Well, you get the
idea. It's competitive out there. What have you got that people are
going beat a path to your door?
At least the following
schools have closed in our area over the last while -- Park Jong Soo's
taekwondo (his organization once numbered 10 schools and is now cut
back to four), Northern Karate (expansion of a fifth school into Newmarket
seems not to have worked), one Goju Ryu school has disappeared -- and
these are satellites of large organizations and only the ones that have
come to my attention, not an exhaustive list.
Are
You a People Person?
Because runnig a
dojo is all about people. Customer service is the name of the
game.You have to be able to get along with a wide variety of people
-- some of whom you may not particularly like. And parents -- oi
vai -- telling the parents that their little darling can't be on
the demo team because he never comes to practice -- or that little Suzy
can't get her next belt level because she disrupts the class and does
as little as possible.
And that's just
the customers.
Are you a lone wolf
or a team player? Do you care more about the job getting done or about
the job getting done your way. If you can do the team thing (really
well, and you'd better know this from past experience) maybe you'd well
with a team of peers or partners. Maybe you'll just teach with a few
assistants and let a partner/business manager handle the gory details.
Again, a matter of choice and personality.
Can you get along
with your staff? Because at some point in time you're probably going
to want to share the teaching load -- because they have skills you lack,
because you'd like to occassionally train yourself, because you have
a demonstration booked for that night, whatever.
How much of a control
freak are you? Can you stand someone teaching your students in a different
way than you? Should you? And remember that, even as you wouldn't even
dream of opening a dojo unless you had a healthy ego, no one you hire
or partner with is going to weak in that department either.
[And of course,
you'll have to pay them. That means in some ways you're responsible
for them as well. Their paychecks. Their social insurance. Their employment
insurance. Their paperwork.]
How good at hiring
and firing are you? Because if you hire, you will make mistakes.
How willing are you to hurt someone's feelings if it means cutting your
losses. As someone said, once you figure out that you need to let someone
go, you also realize that you should have done it sooner.
And that's just
the business.
To thrive in the
martial arts community you'll make networks. Trade seminars. Attend
each others tournaments. Go to and have them come to your gradings.
Can you cope with the shifting alliances, sometimes so complicated that
they'd confuse a Southern Democrat. Are you a political animal? Can
you do it if you have to? Or do you think it's fun?
And you'd better
figure out how you're going to handle it when powerful friend 'A'
starts to dump all over long time friend 'B'.
How
Loyal/Responsible Are You?
This is just something
you need to know about yourself. It's kind of like your own personal
scumbucket rating. Once you decide to go off and start your own dojo,
what will your relationship with your old master be like? This is the
person who basically taught you everything you're going to be
teaching. Are you going to compete with them? Bad mouth them? And how
does that reflect on your own credibility?
Of course if you
take the high road and set up shop elsewhere -- which in a rural environment
might be 100 miles away, and in the city 3 miles away -- you have to
establish your own credibility and can't leech off the credibility of
your old master. And of course, just to be fair, there are lots of cases
where the 'old master' wouldn't be happy with you setting up a dojo
if he lived in Llandrindod Wells and you lived in Woori Yallock (a challenge
to my readers who are fans of the gazetteer). But remember that people
are going to want to know where you got your training.
The other major
responsibility is to your students. When they sign on, it could be for
a month, but it could be for years, or even decades. Are you going to
add to the bad reputation of martial arts schools by dumping your students
if you get a better offer -- if the going gets tough and you decide
to bail -- if a cheaper rental space opens up across town? For a lot
of your students changing dojos would be very challenging -- after all
they chose you because they liked your style and they liked the way
you did things. I had to call a plumber recently and he really
wanted to learn the martial arts -- in the last 5 years he had had 3
schools from different styles close on him. He was discouraged. And
he felt somehow betrayed. And he wasn't a little kid. How do you
feel about it?
And little things
can mean a lot. If your clients are inner city and you move to the suburbs
because of cheaper rent most of them won't be able to follow. Even moving
within a city can be a challenge if it radically alters what your students
have to do to get to you.
Do
You Really Want to Make Your Avocation Your Vocation?
Do you really want
to turn your hobby into your job?
Are you going to have to make compromises because your living as dependent
on it? Are you prepared to compromise? Or are you prepared to not
compromise? Do you water down the curriculum to get more students, to
make it more fun? Do you need to? Is it the right choice? Maybe you
feel you need to be more structured and militaristic and that goes against
your grain. Or are you prepared to be stubborn and starve and watch
your kids go barefoot in the winter? [So, I'm indulging a flare for
the dramatic -- this may not be one of the decisions you have to make
-- or even think about -- if you're lucky].
What about sick
time? A day off for good behaviour? A 1 week vacation every 3 or 4 years?
You can't cheat on the boss if you're the boss.
When are you going
to train -- most people -- there are always exceptions -- start to loose
their skills, their sharpness, as soon as they start spending a lot
of time on the floor teaching -- it's inevitable. Look at all the active
fighters in their 40's who run dojos -- it's not just the age -- it's
the 'no time' factor.
A great deal of
martial arts, some would even argue most, is taught by people who have
full time regular jobs. The space is donated or cheap. The instructors
are volunteers. They charge enough to cover basic expenses.
So a full time dojo
as a way to make your living? A dream for some, a nightmare for others.
Know Yourself.
How
Proud Are You?
Too proud to ask
for help and advice -- too bad. If you've earned your chops in the martial
arts, gone to the tournaments and seminars, then you know lots of people
in the business. They'd love to help as long as you've demonstrated
that your a person of integrity and they don't feel threatened. People
love to talk about their successes. And don't forget the obvious --
if you want to set up a dojo where it won't interfer with your teacher's
business, odds are they'd be delighted to help and advise you. After
all, they taught you pretty much everything you know about the martial
arts, they probably know a fair bit about the business as well.
Get
An Education
Number One. Get
an education. You'll need it to cope with the real world. You'll need
it set an example for your students. If you become physically incapacitated
you might even need it to make a living. If you already have a profession
you can ignore this one.
Ensure your martial
arts education. Do have enough skills to keep your students coming back
to learn more? How are you going to learn more? Join an organization
or two that gives you access to a wide array of knowledge people? Network
with a group of martial artists to cross-train skills. Whatever. It's
something you need to do.
Ensure your business
education. Yes, this puts bread on your table. You need to constantly
be updating your business skills -- maybe a degree in commerce or economics
for #1 might be a good idea. Network with other small business owners
-- they share a lot of your problems and concerns.
How
Lazy Are You?
If you are not a
high energy person whose idea of a good time is spending 12 to 16 hours
a day working -- well, just forget about the whole idea. You may not
have to work that hard for the rest of your life -- but for the first
10 years for sure.
What
About Your 'Private' Life?
If your whole life
revolves around the dojo, how do you feel about constantly rehashing
topics on the martial arts? Doesn't it get a little boring after 10
years or so?
Can you resist the
temptations of the dojo? Now I don't mean that you're a bad person or
anything, but when some fresh young stud or studette idolizes you and
thinks you can do no wrong hits on you, can you avoid temptation? Aside
from the obvious problems with power imbalance, etc., think of the impact
on your dojo should the relationship turn sour.
If you're already
partnered -- after being 'The Master' at the dojo all day, how will
feel when your significant other tells you to take out the garbage,
pick up your socks, and for God's sake, get a haircut.
And if you're working
at night and on the weekends, when are you going to meet or see this
signifigant other? What about your kids who'll know that their dad is
real strong and real fast but aren't sure what he looks like? What if
your kids turn out to be couch potatoes who want nothing to do with
martial arts and feel that sweat is 'uncool'?
Do
You Have Any Credibility?
Are you a 6th Dan
in a recognized sysem? Do you want to be? Do you need to be?
A lot of this, again,
is personal choice.
But if you wan fighting
credentials, if you want that stack of 6 foot trophies from big tournaments
in your window, don't fritter away your prime fighting years, usually
20 - 30, thinking you can do it later. The training time it takes to
compete in top level tournaments is really hard to find when you're
running a full time business. And you won't be able to do it on raw
talent -- because the big tournaments you'll loose to someone with just
as much talent who worked harder.
Alternatively, if
you a better coach than you are a fighter, you can put your students
trophies in your window, but that won't help until you train a few winning
students.
Do you need to belong
to an organization to give you credit -- a lot of people think they
do. There are literally hundreds of associations out there specifically
designed for free spirits, people that couldn't or wouldn't get along
with the traditonal organizations. These give you an upward path for
yourself if you want a higher ranking and it also gives your students
a sense that they have ranking in a larger community than just your
dojo. Now a lot of that is theoretical. [My best example of theoretical
in this context is the idea that your computer is upgradeable -- you
pay more for it because it's upgradeable but no one ever does it]
But enough people believe that the organizations thrive.
On the other hand,
go to 24fightingchickens.com and read Rob Redman's commentary on organizations.
He thinks that, with few exceptions they're just their to take your
money and basically offer nothing in return.
Money,
Money, Money
How are you going
to get yours?
Something like the
Educational Funding Company (EFC) is probably not a bad idea. The contract
that your student signs is basically with them. They collect and pay
you. This saves you all kinds of headaches.
Still, you need
to know a few things. If little Johnnie has signed up for a year of
lessons, what happens if -- he breaks his leg -- his parents move to
a new city -- his parents become unemployed -- he just doesn't want
to come anymore. Do you stick him with paying for the rest of the year
[and get the reputation in your community as being a big time sleezebucket]
or do you have some way for them to opt out. People will want to know
this and it will play a big part in their decision to sign up or not.
Think about the
ancillary streams of income -- birthday parties, summer camps, weekend
retreats, challenge days. Do you have the staff, the energy, the time?
And while we're at it how are you going to support yourself while you're
building your martial arts business? Think about it. Let's say that
you've found a suitable space in the right part of town, however you
define it. Let's say it costs $2,000 a month. Let's say utilities (heat,
water, power, phone, web access) are $300 a month (you can replace these
numbers with ones realistic for your area. Let's say that you've hired
an assistant to teach the little ones at minimum wage, $7 an hour, for
30 hours a week -- that's $210 a week or $850 a month. Let's say that
you need a few bags, a few mats, and a few pads, a few mirrors on the
walls, a few poster -- and let's say you're one hell of a scrounger
and this only sets you back $1,000. So that's about $36,000 dollars.
Now let's say that
you have an advertising budget of zero. So, how many students do you
need to support the dojo? Lets say you charge $90 per student per month.
So you need an average of about 36 students per month.
Are you going to
start off with 36 students for the first month? Are you going to end
up with 36 students at the end of the year?
But wait. Don't
you need a place to live. Don't you have to feed yourself? So let's
say that your time is worth $35,000 a year to live a modest lifestyle
-- well now you need 72 students a year.
Want to upgrade
the facilities, hire a business manager, another assistant teacher,
a few more heavy bags? You get the idea -- how are you planning to support
yourself until your business is actually turning a profit?
Remember that one
way to do it is to start small. Find someone who let you use some space
for free -- a church basement, a YMCA, the local sports arena. Maybe
you have skills you can barter for the space. Keep your day job. When
you out grow the space and need to find something commercial, maybe
you can take your students with you -- that's the plan anyway.
Who
Do You Want To Teach?
A very personal
decision. You could teach on a military base and get lots of really
polite, well behaved children. You could teach corporate bankers who
want some stress relief. You teach inner city kids, latch-key kids,
disadvantaged minorities, abused women. What's the nature of your calling?
Now me, I like the
well behaved groups.
But...it's the people
with the drive and vision to teach others that get the greatest rewards.
Let's face it. The well-behaved, well-adjusted kids and adults are going
to be just fine, with or without you. It's the others where you'll see
the growth, the victories over odds and circumstances, the enhanced
self-esteem, lives going in new positive directions at least in part
because you were there.
How
Emotionally Resilient Are You?
Are you resilient
enough to at least cope with the things that working with people brings?
The people who will betray your trust by training with you and then
going to a competitor? Gain a loyal following at your dojo and then
try and take them away from you? Become the idol of all the kids and
then just disappear one day leaving all the munchkins to wonder what
happened, and where did the love go? It may not happen often if you've
chosen your associates well, but stay in the business long enough and
these kinds of things are bound to happen. Ain't none of us perfect.
Can you cope with
watching people you care about making bad decisions and not be able
to help them? Watch kids full of promise turn to drugs no matter what
you do or say? See a kid not doing well because of the home situation
and not be able to do anything?
For all the helpin'
there's a lot of hurtin'. If you can't cope, go get a job.
So,
Is There An Upside?
Well, of course.
You will help people.
You'll help them become all they can be in spite of their backgrounds.
You'll help little kids with scumbag parents get the drive and ambition
to go to college. You'll see little bundles of furious energy grow up
into accomplished, successful teens and adults. You'll help give people
the courage to leave abusive relationships. Maybe they'll even learn
a martial art. If you're the right person for the job -- you will make
a difference -- for some people you could be the difference
in their lives.
So
-- Should I Open My Own Dojo?
If you have any
choice in the matter -- absolutely not. If you have any options
-- absolutely not. If you have any sense -- absolutely not.
Because to open
your own dojo, to teach martial arts full time, without a safety net
-- it's not a job, it's a calling. Frankly, it's not a life of
status and ego -- largely it's a life of service. The people who do
it, who do it right, are a breed apart, bless them -- because they make
the world a richer, better place.
Winston Stableford 7 May 2002