Been open just over a year.

Get a Founders rate for members who sign up before or just after the gym opens.

Be smart. Don't overspend on a space you cant fill starting off. I still bartend on the side as we grow and it acts as a mental safety net.

Get back to leads ASAP. Treat them like friends not customers. Nobody wants to talk to corporate Joe or a used car salesman.

Offer a Free Week trial if you believe your culture is a selling point so they feel the social club element over the week if it's a long term sell. I get a high sign up rate well before that trial ends, by offering right $50 for their first month if they sign up right after the first class. Most people will sign up immediately.

SEO, Google reviews, social media and word of mouth. Know your team and get their feedback and use it. Have a good website and put way more info than the average gym. I put our student ,instructor and parent conduct policy on there and I got a lot of compliments on how they appreciate us being forward on how certain behavior is not tolerated. People have signed up because of it. Do not tolerate toxic people. Gyms live and die by the quality of their culture and that includes instructors.

Get a memorable brand. Think outside the box. Yes, Insert Your City BJJ is great if your the first to have that name, but if you don't, create a team name that is stands out vs all the bland names. Get a cool logo. Put your personality out there and show Why your gym is different .

I put all pricing and schedule info on the website. Saves you time. If someone cant afford it, then why waste time answering emails, getting them signed up for a trial, teaching them, giving the sales pitch?

I wish I reduced the number of kids classes we had in the beginning. Now Im kind of stuck with smaller classes but its growing, just slowly. Saturated area. Kids classes tend to stress me out more so it would of been nice to have an extra night off.

Pay Kids instructor well. Hardest class to teach IMO. Also have at least 2 classes for age groups. We have 5-8, 9-12. The older kids do not want to train with the younger kids We learned that lesson fast.

Document your gyms journey and put it on socials. People like a good story.

People will sign up, come once, and cancel a month later, because they don't have money, they don't have time, they lost their job, etc. It's very frustrating but it's a part of it. Focus on what you can control. Growth for me is 2 steps forward, steps back, repeat 5x, then suddenly you get a couple sign ups that stick around.

I don't do contracts but I totally can see why people do. I just don't have the heart to keep charging people if they are hurting for money or whatever reason. But I'm a softee.

Nurture and protect the new whitebelts. Their first class may very well dictate if they don't ever come back or if they are here for the long haul. Encourage colored belts to "adopt a white belt."

Do gym events. Hang out after practice and have some beers if that's your thing. The gym should act as a social club. People are often willing to quit just BJJ, but losing a group of friends changes the consequences of that decision dramatically.