making the dream reality

[916familyman]

since i was a young teen, i've dreamed of owning my very own martial arts school. that dream has been pushed to the bottom of the to do list for twenty years until recently. out of the blue, my wife asked if i still dreamed of doing that...of course the answer was a HE** YES! she said let's get some facts, opinions, and let's do some serious research. so that's where i am now. why not start with the opinions of YOU, the martial artists that are actually living the dream!!!

so where would i start? what do i look for when it comes to a location, building, local competition? i am a 1st degree tkd black belt and a blue belt in bjj. i want to teach both arts to kids and adults alike. i am consistant with bjj but i have not formally trained in tkd (only in my garage from time to time)for more than 10 years. do i need to attain a higher rank or some sort of teaching certification or permission from another entity to teach? opinion, insight, experiences anyone? thanks!

[clermontkarate]

The truth is when a prospective student visits your school, a vast majority of them could care less about your accomplishments. Meaning they don't care what world titles you hold, or really what degree black belt you are. They are mainly interested in what you can do for them or their child. Are you going to get people coming in asking what rank you hold? Certainly, BUT, I can promise you it is not enough to be concerned with.

I would suggest educating yourself on business management, marketing, and sales. Does that mean taking college courses in the above disciplines? It wouldn't hurt, but you can get a great education (possibly better) for a fraction of the cost of college by investing in books on the topics above.

All of my staff of instructors have required reading by the following authors:
Michael Gerber's book The E-Myth Revisited
All books by Dan Kennedy, Jay Abraham, Tom Hopkins and Brian Tracy.

Don't start looking into opening a school until you know how to run a business first. Just because you are great athlete doesn't mean you are a good businessman. Think about it.

[shaolin-warrior]

If you go to your States Govt. Website, you can take free online courses in business manegment, marketing, how to get financial backing, how to write a business plan. Good luck, I'm in the start up phase as well. Looking to secure a lease right now. P.M. me if you'd like. Perhaps we can share some ideas.
-S.W-

[jwhitesensei]

since i was a young teen, i've dreamed of owning my very own martial arts school. that dream has been pushed to the bottom of the to do list for twenty years until recently. out of the blue, my wife asked if i still dreamed of doing that...of course the answer was a HE** YES! she said let's get some facts, opinions, and let's do some serious research. so that's where i am now. why not start with the opinions of YOU, the martial artists that are actually living the dream!!!

so where would i start? what do i look for when it comes to a location, building, local competition? i am a 1st degree tkd black belt and a blue belt in bjj. i want to teach both arts to kids and adults alike. i am consistant with bjj but i have not formally trained in tkd (only in my garage from time to time)for more than 10 years. do i need to attain a higher rank or some sort of teaching certification or permission from another entity to teach? opinion, insight, experiences anyone? thanks!

This is a tough question because different styles have different philosophies on the matter. I can olny give you advise from my perspective.

First of all, if you have a First Degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do you should certainly have enough experiance to teach. As far as thew BJJ blue belt goes, I would say that you incorporated some of the techniques into your classes say in a self defense aspect but not teach that particular style per say. To be honest, I found out that two of my kohai (orange belts) were teaching a couple of really young children that they were babysitting. I sat them down and told them that they could stop or leave my dojo. I wasn't angry over it. Simply put, when you teach someone, you take responsibility for that person whether you believe it or not. A student in the Beginner or Intermediate ranks just doesn't have all of the experiance needed to teach others unless they are supervised.

Let's face it, no matter how much we would like to believe that no one really cares what rank/ title we hold, the fact is that if they really care about the quality of the training they are going to receive they will eventually want to make sure that their instructor is qualified to actually teach them. Believe it or not, it is an issue that you will find yourself wrestling with in time.

I, out of respect because I study and teach a traditional style, would go to my instructor if possible and ask him or her for permission. This will benfit you in many ways. For one thing you will have your teacher's blessing. That in itself will answer any doubts you may have about being qualified. Secondly, you will have a source to go to should you have questions on anything.

On the business side of it
Study as much as you can on running a business then apply it to your personal philosophy as a martial arts teacher. Your target age should be children between 6 and 14. If you get younger ones that's doable but you have to form a class that will cater to children that age. A five year old cannot absorb as much as a ten year old.

Have enough cash on hand to actually run your school for six months. This includes the things you will need to start, ie..mats, bags, kickers, ect. It also needs to include your rent and utilities. Also have a hefty amount you can spend on adverstising (that's a whole world to itself).

The thing you are going to need the most is determination. You have to LOVE what you do. It has to be a part of your life and you have to make the choice that you WILL make a go of it. There are going to be times when you get discouraged. You have to have the will and determination to make it through those times. If you're going about it the right way and have good students, they may suprise you at how much they are willing to help you. Personally, I have a core group of senior students who would do anything they could to help out with the dojo.

One other thing to remember is the image, not only you, but your school projects. Always be proffesional. And always portray your school as community oriented.

[mthickey]

Check out my ad "Profitable MMA Studio For Sale" in the business section

Thanks,

Michael Hickey

[Ryan Wheaton]

916familyman,

I really like what jwhitesensei said and would definitely reread that post.

In addition, you might want to consider building a student base in a sublease situation first (like a fitness facility) so you can begin amassing a group of students with the goal of getting them to a point where you have some assistant instructors. Do that for a few years then make the transition to a more permanent, stand alone location.

What you have to remember is that you take a lot on when you open a new martial arts school. All of a sudden you have to worry about being a teacher, counselor, accountant, business man, office manager, bill collector, marketer, event planner, etc. When you're the only person doing all of these things you can quickly get in over your head.

It might not be right for you but something you should at least consider before going into a full time school with all that overhead and time commitment.

p.s. I did this same approach and just got my own place after many years teaching out of a fitness facility. In fact, I am blogging about my experience opening a new martial arts school. Hope it helps!