So you want to open a martial arts school?

[Chris from CT]

Originally posted by GouRonin
The lost art of "Couch-Fu". Those students who acheive mastery of this art often do the "Bon-Bon" Kata.

Ah, but first, young Channel Hopper, you must master the deadly Futon Shodan Kata. When you can snatch the remote control from my hand it will be time for you to use the restroom. :rofl: :rofl:

 

[lifewise]

Originally posted by Roland

We would have to be importing people from outside London just to fill em up!

Me sleep fine little lady, but thanks for asking!

Seems this fall is a particularly prominent one for new schools in our city. Not sure if this is a new one - Dragon and Tiger Kenpo - but it is on your side of town Roland (located on Dundas).

 

[GouRonin]

Who are these guys now? You still never got back to me on who those others guys on Comissioners are yet.

You're a terrible investigator!

 

[jkn75]

The advice up to now has been perfect. Start small, etc.

I would add first, depending on the martial art it may be difficult to get students. for example i teach kuk sool and my area is dominated by tae kwon do and karate, it was difficult for me to get students. One of the reasons may have been lack of recognition of the art.

Second, YMCA's and community centers want to see results quickly. Find out how many students you will need to sign up to keep the class going and how long the facility will give you to reach that goal.

Third it takes a lot of footwork. People will say yes they want a club and they'll call you back. Dont hold your breath! Call them and keep on them. Sometimes it will fall through. Until they set a date to start the class, keep looking.

Finally, look at health clubs and dance schools. Occasionally they'll alow someone to come in and teach martial arts.

Good luck.
:yinyang:

 

[lifewise]

Originally posted by GouRonin

Who are these guys now? You still never got back to me on who those others guys on Comissioners are yet.

You're a terrible investigator!

You know Gou, I should have a quick come back to this ... and did when I started the reply but life interupted me.... oh maybe that's it ---- LIFE, that's it I have a LIFE and haven't managed to get to the investigation part yet.

The school on Commissioners I believe is a TKD place. I was planning a visit to the school to see who/what it is about but haven't had the chance yet.

The one in the east side of the city - well, you will have to ask Roland about it. I never get out that way anymore since I have no reason - other than to visit Roland. Which I haven't been invited to do for quite sometime :shrug:

 

[GouRonin]

Originally posted by lifewise
You know Gou, I should have a quick come back to this ... and did when I started the reply but life interupted me.... oh maybe that's it ---- LIFE, that's it I have a LIFE and haven't managed to get to the investigation part yet.

A life? No way. You lie. I don't believe you.

 

[Nightingale]

some things that have worked in schools I know of:

ADVERTIZE.

Find someone who knows how to make brochures. (a student is a good thing, because you can trade lessons for layout designs, so you don't have to pay for anything but printing).

Print a bunch of brochures. In full color. (black and white is cheaper, but it looks cheap, and doesn't attract attention).

Put the brochures in places people will get bored and pick up stuff to read. Doctor's offices, dentists, hair and nail salons, barber shops, DMV if they'll let you. Anywhere people have to sit for a while or wait in line for a long time. Most post offices have areas you can put stuff too.

Get a group of students together and cover the neighborhood with fliers on doors.

On halloween, give your students many many stacks of coupons for free lessons. have them give these to the trick or treaters along with their candy. hehe. let the kids come to you.

GET A GOOD WEBSITE:

Get an easy to remember domain name. Nothing anyone has to think about to spell. If your name is Larry Tskyevitch, You don't want your addy to be www.tskyevitch-kenpo.com. nobody's gonna remember how to spell it.
Try something like www.go-karate.com or something else easy.

Find a good site designer. If there's one of your students who knows how, offer them lessons in trade. Lessons are no cash out of your pocket.

Many internet savvy people (like myself) go to the web immediately for information. Most 15-30 year olds go to the internet for movie listings, telephone numbers and all that before they'll go to a newspaper or phone book.

Make your web presence known. Register your site with search engines and martial arts school directories.

Work out a link exchange with other school's websites. Make sure the other schools are more than 50 miles away so you're not competing for students.... say that I'm in Norco. I'm looking for a school in Norco, but find the website for a school in Los Angeles. I'm not going to drive that far for lessons, but if the LA school has a link to the Norco school, then I'm all set. And the LA folks who find the Norco website can find a school local to them as well. This way, schools are helping each other out without competing.

 

[jkn75]

Originally posted by nightingale8472

some things that have worked in schools I know of:

ADVERTIZE.

Find someone who knows how to make brochures. (a student is a good thing, because you can trade lessons for layout designs, so you don't have to pay for anything but printing).

Print a bunch of brochures. In full color. (black and white is cheaper, but it looks cheap, and doesn't attract attention).

Put the brochures in places people will get bored and pick up stuff to read. Doctor's offices, dentists, hair and nail salons, barber shops, DMV if they'll let you. Anywhere people have to sit for a while or wait in line for a long time. Most post offices have areas you can put stuff too.

Get a group of students together and cover the neighborhood with fliers on doors.

On halloween, give your students many many stacks of coupons for free lessons. have them give these to the trick or treaters along with their candy. hehe. let the kids come to you.

another place you might want to hit are apartment complexes. All their mailboxes are usually in one place, go to the office and ask. some wont let you hang them up but will put them in the new resident packs.

Also any community college or university. hang stuff everywhere but especially high traffic areas (student union, dorms, etc.) and make the flyers/brochures as brightly colored as possible to attract attention. :asian:

 

[Nightingale]

you can also hit apartment complexes with fliers on their doors...

some places will print up fliers on 8.5 / 11 size paper with the post-it note sticky backing. it makes it really easy to put them on doors. just walk up, stick, and go hit the next door. It can get expensive, but you can get lots more fliers out than if you have to tape, or fold and wedge the fliers into the doorjam. It is illegal to put fliers in mailboxes or on mailboxes.

 

[Rob_Broad]

Originally posted by nightingale8472

It is illegal to put fliers in mailboxes or on mailboxes.

That varies depending on the region.

 

[Nightingale]

permit me to rephrase:

It is illegal to put fliers in or on mailboxes in the United States.

US mail is regulated federally, so if it is against the law in california, it is against the law in the US. Call your post office to confirm.

 

[tshadowchaser]

In my area its illegal to put fliers on automobiles or anywhere unless you get permission (read pay a fee) from the town