Posts Tagged ‘Rule Of Thumb’

Is Bigger Better When It Comes To Martial Arts Schools?

Do you need a huge school and 500 students to be successful financially? Not by a long shot!

When it comes to running a martial arts school, size is an important consideration. Of course, everyone wants to have a lot of students and nice, spacious facilities. But how big is too big when it comes to running a martial art school?

To answer this question, first we have to determine exactly what our end goal is or starting our school. Then, once we can “begin with the end in mind”, we can determine how large we can get without hindering our progress toward our goal.

What Kind Of Lifestyle Do You Want?

This is perhaps the most important question to ask ourselves when we first set out to open a martial arts studio. You see, your lifestyle as an instructor will be largely determined by the size of your facility.

Now, this speaks not only to the amount of money you can potentially make, but also to the number of hours you will need to work to manage your school and staff. Obviously, the more students you enroll, the more gross income your school will generate.

However, at some point the law of diminishing returns will kick in; this is an economic principle that basically states that, when work output increases beyond a certain point, the relative return will begin to decrease. In other words, after a certain point in growth your profit margins will get more and more narrow.

That’s why size deserves careful consideration when you’re doing your initial business planning before opening your school. Let’s look at this topic in a bit more detail to see how size impacts profit margins in martial arts business. Read the rest of this entry »

Occasionally I get asked whether an instructor should teach out of their home. Since roughly one-half of the schools I’ve trained at have been located either in or on the grounds of private residences, I can relate to this issue.

My first bit of advice with regards to this issue of teaching out of your home is that you speak to an attorney about these matters. Since I’m not an attorney, any advice I can offer is pure conjecture based on my own experiences running a business. Only an attorney that is licensed to practice in your area can give you a definitive opinion in these matters. Read the rest of this entry »