Full Time Instructors

[Jiffy]

Hi All,

I'm sure that the goal of many instructors, including myself is to teach full time. That is, teach for a daily income.

I would like to hear from those of you who do teach full time, I would like to know more about it.

1) How did you get there? What tips do you have to those wishing to follow in your footsteps?

2) What are the down sides that perhaps we might not think of? eg. the hours etc.

3) What is the best thing about what you do?

[GoshinKaikuRyu]

I'm currently teaching for an agency. http://www.allamericanyouth.org

1) I've been training for 11 years and teaching for 5. I taught under my master instructor and then I decided to branch out on my own. Teaching for All American Youth was pretty much a middle point between teaching for someone and getting my own dojo.

Tips: Build up your resume! Get every martial related job, private lesson, and group seminar possible under your belt. Credibility and references are KEY!

2) I make $25 dollars an hour, but I only work 12 hours a week. Which is AWESOME for a college student, but you can't support a family on that.

If I had my own dojo, I'd be making about the same AFTER all business oriented costs.

HERE's a TIP:

You need a second form of income. Start an afterschool program. This was A HUGE money maker at my last dojo and it's the only reason my instructor was able to live comfortably. He ran a very successful night program (aside from after school) but the operating costs were just so much.

3) I'm only 20 years old and I do what I love for a living. Lots of people over 30 years older than me can't even say that!

[Jiffy]

Hey There,

Thanks for the reply, some good ideas.

I might just re-clarify though. I'm currently co-running a dojo which is quite successful. It has been running for 9 years. Unfortunately, it does not make enough money to supply a sole income. There are however, those that only teach martial arts, without a second source of income. I want to know how they did it, because like you, I can't seem to figure out how to do it without a second source of income.

[JusticeZero]

I've seen the question come up plenty of times. The answer seems to be, an after-school kids' class. EVERYONE I have heard of who was able to make money or knew someone who made money in martial arts made the bulk of their money through the afterschool kids' class.

[granmasterchen]

teaching kids is the way to make money, unfortunately i have seen many good martial artists forget about the art form and solely focus on the money aspect after awhile, be careful and always remember to teach the art.

[MartialArthur]

Number one: Have a great program that people love.

Unfortunately, that's not enough.

Teaching kids in the afternoon is where you are most likely to succeed financially. Those that work a "day job" often start classes too late to capture the after school crowd. Remember, parents are willing to spend a lot of money on their kids. Realize that your customers are not the kids, but the kid's parents.

Annual Memberships (contracts) are essential for success. Kids are too fickle and will come and go too quickly if the parents are not committed to the program. Require automatic payment by debit or credit card, otherwise you will be looking for money every month... some of which will never come. The ones who initially object to the auto-pay turn out to be the worst. Don't make exceptions. It's better to lose one or two potential problem accounts than to start allowing exceptions. Parents do talk to each other, so that one "exception" will cause other problems for you.

Market, market, market... hanging flyers on doors in neighborhoods works great and it's cheap.

Make members feel like part of your school by sending them birthday cards, christmas cards, newsletters, mother's day cards, ... etc.

Try to encourage referrals by having buddy days, referral contests, "parents work out free for a month" promotions, etc.

Finally: Have a great program that people love.

..

[red dawn]

teaching kids is the way to make money, unfortunately i have seen many good martial artists forget about the art form and solely focus on the money aspect after awhile, be careful and always remember to teach the art.

I agree...this can end up hurting your credibility in the long run.

Though making money is good and you will have to do this full-time, never forget why you started teaching in the first place!

[Sohan]

Some reputable instructors have found it very lucrative to teach privately in client homes. There are many out there who will pay to have someone come to their home to teach a martial art one on one--because of convenience or less intimidation.

Bruce Lee closed his schools to teach privately because he earned more doing so and it was less problematic. I myself teach privately in conjunction with teaching under my sensei at our dojo.

Respectfully,

Sohan

[Ilex]

My instructor is a self-employed full time instructor, who employs me to teach full time. It was his offer of a job that got me into teaching.

[gedanmawashigeriking]

For most instructors you need to focus on Kids, which can have pros and cons..unfortunately, I've mostly seen cons which end up watering down a system to please kids getting belts quick.

For the cream of the crop, the answer lies in being a Champion in some fighting event and/or having created world champions. If you have this reputation most of your $ will be made by private lessons.

Last but not least, be reliable. I know this seems like common sense but I know a very capable instructor that has a lot of personal problems that let it interfere with showing up on time or even showing up at all to teach.

I got to see how Master Toddy ran his gym in Las Vegas, which was a very good opportunity and he told me he made most of his $ in teaching from private lessons. Then again, not many of us are near his skill level at teaching to have the rep to demand as much money as he is getting.