So you want to start a Jiu-Jitsu school or grow the one you have? You've taken a great first step by investing in yourself, your dreams and your future. Contained in this manual is over ten years of research, trial and error and success ultimately resulting in owning, operating and teaching Jiu-Jitsu full time.

In 2013 I was training at a school that was sold to another affiliation. I didn't care for their "philosophy" so I set out to start a school on my own. As a one stripe blue belt it was and still is not the best situation but you have to start somewhere. That's where my journey started and I'm happy to say it has worked out extremely well. My results are just that, my own.

This manual and the systems I have created may not work for you. I can guarantee if you use these systems you will get results either positive or negative. You can then modify your system and obtain a different result. That's what I have done and my systems have become more efficient.

In 2013 when I was getting started I was reading a book by Napolean Hill called Think And Grow Rich. Written in 1937 it has numerous examples of people who became successful through hard work and setbacks. One of those was Walt Disney who at one of his first jobs at a newspaper was told by the editor that he lacked imagination. Maybe that was the initial spark of determination young Mr. Disney needed because we all know what ultimately happened.

The takeaways I got from that book were "Burning Desire" and "A commitment to doing whatever it takes." Two qualities that I truly believe one must have to embark on the journey of starting a business and growing one. It is and always will be hard. I tell my students all the time "Jiu-Jitsu does not get easier, you just get better". The same is true in business. Develop systems that anyone can follow and continuously adjust to become more efficient.

That is what I have done for you. This manual or blueprint has taken over ten years to develop and will save you time (and money) on your journey.

I am not an attorney. Please consult with one regarding legal advice on starting a business. The following is only an example of how I got started. Here is a checklist of basic items you will need to form a legal business:

• Sole Proprietor, LLC, Corporation
• EIN
• Forming Your Business
• Business Checking Account

Sole Proprietor: A sole proprietorship is a business structure where one person owns and manages the business, without any legal distinction between the two. The owner is called the sole proprietor, and they are responsible for the business's debts, losses, and liabilities. The sole proprietor also has full control over the business, and is entitled to all profits.

LLC: Stands for limited liability company, which is a business structure that offers limited liability protection and pass-through taxation. LLCs are a popular choice for small business owners because of the liability protection, management flexibility, and tax advantages they provide.

Corporation: is a legal entity that is separate and distinct from its owners. Under the law, corporations possess many of the same rights and responsibilities as individuals. They can enter contracts, loan and borrow money, sue and be sued, hire employees, own assets, and pay taxes.

Do your own extensive research and/or consult an attorney to help you decide what entity is best for you. I chose to become an LLC because I am the only owner and wanted limited liability protection.

Forming Your Business: Your state has an online form you can use to form your legal entity. There are companies that will do it for you for a fee. I chose to do it myself and found the process straightforward. You can always call your state directly with questions. Take a look online and look at the form before you pay someone else. The State of Florida charges under $150. for the filing fee. Do Not Forget to renew every year.

EIN: You will need an Employer Identification Number for tax purposes. Regardless if you have employees are not (More on that later). The IRS has a simple form on their website and the number is issued without a fee.

Business Checking Account: This is an extremely important checklist item. Do your research and find a bank that offers a POS (Point Of Sale) system(Credit Card Machine) free of charge with a low fee. A Credit Card machine will be used for many transactions in your school. Banks typically charge a fee for a percentage of the transaction +/-3% plus +/-50 cents. You can write off the fees for taxes but the lower the rate the more money you keep in your pocket. You will need your legal business entity number to open a Business Checking Account. 

You may not even have a physical location for your school yet but is vital your online presence be set up for the most part and ready to go for opening day. Here is a checklist for the minimum requirements:

• Website
• Social Media
• Google Maps

Website: Everyone has social media and it is an essential tool that will be used daily to drive traffic to your website. Your website will be integral to your success. Choose wisely! I didn't have much money when I started my school so "Free" was a great option for me. I chose to use Jimdo as my website service provider for free until I could afford the paid version. Some key features you should look for include Drag And Drop Elements to create a page. This makes it super easy. An HTML element makes it easy to add cool features such as a lead form from an outside provider. This will be your bread and butter and a must have feature. Please do your due diligence before selecting a provider. Look for features on the free and paid plans. Podcasts are a great way to learn how to build websites and build Search Engine Optimization. (SEO) is how your website gets found by all of the search engines. When you type a word (keyword) or phrase (long tail keyword) into a search bar and tap go, the search engine will look for websites across the entire internet that match the word or phrase and produce results. Here are some keys to SEO. Include words and phrases on your site in natural sounding sentences that match keywords you want your site to rank for. Be sure to include the name of your business, your city and address.  Example "Gator Family Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu provides located downtown Deland, Fl. has a program for your whole family. Visit 127 E. New York Ave. or call 386-624-6739. " When placing photos on your site be sure to fill out the "alt tag" this is designed for the visually impaired to find out what the photo is but search engines will search these "tags" too and produce photos as results. Another key is to place a "heading near the top of your pages. Headings are text but bigger and bolder. It's not simply text but something a search engine specifically looks for. Lastly, including a Google map to your site is a must. After setting up your Google account  (in the next section) you can copy some code from Google and paste it in an HTML element on your site. The next section will include my number one tool to optimize and drive traffic to the site. Check out my site for ideas on how to create your page at gatorfamilybjj.com.

Social Media: Post engaging content on your social media daily (Photos of classes and action shots). Reels are hot right now. Include your phone number, physical address and website in every post. Make sure your profile is up to date, address and phone number are correct. Post often!

*Google Maps: This is by far the number one tool that has driven traffic to my website (You will need a physical location first). Traffic + Leads = Members! Getting your business on Google maps is easy. Just search Google Map Listing or Google my business. Complete as much of the form as you can. They will verify your business (May take time but well worth it) and then it is go time. Take your time completing the necessary information and make sure it is correct. The next step is to add photos. Post "Updates" (photos) often, even daily when you are first starting out. Be sure to send a Google review link to your family and friends. Social proof is key. While SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is very important having your website on Google Maps is key! There will be a link to your "reviews" site. Send it to everyone you know and continue to include it in emails to your student list periodically. Google my business and Google maps has by far outperformed all of my marketing efforts in the last eleven years and is FREE. Do not neglect this opportunity.

• Email Service Provider (Lead Forms)
• Facebook/Instagram Ads
• Community Involvement

Email Service Provider (Lead Forms): Future Members will sometimes just stop in to your school. Some will call to inquire about your programs. In my experience the majority of leads start with Google search and end up on my website where they fill out a lead capture form. When the form is submitted I receive an email with the contacts information such as name, number and email. A critical call to the lead is imperative. Do not wait to contact them. Set up notifications on your email so you can respond immediately. I use Active Campaign as an email service provider. You simply create a form and use copy and paste HTML to add the form to your website. Some website providers have this built in as a feature generally on paid plans. Also included with an email service providers are auto responders that automatically send the lead a series of emails over several days and or months. Once a lead becomes a Member I use Active Campaign to send them a welcome email with links to our Student Handbook and online schedule. They are also added to a Members list where emails are sent to all of our students at once. A very convenient tool!

Facebook/Instagram Ads: Facebook/Instagram Ads: Be sure to start a "business page" account on facebook. This will be separate from your personal account (best done on a laptop). For help you can do a quick search on youtube. You can manage your ads in "ads center" I create a post on my business facebook page (use a video). I create and edit videos in a mobile app called Kinemaster. It has a free and paid version. I add all the relevant info and post. I then go into my ad center on facebook and select "use post" you can scroll until you see the post you want to use for your ad and select it. Make sure everything looks good and move on to the next section. Make sure you select the local area you want to reach. I can't tell you how many times I've seen ads for schools from another state. This is a waste of money. I suggest an area no more than a 25 mile radius from your location. There will be a section that will allow you to fine tune a target a specific audience or people you want to see your ad. I did this for a while and found it significantly reduced how many people the ad actually reached. Here's a big tip! set your target audience to everyone 18 yo to 80 yo. That's it! You can never discount anyone seeing your ad. Grandma may see it and have her five grandchildren come in. Marketing from my experience is a numbers game. The more people learn about your school, the more opportunity you have to recruit new members. Lastly, you do not have to spend $500. per month on ads. My suggestion would be to run an ad for a 25 mile radius around your school targeting everyone 18 to 80 years old for $5. per day for five days. Try running different ads and see what results you get. I ran different ads for years and found one particular ad was outperforming all others. 

Community Involvement: Get out in your town and meet people. The old saying "It's not what you know but who you know" holds true today. Stop in local businesses and introduce yourself. Tell them what you're doing and invite them to stop by. Leave them with a flyer or business card. Stop in and see your local school principals. Let them know you're available to teach Physical Education class for the whole day. Show some basic stand up Self Defense Techniques (Included in our curriculum) and you'll be a hit! Be sure to take flyers to send home with all the students. This could be a big expense so be prepared. I suggest asking what the number of students are for the classes and then printing four per sheet and cutting them yourself. The return on investment could be huge. *(Do Not Offer Specials, see pricing) GFBJJ has also had success at local events. Setting up a table at festivals and local events get the word out. You could offer a free raffle for maybe a team t-shirt in exchange for emails. 

Many important factors should be considered for a location. The population of an area should be at the top of your list. The more people that are in a general area means the more potential Members you can get. Of course this comes at a price because the higher the traffic the more space owners will want to charge. Another priority are locations of other Jiu-Jitsu schools nearby. You wouldn't want another school moving in a block away from you would you? Let's consider the size of the space. Of course you want a big beautiful school, don't we all? Just keep in mind that Microsoft was started in a garage! I currently occupy a space that is 1,300 square feet with only 330 square feet of mat space. That may seem entirely too small but I currently have close to 100 Members and was able to quit my County job to do this full time. I would suggest starting with around 1500 total square feet with a large open area for 500 square feet of mat space, a seating area, bathroom and an office. Unless you have a ton of disposable income you do not need all the extra expenses to get started. If downtown spaces are out of your price range consider looking on the outskirts of town. Here's a quick checklist for locations:

• Space
• Parking
• Lease
• Licensing
• Insurance
• Cameras
• Seating
• Banners 
• Sanitizing

Space: I've covered what I believe is a good starting space for a new or growing Jiu-Jitsu School. Let's expand on some more things to consider. Check with your City or County on the codes for your business. Generally C3 covers a wide range of businesses but checking with the local authorities will save you a ton of headaches. Knowing the code for your business will also speed up looking for a space to lease because the first question you can ask is what is the space zoned for. If they say anything other than the code you know you are approved for you can move on quickly.Upon looking at a space for the first time, get out of your vehicle and do a 360 and stand there for a moment. Look around and take in all of the things around the space. Notice small things in the area down the road, across the street. Look to the left and right of the space. Try to envision yourself as a lead coming in to do your trial. Does anything look off? Anything that may turn a new Member away? Do other buildings in the area or nearby have old paint, unsavory characters hanging out. Would a mom feel safe bringing their five year old to class in the evening? It's a good idea to take a friend with you to check out new places. They can be a much needed point of view and an excellent sounding board. Take a list of questions when looking at a space. The real estate agent or owner should be happy to help answer your questions. If not it could be a red flag. It's also important not to write off a space if it does not immediately meet your expectations. Spaces that need a simple upgrade can easily be transformed with a little elbow grease, paint and inexpensive lighting. A neglected space can more than often be negotiable on lease terms if you agree to clean it up saving you money.

Parking: An often overlooked detail of a commercial rental space is parking. While just starting out and with a few Members this doesn't seem like an issue but trust me it can turn out to be a problem. It is highly recommended that you check with both the City and County if applicable to find out how many dedicated spaces are required for your business. Sometimes this does not matter but if it does it could be a real problem.

Lease: *Also see Licensing for important information* Leases are often negotiable. A typical lease can be between one to five years. Keep in mind that there is a typical 3% to 7% increase per year. Negotiate with the property owner to see if you can lock in a rate. Take your time and read the entire lease agreement and ask many questions to get clarification. This will save you tons of headaches in the future. Some key items to consider will be exactly what you are responsible for. Inside/outside of the property, major repairs, any/all utilities, windows, roof, electrical. These are not a complete list of things you must consider but gives you a general idea. My lease requires that I have a maintenance contract with an HVAC company to service our air conditioning system. If I don't have a contract I am solely responsible for all costs to replace the unit. 

Licensing: This is it! We're almost ready to open the doors and start teaching Jiu-Jitsu. That's what it's all about right? We've come a long way and it's almost time for that magical moment when you unlock the door, turn the OPEN sign on and you sit and wait.... and wait for that first lead or first trial. Hopefully you have been talking to friends and locals and got the word out. Hopefully you've posted on social media and that first day goes great. Don't expect miracles and don't expect to open without the necessary licenses. While the licenses themselves don't really cost much you must have had an inspection from local authorities including the Fire Marshall to comply. It's typical for space owners to give you thirty days (After First, Last and Security check has cleared) or longer for a build out or to get your space ready for the public. Do your research with the local building department to find out the requirements for your space so your're not blindsided and hold up your opening.

Insurance: A necessity and more than likely an obligation included in your lease. Insurance protects the property owner and you as the business owner from future issues. Your local insurance company can walk you through the process. Be sure to shop around to get multiple quotes. Insurance will be one of your biggest expenses so don't be surprised with the high prices. You can probably pay in full for a year with a slight discount or make monthly payments. At the time of this writing GFBJJ pays about $1,900. per year for insurance. Be prepared to state the number of students you have ( I give them the number of students in one class) and your annual income from the business. The income is used to adjust your "Exposure" which I have argued to no end. Good luck with that.

Cameras: Security cameras may not be a necessity right away but I would highly suggest you consider installing them as soon as possible. Your insurance company will be asking if you have a security system. Again, while not a necessity a monitored system may provide a slight discount. I choose to only have security cameras. It is a one time purchase and only monitored by me as opposed to being monitored by law enforcement. The specific system I have came with (4) wired cameras, a dvr with one terabyte of memory and free app on my phone that I can watch live or review recorded video. The whole system was around $500. When an issue arises I simply review the recording and can quickly find HD video that settles any problems. FYI, I opened an account at best Buy and utilized their zero interest if paid in full within one year option.

Seating: Be mindful about seating and viewing areas. While regular classes may not have many parents and family attending, promotions and special events will need accommodations. Be prepared to purchase chairs or construct benches with lumber if you're handy. 

Banners: Signage at your school has many benefits. Outside signage markets your programs to people walking and driving by. Large professional signage by the road and on your building can be thousands of dollars. An alternative that I use is banners. I used high quality images I designed in Picsart (a free mobile phone app) and had them printed by Vistaprint. I sized the images on very large outdoor banners and hung them inside the front windows facing outward. I did the same for the interior wall banners but cut out the logos and used two sided tape to mount on the walls. The result looks great. Be sure to include your interior logos in videos and photos on social media.

Sanitizing: An important and necessary obligation as a school owner is cleaning and sanitizing your entire space. A checklist for general cleaning is included in this manual and can be found in the Front End manual. Keeping your students and visitors safe should be at the top of your priorities. I use products from a local commercial cleaning store. Look for products that are Hospital Grade and kill typical viruses, aids and staph. I have used these products for years and have had excellent results. A word of precaution, while I have found these products safe a day after application I would suggest wearing gloves and shoes to apply to mats. When cleaning the mats I use the product mixed with water. I mop the mats and then use a modified carpet cleaner to scrub the dirt away and vacuum any residual product and debris away. Mopping alone will just spread the dirt around. There are professional mat cleaners with brushes on the market but in my opinion are severely overpriced. I went to Walmart and purchased a $175. stand up carpet cleaner that looks like a vacuum and secured the brushes down as far as they would go with screws. Works like a charm.

What do you need to start a Jiu-Jitsu school? Space, Knowledge, Members and....... Mats! There are so many options for mats I could not possibly list them all. There's homemade, roll-out, fold-able and rectangle mats. each have their pros and cons and it is your job to research and find the right mat for your needs. One thing is for sure.... Mats will be one of the biggest expenses in this whole process but a necessary one. Knowing the costs of my mats I was fanatical for years if anyone came close to mine with shoes on or anything sharp. I chose Fuji mats. A reputable company with great customer service. For reference and pricing research each Fuji mat at the time of this writing is about $130. plus tax, plus shipping for a 3'x5' mat. That's 15 square feet. Of course you can pay cash for your mats if you have it. You could also use a credit card or take out a loan but the interest may make you pay double depending on the institution or your credit. I bought Fuji mats and they recommended a company called Timepayment. They were easy to deal with and although I may have paid more than I should have in interest in the long run, I had all of my mats shipped to me for $204. per month over four years. I'm sure there are better options but this worked for me. Be sure to measure the area of your space and situate your mats allowing enough distance for people to walk around and for seating. There are professional systems to secure your mats. If you can afford them they will be beneficial. I chose to use a skillsaw and cut 2"x4"s in half and used a hammer drill to drill holes through the boards and concrete and used tapcons (masonary screws) to attach a border around my mats to secure them. If you are handy with tools this is an inexpensive option.

As a business owner it is important to work on your business not in your business. That being said if you are just starting out you may be the only one handling numerous jobs. Fortunately you are reading this manual and I have done almost all of the hard work for you. It will take time to implement this blueprint in your business but rest assured, the only way to fail is to give up. Finding good help has increasingly become harder and harder. You will soon find people that have passion and integrity that you trust through Jiu-Jitsu. They will most likely be your students or their parents. You will quickly find leaders in your programs that will become your assistants. Utilize Them! Build on their strengths and they will help you build your Team. Assistants can run classes if you are all alone and need to step away to answer the phone, help a trial student get ready or speak with a parent. Your first Staff member should be your Front End person handling the aforementioned duties (Included is the front end manual you can share with your front end staff) This could be a volunteer person to get started. Eventually you will need a dedicated person to put on a schedule to officially handle the front End. GFBJJ offers staff positions as independent contractors. This means they are not employees but basically their own business owners. You write them a check for their work and they are responsible for their own taxes and insurance if applicable and you get to write off the expenses on your taxes.

Leads, Walk-ins and payments need to be handled quickly and efficiently. I have accumulated many years of experience of what works and the most efficient way to handle the front end of your business or to put it another way, the first person who greets people walking in your door. This person is responsible for making the first impression and be chosen as such. It may be you if you're first starting out or someone you choose. My Wife is our Front End Person and has numerous responsibilities. Included in this program is our entire Front End Manual. 

Front End Manual available with signed agreement

At GFBJJ we offer a free week trial to let people experience our programs and to see if we are a good fit for them and also if they are a good fit for us. We provide free loaner uniforms that do not leave our studio. We use Combat Corner for our Member uniforms and they also have less expensive alternatives you could use for loaners. I chose to get cheap karate uniforms that work well. A majority of our kids and teen trials have asked when do they get the black member uniforms like everyone else has. This not only amplifies our team synthesis but encourages parents to sign their children up.

Knowing what to charge could be a difficult endeavor. I will try to take the guesswork out of it. GFBJJ system does things a little different by offering classes four days per week for kids and teens as opposed to twice per week. That's because we have realized people have a life and can't always make classes. By offering classes four days per week the student is able to acquire the minimum number of classes required to see and learn techniques during the testing period. Parents love this and students acquire knowledge. It is a huge selling point for leads. Do a quick search of the Martial Arts schools closest to the current location you are looking at or are in. Match their pricing! By doing this you are already providing not only extra value but flexibility as well. I started my pricing twenty percent below the nearest competitors price thinking I could undercut them and get more students. I couldn't have been more wrong. Use my mistake as your lesson and match or even charge more than schools close to you. California rates are insane. East coast rates are less insane. Your rates should be equal to or more than schools in your area. Never, Ever offer specials! You, Your Staff, Your Students and Your Dream are too important! GFBJJ has never offered a special rate for new students or anyone for that matter. We offer Family rates at a minimum. Do not discount your students. Your experience and time is far too important and your current students don't deserve it!

At the time of writing GFBJJ's current rates in the state of Florida are:

Hatchlings - 65. per month, 3-5 yo

kids - 125. per month, 5-10 yo

teens - 125. per month, 11-15 yo

adults - 140. per month, 16+

Family Rate - 200. per month (2) immediate family members, 75. each additional.

This is where the rubber meets the road. Getting paid and growing your school is the second most important goal you should have. "Helping Others" is always the most important goal. In this section I will cover the systems that I use to collect membership payments and sell Gi's and apparel. * Disclaimer * I have developed these systems with over a decade of trial and error. I have done the work for you. Of course there may be more efficient and profitable alternatives however these systems work. Here's a checklist for getting paid:

• New Members
• Membership Payments
• Promotions/Belts
• Self Defense Seminars
• Jiu-Jitsu Seminars
• T-Shirts
• Rash Guards
• Private Lessons
• Parents Night Out
• After School
• Camps

New Member On-boarding: On the last day of a trials' free week our Membership Director will ask if they are ready to get started. If they are the new Member or parent will complete a membership application. Our Membership Director will have filled out the total to get started and the monthly membership dues that will be auto drafted. Everything should be explained in detail so there is no confusion. Upon agreement the Membership Director will charge the new Members card for the first month of membership and uniform. The card will then be added for automatic draft in a separate process in the next section

Membership Payments: Some schools have contracts and yearly commitments. While there are pros and cons to this practice, at the time of this writing GFBJJ uses month to month payments with a credit card on file. Members are currently required to give a fifteen day notice before the next payment processing date for holds or cancellation. Having a credit card on file that is automatically drafted for payment every month has dramatically increased my revenue as opposed to manually charging cards each month and has cut out a lot of aggravation. We do 5% discount for six months and 10% discount for 12 months. I have found year long contracts deter leads from signing up. Affiliates are required to adhere to these guidelines. If you have purchased this program outright, continue at your discretion. 

Promotions/Belts: Included in this program is our Student Handbook that outlines how our promotions are structured. We use Combat Corner for our belts. They are $8.50 plus shipping and we retail for $35. With a credit card on file it is easy to get verbal consent to charge for payment on Stripe. The credit card machine at the front desk is another easy way to receive payment.

Self Defense Seminars: Group seminars are a great way to engage with the community and add a revenue source. We start by talking to our members and asking if they belong to any groups that may want to participate. Often, our moms say they will ask the group resulting in a paid seminar. GFBJJ offers group rates starting at $100. up to ten participants and $15. per person over ten. You could also email groups in your area. Paid social media ads may also garnish leads. Be sure to let your students base know you offer Self Defense Seminars by sending a group email.

Jiu-Jitsu Seminars: Bringing in a high level competitor or Professor can help grow your student base and offer your students a different look at techniques. Be sure to agree on a price with the person coming in well ahead of time to put your marketing in place and to also ensure you can afford it. Jiu-Jitsu Seminars have their pros and cons. If you currently have ten students and only half of them verbally state they would come to the seminar. It wouldn't make sense to pay someone $1000. That would mean you would have to charge $200. per person to attend and that's not really practical or affordable. My advice would to be agree on on affordable price with the instructor coming in and have your students register in advance with a deadline one week before the scheduled event. If the price you're going to pay the instructor is not met you will have to cancel. Make sure the instructor is well aware of your plans so there are no hard feelings. Remember, Jiu-Jitsu is a small community and word gets around. Another alternative is to offer the instructor the full amount of proceeds brought in. This will not add to immediate revenue but will gesture good will and may help your student base get on board for the next seminar. It may also encourage students that train at other schools who are on the fence about training somewhere else consider your school. Let it be said you should never, ever try to "Poach" students from other schools. Never! Always be welcoming and never ever say anything negative about another school. 

T-Shirts: Team shirts are a great way to get the word out and show your Team support. I recommend all of our Competition Team parents and family members wear Team shirts to tournaments. A local company makes our shirts, short and long sleeve and also hoodies.

Rash Guards: If your school trains No Gi, rash guards should be available. Having everyone wearing the same thing not only looks great in photos but builds a cohesive team and adds profit to your business. There are tons of companies that produce high quality custom rash guards at a premium price and often at unreasonable minimums. I use a great company called Epic Sports where I buy white rash guards for about $8. each. I found a local person who does sublimation for for about $10. per shirt. I retail the shirts on average for $40. If you go this way keep in mind you will need a minimum 80% polyester spandex white shirt for sublimation (Printing) I design all of my images with a free app called Picsart on my phone.

Private Lessons: A typical private lesson that I provide is one hour. I do allow the student to bring a friend (another student). This allows them to split the cost and it is easier to demonstrate a technique so the other one can see it. I ask the student to prepare by writing down problem areas in their game and specific questions to ask. This will give you a guideline to follow and keep the lesson moving. Try to stay on track and work on their specific issues. Be sure to give some of your "Secret" techniques to add value and give the student a great experience. To close out the lesson I like to review all of the techniques I covered. As a Black Belt I charge $100. per hour. I would suggest blue belts charge around 40. to 50. increasing with belt rank.

Parents Night Out: This can be a profitable way to keep members engaged and give parents a break. It's also a way to get new members to your programs when your students bring a friend. Be sure to have parents complete a waiver if it is their first time there. We have done several of these events but do not do them on a regular basis. We have charged $25. per student for a two hour event including games and pizza.

After School: This is a great opportunity to increase revenue and add students to your programs. There are many variables to this program. I can put you in touch with several school owners who have very successful after school programs as GFBJJ does not currently offer one.

Camps: Another great revenue stream. GFBJJ dose not currently offer this program.

Some schools offer several different Martial Arts programs such as Jiu-Jitsu, Karate, Kickboxing, and Krav Maga. I personally find nothing wrong with this. However, I can tell you from my experience that when I ended my Kickboxing and Yoga programs and focused on only one program, Jiu-Jitsu, my students and income went up dramatically. It's only my opinion that when you try to do too many things at once everything turns out mediocre. Our motto is " We do one thing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and we do it the best!"

Included in this guide is our Instructor Manual. It includes specific guidelines for class structure as well as what to do in certain situations.

This manual includes a complete basic curriculum with videos. I try to group similar techniques and positions into the lessons for weekly adult classes and monthly kids and teens classes.

Curriculum and Instructor Manual available with signed agreement

Your number one priority should be Safety! You thought it was getting students and being a good instructor didn't you? I heard it said recently that it is cheaper to keep a student than to acquire a new one. This is so true. Jiu-Jitsu is not for everyone but it can be for most people. Creating an environment that is welcoming to everyone will grow your school faster than promoting "Killers on the mat!" I explain to all of our students quite regularly that regular classes are to help your training partner to improve. Taking the emphasis off yourself and working to create a great team where everyone helps each other. We utilize a Free Week Trial to not only let the person see if we are a good fit for them but to see if the person is a good fit for us. Be aware if trials are "Too Aggressive" and explain one on one to them what is expected. If the issue persists they are not a good fit for your program. New trials should always be partnered with a high ranking student that can help guide them. Even adults! One bad apple can run off good people. Always, always, always have safety monitors when students are rolling. I have implemented a three second rule for submission attempts. For instance, if someone has another student in a headlock for three seconds and it's not working, let go, move on. It is also highly recommended and an obligation for GFBJJ Affiliates and Partners to take and pass the Safe Sport course. It provides information about how to communicate with students, sexual predators and more. Your priority should always be the safety of your students and staff.

Keeping attendance records is crucial not only for promotions but to see if someone has been out for a while. GFBJJ uses physical cards categorized by program, kids, teens, adults. Before class, students are responsible to find their card and place it in the "IN' box. The front End person writes the date on the grid and returns the cards back to the appropriate box. We keep all cards hanging on a wall in a central location.

Included in this manual is our "Competition Success Strategies" that I used to become a World Champion

CLICK HERE FOR OUR COMPETITION SUCCESS STRATEGIES MANUAL