Starting and Running Your Own Martial Arts School | 
 enlarge | Authors: Karen Levitz Vactor, Susan Lynn Peterson
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $12.28
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Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 402382
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0804834288
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.8
EAN: 9780804834285
ASIN: 0804834288
Publication Date: November 15, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
More than 90 percent of all martial arts schools fail within their first year. Starting and Running Your Own Martial Arts School shows martial artists how they can insure the success of their schools-before they put their hard earned cash and reputations on the line.It offers a thorough, practical introduction to the tasks and obligations involved in running a successful martial arts business. This is the perfect guide for those who dream of opening their own martial arts school, who are currently planning their school, or who already run schools but want to learn how to streamline day-to-day operations so they can have more time for training or spending time with students.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Getting started November 2, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Excellent book, whether you've had a school for a while or are starting a new one. I found it to be comprehensive, motivating, and helpful- Highly Recommend
 Basic Business Book March 10, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Much of the book is about business basics. If you took out the word "martial arts" you could replace it with just about any other business. For what it is, the book is well worth the purchase price.
 Great , Helpful Book October 27, 2005
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is well worth the money. It contains alot of information and thoughtful ideas. Well written.
Marketing for Martial Artists December 9, 2004
20 out of 21 found this review helpful
As a part-time martial arts instructor who makes a living with his business degrees, I gotta tell you that this is a really well written text. Karen Vactor is a well-rounded martial artist with a business degree who has built three successful karate schools. Susan Peterson, Ph.D. is a professional writer as well as an accomplished martial artist as well. The two have teamed up to create a comprehensive work which, while overly pithy in some areas, is really quite good. Be warned, however, that this book is all about creating and running a commercially successful school. Not all martial artists will agree with the authors' philosophical approach but none can argue with the quality of the materials they provide.
Chapter one covers marketing your identity, whatever it is that makes your school unique and interesting to potential students, including how to choose a name that reflects your image. Chapter two covers the business groundwork, something that very few martial artists really understand how to do properly. It covers advisors (e.g., attorney, accountant) that you might need and how to develop a business plan. Rule number one in retail is location. So is rule 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6... you get the idea. The next chapter not only covers how to find a good location, but also how to figure out what it will cost you, how to negotiate a lease, and how to layout your dojo floor space. Chapter five covers essential legal administrivia like insurance and regulatory compliance.
Chapter six covers student contracts, fee schedules, and hiring employees. Not sure I entirely agree with the author's philosophy here, but the advice is sound nevertheless. Chapter seven covers advertising tools such as brochures, business cards, flyers, and your entrance signage. Chapter eight comprehensively covers basic marketing such as mass mailings, yellow pages ads, etc. Chapter nine goes into more detail on the same subject. Once marketing brings perspective students to your door, chapter ten deals with how to "close the deal" and sign them up. Chapter eleven covers attendance, student tracking, and payment tracking. Chapter eleven covers the how to keep track of your cash flow and create basic financial statements. Chapter thirteen is a good overview of strategies that keep students motivated and interested in coming back. Chapter fourteen covers how to place and sell products associated with your training (e.g., uniforms). It covers the basics of pricing, costs, profits, inventory tracking, and display. The final chapter is a "troubleshooting guide" that can help you solve problems such as high drop out rates, attendance problems, "closing" problems, etc. The glossary of business terms is a great overview for folks who don't really understand all that stuff.
Lawrence Kane
Author of Surviving Armed Assaults, The Way of Kata, and Martial Arts Instruction
Good Book by Smart Writers March 20, 2004
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
While not as detailed as similar titles, this is a good overview of running a school.
There is a lot to learn in these pages.
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