Business Idea- Want Feedback

[ejones10]

$1000 month would be just to cover the majority of the expenses. If we could get to 50 kids ($60K/yr) it would be a nice 2nd income. If we could add one or two additional facilities, or move to a larger space that could accommodate a couple hundred kids, it could be a career.

[someguy]

$1000 month would be just to cover the majority of the expenses. If we could get to 50 kids ($60K/yr) it would be a nice 2nd income. If we could add one or two additional facilities, or move to a larger space that could accommodate a couple hundred kids, it could be a career.

What I was suggesting was that for a good program, you could could and should charge more. Basically, you are charging a little more than $4/hr for a service for which you need special certification, and equipment, etc.
I don't know what the demographics of your area are, but where I am parents are more than willing to pay for good after school activities. You aren't like an adult gym which just provides the facilities, you are providing a service, and (presumably) a safe and structured environment for kids. Any gym which provides training services charges a lot for this, whether it is an MMA gym or a personal training environment.
I understand the concept of a business plan that projects a loss for a while until getting established, but your model seems to be putting you in the hole from the start. What you are proposing should cost more than $50/month.

[AGrappleAday]

I just skimmed quickly through the thread, so it may have been covered. I would suggest looking into a gymnastics type of coach to cross over into that area for kids as well. Parents pay big bucks to get their kids in gymnastics most of the time, so I could see some sort of hybrid place with more versatility doing well....and it may help get the $$ you are asking. Also, it will be another child friendly type of option for any parents who may be concerned about the more typical gym type of exercises.

[ejones10]

What I was suggesting was that for a good program, you could could and should charge more. Basically, you are charging a little more than $4/hr for a service for which you need special certification, and equipment, etc.
I don't know what the demographics of your area are, but where I am parents are more than willing to pay for good after school activities. You aren't like an adult gym which just provides the facilities, you are providing a service, and (presumably) a safe and structured environment for kids. Any gym which provides training services charges a lot for this, whether it is an MMA gym or a personal training environment.
I understand the concept of a business plan that projects a loss for a while until getting established, but your model seems to be putting you in the hole from the start. What you are proposing should cost more than $50/month.

Good input. Thanks.

[boboplata2.0]

ttt!

my instructor is going back to the states after he gets his degree in 2015. that would be the day i'd pack up, go home & run an affiliate school. location is gonna be the key. imagine NY without a bjj academy. it's crazy but surrounding cities have respectable bjj schools but manila where a 5 square mile area has almost 40,000 college/university students doesn't have one(i've googled for days).

i'm thinking small. somewhere around 800 square feet. a couple of punching bags & just spartan cheap puzzle mats.

[Brian]

Can't really say how good a business idea it is, I'm not at all familiar with the market. It does seem to be an underserved area.

Thoughts:

1. You really should do some market analysis first. What are the roadblocks that would keep parents from having their kids participate? (Scheduling/transportation/etc.) What is the size of your pool here? That is how many kids are there, what percentage already have something similar (school sports, rec leagues, etc) in their lives? Is your area receptive to the idea of kids in a "fitness" program vs. a fun activity program? It sounds to me like success/failure here is likely based on how you market the program moreso than the program itself.
2. Can you afford the kind of location your potential market would require? Cheap spaces are cheap for a reason. They are either inconvenient, in areas perceived as undesirable, lacking in upkeep, etc. None of which would cause a parent to favor you.
3. Are there certifications for training children? Not that it hurts the thousands of Dojo around the country, but dealing with kids is a special skillset.
4. You mention a sales background, but what would the marketing plan be? Are you trying to appeal to parents? Are you trying to appeal to the kids? A mix?
5. If you're targeting the obese child market, how do you plan on keeping them interested? Kids aren't fat because they have no opportunity to run. They are fat because they eat like ****, and aren't interested in running / jumping etc. How do you get them to buy in to hard work without immediate reward?

[xxxVALETUDOxxx]

My friends wife did this before she started having babies. She would go from school to school and have the kids do all kinds of workouts. I think it was going pretty well for her.

Your biggest problem is going to be trying to do this outside of school. Most parents will probably not take their kid to something like this, although most should if they knew any better.

[ejones10]

Thanks for the input guys. I am going to work on "credibility" the first half of this year. I am going to get a PT certification and perhaps some other certs. Bottom line is I am training about 9 kids now fairly consistently so the things I'll learn while working towards certification will help me be a better Coach to them.

The second half of this year I'll focus on business analysis and decide if i really want to make a go of it.

[ejones10]

Can't really say how good a business idea it is, I'm not at all familiar with the market. It does seem to be an underserved area.

Thoughts:

1. You really should do some market analysis first. What are the roadblocks that would keep parents from having their kids participate? (Scheduling/transportation/etc.) What is the size of your pool here? That is how many kids are there, what percentage already have something similar (school sports, rec leagues, etc) in their lives? Is your area receptive to the idea of kids in a "fitness" program vs. a fun activity program? It sounds to me like success/failure here is likely based on how you market the program moreso than the program itself.
2. Can you afford the kind of location your potential market would require? Cheap spaces are cheap for a reason. They are either inconvenient, in areas perceived as undesirable, lacking in upkeep, etc. None of which would cause a parent to favor you.
3. Are there certifications for training children? Not that it hurts the thousands of Dojo around the country, but dealing with kids is a special skillset.
4. You mention a sales background, but what would the marketing plan be? Are you trying to appeal to parents? Are you trying to appeal to the kids? A mix?
5. If you're targeting the obese child market, how do you plan on keeping them interested? Kids aren't fat because they have no opportunity to run. They are fat because they eat like ****, and aren't interested in running / jumping etc. How do you get them to buy in to hard work without immediate reward?

1. Agree.
2. I have access to a great/horrible location now. Great because it's free. Horrible because it's in the middle of nowhere. My hope is to get up to 15-20 kids "addicted" to the program while using this space and use their "memberships" to move to a nicer space.
3. I am sure there are. I know CrossFit has one.
4. I plan on appealing to both parents and kids. I am lucky in that I have three kids who will be walking advertisements for my service. Also, my three kids and their athletic endeavors have given me great insight into running a kids program from a parents perspective.
5. I am not targeting the obese child market. More like using childhood obesity in the marketing message because it has a lot of buzz right now.

[Brian]

1. Agree.
2. I have access to a great/horrible location now. Great because it's free. Horrible because it's in the middle of nowhere. My hope is to get up to 15-20 kids "addicted" to the program while using this space and use their "memberships" to move to a nicer space.
3. I am sure there are. I know CrossFit has one.
4. I plan on appealing to both parents and kids. I am lucky in that I have three kids who will be walking advertisements for my service. Also, my three kids and their athletic endeavors have given me great insight into running a kids program from a parents perspective.
5. I am not targeting the obese child market. More like using childhood obesity in the marketing message because it has a lot of buzz right now.

1. Cool. It's something a lot of people skip because it's expense without direct revenue. But I've saved money in the past by not investing in some things that sounded great to me, but didn't work in the area.

2. Middle of nowhere is better than skid row, but not by much. IIRC an article I read some years ago, for every 10 miles away from a potential customer's house you are, expect to lose between a quarter and a third of customer's you'd otherwise have. Now I'm sure this varies by area (for instance in Maine we're used to having to drive 10-15 miles for specialty stuff) but it's a difficult barrier to overcome in today's overscheduled age. (One dojo in my area bought a used micro-school bus, and provides transportation to get around it.)

3. Get one or two, as marketing points alone they are invaluable. And you may improve yourself in the process.

4. That your kids are in shape is good, but only for people who already care about it. The obesity 'epidemic' in this country isn't predicated on a lack of knowledge. We didn't need "Supersize Me" to know that eating a ton of fast food and sitting on your ass is bad. Sadly, many parents just don't give a ****, and would rather watch Honey Boo Boo while dipping their pretzels in canned cake frosting, than take an active role in their children's health. (Sorry, mini-rant there.)

5. I guess my biggest concern would be the non-obese population group likely already has some form of fitness program, be it school sports, etc. If I can make a suggestion to add to your market research:

Being a chubby kid myself, I hated gym/recess, etc. because I was competing (if only in my one head) with the fit / athletic / coordinated kids. If I was sent to a gym by my parents where how many chinups/pushups/situps I could do was on display and compared to kids in better shape, I'd hate every second of it. No matter how many adults said it's about doing my best, that's not how the brain works.

A class dedicated to the 'non-athlete', where expectations are more reasonable (shorter intervals, etc) could be a huge selling point.