Just Got Permission to Teach

[wingchun100]

Hey everyone,
I put this on the wrong board earlier. Oops!
Recently I was given permission by my Sifu to teach Wing Chun. So far I have made only one attempt at advertising for it, which was on good old Craigslist. I got one email, and the person who contacted me did not answer his phone when I called back. I left a voicemail but got no call back.
My question is: can you recommend some places that might be BETTER to advertise? I know I am not going to get swamrs and swarms of people; I am not going to be a millionaire, and I also know that most people who respond may not stick around for very long. However, I would like to at least get more than one reply!
Thanks for any help/tips.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Hey everyone,
I put this on the wrong board earlier. Oops!
Recently I was given permission by my Sifu to teach Wing Chun. So far I have made only one attempt at advertising for it, which was on good old Craigslist. I got one email, and the person who contacted me did not answer his phone when I called back. I left a voicemail but got no call back.
My question is: can you recommend some places that might be BETTER to advertise? I know I am not going to get swamrs and swarms of people; I am not going to be a millionaire, and I also know that most people who respond may not stick around for very long. However, I would like to at least get more than one reply!
Thanks for any help/tips.

City and county recreation centers. Make sure you have all of the descriptions and info for your school. And have a detailed program that you can teach in their centers. I do small self defense classes that last about 4 - 8 weeks. This way I can start a new class every few months. Use this exposure to build a relationship with both potential students and the recreation department. Don't do this until you are ready. The recreation department will do background checks so if you have a criminal history then this won't be an option.

Recreation departments will advertise for you and usually they will have connections with the schools within the county. Free advertising. TKD and Karate schools may already be ahead of you so it may take a while to see returns. But when it happens it will be big. Always be professional and reliable so that you aren't blacklisted within the recreation department.

 

[Tames D]

Congratulations. You can post flyers or business cards in local businesses that will allow you. If you are willing to pay a fee, local newspapers or martial arts publications.
If you really have balls, post your ad in local Wing Chun schools

 

[wingchun100]

City and county recreation centers. Make sure you have all of the descriptions and info for your school. And have a detailed program that you can teach in their centers. I do small self defense classes that last about 4 - 8 weeks. This way I can start a new class every few months. Use this exposure to build a relationship with both potential students and the recreation department. Don't do this until you are ready. The recreation department will do background checks so if you have a criminal history then this won't be an option.

Recreation departments will advertise for you and usually they will have connections with the schools within the county. Free advertising. TKD and Karate schools may already be ahead of you so it may take a while to see returns. But when it happens it will be big. Always be professional and reliable so that you aren't blacklisted within the recreation department.

I am lucky in that I believe I am the only martial arts game in town. Stillwater is unbelievably small. There might be some schools in nearby Mechanicville, but not where I live. Then again, that could work against me too: there are probably no schools there because there is no interest.

Thanks for the advice though.

 

[wingchun100]

Congratulations. You can post flyers or business cards in local businesses that will allow you. If you are willing to pay a fee, local newspapers or martial arts publications.
If you really have balls, post your ad in local Wing Chun schools

Haha, I don't really have the courage for the latter. However, there is a chain of convenience stores that still have old school bulletin boards. I could create a quickie flyer at home and post it whenever I stop at one.

 

[wingchun100]

If I posted the ad here, could you folks give me tips on what might or might not be working in it?

 

[JowGaWolf]

I am lucky in that I believe I am the only martial arts game in town. Stillwater is unbelievably small. There might be some schools in nearby Mechanicville, but not where I live. Then again, that could work against me too: there are probably no schools there because there is no interest.

Thanks for the advice though.

Are there other martial places in your town. if so how far away are they. location is everything. if there is nothing but mechanic shops near you then maybe some of the people who work there are interesred. Maybe those same people have kids.

My general rule is, if I don't see a franchised martial arts or Mma school or just gym. Then it's probably not a good location for a martial art school

 

[JR 137]

How far is Stillwater from Clifton Park? I'd imagine people who are interested in MA go to Clifton Park. There's several MA schools on Rt. 9, mostly TKD.

I live in Troy. I haven't been to Stillwater since I very briefly dated a girl from there when I was in high school. That was around '93.

If you're starting up, you may want to teach at a place like the YMCA. Get a strong student base, then transition to your own place. Or rent space at a different style MA school - teach Wing Chun at say a BJJ school at times they're not teaching.

I don't venture too far north of Latham very often. Is there a Wing Chun presence in the capital district? Only Kung fu schools I can think of off the top of my head are Cichon's in Albany, which has been around for quite some time and a newer place in Latham in the ABC Sports & Fitness plaza.

 

[Buka]

Congrats, bro!

Tough in a small population at times, so be patient. Wishing you all the best, my brother.

 

[wingchun100]

How far is Stillwater from Clifton Park? I'd imagine people who are interested in MA go to Clifton Park. There's several MA schools on Rt. 9, mostly TKD.

I live in Troy. I haven't been to Stillwater since I very briefly dated a girl from there when I was in high school. That was around '93.

If you're starting up, you may want to teach at a place like the YMCA. Get a strong student base, then transition to your own place. Or rent space at a different style MA school - teach Wing Chun at say a BJJ school at times they're not teaching.

I don't venture too far north of Latham very often. Is there a Wing Chun presence in the capital district? Only Kung fu schools I can think of off the top of my head are Cichon's in Albany, which has been around for quite some time and a newer place in Latham in the ABC Sports & Fitness plaza.

Hey, you should send me a private message! You don't live too far. Maybe we could have some practice time together.

Clifton Park is about 20-30 minutes from me. There is Cichon's in Albany, where I learned for a long time, but now I transferred to a gentleman who lives in Broadalbin. (I don't make that hike anymore; he teaches on Skidmore College's campus too, so I go there instead.) As for that Latham class, I have not heard of that. There is also someone else who teaches in Glens Falls.

 

[WaterGal]

If it's a very small town and you're teaching part time out of your garage or church hall or whatever (rather than renting a commercial space), putting up flyers sounds like a good place to start.

You can also set up a Facebook page for your school, which is free. You can put up a little about your classes, maybe put up a cover photo of you in a uniform throwing a punch or something. Try to post at least every few weeks to make your school look busy and active.

 

[wingchun100]

If it's a very small town and you're teaching part time out of your garage or church hall or whatever (rather than renting a commercial space), putting up flyers sounds like a good place to start.

You can also set up a Facebook page for your school, which is free. You can put up a little about your classes, maybe put up a cover photo of you in a uniform throwing a punch or something. Try to post at least every few weeks to make your school look busy and active.

Thanks for the tips!

 

[Andrew Green]

Hey everyone,
I put this on the wrong board earlier. Oops!
Recently I was given permission by my Sifu to teach Wing Chun. So far I have made only one attempt at advertising for it, which was on good old Craigslist. I got one email, and the person who contacted me did not answer his phone when I called back. I left a voicemail but got no call back.
My question is: can you recommend some places that might be BETTER to advertise? I know I am not going to get swamrs and swarms of people; I am not going to be a millionaire, and I also know that most people who respond may not stick around for very long. However, I would like to at least get more than one reply!
Thanks for any help/tips.

Are you looking at only free advertising? Or are you willing to pay (where you will get far better results). Do you have a facility? Are you looking for kids and / or adults?

There is also no reason not to try and get swarms and swarms of people. But it does take a little time to get the ball rolling. The very first thing you should do is set up a web page, or at least a landing page, a Facebook page, instagram account, etc. Start putting yourself out there and getting in front of your prospects.

 

[Andrew Green]

If I posted the ad here, could you folks give me tips on what might or might not be working in it?

sure.

 

[wingchun100]

Are you looking at only free advertising? Or are you willing to pay (where you will get far better results). Do you have a facility? Are you looking for kids and / or adults?

There is also no reason not to try and get swarms and swarms of people. But it does take a little time to get the ball rolling. The very first thing you should do is set up a web page, or at least a landing page, a Facebook page, instagram account, etc. Start putting yourself out there and getting in front of your prospects.

I'm not saying I am NOT looking to get swarms, but I am being realistic. That will not happen at first.

I have no facility at the moment. Most community/rec centers want me to have liability insurance. A waiver is not enough. I looked into the insurance, and it was about $800 per year...more than I have at the moment. As for paying for advertising, I was going to use free advertising at first and then invest some of that revenue into an advertising fund.

 

[Andrew Green]

I'm not saying I am NOT looking to get swarms, but I am being realistic. That will not happen at first.

I have no facility at the moment. Most community/rec centers want me to have liability insurance. A waiver is not enough. I looked into the insurance, and it was about $800 per year...more than I have at the moment. As for paying for advertising, I was going to use free advertising at first and then invest some of that revenue into an advertising fund.

I suspect you are going to have a hard time getting your first class going, at this stage you might be better off trying to partner somewhere. I'm not sure what options you have in your area, but here what I would do if I was starting from nothing would be to try and teach a program run out of a community centre. The city runs the centre, does the advertising, collects the fees and pays me. Build up a bit of a class using their resources and then move to your own setup once you have a class.

Another option would be to start by specializing in private training, approach the situation more as a personal trainer, or small group fitness trainer rather then a school owner.

And finally get in with other places. Offer to teach a 4-8 week introduction to Wing Chun class. Or run a bunch of self-defence seminars through other groups.

But start building lists and an audience. Get email addresses, get people on your Facebook page, get people following you on instagram, youtube, snapchat... anywhere people are already going or looking.

Managing expectations is important, if you put yourself out and attract people thinking they are coming into a class of 20 other people and they are the only one there it's going to damage their perception. If they are expecting private or semi-private it won't. So I would suggest either setting yourself up to get a group together and start together or focusing on private / semi-private until you can. Both are options, it just depends on how you approach them.

The hard part might be not giving up, getting started is a little like a snowball, it is hard to get the first bit, but once it reaches critical mass you can grow a lot easier as you have the setup and funds to do it.

 

[wingchun100]

I suspect you are going to have a hard time getting your first class going, at this stage you might be better off trying to partner somewhere. I'm not sure what options you have in your area, but here what I would do if I was starting from nothing would be to try and teach a program run out of a community centre. The city runs the centre, does the advertising, collects the fees and pays me. Build up a bit of a class using their resources and then move to your own setup once you have a class.

Another option would be to start by specializing in private training, approach the situation more as a personal trainer, or small group fitness trainer rather then a school owner.

And finally get in with other places. Offer to teach a 4-8 week introduction to Wing Chun class. Or run a bunch of self-defence seminars through other groups.

But start building lists and an audience. Get email addresses, get people on your Facebook page, get people following you on instagram, youtube, snapchat... anywhere people are already going or looking.

Managing expectations is important, if you put yourself out and attract people thinking they are coming into a class of 20 other people and they are the only one there it's going to damage their perception. If they are expecting private or semi-private it won't. So I would suggest either setting yourself up to get a group together and start together or focusing on private / semi-private until you can. Both are options, it just depends on how you approach them.

The hard part might be not giving up, getting started is a little like a snowball, it is hard to get the first bit, but once it reaches critical mass you can grow a lot easier as you have the setup and funds to do it.

I have been trying the one-on-one personal trainer-type route. So far, literally one email back. When I called the person who wrote to me, there was no answer, and no call back. Still, I ran only one ad. I am not going to give up that easily.

 

[wingchun100]

I suspect you are going to have a hard time getting your first class going, at this stage you might be better off trying to partner somewhere. I'm not sure what options you have in your area, but here what I would do if I was starting from nothing would be to try and teach a program run out of a community centre. The city runs the centre, does the advertising, collects the fees and pays me. Build up a bit of a class using their resources and then move to your own setup once you have a class.

Another option would be to start by specializing in private training, approach the situation more as a personal trainer, or small group fitness trainer rather then a school owner.

And finally get in with other places. Offer to teach a 4-8 week introduction to Wing Chun class. Or run a bunch of self-defence seminars through other groups.

But start building lists and an audience. Get email addresses, get people on your Facebook page, get people following you on instagram, youtube, snapchat... anywhere people are already going or looking.

Managing expectations is important, if you put yourself out and attract people thinking they are coming into a class of 20 other people and they are the only one there it's going to damage their perception. If they are expecting private or semi-private it won't. So I would suggest either setting yourself up to get a group together and start together or focusing on private / semi-private until you can. Both are options, it just depends on how you approach them.

The hard part might be not giving up, getting started is a little like a snowball, it is hard to get the first bit, but once it reaches critical mass you can grow a lot easier as you have the setup and funds to do it.

When you say "get in with other places," where do you mean? Other martial arts schools? How would I pull that off without them thinking I am trying to steal students from them?

 

[Andrew Green]

When you say "get in with other places," where do you mean? Other martial arts schools? How would I pull that off without them thinking I am trying to steal students from them?

Depends on the state of the school, a new school with timeslots to fill might welcome someone paying part of the rent for part of the time.

But more likely other sorts of places. Daycares, schools, offices, anywhere that might welcome someone coming in and teaching self-defence / bully prevention / fitness / etc.

 

[WaterGal]

Depends on the state of the school, a new school with timeslots to fill might welcome someone paying part of the rent for part of the time.

But more likely other sorts of places. Daycares, schools, offices, anywhere that might welcome someone coming in and teaching self-defence / bully prevention / fitness / etc.

I think those other sorts of places are more likely to expect him to provide his own liability insurance, though.

Where I live (in the exurbs), there are a number of martial arts schools that have a dedicated facility that do this. Sometimes it's because the school owner only knows, say, Taekwondo, but they want to offer grappling or Krav Maga or whatever, so they contract with someone else who can teach that. Other times, I think it's because the school is only a part-time gig for the owner, so they're renting a facility that sits empty half the week.