The Dojo of Karate

I think I’ve always had the entrepreneurial itch in me, but it came out more these past few years. Especially with a few of my college classes. After a 3 month trip to Europe, I finally realized what I needed to do when I returned. I got some things aligned in my life, landed a job for an Internet company, and began to brainstorm some ideas. A few things came up along the way, including a website stint a friend and I created. Some of you know the company, but I will save that for another time, as it currently is on the back-burner.

I started to seriously write my business plan around December 2006, since my other attempts were simply that… attempts. Even before the ‘attempts’ I tried to start a martial arts program in rec. centers, gyms, churches, etc. In my mind, it was the segway to opening a school. Get a solid clientèle base, keep overhead low. You know, just dip your toes in before submerging yourself. It was a complete failure. I didn’t know how many of these places all have an established martial arts program. Who would have thought!?

Anyhoo, my business plan was finalized by April 2007. It probably could have been better, but give yourself some time to tear something apart and everything can be better. Human nature I guess. Whatever the case, it was solid, if I may say. I basically followed the same format that was taught to me in my entrepreneurial class at CU-Boulder. For the most part, I thought it through pretty thoroughly, including marketing ideas, promotions, pro formas and financial projections, risks, etc. Who wouldn’t invest in my business…? Banks. Especially with a start up. Get this… I was requesting X dollars (I will not reveal the amount) from all banks. Apparently they wanted me to have the same amount in collateral for what I was requesting… No joke. Now if you’re thinking what I’m thinking, then you’re probably thinking: “if I had that X amount in collateral, I would have sold it already”. To make a long story short, after several rejections, I got the amount I was looking for. Granted there were a few requirements I needed to meet on my end, but at least I didn’t have to give up my first unborn child…