Question about "being ready to open a dojo"

[Gerry Seymour]

Strip malls can be good, or not, depends on the deal, the lease, the population of the surrounding area, parking, the landlord etc. And, believe it or not, the window. (curb appeal)

To start - I'll tell you what I tell everyone, if you really love Martial arts training, don't ever open a dojo. EVER! Because your training goes out the window, as it should, because your students, and your business/lease will become the primary focus. Your own training becomes an afterthought.

Okay, back to your original OP, requirements. I'm going to take it as a given, your ability to teach and sell yourself to the public.

Number one is money. Have to have enough of it to start, not just to open, but to take you through the first six months. Number two is an attorney, he has to go over the lease and the town/city, county rules and laws.

It would help if you had building inspector or a friend in the trades that could check out the things that guys like you and me don't readily see at first glance. It would help a great deal if you could find and talk to the last tenant, find out what the bills were for electricity, heat, ect. (and how the landlord is) You have to check your insurance options and find their cost. You really NEED to figure out what your monthly nut is going to be. Every penny of it.

You need an attorney to read over the lease, an attorney for your taxes (and have one of them draw up what people sign when they join)

Figure out what your start up costs are going to be, from decoration, office supplies (as much or as little as they're going to be) equipment costs to start, uniforms for your clientèle, and anything else you're going to tell them they need. You need to see where they can get those things themselves and make sure you're prices are at least competitive. You'll need a first aid kit, bathroom supplies, cleaning supplies etc.

You'll need a marketing plan and sufficient funds to carry it out. It's not a good idea to just sit and wait for people to drop in. Give some thought to your window and front door. You do not want them to be "tough guy" intimidating, you want them to be welcoming. Design a plan for kids. A kids class can pay the rent. Parents spend money on their kids, often, more than they spend on themselves. Consider a fitness class for moms, market accordingly - make it friendly, upbeat and accessible time wise.

You'll want to make a good first impression and get in good with whatever businesses are beside you, their word of mouth can help, especially if they've been there a while.

There's more, but that's probably enough requirements to think about out of the gate. And these things really are "requirements".

This is a good list. I have discussed similar thoughts with several instructors, and all - like Buka - say a kids class is a necessity (or very nearly so). It's one of the reasons I'll probably never try to make money with a school - I just don't have an interest in teaching kids. If I wanted to open a school in a retail space, I'd either have to teach kids or have a very reliable partner who did.

 

[hoshin1600]

Strip malls can be good, or not, depends on the deal, the lease, the population of the surrounding area, parking, the landlord etc. And, believe it or not, the window. (curb appeal)

To start - I'll tell you what I tell everyone, if you really love Martial arts training, don't ever open a dojo. EVER! Because your training goes out the window, as it should, because your students, and your business/lease will become the primary focus. Your own training becomes an afterthought.

Okay, back to your original OP, requirements. I'm going to take it as a given, your ability to teach and sell yourself to the public.

Number one is money. Have to have enough of it to start, not just to open, but to take you through the first six months. Number two is an attorney, he has to go over the lease and the town/city, county rules and laws.

It would help if you had building inspector or a friend in the trades that could check out the things that guys like you and me don't readily see at first glance. It would help a great deal if you could find and talk to the last tenant, find out what the bills were for electricity, heat, ect. (and how the landlord is) You have to check your insurance options and find their cost. You really NEED to figure out what your monthly nut is going to be. Every penny of it.

You need an attorney to read over the lease, an attorney for your taxes (and have one of them draw up what people sign when they join)

Figure out what your start up costs are going to be, from decoration, office supplies (as much or as little as they're going to be) equipment costs to start, uniforms for your clientèle, and anything else you're going to tell them they need. You need to see where they can get those things themselves and make sure you're prices are at least competitive. You'll need a first aid kit, bathroom supplies, cleaning supplies etc.

You'll need a marketing plan and sufficient funds to carry it out. It's not a good idea to just sit and wait for people to drop in. Give some thought to your window and front door. You do not want them to be "tough guy" intimidating, you want them to be welcoming. Design a plan for kids. A kids class can pay the rent. Parents spend money on their kids, often, more than they spend on themselves. Consider a fitness class for moms, market accordingly - make it friendly, upbeat and accessible time wise.

You'll want to make a good first impression and get in good with whatever businesses are beside you, their word of mouth can help, especially if they've been there a while.

There's more, but that's probably enough requirements to think about out of the gate. And these things really are "requirements".

never used an attorney. and talking to the zoning board is a must, you may need a occupancy permit. i ran into problems once because the inspector said the space needed a wider front door and a wider back hall exit. i couldnt alter the building and already signed the lease.

when teaching you also need a solid unshakable view of yourself. when no one shows up for class you will doubt your self, when people quit you will blame yourself and when students fail it will be your fault. on the flip side, the good times are great.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

never used an attorney. and talking to the zoning board is a must, you may need a occupancy permit. i ran into problems once because the inspector said the space needed a wider front door and a wider back hall exit. i couldnt alter the building and already signed the lease.

when teaching you also need a solid unshakable view of yourself. when no one shows up for class you will doubt your self, when people quit you will blame yourself and when students fail it will be your fault. on the flip side, the good times are great.

I've gotten away with not using an attorney on some things, but I'm with Buka on this one - it's a good idea to at least have an attorney involved in the initial lease, your waiver, etc. There are intricacies involved that we are not trained for.

 

[hoshin1600]

it's a good idea to at least have an attorney involved in the initial lease, your waiver, etc. There are intricacies involved that we are not trained for.

agreed, i was not advising others to not get professionals involved. i was only making a juxtapose and pointing out a few of my failures.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

agreed, i was not advising others to not get professionals involved. i was only making a juxtapose and pointing out a few of my failures.

Which I have shared with you, at times. I sometimes lean too heavily on my own "knowledge" in business. I've been lucky, but prefer now to involve someone who has knowledge (without the quotes).

 

[Juany118]

I am not saying many instructors are making a living on it. I am saying it is hard to believe most of the instructors are not making some money (=making money out, right?). And I said I know people (and I know very little) living on it as extreme examples.

In my first month teaching, I was making money for my organisation and for me (50/50) with a few students. (Ok, all my earnings I put back on my own training and equipment, fuel... but it was from the first month.) So how to believe people in the market for decades and/or dozens of student don't make some money?
Ok, I put a lot of money and time on my own training before having some earnings. But after decades still not making some money overall? You don't know no one making some money, really?

Ok, you may say it is like this. I will not argue more about that. It is since a while no more about 'requirements to open a dojo'. Perhaps about 'requirements to keep the door open'... New thread to come?

Well my school is 100% basically just covering operating expenses (and some "oh crap" cash) and the more I hear from others the more I realize this is almost the "rule". Teaching the classes is not time intensive and teaching martial arts seems more a passion than anything else, so the instructors all have "day jobs". Were you covering the rent for 1000+ square feet, electric and gas (when winter rolled around)?

It's one thing to be teaching a class at the YMCA (or other shared space) and another to have your own dedicated space. Heck we are starting to run seminars now for the general public because we have run out of space, found a new location, but need to come up with $5 grand in a certain time frame to make the move happen. Problem is the instructors for our seminars (such as one we did on active shooters for civilians recently) are professionals in our field and even though we charge less than say a Corporation would be charged for such a seminar people say "what?!?!? that's too expensive" so we have been breaking even.