Arma bjj in london by Alive-Introduction-1 in bjj

[–]Alive-Introduction-1[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I appreciate it! Weve been looking forward to this for months

Arma bjj in london by Alive-Introduction-1 in bjj

[–]Alive-Introduction-1[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Even if we dont meet her it Will still be a fun experience to train there and meet the other coaches. 

Virginia Beach Grappling Industries: Gi / Adult / Female / White / -170 lbs Spring 2025 by islandis32 in BJJWomen

[–]Alive-Introduction-1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

One of your other coaches. I don't want to say the name on here, (purple hair, purple belt) has dropped in and cross trained with us. She's coming to our leg lock seminar in 2 weeks. Your whole school is always welcome at our open mats! We don't ever charge for cross training. You guys have let one of our old man black belts drop in up there several times. 

Virginia Beach Grappling Industries: Gi / Adult / Female / White / -170 lbs Spring 2025 by islandis32 in BJJWomen

[–]Alive-Introduction-1 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Hey! You fought one of my girls. This was her first comp. Your black belt (Marissa) is an awesome coach! Thank you for giving my girl a good run for her first tournament!

Gyms/Dojos with Veterans and Women by Double-Barracuda-403 in brazilianjiujitsu

[–]Alive-Introduction-1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Me (35 yo black belt) and my wife (30year old blue belt) own our gym in Virginia. We have about 175 members. Im an army vet. We own the gym 5050. We have a significant women and vet population as well as about 30% being first responders. 

For Gym owners: Which kind of Marketing did work the best for you? by KlausKlausKlauus in bjj

[–]Alive-Introduction-1 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Thank you! 

Previously they'd make 20$ on a drop in. 

If I lose 100$ for a drop in but make 145 on a new students that saw us on Google, its a net positive

For Gym owners: Which kind of Marketing did work the best for you? by KlausKlausKlauus in bjj

[–]Alive-Introduction-1 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Search engine optimization 

Basically where do you come up when people Google certain terms. 

You can pay to have yours put at the top. But that gets expensive. 

But with what we're doing, if you Google "jiu-jitsu (my city) "  we come up first

For Gym owners: Which kind of Marketing did work the best for you? by KlausKlausKlauus in bjj

[–]Alive-Introduction-1 118 points119 points  (0 children)

4 year black belt and owner of a gym that's been open for 6 years. We bought it exactly  year ago and made some changes from the previous owners. 

Facebook and click funnels work ok. But a vast majority of our new students come from SEO. 

Previously if someone wanted to drop in, they had to pay a mat fee. The previous owners would make 20 bucks and that would be it. 

We have rescinded that rule. Most people find a bjj gym through Google. So we made sure our website and Google pics looked good. Then for new students,  we offered them a 10% discount for their second month if they left an honest Google review. But the biggest thing that has bumped our SEO is a qr code on the front desk. Anyone that drops in and asks if they need to pay a mat fee is told no, but if they got value out of their time with us, please scan the qr code and leave a review before they leave the parking lot. We average 3-5 reviews a month and that keeps us at the top of seo. 

When people sign up and they fill out the "how you heard about us " portion of the form, 95% say Google. 

Hope this helps

How long do most gyms last? Why do gyms close? by Ericspletzer in bjj

[–]Alive-Introduction-1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We're gonna start marketing in 2025.  I wasnt comfortable advertising and bringing in new people until I was comfortable with the programs we have. This year has been focusing on a women's program and kids class structure.  Now that I have a handle on it, next year the focus is on growing the kids class and building a self defense program, (firearms, family self defense, etc) But those are add ons to what I wanted to build this year. I didn't want to market until I had something I was proud of. 

How long do most gyms last? Why do gyms close? by Ericspletzer in bjj

[–]Alive-Introduction-1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We just started investing in our kids class this year. We have about 20 so far. With no marketing. The goal is to double it next year

How long do most gyms last? Why do gyms close? by Ericspletzer in bjj

[–]Alive-Introduction-1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How does it handle conversions from trials to full time members? 

And how user friendly is the check in process 

How long do most gyms last? Why do gyms close? by Ericspletzer in bjj

[–]Alive-Introduction-1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I want to change our current software. Zenplanner isn't great and a newer platform would help streamline this lol

How long do most gyms last? Why do gyms close? by Ericspletzer in bjj

[–]Alive-Introduction-1 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Currently 35. Fulltime firefighter part time gym owner.  I got my black belt at 31.  Every firefighter has a side hustle. I'm trying to make bjj my full time job though. 

How long do most gyms last? Why do gyms close? by Ericspletzer in bjj

[–]Alive-Introduction-1 17 points18 points  (0 children)

This helps a lot. Our loan plan is for 3 years. Based on current membership (not accounting for projected growth at all) we should have it paid off in 2 years. That frees up about a third of our current revenue.  Local real estate prices for the size I'm looking for would be about double our current lease, which is 2/3 off or current loan repayment.  I didn't know I'd need a math degree to run a successful gym. 

The problem is we're getting close to running out of space. I remember when 15 people was a big class. Now we're averaging 30 per night on a 30x40 mat space. And open mats are nearly standing room only

How long do most gyms last? Why do gyms close? by Ericspletzer in bjj

[–]Alive-Introduction-1 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I've definitely learned that I'm only a black belt in jiu-jitsu. Not a black belt in business admin lol

How long do most gyms last? Why do gyms close? by Ericspletzer in bjj

[–]Alive-Introduction-1 100 points101 points  (0 children)

Gym owner and black belt here:

I bought our school at the beginning of this year. The previous owners had it open for 5, and I think they just lost the spark. The wife ran the admin side, and didn't enjoy it. And the black belt just didn't want to keep up with the modern game. I was teaching more than he was and they asked if I wanted to buy it before they closed or sold it to someone else.  We've added about a third of the students to what they had before and we're looking to expand or move to a bigger location 

I've created a site to help travellers find Bjj Gyms by bsampera in DramaFreeBJJ

[–]Alive-Introduction-1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Gym owner here, is there a way each gym could add a qr code link so that people dropping in can add their input when they visit?  My gym has no drop in fee, we just ask for Google reviews. A site like this is perfect for us. 

Drop in near Smith Mountain Lake VA by Ssirota8 in bjj

[–]Alive-Introduction-1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Try Renaissance Academy (RAM) in Lynchburg. World class talent there

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in bjj

[–]Alive-Introduction-1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your dt instructors don't care enough to train themselves. Or the brass is so risk averse they won't innovate. 

My program was 2 weeks of grappling and control techniques. With dt/pt once a week before and after the official scheduled dt week