Kittan Bachika
Purple Belt
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2009
- Messages
- 312
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For those of you who own martial arts schools, how are you holding up during one of the darkest economic periods in world history?
How's business?
- Thread starter Kittan Bachika
- Start date
2009 sucks! But I am doing fine... Lost a few students but we still have new people coming in every day. What I really have seen is the part time guys opening up. They are poping up everywhere. Which is good and bad. Good because someone has to be the best and compatition is always good. Bad because they really don't get the business side of it and are charging very very little! All and all the worst day at my dojang still beats the best day at my last job!
Busines is down but I am optimistic with the new year coming, hopefully I can get back where I was a year ago.
Well there you have it. Business was bad enough around here that my Wing Chun instructor had to take a temp job out of state and my Eskrima instructor retired from teaching... for now. I still train privately with both on the odd occasions when they are available. And that is not a sustainable situation.
So now I'm going to have to start teaching. I'll be one of those part time guys that "is popping up". I haven't taught since the early 90's, and I haven't even told my wife about my plans yet! But like it or not, it's the only way I can keep going with the systems I train in. My instructors have both promised that they will be available for periodic seminars if I can get a group together. So that's the deal. After all they've done for me these many years, I have to give it a shot.
At the beginning of the recession our enrollment actually increased. Since then we have been solid. We are one of the longest running schools in our area that has been under the same ownership / management ( my wife and I ) since 1993, I think being established as such has helped.
We are in a good position for 2010 and are upgrading some things within our school.
We are in a good position for 2010 and are upgrading some things within our school.
Awesome! Congrats & best of luck with that endeavor.
dancingalone
Grandmaster
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2007
- Messages
- 5,322
- Reaction score
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I don't teach for profit, so money is never a factor in my school keeping its doors open. I'm actually full right now on students and have been for months. I'm turning away any prospects I receive and sending them to either my wife if they're interested in aikido or to my friend's tae kwon do school.
Good news.... . And as long as your not in a ten mile area from my school I hope you do well. LOL!
For me, right now, it is going slow. I have just opened up a new location, after getting fired from the YMCA, and I am having some trouble brining all of my students over to the new location. I am sure that it is going to pick up next week with the start of the New Year, but it is still slow right now.
My problem is not that we are charging a bunch, it is the fact that oneof my assistant instructors has put a knife in my back andis now teaching at the place that dumped on me. He is not skilled enough or qualified to teach on his own, but my former boss has conned him into teaching for her. I am torn between wanting him to do well and wanting to crush him. I like the guy and all, but he has no snese of loyalty. One of my instructors had him as a student for a while and he was kicked out of that school.
So, for the most part, all is OK. 2010 is going to be a new start and will hopefully bring good things.
My problem is not that we are charging a bunch, it is the fact that oneof my assistant instructors has put a knife in my back andis now teaching at the place that dumped on me. He is not skilled enough or qualified to teach on his own, but my former boss has conned him into teaching for her. I am torn between wanting him to do well and wanting to crush him. I like the guy and all, but he has no snese of loyalty. One of my instructors had him as a student for a while and he was kicked out of that school.
So, for the most part, all is OK. 2010 is going to be a new start and will hopefully bring good things.
Gaius Julius Caesar
Black Belt
It's times like now that I wish I had a barn or a Qunsant hut in the backyard to use as a Dojo.
The Health clun our Dojo meets in has decided that it would be a good idea to raise the rates on non members again. This effects 3 of my current students and will make it harder to attract outsiders to classes.
See if your a memebr of the club, then our class cost you $65 a month plus whatever your mebership dues are, if you are not a memeber, up till last week you paid $65 plus a $20 non memeber fee. That to me was fair but now they added another $20 to the non memeber fee.
I have complained up and down the chain. There is hope that we can get it to a $30 non memebr fee and all will be well, if not then I have to get a bit shifty to make it up to my guys.
The Health clun our Dojo meets in has decided that it would be a good idea to raise the rates on non members again. This effects 3 of my current students and will make it harder to attract outsiders to classes.
See if your a memebr of the club, then our class cost you $65 a month plus whatever your mebership dues are, if you are not a memeber, up till last week you paid $65 plus a $20 non memeber fee. That to me was fair but now they added another $20 to the non memeber fee.
I have complained up and down the chain. There is hope that we can get it to a $30 non memebr fee and all will be well, if not then I have to get a bit shifty to make it up to my guys.
Franc0
Purple Belt
When I 1st started teaching here in Vegas, I used to have a nice little free standing building in my back yard which served as my training studio, so I didn't really care much about quantity as opposed to quality. Then I moved to an apt., a few years back so I had to rent a space.
It's been a roller coaster ride, but at least I always make rent.
In fact, in the last couple weeks I've had quite a few calls inquiring about class times, tuition etc. So hopefully this new year will bring in some new students and start putting a few extra bucks into some new equipment.
Franco
It's been a roller coaster ride, but at least I always make rent.
In fact, in the last couple weeks I've had quite a few calls inquiring about class times, tuition etc. So hopefully this new year will bring in some new students and start putting a few extra bucks into some new equipment.
Franco
xfighter88
Blue Belt
I actually just opened up my place in November and it's still growing. Tough economy but parents are always willing to short themselves to spend money on their kids. Darkest economy in world history is a bit of a stretch when the average "poor" person has a house, a car, cable TV, and an obesity problem. I think the economy of Haiti is probably worse than it is in the US.
Mark Lynn
Master Black Belt
I teach at a Rec. Center, I've been there for almost 3 years now and my classes have steadily grown. But they are still small by any real standards.
The thing I'm trying to work on is to lock the back door so to speak and not lose my mid level students. That and to develop some adult students are my goals for 2010. My oldest students are in the 14-15 year old range so I'm fighting school work, school sports and outside sports programs. For some reason I haven't been able to crack the adult market at the Rec. Center.
Thankfully though the Rec. Center does support my classes and they have been really good to work for. That and I have a day job that meets my bills and my schedule is such that I am able to teach on the side.
All in all things are good, I'm working on making them better.
The thing I'm trying to work on is to lock the back door so to speak and not lose my mid level students. That and to develop some adult students are my goals for 2010. My oldest students are in the 14-15 year old range so I'm fighting school work, school sports and outside sports programs. For some reason I haven't been able to crack the adult market at the Rec. Center.
Thankfully though the Rec. Center does support my classes and they have been really good to work for. That and I have a day job that meets my bills and my schedule is such that I am able to teach on the side.
All in all things are good, I'm working on making them better.
Mark Lynn
Master Black Belt
I agree with you here, but I have heard of several school owners who have closed or have had to get part time jobs to run their full time schools, when it wasn't that way a few years ago.
Good luck and running or starting your school.
I just set up my new ad for the New Year.
I think we all can help each other with marketing ideas and the like. I want my school to grow and be of a very high caliber in the coming year, not the opposite.
I think we all can help each other with marketing ideas and the like. I want my school to grow and be of a very high caliber in the coming year, not the opposite.
I purchased, and liked, the ideas/advice from Adam Mitchell with his "Dojo Source" info. Take a look at it - I know the front page is a bit more selling than I was used to, but I think the value of what he has to say outweighs that factor by so much that it's really not a concern.
www.dojosource.com
What do you think?
www.dojosource.com
What do you think?
