Jiu-Jitsu Market Data

You need to match your franchise with the needs of your area. That means you need to be aware of certain details about the Jiu-Jitsu market. These details cover information from 2014 to 2019 in concrete detail and a few projections into the future as well.

According to Ibis World, the average growth of the Jiu-Jitsu industry from 2014 to 2019 was 3.7% per year. Economic advancement influenced this growth by freeing up employment and disposable income for people to devote time to Jiu-Jitsu. This is especially true for consumers under the age of 17, which represented over 55% of the industry’s revenue. Males in general accounted for 65% of the Jiu-Jitsu industry.

Knowing this, you should take the age demographic in your target area into account before signing with a franchise. Plan to franchise your dojo in an area with a younger average population, preferably one which favors males, in order to edge your franchise towards success.

This $5 billion industry is projected to grow even more over the next 5 years with the expectation that the economy will grow as well. These statistics were gathered before the COVID-19 quarantine, however.

Taking the lockdown into account, it’s clear that for the moment, the Jiu-Jitsu industry is down by 50% or more. Many gyms are closed or reduced in activity and many people have canceled their memberships to remain inside.

The plan to franchise, however, has to include what will happen next. The viability of a Jiu-Jitsu franchise after the coronavirus quarantine lifts depends on economic activity. Some sources predict the high unemployment rate as having a lasting impact on the viability of Jiu-Jitsu and other gym-related sports franchises.

However, as the economy recovers, dojos will reopen and activity should get back on schedule towards industry growth.

Are Jiu-Jitsu Franchises Profitable?

Keenan Cornelius recently said himself, even though he was once one of the top jiu jitsu competitors in the world and has traveled the world doing seminars, all the prize money and seminar fees pale in comparison to operating his own jiu jitsu academy. He said that having your own academy is the only sustainable way to make money in jiu jitsu. Here’s the video below:

Starting your own jiu jitsu gym from the ground up is hard. You have no brand recognition and you have to do 100% of the work yourself. There is a better way of course—becoming an affiliate to a well-known gym. 

Becoming an affiliate to a well-known BJJ gym is called franchising. Depending on the cost of your commercial lease and labor costs, your profits may change. There is one main factor that you can control in terms of how profitable your Jiu-Jitsu franchise will be. That is finding out the demand there is for a gym in the area you wish to start a franchise.

Since membership in a Jiu-Jitsu gym is often around $130 to $200 per month, you can use that average to try and calculate when you’ll make back your startup fees, discussed below, based on the demand in your area.

Jiu-Jitsu Franchise Versus Independent Gym

Concerning both the costs of franchising vs an independent gym as well as the benefits of each strategy, it’s important to know the difference.

Franchising (Becoming an Affiliate)

When you buy the license of an existing franchise, you are surrendering a certain amount of control over the business. You have to follow certain procedures in terms of how the business runs, trains employees, and markets itself. The company will give you access to proprietary knowledge such as an owner’s manual and training guide for you to follow.

This comes with benefits and responsibilities. On the one hand, the franchise’s procedures are laid out for you in advance, meaning you don’t have to do as much legwork in terms of planning a business strategy.

However, this means you have the responsibility of following predetermined rules and upholding company guidelines.

The major pro of franchising is brand recognition. This means that you have the name of the established dojo to bank on when you start your franchise. 

Brand recognition makes it easier for you to get new students, who recognize your gym’s name. It also gives you credibility in a competitive market against lesser-known dojos. This affects both your memberships and the interaction of your users with your online materials. This is something that is even more important during the quarantine.

With less freedom in terms of the amount of working capital you need, however, you need to plan for the many fees associated with business franchising.

These include not only the licensing fee (which can cost $8,000 alone in the case of Gracie Barra) but also other associated franchising fees, including uniform fees, marketing fees, and training expenses. In addition to the cost of buying the franchise, these upfront costs need to be planned for.

While some gyms do not have a requirement for you to be a black belt to become an affiliate, it is preferred. This is especially true in big cities. Rules are a bit more lax in rural or suburban areas where top grappling talent is hard to come by. One such example is Gracie Jiu Jitsu Apple Valley, started by blue belt Johnny Vasquez. 

If you want to be an affiliate of a jiu jitsu franchise, you will probably need at least $50,000 in startup capital to pay for upfront costs and last the first year.

Independent Gym

Independent Gyms lack the credibility of a known franchise but trade it for lower startup costs and more control. Since you aren’t inheriting a business model, you can market the dojo in your area however you want and charge membership prices based on the market rather than on a list of set guidelines.

Managing the marketing and mentorship programs yourself can be strenuous, especially for the first few years of owning an independent gym. In many markets, opening a franchise is preferable by the brand recognition factor alone. The main deterrents are the large startup costs and fees associated with franchise ownership.

Read on to better understand these costs before you open a Jiu-Jitsu franchise.