starting your own school...do's and don'ts

I'm getting close to getting my brown belt and want to start planning my dream of owning my own jitsu school. I've owned two businesses so have experience in that part covered but when starting a business plan for an academy I'm sure I could gain valuable advice from those already living the dream. Things like how much cash should I have before I start the ball rolling. From my friends I've already learned location and a good billing company are key but always looking for friendly advice. Thanks!

I would def start with purchasing a few books on martial arts school business, I can't speak from experience but I'm told when starting your own business be sure you have at least 3-4 months savings banked....are u quitting ur day job too or planning to run the school at night?

If you're doing it right you won't have time for books!!

Start small and keep the lease as short as possible. If I was to start over I'd start less than half the size we did and aim to outgrow the premises within 2 years and move somewhere roughly the size of what we have now (smaller still even?).

Putting a system in place which allows for growth within your early years is about a million times smarter than starting somewhere bigger, somewhere you see yourself remaining in 10 yrs time and just hoping to fill it when the doors first open; in the mean time the mats gonna be empty.

Always be looking over your shoulder, no matter how good a month or year you've had. There's so many snakes in the grass sometimes theres more snakes than grass. In this industry the moment you get comfortable you're basically fucked.

Live, eat, breathe and sleep outside your comfort zone.

Good luck!!

Good advice Chris. Definitively looking to start small. From talking to a few friends the key to turning a profit to keep the doors open and hopefully grow is having a strong kids program. This is my focus mostly because I have two kids. I am hoping to be strictly jiu jitsu and wrestling so it makes sense too. Without the typical MMA route the kids will be very important.

Herb...haven't ruled out working while not teaching. I have enough saved right now for 6 months. I'm relocating to San Bernardino next year to train and learn better about my options. I want to def train with 10th Planet. Not sure who I want to get my gi black belt from yet.

I work primarily with kids as well. Number 1 Have good insurance. Number 2 Everyone signs a waiver. Number 3 Have good insurance and number 4 realize that teaching kids is a whole other world :-)

Thanks Tony. Is there specific liability insurance you need? Is there a special company or just go through the agent I use for my install businesses now? You are right about coaching kids. I coached 3-5 year olds soccer and also coached highschool volleyball. Patience and creativity are a must!

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Originally Posted by kevinculp

Thanks Tony. Is there specific liability insurance you need? Is there a special company or just go through the agent I use for my install businesses now? You are right about coaching kids. I coached 3-5 year olds soccer and also coached highschool volleyball. Patience and creativity are a must!

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I'm inside a gym so I ended up going through the gym owner's insurance company.

Tony...I thought about that route but not sure how you do it. What is the standard deal. Do you have it separate from their client list or do they pay you appercentage?

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Originally Posted by kevinculp

Tony...I thought about that route but not sure how you do it. What is the standard deal. Do you have it separate from their client list or do they pay you appercentage?

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To be honest, I live in a very poor area. I had originally started teaching gi classes but no students could afford even a cheap gi much less 3 or 4 so I went full no gi. I had just lost my job and was walking home when I passed the gym. I figured I had nothing to lose so I went in and asked the owner if he was interested in starting a martial arts program. He was all for it so I literally started with a 10x10 section of walmart puzzle mats. Right off the bat we had injuries so he lent me enough money for two giant tarps and 3 layers of carpet padding. We worked like that for about two years lol. Eventually I found a decent 2 ring wrestling mat and took out a payday loan to buy it. I was originally charging $40 a month for 7 days a week of 2 hour classes. The plan was $20 to the gym and $20 to myself per student. Even at $40 a month , most of the students eventually quit because they couldn't afford it. I couldn't have a 10th Planet Hotbox because of the fees so we decided to lower it to $30/month and I would give up my share rather than being charged rent. So, I teach for free and lowered classes to 3 days a week. Even now, 1/2 of my kids can't afford the $30 so the owner rarely enforces tuition. I honestly have it pretty good though. I've been there about 3 years and still love every minute of it. I'll never make a living from jiu jitsu classes but I usually have a mat full of happy kids and that is far better to me than any amount of money :-).

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Originally Posted by Tony "The Goods" Garcia

To be honest, I live in a very poor area. I had originally started teaching gi classes but no students could afford even a cheap gi much less 3 or 4 so I went full no gi. I had just lost my job and was walking home when I passed the gym. I figured I had nothing to lose so I went in and asked the owner if he was interested in starting a martial arts program. He was all for it so I literally started with a 10x10 section of walmart puzzle mats. Right off the bat we had injuries so he lent me enough money for two giant tarps and 3 layers of carpet padding. We worked like that for about two years lol. Eventually I found a decent 2 ring wrestling mat and took out a payday loan to buy it. I was originally charging $40 a month for 7 days a week of 2 hour classes. The plan was $20 to the gym and $20 to myself per student. Even at $40 a month , most of the students eventually quit because they couldn't afford it. I couldn't have a 10th Planet Hotbox because of the fees so we decided to lower it to $30/month and I would give up my share rather than being charged rent. So, I teach for free and lowered classes to 3 days a week. Even now, 1/2 of my kids can't afford the $30 so the owner rarely enforces tuition. I honestly have it pretty good though. I've been there about 3 years and still love every minute of it. I'll never make a living from jiu jitsu classes but I usually have a mat full of happy kids and that is far better to me than any amount of money :-).

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Youre a Boss....and a shady fucker!

Start of small and let the business grow. Dont rush it and be prepared to float the school for a few years. If you love it it wont matter.

If the expectation is to earn alot of money, you are in the wrong bussiness. If you want to make just enough to get by and enjoy the hell outta life, then go for it!

Yea, start small for sure. Expect nothing, but don't hold yourself back. I just opened my affiliate in January and I support my family on it. :)

Not about the money but would love to devote all my time and energy to doing what I love. I have had a successful business for the last 7 years but don't make a ton of money so would much rather do what I love and barley get by. As soon as I can cover essentials I would be putting any profit right back into the school. Would love to sponser my guys to compete and give back to jiu jitsu. It's been such a great part of my life!

Tony you are inspiring! Thanks Coach...Thanks Sean...Thanks Josh.

Haha Thanks Josh! Thank you too Kevin :-)

Tony, I must echo the prior posting and agree, very inspirational. What you are doing for those children is quite special.

Regarding starting a business. I ran my father's insurance agency for seven years after being in the business for seventeen (note, the agency was eventually sold for a nice profit allowing my father to retire and make a graceful exit from work life). Certainly liability insurance is a must. I never wrote a liability policy for a martial arts school or dealt with an insurance carrier that did, but, again this is crucial. There are groups in my area that meet in the community college that will match young entrepreneurs, like you, with retired local business professionals. This can be invaluable. The value of the advice and contacts someone like this could provide could save you a lot of grief and hopefully help you to grow exponentially.

Best of luck in your business and as the late Joseph Campbell said follow your bliss.

you need a ridiculously large banner to be successful

hi i live in newcastle england and have trained for 30 years in the martial arts and had a full time gym for 20 years build your gym with you pushing and being there word of mouth is the best advert !! good luck and big love from the afc newcastle england

Thanks John...when I was starting my first company I took business classes that the city offered, very cheap taught by professionals in the community.II've heard about the program you are talking about something to look into for sure.Thanks Johnatakin and Ryan great point lol

1. Wake up earlier and stay off Facebook.
2. Roll with your students every day.
3. Dedicate at least 1 hour of every day to studying comp footage or instructionals.
4. Compete as much as possible.
5. Don't give away freebies. If you're like me, this is tough. But folks gotta pay if they wanna train with you. You've worked hard to get where you are and you've sacrificed a lot. Have a set number of scholarships you are willing to give out each year if you must, and make the free loaders earn those scholarships.
6. Don't let anything, including the gym, interfere with your family/personal time. That's a recipe for burnout.
7. Most importantly, treat everyone in every relationship you have like they are more important than you are. Sometimes this will bite you in the butt, but it always comes back around in the long run.

Jason Scully brings up some valid points for you to think about in this video if you do end up starting your own gym
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnbHLmyUJhg

Thanks Brandon and Chewie!

I agree with everything Brandon said except to stay off of Facebook. You should create a page for your school and update it / post frequently. Try to get as many of your friends and family and students to Like your page as possible. Don't underestimate social media especially if you are going to offer kids classes (Mom's love Facebook :) ).

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Originally Posted by Martin.Harris

I agree with everything Brandon said except to stay off of Facebook. You should create a page for your school and update it / post frequently. Try to get as many of your friends and family and students to Like your page as possible. Don't underestimate social media especially if you are going to offer kids classes (Mom's love Facebook :) ).

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Facebook is my #1 marketing tool. No question. But I have to really monitor myself or it can be a huge time waster.

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Originally Posted by Brandon Mccaghren

Facebook is my #1 marketing tool. No question. But I have to really monitor myself or it can be a huge time waster.

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that's a good philosophy to apply in general social media. I'm not saying they're bad at all, but sometimes they suck your time away faster than you realize

Dont # 236 - Dont start a free garage school for kids without any grappling experience. If you do then dont tell anyone about it because it will creep people out

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Originally Posted by sean marshall

dont # 236 - dont start a free garage school for kids without any grappling experience. If you do then dont tell anyone about it because it will creep people out

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+1 :d

Marketing is often the most overlooked thing in martial arts business. Be prepared to spend money on marketing if you want to grow. Getting people in the door is the most difficult part. Have a proper website that is easy to navigate and offers the info people want.

Always remember, You're trying to get people in the door that do not know anything about jiu jitsu or martial arts. That means keep your marketing directed towards those people. Don't use slang terms that only people involved in jiu jitsu would understand. Nobody cares about affiliates or logos in the beginning. They don't know the difference between Gracie Barra, 10th Planet or Japanese Ju jitsu for that matter.

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Originally Posted by Tim Gillette

Marketing is often the most overlooked thing in martial arts business. Be prepared to spend money on marketing if you want to grow. Getting people in the door is the most difficult part. Have a proper website that is easy to navigate and offers the info people want.

Always remember, You're trying to get people in the door that do not know anything about jiu jitsu or martial arts. That means keep your marketing directed towards those people. Don't use slang terms that only people involved in jiu jitsu would understand. Nobody cares about affiliates or logos in the beginning. They don't know the difference between Gracie Barra, 10th Planet or Japanese Ju jitsu for that matter.

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This is legit spoken from a dude that has two huge schools and well over a hundred students.

I ran a moon here in St. Louis for two years. My best advice would be running your school should be your only job. I tried running a moon and working a full time job that I work 50 hrs a week at and it was just too much. I worked part time when we first opened and that wasnt too bad but then my wife went out on medical leave and was unable to return to work. This forced me to return to full time for the insurance. Doing both I was working about 100 hours a week. I know a lot of guys on here have did more for longer but two years of that took a big toll on me and my family. That being said I hope to someday return and open another moon.