I have received a few PMs Enquiring on the how to opening/running a Martial Art School – Dojo – Kwoon, etc… I thought we could start a thread to share ideas for those who are wanting to go this route or have started and would like some ideas to keep it going. 1.) Know what you are teaching, and havethe blessing/ permission from your instructor to go out on your own. 2.) Be realistic – Why are you teaching Martial Arts To share, to make money, etc… This will tell you exactly how you need to set up your school. 3.) Have a financial plan before you look, how much will everything cost you a.) Rent b.) Utilities c.) Insurance d.) Equipment e.) Advetisement f.) Etc. 4.) Enquire in setting yourself as an L.L.C. and open a checking/saving account in the school’s name 5.) Start with a small school with a very small rent payment, tell the Landlord that you will fix the place up if he buys the supplies, Small warehouse areas, side rooms that sublet, etcc… Better to start small and have a way out than to sign a 10 year lease with a big lease payment with no way out. 6.) Provide free seminars to the community once a Month! This will get you free publicity in your local newspaper…. Stuff like…. “Street Smart Awareness for Professionals”…How to have a Street Safe Kid” ….. “Stress Management” Also you need to determine if you will participate in tournaments, grappling, weapons, etc.. Just don't have your students enter a grappling tournament, if you do not know and how to teach grappling. More to come if you are interested, I would like to see what others think.
Great thread idea. And great points so far. Keep it up. I particularly liked the idea about offering free seminars periodically.
I trained occasionally at a club in the area I'd moved to as a 1st Dan. Then the Instructor said she couldn't keep it on, so the club would have to close unless someone took it over - meaning me (I'd moved to the area, all the other students only had a few gradings behind them). I thought about it. I knew it would be tough (I'm a trained teacher and earn a living as a trainer but not in MA), and I knew I wasn't really the grade I would want my Instructor to be. But the alternative was the club folding, and at the end of the day the idea seemed right. 3 years later I still love teaching. Yes I get fed up sometimes. I have no black belts yet so when I'm ill, I just go teach . I have taught when I had to leave the room to be sick. I have taught when I could barely stand. But I have taught. And sometimes I've got it wrong. I've had to say to students, "I'll find out for you", or, "I have no idea. I think it will be this, but I'll check". Or, "I have no idea what I was thinking last week, here's how it should be...". Above all, I and anyone else who teaches has to do so because they love it. I earn some money from my teaching, but it means I don't get to read a bedtime story to my son twice a week; guess which I'd rather do? The sacrifices you'll make for your students will never make it a solely business venture IMHO. The lifts I give to students who otherwise would miss gradings, the time I spend on admin, the seminars I arrange for no monetary reward, the just plain comitment of saying yes, every Monday and Wednesday, regardless, I will be there, all these things seem minor until you've run the club for a number of years. It's one of those things. You'll know if it seems right. You have to be sure it does or you're making a mistake! Mitch
Excellent posts guys, keep them coming. Anyone opening a school needs to know the good and the bad. Tips, short cuts, links...anything you can provide.
I could not agree with Kwajman more! Keep the posts coming Kew-do! Our school recently changed owners, then we had a fire, and this weekend we are having an "Open House" now that the repairs are made. The Dojang now looks like a school as oppossed to a warehouse! The owners have poored alot of their money into the school to make this transformation and I would love to assist them in at least breaking even. As an Assistant Instructor, I have a stake in the well being of the business.
