If you are planning on opening your own martial arts school or MMA training facility making sure you have done thorough planning is essential to your success, just as in any other business. Often even more important as many of those who choose to open their own schools may have strong martial arts backgrounds but limited business experience. One of the best ways to get some real world business experience in this industry is to become an instructor for a school or MMA training center first. This will give you great insight and first hand knowledge of how others operate their businesses as well as what works and what doesn’t.
There is so much more to building a successful school and business than just being a great fighter or teacher. You could hire professionals to handle all the areas you are not experienced in, but as a new start up you will probably be limited on capital and expendable funds. The worst thing you can do is get a month into business and realize you hadn’t planned for many of the expenses or overestimated the amount of revenues you can realistically make. If you don’t have a college degree or experience running your own business it may be wise to take a couple of short courses on business management or entrepreneurship. Failing to plan is planning to fail, so make sure you dedicate sufficient time and resources to doing it right the first time. You can either draft a plan yourself, or these days it is pretty inexpensive to have someone do it for you, which gives you the added benefit of a third party unbiased opinion who can help keep your expectations realistic.
The foundation of any business plan is market research. Again doing this yourself can give you more great ideas and insights for your new company or you can outsource it. The SBA (Small Business Association) and their website have a wealth of information as well as offering small business loans. According to the SBA the essential elements of a business plan include:
- Executive Summary
- Market Analysis
- Company Description
- Organization & Management
- Service or Product Line
- Funding Request
- Financials
Certainly this is a great time to get into the MMA or Self-Defense business for you, so do it right and Good Luck!