Thanks guys, good posts and good feedback. Actually this was my husbands idea, and I figured if we did this, it would have to be in a situation where people could start only with my permission, and would have to "fit" like Chuck said. No advertising other than the website, and most likely only fees being to the USAF (annual dues and testing). It would be in the basement, so we would have to rig up an exterior entrance. I don't know if it is a good idea or not, but I can no longer afford to throw $1,000 out the door every month to make up for the dues that don't come in to support the dojo.
Running a dojo has been a wonderful experience, but has become increasingly disheartening due to my inability to get students to stick. I had a wonderful student who had made it up to fourth kyu (from scratch) and was a terrific uke and had very solid aikido, but he left, and since then, things have gone downhill. I've never been able to get more than 8 students to practice on any consistent basis, and we are down to 3-4 at present. It could be my teaching style, my looks (overweight middle-aged woman), competition (lots of good aikido in the area, but I think we are the nicest group
), or any number of things that I might not be aware of. In any event, things are getting dire, as I have gone into massive debt with the dojo, and not only is it not getting any better, but I am pretty much carrying almost the entire cost of the dojo myself now.
So, please keep writing in, and letting me all know about what you all have experienced, and Chuck, I'd love to know where your students come from if you don't advertise (if you want to PM me, that would be great).
Thanks again everyone; this forum has been extremely supportive in my ongoing saga of trying to start a dojo (with advise and support).
best, Rachel