The Dojo of Karate

The first go round of inspections went pretty well today.  A couple of things that need to be taken care of, but otherwise I was happy to see things went well.

I ended up sticking around after the inspection and helping Dave, my contractor law sheet rock, since it’s 5/8th inch thick and heavy as hell to hang.  Definitely helped cut back on my expenses…

Anyways, the place is coming along now.  Dave is going to work at the school on Wednesday and Thursday.  My sprinklers are going to be moved/added on Thursday, and I’m hoping to have carpet installed on Monday of next week.  Than, I need to schedule my electrician to finish the rest of the electrical.  Otherwise, things seem to be moving right along.  There’s a chance I can be open by the first week of August!!!  :D  That would just be great, if things did ended up working out that way.

There’s a reason for everything, we just sometimes don’t know exactly why quite yet.  I’m looking forward to getting students in the school, and pushing to enroll 30 students in 30 days.  Anything is possible if you persevere.

Javy

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Is it possible?!?!  What do you think?  Many experts say that 15-20 new Karate enrollments in one month is quite amazing.  That’s a good month.  But 30!  I must be crazy, huh?  Industry average is about 5-10 new students per month, and that’s if you are marketing consistently, and effectively.  As well as getting your prospects to come into the school.

THIRTY… Read more…

The Dojo Blog

Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve last posted on here…  Sorry for the delay, but I’ve had quite a bit on my plate lately.  You can almost say things are getting a bit smoother… but I really don’t wanna jinx myself - as I feel like I already have…

Anyways, this is what has been going on.

• Framing - The framing of my office and bathroom has been finished, and it looks great!  My GC did a good job.
• Bathroom - My plumber added a “side-mount” toilet, instead of cutting the concrete, which didn’t necessarily save me money, but did save on a ton of time.  I’m surprised the city allowed him to do that instead, as they have been quite a pain in my behind.
• Electrical - So all of the rough electrical has already been installed, and looks ready to go!
• Signage - My outdoor siganage is installed and connected with the electrical now.  I also added a banner outside of the school that says “Grand Opening Now Enrolling”.  It definitely has been brining in some traffic because every day/night I’m there, I get someone that stops.  I also put some flyers on the window for people to grab when I’m not there.
• Carpet - I got an estimate last week, and it wasn’t too bad.  Once the dry wall is up, they will come by and do the carpet.

That’s pretty much it…  My inspection is tomorrow… And I’m freakin out!!  I really hope I pass too ’cause I need to open soon.  I’ve been getting quite a bit of calls, emails, and drop-in’s lately, and need to start operating.

Oh yeah, one last note.  Probably one of best good news so far…  So, as you may know, I’m about 1 month behind schedule, which is such a bummer, right.  Well, I tried to get my property manager to talk to the landlord to renegotiate my lease by extending my commencement date by 30 days, since I’m not open yet.  My property manager hasn’t been much help, which is very disappointing…  Anyways, she suggested I contact my broker and see if he can contact the other broker involved in the deal.  Well, I got word from  my broker today that there is a really good chance that they will push my commencement rent date to September - which would be FABULOUS!!!!  :D  This would help me soooo much financially.

Anyways… here’s shooting for an August 1st opening date!!!

Out!

The Dojo Blog broomfield, colorado, Dojo, grand opening, karate, martial arts, small business, wado ryu, westminster

The Dojo of Karate  was given the opportunity to become a sponsor for a local high school in Broomfield, Colorado.  I received a call from Side Effects, a company that creates professional looking scoreboards for schools all over the country.  Essentially they are selling advertising space on two scoreboards inside the Legacy High School gymnasium.  I would have a 2′ x 4′ signage on the wall displaying The Dojo of Karate information, along with other companies.  In addition The Dojo of Karate would be the only martial arts school in the gym for 3 years.

This is a great opportunity for Legacy High School to gather funds for their Athletic Department and allow my business to be promoted within the community.  In addition, the return on investment is practically priceless. I will be in front of my target market for several events throughout the year, and families that live an active lifestyle.

There will be a Press Release released shortly describing the benefits both The Dojo of Karate and Legacy High will receive in this new sponsorship.

The Dojo of Karate looks forward to being apart of the Broomfield, Colorado community and the Legacy Lighting!

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I probably got the best phone call in the entire world…

This morning, when I was getting ready to pack for my flight to New Hampshire, I received a call from the City of Westminster.  Tom, one of the Assistant Plan Reviewers, called to let me know that the permit had been approved and I can come by to pick it up.  Well, I was excited because it took them FOREVER to review it, but I was also in a dilemma.  I needed to catch a flight!  Well, I had no choice but to pick it up since I was going to be gone until July 7th.  So I did a crash course of getting all of my stuff together, drove down to City Hall, paid for the permit, than drove to the RTD Park-n-Ride in Westminster to catch a bus to the airport.  I had no clue what time the bus left, but when I got there, the AB to DIA was pulling up, so talking about timing!

Anyways, I had to leave my permit in my Jeep because I didn’t have time to run up to the Dojo.  I called my friend Adam and asked if he could pick up the permit and tape it to the window in the school.  Now I can begin construction!  And more important, legally!

While on the bus, I called my plumber and left him a voice mail asking if he can get started on the project.  I’m hoping he can do some of the work this week, and complete the rest by next week.  I also called my Contractor to see if he could drop by the place and see what kind of work he ca get done.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I started painting, and just need to get a carpet guy to fill in the patches.

Well, things aren’t quite where they need to be, but I’m just hoping we can get all of these projects and inspections done before the end of the month.

Wish me luck

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