Karate School Pricing

[lvmalone1]

I have recently relocated to Southern California and am looking into opening a school here.

I have also been making some calls and inquiries to continue my own training.

The one thing i have noticed is prices are outrageous here in California and I am considering looking for a community center or a public school gym to use and offer a low cost school to allow a lot of kids and adults who might not have the opportunity to train due to the high cost, the opportunity to learn MA.

My questions is: since I am going to be using this as a source of income, as well as because I simply love to train and teach, what are some of the pricing structures that you have seen. I am looking at offering 2 options, monthly price for individual and family as well as class block pricing. I have been thinking $75.00 for individual or 125.00 for family, and a 5 class block for 35.00 or 10 class block for 65.00. I have gotten prices as high as $400.00 for families here since I would also have my son continue training with me.

I look forward to your feedback.

Thank you!

[joesteph]

I have recently relocated to Southern California . . .

I have gotten prices as high as $400.00 for families here since I would also have my son continue training with me.

I thought prices were high where I live, in the NYC metropolitan area, but that last figure is a complete surprise. Is it in an affluent community?

Are the prices so high where you are now because of rent and other expenses? I pay $90 for the first family member, $85 for the second, and $80 for the third, and mine is a middle-class community. That's $255 for three people in the NYC metropolitan area, compared with $400 for two people where you live in Southern California. And it's not easy to pay what I do as I'm not in the "affluent" category.

Good luck with starting your school.

[lvmalone1]

It is a middle class area about 50 miles from San Diego and 70 miles from Los Angeles.

When I trained in Rhode Island, which is anything but affluent I was paying 300.00 per month for a family and 70.00 testing fees, 60.00 tournament fees (interschool tournament at that)....

I just feel everyone who wants to train should be able to and I don't want to price the people who can use the training out of being able to.

[ninjanurse]

My school is in a lower income area of Up-state NY and I presently charge $65/month so that almost no-one is excluded. I also make deals on an individual basis for those who really cannot afford it.

[Tiger1962]

I have recently relocated to Southern California and am looking into opening a school here.

I have also been making some calls and inquiries to continue my own training.

The one thing i have noticed is prices are outrageous here in California and I am considering looking for a community center or a public school gym to use and offer a low cost school to allow a lot of kids and adults who might not have the opportunity to train due to the high cost, the opportunity to learn MA.

My questions is: since I am going to be using this as a source of income, as well as because I simply love to train and teach, what are some of the pricing structures that you have seen. I am looking at offering 2 options, monthly price for individual and family as well as class block pricing. I have been thinking $75.00 for individual or 125.00 for family, and a 5 class block for 35.00 or 10 class block for 65.00. I have gotten prices as high as $400.00 for families here since I would also have my son continue training with me.

I look forward to your feedback.

Thank you!

My guess is that different geographic locations will determine what's an appropriate amount to charge. If the area is affluent or upper middle class, and the rents are high, then charging more will warrant that. For me, personally, $75.00 per month is high but again, I'm not from Southern California and perhaps in your area, you can get that with no problems.

[NightOwl]

That seems a bit high to me. Again, I can't exactly comment on the neighborhood you are in, but American Top Team in Florida, one of the, if the THE best martial art gyms in the world starts from around $125. Team Quest which is also in California starts off a little over $100 I think.

Although I never took classes there, I did visit the Kyokushin Honbu in Ikebukuro Tokyo, and classes go there for about 10,500 yen or roughly $105 bucks per month ( http://www.kyokushinkaikan.org/ja/introdouction/index.html ); and when I went to the kodokan Judo honbu dojo, it was only $50 bucks a month (although judo is famous for being inexpensive).

It is a middle class area about 50 miles from San Diego and 70 miles from Los Angeles.

When I trained in Rhode Island, which is anything but affluent I was paying 300.00 per month for a family and 70.00 testing fees, 60.00 tournament fees (interschool tournament at that)....

I just feel everyone who wants to train should be able to and I don't want to price the people who can use the training out of being able to.

Unreal! Could other Californians comment on the prices out there?

[Wa-No-Michi]

I am not a Californian, but my lessons are £ 4.00 ea = $ 3.00 per session.

The cool thing is, there is no contract, you pay as you train.

[bushido_man96]

I think that a monthly fee would be the way to go. I do like the class block idea, but I wonder how well it would be received.

Best of luck to you! Those prices are high.

[Traymond]

California is an extremely costly place to learn martial arts, when i was visiting for a month and a half learning bagua and xingyi, classes were 50 dollars a session, and I was attending 3 classes a week, it added up QUICK. Luckily I was only their to learn two forms though, so it did not take to long.

[Tiger1962]

My school is in a lower income area of Up-state NY and I presently charge $65/month so that almost no-one is excluded. I also make deals on an individual basis for those who really cannot afford it.

That sounds about average / right.

I think with all the unemployment lately and the way the economy is, anyone that raises their prices these days is in for a rude awakening. Meaning = loss of students / members!