[QUOTE=mickey;1161545]Greetings,
This thread was actually inspired by TenTigers observation about income levels of people who own Harley Davidsons and how he was going target the money by joining their local chapter. I thought this was a really good and shrewd idea. Though I do NOT plan to travel the road of teacher by profession, it does not mean I am without ideas on how to bring in the money:
1- Give demos at your local golf club. Some clubs have a membership stretching three generations. That is A LOT of impressions. The key to success here is that you have to present it as a wholesome activity that benefits the person physically mentally and spiritually. Provide brochures and business cards. Similarly, you can go to the local churches, halls, synagogues, temples, mosques, and community centers.
2- Develop a special pilot program for ADD/ADHD children.
3- Demo at college campuses, high schools, elementary schools. At the high school and college levels you can look into developing a club that will teach basic training. A teacher’s license may be required.
4- Take full advantage of conventions and cultural events in your area. Demo, Demo, Demo.
5- Social responsibility. Give back o the community and make sure the media is there to cover it. This can include the collection of unwrapped toys for children for Christmas, the giving of turkeys for Thanksgiving (this is pricey, team up with some other businesses), a clothing drive for the homeless. You do not just want people to know your name, you want them to know your heart, your basic goodness.
mickey[/QUOTE]
1st off in my professional opinion Ten Tiger’s idea was a bad one. Most Harley riders are invested into their bikes as their hobby and the likely hood they’re going to train in martial arts is slim. I’ve been in the business of running and owning martial arts schools for 13 years now (both non-affiliated and big organizations) and bikers aren’t necessarily the market profile that’s going to build your school. As for the other ideas:
- Golf already provides physical, mental and spiritual benefits to it’s players. This is not to say you won’t ever teach a golfer, it’s that they are people who already have a hobby and most can only afford to participate in one hobby at a time, time wise and financially.
As far as religious institutions, hang an ad on their bulletin board buts that as far as you need to take it.
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I would recommend either A.integrating it into your already established youth program. or B. developing an ADD/ADHD specific program, getting certified to be able to handle a group of these special needs kids and then seek government funding. Option A is going to be easier to pull off and not look like a fraud.
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College kids are one of the worst markets. They have no time or money to train therefore have a very high turn over rate.
High school kids are similar to college kids.
Elementary school kids are the easiest to fill a school, but demos aren’t the way to advertise to them. You need to go directly to the parents. Say you do a demo for an elementary school, and they love it. At the end you hand them a flyer and/or business card, 90-95% of them won’t make it home to the parents. Out of the 10% that did, how many of those kids are even interested? How many parents can afford it? How many actually call you? How many set an appointment to try a class? And how many sign up? If you’re lucky, 1. Not a good use of time and marketing materials.
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Preaching to the choir. I see this at the cultural center here all the time. Chinese martial arts schools demonstrating at the cultural center to people who are already at a school doing the same thing they’re doing. All the schools here that do demos at the cultural center have one thing in common, none of them have successful schools. People who go to cultural centers are typically Asians and other martial artist. In my experience Asians aren’t a good market unless you’re Asian yourself because instead of training martial arts they are busy learning several languages, playing classical instruments, and getting straight A’s in school.
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This is commendable, I do a certain amount of charitable events through my school as well. I would recommend doing 1-2 per year no more. It becomes very costly and you honestly get little to no return on it in the form of students. It does look good if you receive a plaque for it to hang in your school, or if you do make the news and you record it and put it on your youtube site. The truth is people are coming to you to get in shape, lose weight, build confidence, etc, not because you’re a philanthropist.
It’s nice to see you tried to help school owners with your ideas, but honestly, coming from someone who’s been doing it as a career for over a decade these are the same mistakes I see a lot of beginning school owners make. Demonstrations are one of the worst ways to market and advertise your school. Think of this, Jiu Jitsu is the “it” martial art right now; they are filling schools no problem and non of them are doing demonstrations.
If you are a new school owner and/or a struggling school owner the 1st recommendation I would make to you is learn how to run a school. You got your black belt/sash in martial arts, get one in business.
Here’s a starting point for you.
http://martialartsteachers.com/
Remember just because someone is a great martial artist doesn’t mean they are a great instructor. And just because someone is a great instructor doesn’t mean they know how to run a school.
