Martial Arts Career

[ArmorOfGod]

http://martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42320

No one should close this thead, but everyone should hop back and read that thread that I just linked to. It has an EXCELLENT article about running a ma business.

AoG

 

[K' Evans]

Very good responses and advice from everyone, I appreciate it a lot. I haven't thought of starting up a business per say, and I already have a lot of obstacles to cross before setting up one, namely being more proficient in my art, training in other arts, and perhaps finding other partners who may be specialized in other martial arts to go into a joint venture. Somehow, I think that is the most reasonable approach, given that I doubt I will be a master in 7 different martial arts or anything like that. Certainly, starting small and perhaps keeping it to a small school is more sensible than taking on bigger risks.

That article AOG posted is good. There's one example in it that I think relates to me a lot. I don't see myself as that business-oriented, and in a way, I may prefer if someone handles the nitty gritty of dealing with payments. I would much prefer to remain in the neutral position of teaching and also learning from other students and masters as well.

 

[jks9199]

I do think that overall, its my Sifu who is in charge of this endeavor. He has to personally see to it that I am capable of giving classes and teaching well. I have read that some teachers don't think you are fit to be an instructor until you have 5 or 6 years into the art, which makes it a really long committment. But then again, if this is really what I want, I would have pursued it until that far. Also, I guess it would be silly of me to think that I am capable of providing instructorship at such a young age.

With 5 or 6 years in some systems -- you're considered barely far enough along to lead warm up exercises while waiting for the instructor. In others -- you may have been an instructor for 4 years or more. Many are a compromise.

However... becoming a teacher IS a very long term commitment. You have the responsiblity of being there for each student, until they reach a sufficient state of development in their own training that they can continue without you, or be passed along to another instructor. To me, that means until they reach black belt (5 to 7 years on average, for an adult). Of course, if a student stops training, your responsibility has also stopped -- but you can't rely on that. And that means that if you close out a class/club... you have to be able to tell the students where else they can go.

 

[gblnking]

I'd suggest that you consider a "real" career, with any martial arts career being something you do on the side, at least at the start. That way, you can pay your bills, meet your obligations, and generally support yourself until the day comes that your martial arts business will do so.

I'd also suggest that you get the appropriate business training, so that you can effectively run a school. Some people manage to do so with no real preparation, and others more or less buy a franchise from someone (or in some other way get the business as a package)... but I feel pretty safe in saying that most schools try to get by without having the proper business tools, and as a result, lots go under quickly -- and others end up in situations that hurt the business and the martial arts instruction (like bad leases, improper insurance coverage, branching into areas that require licenses that they lack -- think daycare disguised as a "before & after school program, and lots of other things).

And -- if one day, your "hobby" or "side business" takes off, and you can make a living at it, fantastic!

I couldn't agree more. I trained with a guy who studied for years, became a BB, graduated the franchise teacher's course and promptly took out an enormous morgage and opened up a school under the franchise name. He struggled with this school for a long time. But he stuck with it. A few years later the IRS came in and seized all of the franchise's in my state.(and I beleive in a few other states as well) left him with nothing. His problem setting aside the crooks that ran the franchises from the top was that he had no real business knowledge. Get a business degree and put aside the romance of it. Pay your due diligence and aproach it from a smart business owners perspective.