After School Karate Program
So a few weeks ago, I decided to send an email to all of the elementary schools, or actually some of them, in my area. Adam and I found all of the P.E. teachers contact name and email addresses in Adams 12 School District. You gotta love The Google. I then put together an email that went over the structure of an After School Karate Program and how it can benefit the P.E. Department.
This is a pretty popular way for Martial Arts Schools to get new students because it’s a win-win situation for both parties… if the school does it right. Basically the P.E. Dept. is the only department with the loosest budget for school supplies. I’ve heard some teachers only get about $200-300 for the ENTIRE year! So, what I do is offer an After School Karate Program that is taught in their gymnasium… after school. I than charge each student about $30 for them to participate in about 4 classes. From there, all proceeds collected are than donated back to the P.E. Department. There are times where a class can get as large as 40-50 students! So, these schools can practically double, triple, or quadruple their budget in a matter of weeks!
But it doesn’t stop there! Yes, i know… it sounds like an info-mercial… But I’m serious. From there, I have a graduation party at my school. Students that participate in the After School Karate Program have a chance to show off their new set of Karate skills in front of their parents and friends. Students will than earn their White Belt and Certificate of Rank - from The Dojo of Karate. I would than order some pizza and juice for the kids to grub on.
In the end, my selling pitch is basically getting the kids to signup for our ‘Special Discount’ only available today. I let the parents know ahead of time, when they arrive. At the conclusion of the graduation, I can than sit down with parents that would like to move forward and sign them up. This is a great way for The Dojo of Karate to get involved with the community, but more importantly become a local household name to some of the schools in the area.
So you’re probably wondering why I’m talking about this, huh? Well… ;-) I ended up landing one of the schools in Adams 12! A few weeks ago, when I sent the email, I never got a response. So, I did what every entrepreneur should do. Be persistent. I ended up mailing a physical letter to each of the schools I emailed telling them the same thing about the After School Karate Program. Last week I got a call from the Base Program Director at Meridian Elementary School. On short notice, they wanted to see if I would be interested in teaching an after school program. Obviously I said ‘YES’! So, I got more details about it and how other schools previously handled it. There was some downsides to it, but in the end, I think it will help grow my school.
The program is essentially going to start next Wednesday, October 29th from 1:20-2:00pm. It will than take place for 6 weeks - ending in December. That following Friday, I will have a graduation at the school for all participants. I’m hoping to get about 30 students to enroll in the Meridian Elementary School After School Karate Program, so that it gives me a head start for December enrollments.
I’ll probably come out with a press release shortly.
Until next time, wish me luck!
Oh, by the way. I’ll probably be at about 32 or 33 new students by the end of this week. Not bad for a brand new school only open for 8 weeks