you decide, IMHO, get some certifications and maybe degrees. If you decide to coach, get the education solid. When I started mutlisport several years ago, I decided to work with a nationally known coach. After working with him for about a year, I checked his education and noted that he didn't have a higher level degree or any certifications. His knowledge was very limited and after I began to get more knowledgeable in multisport, his lack of depth in sports / exercise science and etc was very obvious. It seemed as if he is / was a coach who based on all his marketing on "smoke and mirrors" with little scientic knowledge.

There are many threads on here about coaching. All seem to come to a conclusion that to be a great coach, it's not 100% necessary that you win races. That helps, but not necessary. Coaches with top athletes are either badass, very intelligent or both.

Thanks for the advice, I don't know how I would start on that. Haha but I have to make a note I find your name amusing because as a perfectionist it bugs me that your name isn't spelled correctly, I know it probably wasn't available but still haha.

Go to Uni. and get a kinesiology degree and have some knowledge to back up the skills.

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"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."

Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005)

  

Here you go:


http://www.slowtwitch.com/..._triathlon_1129.html

Haha. Cool. That's the irony of my forum name... Deliberately not spelled correctly. ;). Makes logging in with auto-correct on the phone fun.

If you are interested in product rep jobs, best bet is to go to the career sections of brands' websites. Another option would be to get involved in local shops (even REI is good if you have those stores where you are... Sports Authority and those stores are good as well for getting involved in sports product sales.).


Coaching... Maybe start off with an ACE or NASM personal training certification. Start now with USAT Level I then over time with their focus on "service to the sport", work up a great resume and then go for USAT Level II and III. Good luck.

The best way to "Get Rich" in triathlons is to start out "Weathy"

What are you in school for and where do you work now? Please tell me you have a job...

-Physiojoe

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-Physiojoe
Instagram: @thephysiojoe
Cycling coach, Elite racer on Wooster Bikewerks p/b Wootown Bagels

Hi, the best way is to mange your own race..

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Do you know how to make a small fortune? Start with a large fortune and become a triathlete!

Ding, ding, ding!

Well, forget about competing for money - even as a pro, most scrape by on <$25k per year including endorsements.

Being a coach/instructor is probably your best bet. You'll have to start very small, and likely charge a pittance for your skills as a young coach, but with successful results, you should quickly be able to gain a following that enables you to make some real money off coaching. You can also join a triathlon group that hires coaches and see if you can get clients through them.

Once you get some credibility there, you can definitely make more by starting clubs, camps, and group training teams that will generate even more income.

And lastly, don't overlook the potential of maximizing a strong online presence. A good blog, like DC Rainmaker's gear blog, actually makes some cash. And if you're a coach, you'll likely get a lot of online clients that way.

I can't see a great way to make 6 figures as a triathlon coach unless you're the very best at something, but I can see a good communicator with a good personality who has racing knowledge, making a decent living as a coach and/or product salesperson.

Ironically, the BEST way to earn money using your triathlon background may actually be to just absorb the skills and discipline you've learned in triathlon, and use those skills to succeed in a more lucrative field. It's not the same by any stretch, but I routinely see folks who are tremendously disciplined athletes, not be able to 'get it together' enough to hold a steady job despite wanting to do so. If you don't x-over your skills from one field to another, you're giving up the most fundamental freely earned skills and earning potential. Even getting started as a triathlon coach successfully would open numerous doors to other careers in marketing, sales, etc. since good communication skills translate universally.

Thank you, as always you have great advice. I'm going to try to see if I can do anything to build a coaching resume or something similar. I likely won't be a very good coach until I really start to figure things out, right now I've just read Joe Friels two books.

People in this sport seem to crave education, results and experience. It seems like you may be a bit short on at least two, so you have to really work at a grass roots level on developing yourself as a brand.

Do you want to be a coach?

You indicated that you've been coached by some of the top-level coaches. Ask yourself how much of the information given to you did you retain and use, and how much did you throw away. Much of the stuff that didn't pertain to you directly would pertain to a lot of potential clients. Can you set up camps with those top-level instructors?

What are you studying?

I'd rather be coached by someone who has studied kinesiology than poli-sci. Knowledge of the body and motion is your friend.

Do you want to own a race?

I have a friend who was prepetually top ten in her age group in 1/2 and full distance tri's. She could never break the top three, until she finally won a race outright. She's now a race director, and I hope quite successful. During all of her races, she was paying attention to the aspects of each race that were going right along with the things that would go wrong. She learned how good RD's dealt with bad weather/equipment breakdown, etc.

From there, she started her own race company. She has built a brand. She developed creative races in great locations.

Do you want to invent or create something to help triathletes gain speed or comfort? Look at getting a job with a tri-related manufacturer. you can learn the business end, as well as a lot about what goes into the design process that way.

In each of these cases, you really have to be creative.

I truly hope you can make a solid, sustainable living out of your passion. Good luck.


Sorry if I seem a little unstructured in my response.

Jason

Oh, and I have one more piece of advice - Plastics. (the over 40 crowd will understand)

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*****
It's a dry heat!

Go back in time and invent the speedfil. Those guys are going to be millionaires, I just got one, what a great product.

Find a charity, recruit triathletes to help raise money for your charity, keep some for yourself.

You can't lose.

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"That night I had a dream. I dreamt I was as light as the ether."