A few questions for school owners revisted

[Eric Schuettenberg]

Last summer I posted a few questions on the old forum and had some great responses. Unfortunately I didnt write any of it down and all the stuff from the old forum is gone. So to all the school/gym owners

Where can I find good affordable insurance for a school? There are so many on the internet ranging from a few hundred dollars a month to several hundred.

Should I do a LLC or a corporation? Im not even sure I know the difference

What have you found to be the cheapest way to advertise and get results?

Other than the obvious rent, utilities, ins, affiliation fees, cleaning supplies, advertising, what other hidden cost will I run into?

Thanks for any input

[Josh Passini]

Karateinsurance.com/Corps are cheaper but the liability falls back on you. LLC its on the LLC. Only hidden fees I have seen is security deposit for utilities. Triple Net can kill on the rent be aware.

[Tim Gillette]

I don't know what we use for insurance but I know it's pretty cheap. Nate deals with all of the money stuff at our gym.

As far as advertising goes, Nate budgets around $500 a month for different options but beyond that we do a lot with Facebook, Groupon and Living Social. All of those are free up front and have brought people into our gym.

[Compella]

I'd say this is worth a sticky if all the affiliate owners chime in some information, definitely something worth evaluating. I can be quite cunning, but not necessarily business savvy, lol. ttt.

[Eric Schuettenberg]

Thanks for the input guys

[Eric Schuettenberg]

I saw legal zoom does an LLC package for 99 bucks. Anybody use this and is it a good Price?

[Josh Passini]

The $99 should be the writing/processing fee. You usually have to still pay the state fees. myusacorporation.com was good to work with saved us a ton with the multiple LLCs we have. We also have found some good results with companies like Groupon/Living Social/ Etc. We looked at it as a way for a couple hundred thousand people seeing our company for free. Get a good accountant, one who has your best intrests in mind, not the govs. Worth every penny. I find it easier to monitor everything through a program like quickbooks. A virtual terminal for processing monthly fees with the option of reaccuring billing so you dont have to chase money every month. You set it up and it bills for you checks or credit.

[Eric Schuettenberg]

Thanks Josh great info. About how long does the process take to get the LLC and can I use my home address or do I need to wait until I find a location?

[John Roderick]

Last summer I posted a few questions on the old forum and had some great responses. Unfortunately I didnt write any of it down and all the stuff from the old forum is gone. So to all the school/gym owners

Where can I find good affordable insurance for a school? There are so many on the internet ranging from a few hundred dollars a month to several hundred.

Should I do a LLC or a corporation? Im not even sure I know the difference

What have you found to be the cheapest way to advertise and get results?

Other than the obvious rent, utilities, ins, affiliation fees, cleaning supplies, advertising, what other hidden cost will I run into?

Thanks for any input

First, there's always SOMETHING that comes up that you didn't think of
LLC is the way to go as Josh said. In a corp, you need to list the members and so forth and you have direct liability. With an LLC, you and your personal assets are protected legally and if you have to close up shop for whatever reason.
Karateinsurance.com is great. Affordable rates, and coverage for everything from medical, to travel, to equipment.
Also as Josh said, when looking for space, beware of the real estate costs. Triple Net on the rent can kill you. Get everything regarding a rental space clarified before signing or agreeing to anything. Often, they'll quote like $10 a square foot, then you get the contract with an additional $5 added on for Triple Net (triple net is usually the costs associated with the landlord upkeep, snow plowing, repairs of the building complex).
Obviously, you need mats, striking pads, maybe bags. I would say to start: ONLY get the essentials to get started. Don't get too much merchandise, if any, to stock (make students buy their own gear). And then be really smart with the money and document everything. If you have an accountant, or someone you trust who can help, leverage that.

[Chris Herzog]

I wouldn't recomend legal zoom. there are a pain in the ass to deal with, and have a lot of hidden fees. and it took another laywer and accountant to end our dealings with them, even after switched to a Corp (we orgionally went with legal zoom for our LLC, they screwed up and we had to re-file, it was a total pain in the ass)