Appropriate prices for teaching people?

[Quigga]

Question is in the title.

Basically I've just gotten bored of most things to do, and this is what keeps tickling some sort of itch.

Also any advice on marketing stuff?

I don't plan on living off of this anytime soon. Working towards being trained to do another skilled job with state assistance, away from nursing old people.

Just got some spare time and energetic and figured why not.

Stay natural

[everything]

who is your target market segment? seniors? serious martial artists? probably depends on the alternatives they might take for something "fair".

[Quigga]

Pretty much everyone. You're right tho, it would maybe be best to specify prices for specific target groups. How much of my time and theirs involved, location. And what the focus of the module being taught is.

[Appledog]

I get a legacy price of $80/hr from my teachers. I've paid some public teachers in Toronto $150/hr (spoiler, he wasn't worth the money). I think $100/hr for private is probably good enough but it could go to $200 depending on what exactly your learning and the relationship.

I'd probably just charge $80/hr. Because my teachers did

For that price I've flown around the world to learn, many times.. so it is a value judgement in the end

[Steve James]

If you find students, you can ask them. If you're just bored, and not interested in business, ask friends if they want to learn. Do it for free, and if enough people come, ask for donations. You'll be practicing without losing anything. The donations you get will indicate how much you could charge.

[everything]

that sounds like a weekend seminar kind of ballpark.

there are probably "free" classes at your local senior center.

it illustrates supply/demand curve is set by the type of buyer/seller and the type of good/service.

[yeniseri]

From personal experience, taijiquan (tai chi) has never fit a marketing perspective based on how Western sports are profiled.
I have seen marketing plans and some do work regarding assessing appropriate prices for teaching people!
I will admit that perhaps I am not a good marketer of tai chi per the marketplace assessment so please try to put forth on your own) the effort to see the results of those marketing strategies.

[Quigga]

Thanks everyone.

Looking around my area, I think I have something unique to offer.

[everything]

marketing theory is never not relevant, just as economics theory is never not relevant. there is a "market" even if we say it's an incredibly small niche thing. how you execute or understand what's going on in your particular slice of the market: can be very difficult (including at big company pro level, not just for niche activities).

if we leave out the marketing terms, it's just trying to match what people want to teach to what people want to learn. Quigga, sounds like you just have to find your audience.

[Peacedog]

First, make the determination if this is a side project because you want students to practice with or business.

If it is going to be a business, understand the following...

(1) The kind of business you choose to engage in has built in limitations as to what you can expect to do with it.

(2) The amount of effort required to make a business work is largely universal.

(3) As a result, many businesses are not worth the effort financially relative to the amount of work involved.

Traditional martial arts have very little economic value at this point in time. The kung fu craze of the 70's and 80's has come and gone. It isn't coming back. Anything fight related has to go thru the Octagon at this point in time to have any chance of being economically viable.

If you market tai chi, and are willing to run a low-grade cult, Damo Mitchell is the absolute best you will do.

Let that sink in.

And he has a travel schedule that is soul crushing. I'm amazed he's lasted this long. My guess is he will die in poverty the way many of my senior teachers are currently. They devoted their lives to things no one really cares about and when that moment of popularity expired, so did their livelihood and they were too old to pivot.

That is not to say you cannot have a few good years. But amassing a large enough following to generate real capital that allows you to save for the future is largely impossible except for the biggest of outliers.

So, if you go into this as a business, you need to be the outlier. And doing this will require every moment of time you have for years and come at the expense of many different opportunities.

Marketing is an art unto itself. These days this means social media. Try all of them to see what works for you. Watch a 1000 videos on YouTube regarding how to use these. They are complex. At a certain point you will reach critical mass and need professional help. That will be expensive.

Do not waste any money on Fiverr unless it is for graphic design. Professional marketing help is hyper expensive and the best at it do not have to advertise for clients. The clients come to them as they are literally money printing machines when utilized properly.

All the other basics apply, get an LLC, website, product to sell (instructional videos work well), blog, SEO, etc.

Find your niche.

Understand the first six months of video you shoot will be absolute trash as you are learning how to use the gear, get comfortable in front of the camera, etc.

Get started now even if it is just using your phone.

If you become successful, expect to be hated. It’s part of the deal. Network. Go to all the local meetups, conferences, competitions, etc.

Give people something of value. Be useful to others.

If you completely kill yourself effort wise, you just might be able to support yourself at some point. Understand that 99% of your students are dabblers who are doing this for entertainment and be comfortable with that fact.

From a practical standpoint, putting the same amount of effort into affiliate marketing would make you wealthy within 36-48 months. Know, and be comfortable with, the fact that you are actively choosing to forgo many more lucrative opportunities. Good luck.

DM me if you have specific questions.

[windwalker]

If you become successful, expect to be hated. It’s part of the deal. Network. Go to all the local meetups, conferences, competitions, etc.

kind of amazing but true...

Give people something of value. Be useful to others.

nice post....


Many groups in China, are headed by what some call folk teachers,,often teaching for free ,quite skilled in their practices teaching for the love of the art..
My teacher was one, actually preferring anonymity until the latter yrs of his life, when he allowed those there to film and make some of his work public as I have...

wish you success, in your endeavor...teaching something like "taiji" as "Peacedog" mentioned one has to find their own niche..

The below links offer pricing, maybe something useful to go by..



"Bob Amacker, Ben Lo, and Martin Inn"

Here T’ai Chi classes are taughtwith the emphasis on the development of the ch’i with respect to the wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The purpose and goals of the school are to teach and develop the art of T’ai Chi Ch’uan as a tool for improving one’s health. Through the understanding of one’s ch’i energy, one may embrace more fully life’s treasures of harmony and happiness.

"Martin Inn founded the IRI and has taught T’ai Chi Ch’uan for over 50 years. "

Example of some who's been teaching for awhile creating his own niche.

Watched some of his classes as a teenager
before training in Tibetan White Crane.

another example, a kung fu bother of mine from long ago...

Roger Hagood s-mantis

[Quigga]

Thanks for keeping it real.

I'm absolutely not willing to run a cult or create a persona people will then cling onto in the hopes of being liberated from their suffering. I'd take away from their lessons and that's not ok.

I'm just a bit disappointed and disillusioned since I've spent the majority of my life up until now chasing literal dragons. Instead of learning profitable skills or focusing on socializing or building up my life in other tangible ways.

I've learned from a guy who didn't really help me in the long run. He wanted to use (our) teachings to help prevent the coming doom of our world, in his view - new world order, ecological disasasters, revolutions and rebellions etc...

If a guy somewhere in the mountains wouldn't have had the idea to open up the gates and let the teachings to the outside, I never would've heard of it. His intentions were good, but perhaps he was lacking in wisdom.

I absolutely do not want to die in poverty. I've been poor once and it sucks. I can still make changes in my life.

I think I'd rather go the route of affiliate marketing. Or building another skillset that's actually useful to society and couldn't be done better by therapists.

So thanks for the template Peacedog, and I will definitely take you up on your generous offer of DMing you.

At least for some time, I've lived in a nice fairy tale. Guess there are worse things.

[Appledog]

I've seen what happens at the end of Quigga's thought-road too many times and I vowed it would not happen to me.

It took a long time but I've basically retired and am able to pursue martial arts full time.

What I discovered is, number one, I find it difficult to pursue martial arts full time. I'd rather do other things, like sleeping and eating, or video games

And two, you need more money than you expect. And you have to change your karma.

For most people I would say this road is not possible. I doubt any one here has any inkling of what would be required or where to start.

A lot of people in the older generation simply got lucky and were able to create or take over an established school and somehow made it work.

If that was you, then you got lucky. What it takes to truly establish a school, is almost impossible for just one person to do. But you can do it, if you really want to Just remember what Peacedog said.

[everything]

if you're talking about "making money", it's kind of a giant topic. if you're kind of talking about "ikigai" or at least some intersection of making money, helping the world, stuff you like to do, like this:



it's maybe easier to scope down your discussion/thoughts (although it's still a giant topic). there are kind of infinite ways to make money and things people might want to do, how you might want to help the world in some way, but each of us really prefers certain things and are relatively better at certain things. maybe teaching MA is at the center of your personal diagram, maybe not. maybe it's just one of those things you love to do, and it's on the "side" of this diagram, which is also perfectly ok of course.

[yeniseri]

Most excellent diagram to show the intersection of what we believe/think/create and how it actually comes to fruition
with the proper conduct, proper mind and altruistic directions. These domains surely fit how things actually turn out so thanks for the image!