The Business of Jiu Jitsu

00:21:24

Ep. 123 - When to Raise Your Prices (and How to Do It...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/10/08

It’s October. If you’re overdue for a price increase, this is the season.But raising prices isn’t a fix for a gym that’s struggling. This episode covers the prerequisites first: the season, the pipeline, and the math. Then the how: when to tell people, how to tell them, and what to expect for the two weeks after.I’ve done this myself and watched a lot of gyms do it successfully. The ones that do it right don’t have it go bad.Raise prices in a season of high momentum. If the gym feels like a sinking

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00:43:01

Ep. 122 - Fun First: How East Austin Jiu Jitsu Won...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/10/01

My guest this week is William Watts, co-owner of East Austin Jiu Jitsu. Two years open, several hundred members, 250+ five-star Google reviews, and voted best gym in Austin by the Austin Chronicle readers in their first year. Not best jiu jitsu gym. Best gym, period. And they haven't spent a cent on ads.William learned the business side before he ever opened. He helped a wellness brand open 165 locations in seven years, then worked in small business lending. Now he's put it all into a

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00:32:13

Ep. 121 - Paid ads waste money, organic content...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/09/19

Hell of a click bait title I know but there is A LOT of truth in it for most academy and gym owners. Tell me if this sounds familiar..."I post all the time. Why don't I have more students?" Or the other one: "I tried ads once, they didn't work."This episode is my whole philosophy on organic and paid for a jiu jitsu academy. Short version: organic is a vibe check for people who already found you. Paid is how strangers find you. Follow-up is what puts new students on the

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00:20:30

Ep. 120 - Keep students longer, build a better team...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/09/10

Onboarding: The 90 Day Process That Turns a New White Belt Into a Long-Term StudentBack to school season means new students walking through your door. This episode is about what you do with them once they're there.Onboarding is the piece in the middle. Lead gen and sales get people in the door. Retention is what you do with them week after week. Onboarding is the bridge between the two, and it's the part most academies skip entirely.I walk through the BJJ Retention Pyramid and the 90 day

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00:29:47

Ep. 119 - Staffing: Who to Hire, How to Manage Them,...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/08/28

This episode is about staffing your academy, start to finish.I break it into three parts. First, who to hire when you're still wearing all the hats, and why your first real hire off the floor is an admin, not another coach. Second, how to actually manage staff once you've got them: roles and tasks, SOPs, objective standards, incentives, and quarterly reviews. Third, hiring and firing, how to grow coaches from inside your own room, how to onboard them, and how to know when somebody has to

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00:23:08

Ep. 118 - What BJJ Academy owners about increasing...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/08/14

If your adults program and kids program aren't where they need to be, adding a fitness kickboxing class or a kettlebell program isn't going to fix your revenue problem. It's just going to split your attention. This episode is JP's breakdown of where academy owners actually need to focus to grow monthly recurring revenue and why the answer is almost never "start something new."In this episode:The unfinished wheel analogy and why adding new programs before your core is dialed

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00:33:22

Ep. 117 - Systemize Your Academy Before September

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/08/07

JP's back after a big move from Calgary down to the Coeur d'Alene area and he's got a timely reminder for every academy owner heading into the back half of summer. The jiu-jitsu side of your business is the cart. But without wheels and a track, you're just pushing a heavy ass cart at a snails pace. Now is the time to fix that.In this episode:The minecart analogy, why your coaching ability alone isn't enough to create growthA real gym JP is working with right now: best July on

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00:47:51

Ep. 116 - Chris Haueter - "It's not who's the best,...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/06/18

"I can tell almost instantly if an academy is going to be successful or not, and it almost rarely has to do with the aesthetics." — Chris HaueterIn this episode I sit down with Chris Haueter one of the original American BJJ black belts and a coach who's taught at academies all over the world, from packed warehouses to hole-in-the-wall strip malls. We get into what actually separates a successful jiu jitsu academy from one that folds: healthy leadership that still rolls and competes,

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00:48:01

Ep. 115 - If running your BJJ Academy feels like a...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/06/12

"Opening a jiu jitsu academy is a gamble." Students come, students go, and you never know what's going to happen — at least, that's the story a lot of academy owners tell themselves. But if a skilled operator took over your academy tomorrow, would it still be a coin flip? If they could grow it with 100% certainty, it was never a gamble. It's a skill deficit.In this episode, I break down why "it's a gamble" thinking keeps BJJ academy owners stuck — and lay out an

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00:56:31

Ep. 114 - Ryan Hurst - The Mobility Master from GMB...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/06/04

Movement, Mobility, and Martial Arts: Insights from Ryan HurstRyan offers a free guide on mobility and strength for BJJ click here to check it out: https://gmb.io/bjj-mobility/In this episode, Ryan Hurst of GMB Fitness shares his unique approach to movement training that enhances mobility, strength, and injury prevention—key for martial artists and fitness enthusiasts alike. Discover practical techniques you can incorporate into your routine, whether you're on the mats or in the gym.Key

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00:40:53

Ep. 112.5 - 10 Years of Academy Owneship - The FULL...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/05/21

We had technical difficulties on the previous recording so this is a NEW recording and the full episode.Most BJJ academy owners burn out somewhere between year 3 and year 7. Not because the jiu jitsu is hard — because the people part is. The communication, the boundary-setting, losing core members, staying in one piece, knowing who to let through the door.Heads up: this is a shorter episode — we ran into some technical difficulties partway through the recording, but the conversation was too good to

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00:15:06

Ep. 112 - 10 Years of BJJ Academy Ownership with CJ...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/05/14

Most BJJ academy owners burn out somewhere between year 3 and year 7. Not because the jiu jitsu is hard — because the people part is. The communication, the boundary-setting, losing core members, staying in one piece, knowing who to let through the door.Heads up: this is a shorter episode — we ran into some technical difficulties partway through the recording, but the conversation was too good to shelve.In this episode of The Business of Jiu Jitsu, JP Levesque sits down with his own professor, CJ

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00:36:20

Ep. 111 - The 7 levels of marketing for BJJ Gyms and...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/04/30

Most BJJ academy owners think the answer to growth is hiring a marketing agency. They skip straight to paid ads and end up on the agency treadmill — burning thousands a month for leads they can't convert.In this episode of The Business of Jiu Jitsu, JP Levesque breaks down the 7 levels of marketing every academy owner should be running before they spend a dollar on paid ads. Starting with the work nobody talks about — buying into your own business as the CEO — and building out through staff

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00:36:12

Ep. 110 - Should you care about AI as a BJJ Academy...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/04/23

AI for Jiu-Jitsu Academy Owners What's Actually Useful Right Now!!Warning!! I had so many thoughts about AI and business and you did so during this episode. It took me three or four takes to record it. So it's not as streamlined as I would like. I will do an AI update in the future, but I think is a point of reference, it's a good place to start, even if it is a little bit jumbled.AI is moving fast and the noise is loud. This episode cuts through it. JP breaks down the real state of AI,

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00:27:21

Ep. 109 - Why Paid Ads Don't Work For Most BJJ Academies

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/04/16

Why Marketing Agencies Don't Work for Jiu-Jitsu AcademiesAlmost every academy owner JP talks to has tried a marketing agency. Most of them got burned. This episode breaks down exactly why, and what you should be doing instead.In this episode:Why "50 students in 50 days" promises are flat-out lies, and why agencies keep making themWhat agencies actually do (hint: it's just top of funnel) and why that's not enoughThe real math: paying $1,500–$2,500/month in retainer plus ad spend

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00:24:24

Ep. 108 - Who to hire first, when to fire, and how to...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/04/09

How to Hire (and Fire) for Your BJJ AcademyIf a coach is costing you students, that coach needs to go. Doesn't matter how many medals they have. This episode is JP's full breakdown on staffing your academy, who to hire, when to hire them, and how to run a process that doesn't blow up in your face.In this episode:Why toxic, overly strict, or incompetent coaches are a retention killers and why academy owners keep them anywayThe exit interview move that tells you exactly why students are

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00:17:54

Ep. 107 - The two most important growth levers for...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/03/30

The Simplicity of Growing Your AcademySummaryGrowing a gym isn't complicated, but it does require you to actually develop the skills. In this episode, JP breaks down the two levers every academy owner needs to master: retention and marketing. Most gyms aren't stuck because they lack leads. They're stuck because they're bleeding students out the back door while ignoring the fundamentals. Until you fix that, more marketing is just pouring water into a leaky bucket.This episode walks

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00:40:45

Ep. 106 - Stop Guessing: How to Use Your Gym’s...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/03/19

SummaryIn this episode of the Business of Jiu Jitsu Podcast, JP Levesque breaks down a real-world case study to show how academy owners can use their numbers to actually grow their business. Instead of guessing what to fix next, this episode walks through how to interpret your metrics, set realistic targets, and make better decisions based on what’s actually happening inside your gym.JP covers how to reduce churn, improve conversions, and reverse engineer your growth goals using simple math. If

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00:42:12

Ep. 105 - Mark Millare - Hart Jiu Jitsu - How to make...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/03/13

In this episode of the Business of Jiu Jitsu Podcast, JP Levesque sits down with Mark Millare from Hart Jiu Jitsu to talk about what actually makes a gym stand out today. They dive into the importance of building a strong culture, creating a fun but pressure-tested training environment, and using social media consistently to attract and retain students.Mark shares how Hart Jiu Jitsu approaches class structure, onboarding, and community building to create an environment where people want to train

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00:31:39

Ep. 104 - The Essential Weekly Activities for BJJ...

The Business of Jiu Jitsu ·

2026/03/06

In this episode of the Business of Jiu Jitsu Podcast, JP Levesque breaks down four simple systems that can dramatically improve the way you run your academy. Many gym owners feel busy all the time but still struggle to see real progress. JP explains how small weekly habits like calendar blocking, reviewing your metrics, and consistent lead follow-up can shift your business from chaotic to controlled.You’ll also hear why tracking attendance is one of the most overlooked retention strategies, and how

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