Starting BJJ/MMA school.

good luck wit ur new school! hope someone can help u out.

Well, I'm really not an expert on this kind of stuff, but for any facility that houses combat sports you're probably going to need some kind of insurance and a legal waiver of liability to pass out to your students.

+1 on getting a lawyer, that way you get all the end tied up and don't get f*cked on a technicality

Lawyer - Yes
Accountant - Yes
Insurance agent - Yes

These three will be most important, and the hardest to find. What I mean is that you need knowlegable people you can trust. Because you have no experience some people will look at you as "easy prey." Be carefull even trusting the advise of relatives and friends because people will refer you to their friends - who may or may not be the right people. I know this because I have been there. Find a handful of experienced buisness people who you will make as your board of dirrectors. Find a way to compensate them - often retired buisness men will do it for a nice dinner or lessons for there grandson. They may do six months for free.

Try not to partner up with someone yet I would only do it if it where the only way. buisness partnerships fail way too often - wait till you want one down the road.

Good luck

GB, have you looked at doing a presentation for the local high school's wrestling team? I haven't seen it done, but a nogi demo would seem to be a great match and you'd get some stellar wrestlers most likely.

VIP passes too if you actually do decide you want to run it as a business.

The insurance is probably going to be your biggest hurdle. It can be very expensive and cost prohibitive. Some of the Judo gyms around here get around the insurance cost by collectively joining some sort of Association, where every member pays a minimal cost and then the association gets some kind of bulk rate coverage.

At my gym we only have to pay $27 each year in dues and then the gym is covered by the association. You may want to talk to your Judo partner to see what he knows about it.

The only downside is that whenever a non-member rolls at your gym they are a financial liability and it tends to be customary to allow a guy a single free class, or to allow outside fighters/practitioners the occasional drop in.

Here is my 2 cents. Just a little background on me if it means anything. I have run my families printing business for the last 15 years and also own and run my own BJJ school.

RE: already found a staff of 2 Seasoned Muay Thai instructors, a BB in Judo, and a NCAA wrestling champ who all agreed to teach.

- Make sure that everyone is in agreement that you are the boss. That ALL decisions on what happens in the school go though you. Five guys with five different ways of running things will only harm the school. Trust me.

RE: I was wondering what kind of insurance policy i would need or would a lawyers written up waiver cover it?

- Insurance is a must. Most businesses won't lease you space until you can show proof of insurance. The BJJ, Judo and wrestling won't cost much. It should be less then $100.00 per month. The MMA on the other hand will cost a lot more. When I checked into MMA at my school most of the main carriers wouldn't even insure me. The waiver is just a worthless piece of paper that everyone requires you to have. You can word it yourself, copy someone else or have a lawyer do it. It's still worthless. If you're negligent and someone gets hurt you can be sued no matter what the student signed. Trust me (No. I haven't been sued but I know others who have.)

RE: What kind of advertising i should do

- eagles51493 was right on. Word of mouth, signs and getting involved in the community (fairs, parades, etc.)

RE: Best way to get equipment?(ie, Bags,Sparring Gear)

- The web would probably be you best bet. My advice start off small and slowly build your gym. You don't want to be in debt before you even get started.

RE: Is this a good idea to go partners?

- No. No. No. And No. The first rule at the Harvard Business school: Never have a partner. Trust me.

My best advice start off small and grow. Ask a local gym or school if you could rent out space a couple days a week. Slowly build your student base and then go look for your own place. Stay smart and don't get in over your head. If you can't afford it don't buy it. If it sounds to good to be true, it is.

I wish you the best of luck.

mystikai, nice catch. I didn't notice that. Oh well.