What Demographics Are Best For Your School?

A lot has been written about which demographics are best for a martial arts school. In virtually every case, the answer has been presented as though all schools are the same, so the answer has been a “one size fits all” answer. If you know anything about me, it’s that I don’t believe in “one size fits all.”

The truth is that the best demographics for your school depend on what kind of school you are planning. You have to think through who your students are going to be, then study every resource in your area to find out their income, where they live, and how often they move.

Single-Family Homes

These have always been touted as the best location for a school, and that may be correct, depending on the school. For kids-oriented, family-type martial arts schools, being nestled within a community of single-family homes with a few elementary schools may be ideal. Elementary schools are packed (overpacked usually) with your target market, and they attract additional families to the area.

Multi-Family Homes

Multi-family homes are condos, townhouses, and apartments. Who typically lives there? Young adults, that’s who. If your school offers adult-oriented mixed martial arts, self defense, kickboxing, fitness martial arts, sport, or just wants to pull more adults than kids, then you want to be in this kind of area. Bonus! What do multi-family home renters tend to do more

than single-family home owners? Move! This means there is always a stream of new potential students unloading their moving vans everyday.

Large High-Income Homes

Because high-income families have large homes, there are far less of them in a given pull radius than single family or multi-family homes. Plus, wealthy kids have the resources to do almost any activity and often do. Your school may or may not be at the top of their list, even if they do join. Middle-and upper-middle-class students tend to focus on one activity.

That’s not to say you can’t make it work in this demographic. You can, like Keith Hirabayashi has with his school in Brentwood, California. You just have to be a really good, charismatic teacher, like Keith.

Your Potential With Your Pull

The Space

What is a good size for your school? It depends on the area and the rent. Remember, you want to build a profitable school, not your ego. Other considerations for the size of your school are: What segment of the market are you going for? Will you be able to schedule and support two classes per night, or five? If you only have two, you may need more room to fit all the students into just two classes. If you can support five classes a night, you will have smaller classes, which allows you to make a smaller space profitable much faster.

Kids take up less space than adults. It’s better to lease a smaller space that offers the opportunity to expand than take a double space and regret it later. Always look for a space that has an empty space next to it, which gives you two benefits:

1            It makes your space more negotiable. Empty spaces mean lost money to a landlord. Also, it’s harder to rent a strip of stores if some are empty. Traffic is the key, and empty spaces don’t create traffic. Landlords are highly receptive to negotiation just to start filling some spaces. Keep in mind that the spaces may be empty for a reason. Make sure the space is in the right area and talk to all of the other stores in the plaza to see how the landlord is to work with and “how business is” at this site. Also, if you can, track down who was in the space before. Ask them why they left and if they would rent there again.

2            It may provide you with a good expansion space when you are ready. The key is to include a clause that requires the landlord to give you first right of refusal at the same rent rate or lower as your current space. This way, if someone wants to rent the space, the landlord has to give you the chance to rent it first. Sometimes, the landlord will receive an offer that is significantly higher than your rent, and he will be motivated to rent it to the new client rather than you despite the agreement. In that case, you may be able to negotiate that you will allow him to rent the space, but only if he lowers your rent. If the numbers are right, he may be able to rent the space, lower your rent, and still come out ahead. Just make sure you won’t need to expand before your current lease expires.

At the top of the size for new schools, my experience indicates about 4,000 square feet gives a new school plenty of room for a large training area, an office, and some changing rooms. On the other end of the spectrum, there are schools that do very well that have never expanded beyond 1,500 square feet. Any smaller than 1,500 square feet, and you may have to support a schedule with so many classes each day you will burn out quickly. Any larger than 4,000 square feet, your rent may strangle your cash flow.

Equipment

The martial arts school, provided it’s not a Fantasy School, has a great advantage over health clubs in that we have very few and relatively inexpensive needs for equipment. What equipment you need depends on your type of school. If you are a family-oriented kids’ school, a heavy bag will use up valuable space that could be used for students in class. On the other hand, if you are a kickboxing school, heavy bags are an important element of the school. In fact, one bag is usually not enough. There are companies you can hire to build multi-bag systems on frames that can be raised to the ceiling when not in use.

Here are some basic equipment needs for various schools:

Kids/Family: body shields Hand-held kicking/punching pads Obstacle course elements (triangles, pads, tunnels, etc.) Blocker pads (handle with padded shaft for striking), cones and obstacle pads for obstacle courses and races and tape on the floor to show students how and where to line up

Kickboxing: body shields, hand-held kicking/punching pads, heavy bags, upper-cut bags, jump ropes, double-end bag, speed bag, body pads for partner to wear for striking,

Self defense:  body shields, hand-held kicking/punching pads, fake guns and knives, human-shaped freestanding bags, padded mats for take-downs and throws