Attracting Adults

All commercial Taekwondo instructors know that children are where the money is. You cannot have a successful Taekwondo business without children, lots of children. They love to train and beg their parents to take them to class, they want to go to tournaments, camps, clinics, etc, and they buy lots of Taekwondo equipment and accessories. Children get fewer injuries and, when they do, they heal quickly. Children tend to stay as students for many years, and they where most of a school's instructor trainees come from. Therefore, most commercial instructors have an extensive advertising program to reach children, such as demonstrations in malls, ads, school visits, bring a friend to class, etc.

However, children grow up, start dating, start college, and move on to other aspects of their lives. This means there is a dearth of wisdom and experience in many Taekwondo schools. To feel this void, instructors need adult students. They have a lot of expertise in many areas that may be useful to the school, such as carpenters, electricians, doctors, etc. and most are willing to help the school in these areas. They have the wisdom and experience to guide younger students. They are stable in their lives so they are not moving locations as much and are not trying to "find themselves."

However, adults have different needs than those of younger students and, if these needs are no fulfilled, they will quit or find a school that does fulfill their needs. Therefore, instructors must be aware of the needs of adult students and seek to fulfill these needs to attract, and keep, adult students in the schools.