I do not believe bodybuilding is an “un-tapped” market. It’s a very small market. However, I certainly do believe there is a way for a person to earn a living from his or her passion for bodybuilding and fitness if that person is creative, persistent, and provides a tremendous value in some way to other people. The same principles are true for anything you want to accomplish in life. There’s always a way to be successful at anything you do in life—if you are truly committed.

The first thing you need to do is determine what “successful” means to you. You must—from the very beginning of your business career—determine exactly how much money you must make in order for you to be successful. It’s one of the very first pieces of advice Napoleon Hill offers in the classic motivational book “Think and Grow Rich.” A book, by the way, I highly recommend.

As the saying goes, you have to have a “bull’s eye” before you can hit the target. That target will be different for everyone depending on what kind of lifestyle you want to live, your personal values, and even where in the world you live.

You then have to decide what kind of service you are going to provide others. Who are you? What makes you unique? What gifts do you bring to the bodybuilding and fitness world? Now is the time to discover and appreciate the special gifts you have to offer. Knowing what you are all about in the eyes of other people will be a vital part in successfully marketing yourself and/or your services and products.

Your writing abilities are the most important skills that you must develop to succeed in this business on a large scale. Now, there are many ways you can earn a living but almost everything you do will be generated from your written work. That’s the primary way you will communicate to the largest audience possible. Think about it. Magazine columns, website articles, books, manuals, scripts for instructional training DVDs, the foundation of any seminar presentation, advertising material, and even the posts on Internet message boards are all are comprised of the written word. Everything you write should be saved, indexed, and filed in your computer for use later—everything.

I believe books, e-books, and instructional DVDs are the quickest and the least expensive ways available for a person to earn money from their passion for bodybuilding and fitness.

It’s important to understand that a person shouldn’t feel like they must be a champion on stage before they can offer their advice. If you’ve been dedicated to your training for more than a couple of years, you probably know a lot more than those seeking advice. The vast majority of consumers seeking information are a lot less advanced than most people realize. Your perspective and guidance can be exactly what a person struggling with the training and eating goals needs to get themselves on track.

As you mentioned, bodybuilding is a small subculture—but health and fitness aimed at the general public is a huge market. If your passion is more geared toward serious training and physique development—stay on that path. That’s great. I would suggest, however, that you make a plan to eventually open up your talents and offer them to the larger, more lucrative market of the general public. Although the general public market is larger and more lucrative, it’s also more competitive. You will have to be outstanding at what you do—so start creating that vision and start working towards it now. You can continue what you are doing right now and make the transition 10 years from now if you wish However, it will greatly benefit you to begin to at least strategize now about how you will work towards your goal. For long-term success, this is probably the best piece of advice I can offer.

Use bodybuilding as a “training ground” so to speak to expand your level of knowledge of weight training, cardiovascular training, nutrition, and supplementation. You should continually build upon your people skills and motivational skills because how well you communicate with others will determine your level of success. Master your writing and speaking skills. You must also market yourself well.

You must practice, practice, practice, and practice what you do. Don’t worry if these skills don’t come as quickly and easily as you’d like them to come. If you diligently work at your craft week after week; month after month; year after year; you’ll be amazed how far you’ve come over time. It takes time to develop your skills—just like it takes time to develop your body.

The first thing you need to ask yourself is what value you will provide to others.

Too many people mistakenly believe that their own body is the “product” when they attempt to earn a living from bodybuilding and fitness. The only way you can successfully earn a living in bodybuilding and fitness is by creating a tremendous value to the lives of other people. Other people really don’t care about you. They care about what you can do for them.

There is something unique and special about everyone. If you are passionate about bodybuilding and training, that’s why you have people approaching you. Maybe they admire you because of the tremendous discipline you exhibit week after week. Maybe you are looked up to because you are in unbelievable shape for an older man, younger man, an older woman, or younger woman. Maybe people come to you for training and fitness advice because you represent their ideal of the perfect role model because you are white, black, yellow, red, or purple like they are.