Hello everyone.
I thought it was time for a monetary and materialistic type of topic
So:
I guess noone denies it that MA is usually a bussiness as well. Even when sensei earns his money from somewhere else, you still need to pay the rent, buy equipment etc etc. Therefore you need students to pay you.
Now comes the big question:
How to sell Aikido? Who to sell it to?
How to advertise it? To draw people into it? Who should be the people who would likely like Aikido whom you should target?
If you want to bother yourself with a more specific wireframe: small town in post sovietic country (50 000/120 000 inhabitants) most of the rich ppl have awfully lot of work so no time for MA
quite many students but they don't have much money. Women are not easily drawn into these things, kids want to learn how to kick ass. The market is crowded with different types of Karate-Do but several other MA as well. Your dojo conditions are okay but not that fancy you could name it an exclusive sportsclub. You are short of tatamis and other equipment. So every dime you spend counts
First thought I got was a slogan: "Aikido - a martial art for a thinking human being" or smth like that. But that's pretty much all I got. How did You start your dojo and get ppl in it? How SHOULD one do it?
Jorgen
Estonian Aikikai
Riveta Sportsclub