5 Easy Habits To Build A Profitable BJJ Gym

Consistent practice of good habits lead to lasting success. Anyone who trains knows that holds true in jiu-jitsu, but this principle reaches far beyond the mats into almost everything you do.

It’s how water cuts through rock - consistency.

In other words, small daily habits done regularly lead to big outcomes.

The success of your jiu-jitsu school is no different.

And the small habits that leads to big gains in your gym don’t have to be tedious, boring, or expensive.

In fact, they’re all free and can be done in less than 5-10 minutes per day.

This is how you build a sustainable and profitable gym.

1. Post Regularly On Social Media

For many gym owners, social media is a huge headache and hassle. They know the power social media can have on their gym’s growth and that they should be posting consistently.

But social falls behind the more pressing tasks of running a gym.  Often, gym owners are unsure what to post, or are afraid of posting unprofessional looking photos or videos to their page.

The truth is, consistency on social media is the most important factor for growth. Don’t wait to make the perfect post, or spend hours and money on fancy editing. 

Just post.

Post your members rolling, hanging after class, tournaments, promotions, events, literally almost anything happening at your gym. Your members will love seeing themselves online and you’ll grow and build exposure for your gym.

Plus, your social account can become a free lead generating machine with this strategy.

Post every day to your social accounts.

2. Ask For Referrals Whenever You Can

Referrals are the highest quality lead that you can get and the most likely to convert. They’re free and the trust is built into the relationship of the referring person.

These are warm leads that are likely to join your gym.

Most gym owners fail to ever ask for referrals. Every once in a while they may send out an email asking for reviews, or run a random referral challenge, but the results are usually poor.

Getting in the habit of regularly asking people “who do you know that you think would also like jiu-jitsu?” will lift your monthly referrals, guaranteed. Ask members when their spirits are high and they’re feeling the benefits of BJJ - after they’re promoted, after they compete, after class, or at social events.

There is never a wrong time to ask - ask people one on one, ask the group after class. You should even ask lost leads that don’t convert, and right after new people join your gym. If a lead turns your down, ask, “well thanks for your time, who do you know in the area that might be interested?”

If a new member joins, ask, “great! Who do you think should join this new experience with you? We find that people are more likely to reach the upper belts when they join with a friend.”

Weave these asks into your natural conversations every chance you get.

3. Check Your Numbers Daily

So many gym owners only check their numbers a few times a month, usually at the month end.

Make it a daily habit to check your total member number, your retention rate, your growth rate, your revenue, and your leads.

This habit will help you stay focused on growth and notice if things are trending in a certain direction.

If things are improving, analyze why and do more of that. If things are decreasing, try to understand why and get ahead of it before it has a negative impact on your business.

Once you get good at analyzing your numbers regularly, you should be able to project your month well before it ends.

The old saying, you can’t manage what you don’t measure applies here. Keep an eye on your numbers so you can better manage them.

4. Send Emails Every Week

Email marketing is the number one missed opportunity of gym owners. 

Every major business, and any serious business regardless of size, emails their customers, prospects, and stakeholders regularly. Yet, almost no jiu-jitsu gyms do.

It’s time to start treating your gym like a serious business.

Email has been and will be the cheapest and most effective form of advertising online. It’s essentially free, and anyone who has given you their email address is interested in your product and trusts you to email them.

The best, most profitable jiu-jitsu gyms email weekly, if not daily.

When you email this much, your sales and promotion emails are better received and more effective. If the only time you email your audience is when you have something to sell, they become conditioned to ignore them.

Send your curriculum for the week, events, updates, news, members shout outs, promotions, interesting things you find online that could help your students. 

Ultimately, you want to build value with your emails so people want to open them. At a bare minimum send monthly emails, but ideally send once a week.

Plus, sending regular emails to your lost leads and prospects keeps your gym top of mind for the next time they’re ready to try BJJ again.

5. Care About Your Students

The final habit should go without saying, but sometimes is easy to forget that you are not in the jiu-jitsu business, you are in the relationship business.

Relationships are the foundation of your gym and people can tell if you’re only there to take their money.

Asking your members about their lives, texting them regularly, reaching out after gym hours, and truly caring about them will go a long way in building a successful gym.

Many new members and lower belts look up to their professors as if they’re gods. Receiving a comment on their last instagram post or a private DM will absolutely make their day. Getting attention from the owner, black belt, or high ranking member will make them feel seen and part of the group.

Reach out to a few members per day. A simple, “how’s is going bro?” is all it takes to build and nurture the most important part of your business - the relationships.

Final Thoughts

All of these habits are simple, free ways to grow your business year over year.

Make them a part of your daily routine so you no longer have to think about doing them.

In fact, copy and past this list to a note in your phone and commit to doing them every day until you no longer need to look at it.

1. Post To Social Daily

2. Ask For Referrals Whenever You Can

3. Check Your Numbers Daily

4. Send Emails Every Week

5. Care About / Contact Your Students Daily

Remember, 20% of small businesses fail within the first year and 50% within the first five.

By consistently doing these small things you’ll increase your changes of success and sustaining a profitable business for the long term.

To get a free guide on flooding your BJJ gym with free leads, click here.