The SquadCast Episode 01: James Taylor, From Personal Trainer To Gym Owner

With the bulk of our staff team spending several evenings a week in the gym, we genuinely love nothing more than seeing our products form the backbone of training facilities across the country.

Taylor Built Coaching is a prime example of this. Its owner and lead trainer James Taylor approached us in 2025 looking to source the racks, free weights and cable stations needed to bring his vision to life and create a premium space that prioritised quality at every turn.

Our CEO Chris made the trip down to Suffolk at the end of 2025 to drop off some custom Taylor Built branding plates and to film an interview recapping all of the lessons that James has learned in the process of setting up his own coaching business — which, impressively, reached its membership capacity within two weeks despite not running any paid advertising.

You can watch the interview below. We’ve provided some timestamps to help you navigate around the conversation in case there’s a section that lights up your interest more than the rest.

00:00 | Introduction and custom branding gift

03:40 | How JT became a coach and his ethos towards training

25:45 | How JT built the business

28:10 | Capital and financial choices

36:58 | Reaching membership capacity without paid advertising

41:58 | Five lessons that JT had to learn quickly

At the end of the conversation, Chris asked James for five lessons that he needed to learn quickly in the process of creating Taylor Built Coaching. Here are the brass tacks of what he said.

What goes around comes around

James believes in giving his all to his clients, which in turn helps the business. Through his career as a personal trainer he built up a stellar reputation and relationships with people who flocked to support his business once he announced that he was opening his own space.

There’s a hidden cost with everything

There are so many facets that go into running a business, and even if you think you’ve forecast them all James advises preparing for another 20% of costs on top of what you’ve already predicted. From raw materials to labour to business rates, there’s so much more that keeps a company operating than what you see on the surface.

Don’t do it alone

James highlighted how essential it was to have somebody in his corner that he trusted and could offer their skills towards the business. In his instance it was Paul, his electrician, who could provided so much more value in the process of establishing Taylor Built Coaching than simply his physical trade.

Keep cash on hand

Cashflow is a massive concern for any business, and gym spaces face the unique challenge of having a large setup fee before settling down into a more stable set of operating costs. At the very least owners need to purchase the equipment to make their area fit for purpose. Add in the redecorating, labour and essentials like water and electric, and it can be a lot of bills to pay at once. James made use of asset financing so that he could pay for his equipment in monthly payments, choosing to bear the extra interest in exchange for avoiding a massive upfront cost.

Lean on your network

James was fortunate to be able to lean on existing relationships with friends and family members to help him with the construction of his facility, to spread word of mouth and even to shoulder some of his day-to-day tasks while he focused on getting Taylor Built Coaching off the ground. Two minds are better than one, and four hands are better than two. It’s no bad thing to accept help from the people around you when you’re tackling a major task.

If you’re in a similar position to James and are building your own training facility, check out our custom gym design service or get in touch with our team to see how we can help.