BJJ instructor salary

[Ice 9 Cobra]

Independent instructors, i.e. don't own the gym, make $25-40 a class.
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[trn450]

I've heard $15,000 to $20,000 being a normal monthly operating expense.

I can believe those numbers if you include employees--very roughly anyway. As I said, 250 students and someone is doing pretty well "even with" employees. 2 front desk people at $8/hr and lets say 60hrs/wk, there is ~$2,000. Throw in another full time, high ranking instructor ($4,000???). But still, 250 students probably brings in $25,000 to $35,000 per month before privates and retail sales.

It would take no less than the owner showing me a detailed account of income vs. expenses to prove to me that his school of 250 students is doing so poorly that he must also work another full time job. o_0

Also, $8/sq ft is insane. I honestly highly doubt that--especially for industrial space. I've worked in industrial areas my whole life. Maybe you're thinking $0.80 per square foot? My rental property w/ granite throughout the house, 6" baseboards, new paint, new carpet, nice location, etc. rents for $1/sq foot. lol. A high-end medical office in a very rich part of California will lease for $1.75/sq ft per months.

 

[lechien]

. I've heard $15,000 to $20,000 being a normal monthly operating expense.

You have to remember kids are usually paying less than adults.
. I've spoken to my current instructor and the instructor of another school I went to and both indicated that for a gym to make it in the South Florida market 200 students is the break even number with a large portion of that being a kids program. I guess if you had 250 adults then maybe you could make that your full time job.

I do know my instructor is trying to find another place something larger since he wants to have larger mat space and a weight gym.


$135.00 a month for unlimited including taxes, they also have some people that pay $100 a month for 3 classes a week.

200 members to break even! Somehow I just do not believe it.

 

[Ice 9 Cobra]

I do sales and memberships at a gym, and 200 members to break even is insane. Everything over 80 should be profit.
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[kying418]

Despite what others may have posted, the overhead of a bjj academy really isnt that high (especially if you are the only instructor).

It's not a mystery, and there are no "hidden costs". Just figure out your rent, utitilities, and other basic things like tax rate, and your profit margin is quite clear.

If an instructor has 100+ students and can't earn a pretty decent living off of it, then they are charging far too little, their rent is exorbitantly high, or they are screwing up with their numbers somewhere down the line.

 

[running man]

ur smoking crack if you think that an instructor with 250+ students is struggling to make ends meet

 

[dokomoy]

One expense that hasn't been mentioned is (at least initially) paying off debt. Most school owners probably have to take out a pretty big loan to open the school(to pay for construction, start up costs like mats, and to cover expenses for several months to a year until you build your student base). I'm not an expert but I imagine that comes out to a lot of money and it may take years to pay it all back.

 

[fiftysvn]

I have no reason to believe SMillard or his instructors are lying . . .

I'm sure his instructor is not taking on that full time job in addition to his gym duties for his own health. He obviously feels the income he is getting from teaching and running his gym is not satisfactory. Maybe his idea of a satisfactory level of income is not the same as everyone else's.

 

[lechien]

no one in their right mind would get a big loan to start a school.

just start small by renting space in an already existing facility.

 

[rowdstar]

i didnt say struggling. but how many instructors have a net gross income of over $90,000 a year? i would be willing to bet very few that dont have dvd, tshirt, seminars and privates all the freaking time.

maybe you folks in the sticks think that is 'rich' but that is solidly middle class here in san diego, where the median house price is $500,000.

what about people here in CA where the jj market is seemingly tapped out? how many purple, brown and black belts are gonna leave their academy just cause a new name came to town. not many....... so you need to market to get students, they just dont come through the door begging to throw money at the instructor.

 

[akdms]

When my instructor was helping someone open a school he said that around 15-20 people is the break-even point. So with 30 students that's $1000 a month profit. He also has said he pulls around $50k. Not bad, but considering it took him years of training and building up his schools, that's not great.

 

[Half Amazing]

200 members to break even! Somehow I just do not believe it.

I agree with this, I feel like most schools don't even have 200 students in the first place.

 

[dat1978]

in general, being the owner/instructor of any type of martial arts school is a tough living and unless your school is VERY successful you are not making a ton of money.

 

[Gerbiljiujitsu]

I am opening a brand new professional gym. Out costs more than you would think. When I get home tonight I will post some of the costs that you guys aren't thinking about out don't know about.
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[Shinedown88]

I know my instructor is doing well for himself. I don't know any numbers, but I know he's doing well. Living comfortably.

 

[knoxpk]

The initial start up will be higher but the month to month will be less.

So to start out you usually have to get a Space, with a deposit, electric with a deposit, phone with a deposit, advertising, mats, insurance.

If the space was used previously you should not have to worry about too much. But if not then you have to get AC installed and of course other construction costs, there really is no need for that considering so many empty places are available.

Month to month should not be terribly high, I operate mall based business and they are pretty high because of traffic but an industrial space or even a space in a strip center can be had for $2000-$4000 per month her in Florida.

$3000 space
$300-$600 utilities
$(dunno) Insurance
$(optional) Staff

I think you can operate a BJJ gym for less than $4000 per month once you get past start up costs. At $125 per month that is 32 students to cover costs. A teacher that handles all his own classes can make a decent living when he gets to around 65 students (around $45K per year) and if he gets to 100+ he is doing really well and then can afford assistants.

There are also other ways to make additional income from the gym. Uniforms, vending machines, juice/protein bar, supplement sales, private lessons etc...

People mentioning taxes need to take that out of the equation we all pay taxes only our employers set aside the money for us.

 

[Devils Haircut]

I'll tell you this much...
If I studied a field for 10 years, I would want to make more than 30 or 40 k a year.

 

[Devils Haircut]

Oh and one other thing to think about...BJJ is booming now with the rise of MMA in the mainstream, but how much harder do you think it was to make a living teaching BJJ in the 80's?

 

[Russo93]

Personally I think you can definitely make a decent living out of operating a bjj school.

If you operate it in a smart and professional manner, there should be no reason why you can't.

PLUS, if you love jiu jitsu, you never really have to worry about getting "tired of your job".

I'm not saying in no way that it would be easy, but I am saying that it is 100% possible for someone who loves jiu jitsu and knows a thing or two about business to make a decent living out of it.

 

[redaxe]

In my experience "salary" is often an appropriate term for a lot of the Brazilian instructors because they don't own the gyms, an American owns the gym and the instructor comes here on a work visa with the gym owner as his sponsoring employer.

So, I wonder how much the gym owners pay the Brazilian instructors in salary. I really have no idea.