mma business magazine

MAY 2013

SummercampIs this Martial Arts Mainstay a Must for MMA? P.21

Cleaning Guide:Products & Advice

Prepare Your Business:Storm Damage

Secrets To Success: UFC Gym

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CENTER RING: INVICTA’SSHANNONKNAPP

W W W. M M A B U S I N E S S M A G . C O M I MAY 2013 3

FEATURES

M AY 2 0 1 3 • V O LU M E 4 N o . 3

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We talk to the cleaning experts, and tell you what you’re missing, how to fix it, and where to get the good stuff to make sure your gym and your clients are clean and safe.

Last year was a tough one for many gyms and MMA business owners due to storms and the resulting water damage. Here is everything you need to know about preparing and protecting your business from damage.

CLEANING:HOW AND WHAT

WATER IS STRONGER.ARE YOUR PROTECTED?

21I SUMMER CAMPIt’s webinar season. That’s the time just before sum-mer when business consultants tell you how to profit from kids on vacation. But can it work for MMA?

DEPARTMENTS4 I MIXED THOUGHTS

You In or Out?

6 I BUSINESS PLANSecure Your Trademark

8 I THE BEATRousey Signs With Xyience, Holm Drops Boxing Gloves for MMA, Michigan’s Amateur MMA Bill

13 I BUSINESS SOLUTIONSValuation: What’s Your Business Worth?

14 I PROFILEAward of Excellence Winner – UFC Gym

18 I CENTER RINGShannon Knapp and Invicta FC

40 IYOUR GYMCharleston MMA, Charleston, S.C.

36 I ON THE MATThe One-Two Punch

38 I PRO SHOPNew Products and Services

39 I OUTSIDE THE OCTAGONThe Rise of Irish MMA

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Cover photo by Dale Shirley

CONTENTS

4 MAY 2013 I W W W. M M A B U S I N E S S M A G . C O M

You In or Out?

MIXED THOUGHTS from the Editor

www.MMABusinessmag.comVol. 4, No. 3, May 2013

MAGAZINE STAFF

PublisherRichard Hendricks

[email protected]

EditorGlenn Hansen

[email protected]

Editorial ContributorsTony Reid, Corey Beasley,

Raphael Garcia, Nick Roach. Photographers - Dale Shirley, Chastity Cortijo, Fergus Ryan

Art DirectorBrett Link, [email protected]

612-741-3048

Advertising Sales RepresentativesReed Wallace

White Chocolate [email protected]

Mike [email protected]

226-344-6MMA

MMA ADVISORY BOARDJohn Bostick, Rodrigo Galvanosi,

Jamie Gudell, Jeff and Barry Meyer, Kevin Kearns, Greg Nelson, Jimmy Pedro, Erik Paulson,

Steve Pinado, Kekoa Quipotla

MMA Business is published 6 times annually by MMA Business LLC, 21340 Lancaster Run, #1311, Estero, Florida 33928.

Subscription Information: Free to qualified members of the mixed martial arts industry. To subscribe or renew your free subscription, go to: MMABusinessmag.com.

Editorial Submissions: return postage must accompany all manuscripts and photographs submitted to MMA Business if they are to bereturned. MMA Business is not responsible for unsolicited materials. MMA Business makes no endorsements, representations, guarantees or warranties regarding prod-ucts and services presented or advertised within the publication. © 2013 by MMA Busi-ness LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Produced in the U.S.A.

Glenn GLENN [email protected]

Springtime brings a lot of change. Depending on where you live, you might need snow boots one day and flip-flops the next. But I’m not here to talk about the weather. I am here to talk about clothing and foot-wear. Yes, I wanna talk about that. Springtime brought a lot of change to businesses in Mixed Mar-tial Arts, two in particular. One business, RYU, decided to get out of MMA. But was it ever really in MMA? Another business, Nike, is now into MMA. But is the company really into MMA? Spring is confusing. Most of the time, everybody just wants to know this: Are you in, or out?

RYURespect Your Universe (RYU) came into MMA like Chael Sonnen before he faced Jon Jones in UFC 159 – all talk, bluster and bravado. Honestly, RYU wasn’t nearly as arrogant as Sonnen, but it did do a whole lot talking, mainly with its money. From November 2008 through June 2012, the company spent $12 million-plus working from a gross profit on $69,534. You can read the same numbers on its Form 10-Q submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. And I’m no accountant, but even I know that won’t work. We’re not here to bash RYU; we were rooting for them from the beginning. The company, lead by executives who had worked at Nike and other well-known sports brands, had big plans and those could have helped grow MMA as a whole. But it was easy to see from the start that the company was spending a whole lot of money before it even had product available. When RYU announced this spring that it was officially withdrawing from the MMA industry, no one was really sur-prised. Bummed out, sure. But not surprised. If you’re gonna get in, you gotta get in. And RYU never really did.

NikeSpeaking of the Swoosh; Nike is now openly behind Jon Jones. On April 19, Nike officially released the Nike Free Trainer 5.0 athletic shoe with “Bones” stitched on the tongue above the famous swoosh. And a week later when Jones finished Sonnen in UFC 159 (sorry Chael, not trying to pick on you here), Nike even ran a congratulatory picture of Jones on its website. What you won’t find on the Nike.com site is any mention of “MMA.” The Bones Jones collection is under “Training.” Is that a sport? To be fair, nobody wears shoes in MMA, so Nike is not going to make an MMA shoe. But still, is it too much for the footwear giant to acknowl-edge “Mixed Martial Arts” somewhere? Nike is clearly interested or it wouldn’t have got behind Jones in the first place. I had the same question for Under Armour when it initially sup-ported Georges St-Pierre. At least Under Armour mentions GSP as an “MMA Champion,” but it goes no further than that. I have reached out to both Nike and Under Armour several times, with no response.

In or OutSo, big brands. Are you in or out of MMA? If you’re going to get in, get in. We’ll welcome you with open arms. Just do it.

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Secure Your Trademark Or Risk Losing Your Brand

BUSINESS PLAN

Trademarks, copyrights, and patents protect dif-ferent types of intellectual property. A copyright protects an original artistic or literary work. A patent protects an invention. A trademark protects brand names and logos used on goods and services. Owners of Mixed Martial Arts businesses – schools, event promotions, product manufacturers, etc. – and those considering getting into the business need to

be up to speed on the importance of trademarking their brands.

Protect Your ReputationBrands carry meanings, associations, and identifications of product qual-ity; that needs to be protected by a registered trademark. A trademark is a word, name, symbol, device, sound, etc. or combination of those elements that identifies the source of a particular brand’s goods and services being used in commerce. When a trademark is documented on the federal register, i.e. a registered trademark, it entitles the holder to certain protections. Having a registered trademark is important because consumers rely on brand names and their reputations when deciding which products to purchase or which shows to watch, or which trainer to trust. Controlling your brand through a trademark is critical. Trademark law is a subset of unfair competition law that protects your

brand’s products against unfair competition, such as when others use your trademarks on their products to falsely advertise, misappropriate (unfairly benefiting from another’s investment) your products, or dilute your mark by diminishing its uniqueness and associat-ing it with other things unrelated to your brand. In the context of combat sports, it’s important for the owners of new schools or companies to make sure that they are properly registered so they have the broadest protection available. As you invest time and money to grow your business and attract new custom-ers by showcasing your company’s logos, you will want to have the confidence to know that these identifiers of your brand are secure. A federal trademark can help to

secure your brand across the entire country, so even if you are only a local business but have expansion plans, trademarks are important for you, too.

Keeping Your Identity YoursIf you make the mistake of not trademarking your brand early on, others may go ahead and register it for themselves. An unfortunately common situation in combat sports occurs when a student trains at his instructor’s school and then goes out to open his own school using his teacher’s logo and trademark-ing it for himself. The student may even proceed to file a lawsuit against his former instructor claiming infringement on the trademark. This nightmare scenario occurs more often than you might think. There are legal ways to fight this injustice, but your best defense is to register your trademark early and preempt this situation altogether. Filing for a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) can be done without an attorney; however, attorneys are more likely to know the arguments needed to sort out resistance in the form of “office actions” from the USPTO, whose job is to make sure that only proper trademarks are being registered.

Start Your Trademark Search – You can perform a search on the USPTO online database yourself or you can pay a company to do a more comprehensive search for you. If the brand name you want has already been taken, take action early on by adjusting with a different name. This will help you avoid a headache later on in the form of an infringe-ment lawsuit that could tank your business. If the mark you want has not been claimed already or is being used in a different market such that no one will reasonably confuse the two companies, then you stand a good chance to register your brand with this name.

Stephen Kunen, The Combat Sports Attorney, provides comprehensive legal and consulting services for the martial arts and combat sports industry, including brokering, negotiating and drafting sponsorship agreements for combatants, teams, and companies.

STEPHEN KUNEN Stephen

®TMA business uses the (R) symbol when its trademark has been officially regis-tered with the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). For most marks, it can be easy and inexpensive to register your trademark by yourself. Before your mark is registered, use the TM symbol in place of the R-symbol. It says that you view your mark as a trademark, and that you will defend it if necessary.

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Cage Fitness licensed facilities are receiving new curriculum variations called Next Level Cage Fitness. “The lifeblood of any business, whether it is a gym or cupcake shop, is getting new customers,” said Steven Holliday, director of operations for Cage Fitness. “But, it’s the combination of bringing in new members and retaining the current ones that makes the business grow.” Cage Fitness was launched in 2009 as a fitness program that incorporates Mixed Martial Arts. With the endorsement and promotional support of UFC fighter Matt Hughes, Cage Fitness has attracted nearly 400 licensees worldwide. The Next Level curriculum updates are “designed for licensed facilities that have been running the program for some time and are in need of something to take their already successful program to the next level,” said Holliday. “The new curriculum will provide a boost in energy for both the instructors and their students.” Rob Wetmore, owner of Leading Edge Martial Arts in Allentown, Penn., is a Cage Fitness licensee, and has experienced a business boost from the classes. “When we first brought Cage Fitness to Leading Edge Martial Arts, we had a tremendously successful martial arts program and a struggling cardio kickboxing program,” said Wetmore. “We launched Cage fitness in the fall of 2010 and classes exploded. The popular program appeals to both our martial arts students and fitness students, male and female alike. The program has grossed approximately $108,000 in its first two full years.” New class variations use names such as Undisputed, Rookie, Veteran and Grudge Match, and are designed to help Cage Fitness students progress from one level to the next. “These classes are designed with progression in mind,” said Holliday, “and some of the classes are not for beginners.” The Next Level updates are available at no additional cost to their licensees. For more infor-mation about Cage Fitness, call 877-650-2243 or email [email protected]

In February, Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche made history by fighting in UFC’s first women’s bout. Now Rousey will coach the first-ever co-ed competi-tion in The Ultimate Fighter 18, facing off against coach Cat Zingano. And it’s not just UFC. Invicta Fighting Cham-pionships is giving dozens of women the opportunity for Mixed Martial Arts competition on a national stage. (See our interview with Shannon Knapp, Invicta President, in this issue.) It’s only natural that more women want to fight in a cage. The world’s No. 1-rated female box-er, Holly Holm recently announced she is leaving the sport to begin an MMA career; her last scheduled boxing match is set for May 11 against Mary McGee. The 31-year-old boxer is already training at Jackson’s MMA in her home town of Albuquerque, N.M. “I sleep good at night knowing that I’ve challenged myself over my career rather than just take what’s supposed to be easy,” said Holm at a presss confer-ence. “I feel like my passion’s just going to MMA.” Holm is an 18-time, three-division world champion in boxing and has a 32-2-3 boxing record. She is 3-0 in MMA bouts.

More Fighters, More Fights for Women in MMA

TO THE NEXT LEVEL

+ Holly Holm, boxer turned MMA fighter.


TheBEAT

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), protecting facilities, equipment, and vital records is essential to restoring operations once an emergency has occurred. Vital records include:

• Financial and insurance information

• Engineering plans and drawings

• Product lists and specifications

• Employee, customer/client, and supplier

databases

• Formulas and trade secrets

• Personnel files

• Student records

• System access passwords

FEMA offers a number of free emergency management resources on its web site, www.fema.gov. For more information about preparation for emergencies, see the feature article on water damage, beginning on page 31.

Business Tip: Protect Vital records

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Once one of the busiest referees in the UFC’s squad, MMA ref Josh Rosenthal plead guilty to felony charges of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana, and he awaits sentencing in U.S. District Court in Northern California on May 17. Following an investigation that reportedly lasted more than two years, federal agents raided a warehouse owned by Rosenthal and his associate, Jeff Weller in April 2012. Rosenthal and Weller are accused of operating a large-scale marijuana produc-tion and distribution facility in Oakland, Calif. The storehouse reportedly held more than 1,000 marijuana plants with a street value estimated at more than $6 million. According to a report published by MMAJunkie.com, the government is recom-mending 37 months in jail, plus fines and five years of probation. Rosenthal would be subject to random searches during this probation. Minus the plea agreement, Rosen-thal might have served 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and a minimum of five years on probation.

MMA referee Pleads guiltY

Xyience Xenergy has signed a one-year endorsement contract with Ronda Rousey, the UFC women’s bantamweight champion. The first women to earn and defend a UFC title, the 26-year-old Rousey is currently one of the sport’s hot-test stars. Along with this Xyience endorsement, Rousey appeared in commercials for cellular provider and UFC sponsor Metro PCS, and is one of four pro athletes to appear on the cover of ESPN The Magazine’s special 15-year anniversary issue. As the newest Xyience Ambassador, Rousey will appear in advertising, on point-of-purchase materials and on the brand’s website. She will also make appearances at beverage trade and consumer events. “Ronda’s excellence in athletic performance is only part of what makes her a huge inspiration to athletes and fans,” said Xyience President John Lennon in a press release. “She is a fearless agent of change within MMA, whose pas-sion for her sport and dedication to achieving her goals embodies the spirit of our brand’s philosophy: Power to Win. We are proud to be associated with such a talented and articulate athlete.” “The XYIENCE brand has been a huge part of MMA culture for so many years, so it is really exciting for me to be a part of the team,”

said Rousey. “I feel it is important to be aligned with people and brands who believe in what I am trying to achieve. Because of its long history in the sport, XYIENCE understands the significance of this moment in time for women in MMA. I’m honored to be a part of the XYIENCE brand.” Though Rousey seemingly rose to stardom quickly in the MMA world, her athletic achievements precede her UFC title. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Rousey took home a bronze medal for Team USA, be-coming the first American to medal in women’s judo since it became an Olympic sport in 1992. In 2006, she won the bronze medal at the Junior World Championships, making her the first U.S. athlete to win two Junior World medals. At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, 17-year-old Rousey was the youngest judo competitor at the games. Xyience also recently signed a one-year endorsement contract with MMA athlete Chuck Liddell, a former UFC light heavyweight champion and UFC Hall of Fame member. Like Rousey, Liddell will appear in the brand’s advertising, on its website and in its point-of-purchase mate-rials. Later this year, Xyience will launch a series of unique consumer promotions that incorporate Liddell. “His career is a testament of the drive and deep-seeded passion

that’s required to produce excel-lence in athletic performance,” said Lennon. “That’s the kind of inspi-ration we want to share with our consumers.”

Rousey, Liddell Sign With Xyience



While political parties argue government regulations on business, amateur MMA fighters in Michigan await state regulations that could help protect them in the cage. On April 10, the Michigan House overwhelmingly approved regulations for amateur mixed martial arts events, just one day after a 35-year-old Canadian man died after participating in a bout in Port Huron, Mich. Michigan legislators say the incident highlights the need to set rules such as requiring that fighters receive medical clearance and an ambulance be on site during the fights. The bill, which passed by a 106-3 vote, would establish an advisory commission to oversee events. Promoters would be required to provide at least $10,000 in insurance coverage for fighters, and participants would have to be at least 18 years old. Fighters also would have to submit tests proving they aren’t carry-ing blood-borne diseases such as HIV or hepatitis B. While MMA fighters across the state have voiced support for this bill, Stephen Kunen, Combat Sports Attorney from New York, sees several “significant gaps” in the bill, in the way of exceptions written in. Kunen points out that promoters would be

exempt from such regulations in the case of: • aMixedMartialArtsexhi-bition; or• acontestoreventcon-ducted by or participated in exclusively by an agency of the U.S. Government, by a school, college, or university, or by an organization made up exclusively of those entities, provided each contestant is an amateur. Michigan is one of 10 states where amateur MMA bouts are legal but unregulated. The state legalized and regulated profes-sional MMA fights in 2007. The amateur MMA bill must be approved in the Senate and then be signed by the Governor.

Amateur MMA Is Legal but is Not Regulated by a State Boxing or Athletic Commission:

Michigan Considers Amateur MMA Regulations

Having held 16 fights since its inaugu-ral event in March 2012, India’s Super Fight League (SFL) has built a serious fight promotion in a country where “sport” means field hockey or cricket. To build interest in Mixed Martial Arts from the ground up, Pearls, SFL’s title sponsor and a fast-growing Indian real-estate enterprise, is developing training and fitness cen-ters across the country. SFL Fitness plans to open 15 gyms across India in the next 12 months, and at least 100 fitness centers within seven years, according to a press release the company recently delivered. “SFL Fitness is a new concept in Fitness Training with our exclusive gyms intended to provide MMA as the new mantra for fitness train-ing, sports and self-defense. We are very excited by the success of Pearls Super Fight League and now with the launch of SFL Fitness everyone will have access to train and lose weight through a new kind of experience,” said Pearls Chairman Raj Kundra.

SFL Fitness also intends to pro-vide scholarships to fighters who wish to train with them. The company also plans to create women’s self-defense programs at each location. Combat sports and women’s ath-letics got a boost in the country when Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom won a Bronze Medal in boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. Kom is a five-time World Boxing

Champion and is now SFL’s Brand Am-bassador. Winning his second Olympic Silver Medal, Sushil Kumar made history wrestler by becoming the first Indian to grab medals in back-to-back Olympics. With two prominent Indian athletes winning Olympic Medals in combat sports and with Pearls’ back-ing, MMA is certain to gain popularity in India, though cricket’s fame is likely not in jeopardy.

GrASS rOOTS MMA GrOwTH IN INDIA

AlaskaDelawareIllinoisMaine

MontanaMichiganNew HampshireNew York

VermontVirginia

+ Mary Kom is a boxing champion and the brand ambassador for India’s Super Fight League.


Valuation: What’s Your Business Worth?

BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

Determining the value of a publicly owned compa-ny is easy. Take the number of outstanding shares and multiply them by the closing stock price listed in the newspaper or on a multitude of websites. For a privately held business, it’s more of an art than a science. A privately held business is worth as much as a buyer is willing to pay for it. But that price may be decidedly different than what the seller regards the company is worth or what an-other buyer consents to pay.

Why Should I Be Concerned?If your business is going to exist after you retire, you need to plan for the transfer of ownership. The planning process includes a business valuation, and it should be done well in advance of the ownership transfer to circumvent “price shock” near the time of the sale. Determining your business worth can be an eye-opening experience that should actually be done years in advance of selling. Doing so can expose your true business strengths and weak-nesses, and provide direction on how to increase your future business value.

How Does Business Valuation Work?The value of a company is the amount that a buyer is willing to pay today in exchange for perceived future cash flow of the business. There are several approaches to determining future cash. One way is to apply what is called multiples to revenues and/or earnings. Here’s an example: Say I’m looking to purchase a facility that had revenues of $400,000 over the past 12 months. Placing a revenue multiple on that business of 1.25 means I think it is worth $500,000 ($400,000 x 1.25). Revenue multiples for companies typically range from 0.55 to 2.20, depending on the indus-try. Another name for the revenue multiple is the Price-to-Sales ratio. Another type of multiple is an earnings multiple, which is applied to the after-tax earnings of the business over a 12-month period. After-tax earnings of $125,000 with an earnings multiple of 5 would generate a valuation of $625,000 ($125,000 x 5).

This is also called the price/earnings or P/E ratio. You will typically see small businesses with earnings multiples in the 3.0 to 7.0 range. Be sure to normal-ize the earnings by removing from the income state-ment any unusual or non-recurring items, such as annual owner’s withdrawal of capital. Also remove any personal expenses that the company would no longer fund after the ownership change. A third approach to business valuation is us-ing a discounted cash flow (DCF) model. A DCF model can be created using templates available on Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. The model has three key components.

1) 12-month net cash flow for the business. For most small businesses this is how much the busi-ness owner has taken home from the operations. Be sure to normalize cash flow as described above.

2) The growth rate for the next several years. By what percentage will the cash flow expand or con-tract in the coming years? You may use a different rate for each year.

3) The discount rate. The discount rate is reflec-tive of the return that a reasonable buyer would want to earn on the investment in your business. It is adjusted for the risks involved in your business such as new local competition, potential lawsuits, physical injury to members or instructors, and the like. The discount rate increases with riskier in-vestments. I would expect the discount rate for an investment in a Fitness club or Martial Arts facility to be in the 30-percent range.

How Can I Increase the Value of My Business?You can take several steps today to increase the value of your business:

• Minimize any discounted prepaid memberships. A buyer of your business will owe these members a service for the term of the member agreement without receiving any future revenue.

sp o n s o r e d B y M e M B e r so l u T i o n s

> Continued on page 35


Note: We created the MMA Business Awards of Excellence to recognize the lead-ing companies and professionals in Mixed Martial Arts. But it’s not just about tro-phies and annual recognition. We want to let you learn from these award winners, too. This article is the first of a series that will explain the how and why behind each Award of Excellence winner.

MMA Business Award of Excellence winner for Emerging Enterprise: UFC Gyms

An enterprise is a business. But not every business is an “enterprise.” When used to describe a company, the word has come to mean something bigger, stronger and with more momentum than a small business. And while in-dustries like MMA are built by small businesses, those small businesses grow when a well-funded enterprise fills a market with advertising and promotion money. Mixed Martial Arts has a lot of great small businesses, and just a few successful enterprises that help grow awareness and demand. The UFC Gym is one – our award-winning one. Started in 2009 with a 40,000 square-foot gym in northern California, the UFC Gym was created as a joint venture between the UFC and New Evolution Ventures (NEV), a private equity firm that specializes in acquiring and developing fitness busi-nesses. The company has since opened five more similarly massive gyms, three in Southern California, one in Hawaii, and one in Australia. It will soon open the Long Island, N.Y., UFC Gym, and its acquisition of LA Boxing franchises means there will soon be a hundred or more much smaller UFC Gym loca-tions all across the country. Small Is The New BigGrowth itself is not the goal. Tapout

got too big too fast and is still trying to figure out its reincarnation. Even mighty Starbucks – world-changing caffeine enterprise – closed hundreds of shops after its world-wide expansion proved too expansive. Maybe UFC Gym took a page out of the Starbucks experience book, realizing that a big enterprise must act small and focus on

community success. “A lot of fitness businesses make decisions in conference rooms,” said Adam Sedlack, Vice President of UFC Gym. “We make decisions with the members in mind from the workout space itself. It’s a secret sauce we have. UFC has put in 50 percent of the ingre-dients, and NEV has put in 50 percent.

UFC GymPROFILE:

+ Parts of each UFC Gym look like a traditional fitness club. Other parts look like an MMA gym or martial arts school. It’s different.


You can see and feel the decisions be-ing made at a local level. You must have the right coaches and right instructors, and they must represent themselves the right way locally to maintain the strength of the business and the brand.” It’s worked from the beginning for UFC Gym. They are private compa-nies – the UFC, UFC Gym and NEV – and won’t talk revenue, but Sedlack claims “success from day one.” He said, “All the UFC Gyms are profitable and growing their member bases. Not one facility we have goes backward in members enrolled. It’s been predictable. And it’s inline with the growth of UFC fans and viewership. We could certainly survive on our own merits, we have a very good operating system, but the growth engine of the UFC allows us to capitalize.” A standard of all successful enter-prises is strong and connected lead-ership. “Lorenzo is very connected,

and Dana is connected,” said Sedlack, referring to Fertitta and White or Zuffa and UFC, respectively. “They have a team that is involved on a daily basis. And that’s the way we want it. Their marketing strength is proven. And they have an extensive arsenal that helps get the best people in here instructing our customers. UFC Gym is a joint venture partner, not just a licensing agreement.” Success and growth involves man-agement of change, and UFC Gym is experiencing that right now. When the company purchased LA Boxing, it ac-quired dozens of established gyms and an expanding franchise platform. That expansion can test a brand’s strengths. It takes planning and proven processes to continue the growth. “The first step is to pick the right franchisees,” said Sedlack. “Anthony (Geisler, former owner of LA Boxing who remains in place) has always done a great job with this. The second step is

to add the right contributions, making sure the franchisees have the right mar-keting tools.” These new smaller UFC Gym franchises will have much less training equipment inside, said Sedlack, and they’ll focus on class-type training. “And they’ll maintain our ‘Train Differ-ent’ approach,” he said. It’s important to have a motto like UFC Gym’s “Train Different” tagline. But it has to be more than a bumper sticker. “Our ‘Train Different’ theme hits everything from our fitness class formats to our training in MMA and all its individual disciplines,” said Sedlack. “You can sense the difference within the UFC Gym facilities.” While maintaining a unique edge, every prosperous enterprise must also keep its eye on the competition, though Sedlack’s not sure UFC Gym has any. “I don’t know if we have competition,” he said. “We have other gyms opening around some of our lo-

UFC Gym

+ At the center of each UFC Gym is a full-size octagon, the trademarked competitive space of the UFC and a huge symbol that these gyms are indeed different.


cations, and we also see gyms closing. These changes don’t seem to affect our memberships. There is not really anybody in our space.”

Timing and EffortWith or without competition, enter-prise success is perhaps most dependent on two things: Good timing and hard

work. An increasing number of health-and-fitness shoppers are less concerned with a low-price gym membership and more interested in service and personal attention. That can help all MMA gyms, and is certainly a boon to the UFC Gym business. “There will always be marketshare for gyms with low cost,” Sedlack said. “That’s not our market.

Our service-based and expe-riential model keeps people using the gym and that keeps them getting results.” We asked the VP where he thinks the UFC Gym will be in four or five years? “The franchise side has unlimited potential,” he said. “It will grow as fast as we want it to. As far as UFC Gym big boxes, we’ll add three, maybe four new clubs a year.” The Long Island gym will open soon, and Sedlack continues to see opportunities all along the East Coast, including Manhattan. Before that, how-ever, UFC Gym will open a second location in Hawaii, “on the same island as the first

one,” said Sedlack. Throughout this growth, or per-haps driving it, is something Dana White said at the first gym’s Grand Opening in 2009. “I will always re-member what Dana said at that open-ing. He said, ‘We don’t do anything half ass.’ I saved this quote, and I put it up in all the gyms.”

PROFILE: UFC Gym

+ With a Costco and Home Depot in the same complex, among many other stores, the UFC Gym in Corona, Calif., is in a high-traffic location.

+ Each UFC Gym also includes a stocked Pro Shop and a nearby “Arm Bar” for snacks and drinks.


I had to remind myself a few times dur-ing our conversation that Invicta Fight-ing Championships has only been in business one year. Maybe it’s because the fights are talked about so much. Maybe it’s because founder Shannon Knapp has been in the fight business so long. Or maybe it’s because I’m seeing into the future and thinking about the impact this organization is having today and tomorrow. Founded in April 2012 by Shannon Knapp and business partner Janet Mart-ing, Invicta Fighting Championships is dedicated to providing female athletes with the opportunity to fight.

MMA Business: Why did you start this business? Was it based from the begin-ning on creating fights for females, or is this simply a combat business niche that no one else was filling?

shannon Knapp: When I first started my fight-business career about 12 years ago, I was into it for specifically fight-ing. (Knapp was most recently a match-maker with Strikeforce, focused on women’s fights, and also worked for King of the Cage, International Fight League, Affliction, and others.) I was always a huge fight fan and advocate, and my professional side was always originally for fighting as a sport and for the fighters in general. But that changed when Strikeforce was purchased by Zuffa and the UFC. I had seen this type of thing before, be-ing involved with lots of businesses that were purchased. And I would climb the corporate ladder, then have to start over again, because I’m a woman. That’s when my focus changed; that’s

when this became a fight for the female fighter. When Zuffa purchased Strike-force, I started getting a lot of calls, and a lot of panicked calls from the girls. Bottom line was nobody knew what was going to happen to their fight careers and opportunities.

MMA Business: But from a business perspective, is this really the impetus for launching Invicta? What else did you need to know to prove to you there was a viable business here? Or did you just know in your career that you always wanted to run your own business?

Knapp: I never aspired to ‘I can do better than boys.’ I was always a great wing man, so to speak, a sup-porter and team player. It was never really about me, and I never aspired to starting my own business. It was fundamentally obvious that it’s out there, that female fighting had

great opportunities. It just didn’t have a platform for competition and aware-ness. That was the only thing lacking. The male promoters were like week-end gardeners. They would kind of sprinkle a few female fights in to a card. But weekend gardening is not very good gardening. So I thought I could make a differ-ence, and that’s the drive for me. That’s my focus at this point in my career. A lot of people focus on making big money. But people in this business for-get how they make money. They make money by giving fighters opportuni-ties. That’s more rewarding for me than just making money.

MMA: Does the UFC’s recent turn-around with women’s MMA help Invic-ta? Or does it steal some of your spot-light and your business niche?

Knapp: Overall, it’s helpful for both promotions. UFC is focused on one fe-male division. Invicta has five divisions. We have a good working relationship. We’ve been able to enhance each other’s products. We’re fighting the same fight, it just hasn’t become territorial yet. I run business differently. It’s hard not to get along with me. If you’re in the business to build dreams, you can’t squash them. People ask me, “Aren’t you scared about the UFC?” No, I’m not. I knew they were coming, it’s right on sched-ule. I was not surprised about the UFC’s change of plans with female fighting. I was calculating that UFC would bring in women, and specifically the 135-pound girls. I think they identi-fied quickly that Ronda Rousey had the

BY GLENN HANSEN

SHANNON KNAPP

CENTERRING

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CENTERRING


ability to carry a division. And I also knew the more Invicta continued to have success, the more the light would come on for Dana White. Right now, we may be the smallest kid on the block, but we’re hanging neck and neck with the boys. One of our best tools is utilizing social media. That’s how we built this business and build our brand. It’s very visible – even Ariel Helwani said, “How does little Invicta make such good use of social media when other promoters can’t?”

MMA: Is it becoming easier to find fe-male fighters?

Knapp: It became easier after our first show. And we just signed a bunch of new athletes. They find us at this point. We look for fighters, of course, but ev-ery day we get the “I want to fight for Invicta” calls and emails. You want to fight? Make some noise; make sure we see you. This shows you’re more than just a fighter, and that you re-ally want it.

MMA: You have worked international partnerships with leagues in Japan (Jew-els), India (SFL) and the U.K.’s Cage Warriors. This seems to support your goal of creating opportunities for wom-en, but how have these deals directly helped Invicta?

Knapp: We are not doing an athlete-sharing program with India anymore. But we are with Jewels and Cage War-riors. I have a different mentality when it comes to that. When you create an en-vironment that makes athletes unhappy, or when you create a system where they don’t want to be, it’s toxic. I know this may sound naïve or that it’s not about business, but it’s true. For now, I’m going to build a pro-motion for female athletes where they choose to stay – because of who we are, what we do, and that we care. I’m not worried that they’ll leave for better treatment. We provide everything they need. If you respect others, they will re-spect you.

MMA: While it’s nice to keep events close to your home in Kansas City, do you feel the need soon to host an event elsewhere soon? New Jersey, Las Ve-gas, California?

Knapp: I’ve learned a lot of things, and one of those is not to get too big for your britches – a little Midwestern slang. Moving the business to anhoter location, we’d incur a lot of additional costs. I think we need a little more time to build the momentum.

MMA: Sponsorships are a main concern of any promoter, and I’m curious how

the industry (manufacturers, gear and apparel companies, etc.) has responded to Invicta?

Knapp: I’ve encouraged some of the apparel companies to sponsor the ath-letes, instead of just sponsoring Invic-ta. I think this is better because they generally don’t have a ton of money. A $5,000 sponsorship won’t make or break us, but it can make a huge dif-ferent for a fighter. I would rather we align with the large companies and not hurt the fighters. We had VModa headphones, and they came in a gave all the fighters great headphones. MMA: The UStream broadcast rela-tionship, you’ve said it’s not ideal, and that you’d like to have a serious broad-cast partner. Any progress with that?

Knapp: We could have been on TV for the first show. But we decided to take our time. We’re in dialogue with a lot of potential alignments. For me, it’s not just about money; it’s about aligning ourselves with a broadcast partner that wants to be part of this and is committed to it. It’s important they understand it. More doors are opening every day. A lot of people are asking, “You’ve done great on UStream and have a lot of fan interest and solid branding. Why aren’t you signing a big TV deal?” We’re still just one year into this as of April 28. And my last event, we were sand-wiched between Bellator on Thursday, plus One FC and a UFC event, and we proved that we’re viable. That’s another accomplishment. Pretty soon, they’re not going to be able to ignore us. I think a lot of things are going to change for us in 2013. I call it our mon-etization phase.

+ Shannon Knapp, center, at the Invicta 5 weigh-ins with fighters Zoila Frausto Gurgel, left, and Jennifer Maia.

SUMMERCAMP

CENTERRING


It’s webinar season. That’s the month or two before the start of summer where martial-arts business consultants host webinars to train karate instructors on the fine art of running a summer camp. Without sum-mer camps, karate and taekwondo schools nationwide would look like ice-cream shops in January, or Christmas tree lots in August – empty. With kids out of school from June to September, traditional martial arts businesses plead with parents to turn over the kids for a week or two of camp-style training and Friday-afternoon pizza parties. Can the same work in MMA where mostly adult members view

summer as simply hotter work days? We spoke to owners and trainers at a variety of MMA gyms to get their take on summer camp.

Silly Parents, Camps are for Kids If traditional martial arts schools rely on kids’ camps as summertime profit centers, why can’t the same work for MMA gyms, even for grown-ups? “I’ve had camps for the past three years,” said Don Grady of Grady’s MMA in Clearwater, Fla. “The first year I did a camp for

SUMMERCAMP S t a f f R e p o r t

PHOTOS BY DALE SHIRLEY

DOES MMA FIT INTO SUMMEr SCHEDULES?


a week; last year it was for two weeks. This year I will run camp all summer long. I’m only accepting 10 kids – that’s all I want. The good thing is you get more new students out of it.” Grady said that only three of the 10 enrolled are already taking classes at the gym, giving him a potential for seven more long-term members. “I also get some parents as well as older siblings,” he said. “They come and watch, and think, ‘Hey I might want to try that.’” If you’ve watched the webinars, you know that consultants say new-member acquisition is generally the biggest benefit of doing summer camps. But for adult-focused Mixed Martial Arts gyms, kids’ camps could be a great service to help adult members find op-portunities for their kids in a business they already know well. “Because some of our members have kids who are looking for something to do this summer, we add certain programs,” said Carlos Diaz of American Top Team Indianapolis. “But we do not do special summer programs for adults.” Diaz said his kids’ classes have MMA components, but they’re more focused on general motor skills, like how to stretch properly, how to accelerate and decelerate properly. “We help the kids develop athletic abilities,” he said, “and we educate them on MMA.” Yes, Diaz does this to generate new business. “Ultimately, we are a business and hope to grow this way, of course,” he said. But these special events come with added costs, and that is mainly staffing. “We have added a few more classes for the summer,” said Pedro Sierra of Absolute MMA in West Jordan, Utah,” but we don’t run any special camps. We are actually thinking of doubling the num-ber of kids’ classes for the summer because they’re out of school.

But it’s a matter of staffing and time right now, and we just don’t have the time.” The time is a concern for Grady, as well. “Honestly, I’m little ner-vous about the summer schedule,” he said. “I hate mornings. I’m here at 7 am every day already so this makes for a really long day.” But it’s not for adults, at least according to the many trainers and business owners we interviewed. “We don’t change our fitness sched-ule,” said Brandon Schiff, of Fitness Compound in Santa Clarita, Ca-lif., “we just add summer classes for kids. When you think of summer you think of kids.”

Summer ServiceIt’s not, however, thinking about kids strictly as a profit opportu-nity, according to Rodrigo Galvanosi, owner of Fearless Fighting in Greenville, North Carolina, and member of the MMA Business Advisory Board. “Summertime is potentially a bad time for kids,” said Galvanosi. “They have too much time on their hands. Even a good apple can go bad. For us, summer camps are not about making extra money, it’s about doing the right thing. It’s about helping your community.” Grady agrees with the service aspect of summer training. “There are two issues here in Florida,” he said, “overweight kids and bully-ing. The schools here pretend bullying doesn’t exist. Teachers ignore it. So I do an anti-bullying program.” Grady teaches kids how to defend themselves using boxing, grappling, and even street-fighting techniques. “Obviously, it’s better to walk away,” he said, “but there comes a point when they have to stand up and protect themselves.


I love what I do.” It’s not about money for Galvanosi, but about providing opportunities for people who have time in the summer. “People say to me, ‘you’re crazy, and you’re losing money.’ But it’s not about that for me. If I don’t make as much money in the sum-mer, that’s okay. Every summer, Galvanosi and Fearless Fighting take in about 100 kids from nearby Boys and Girls club locations, and they don’t charge for it. “They have their own summer camps and activities going,” said Galvanosi, “and we take in different age groups for dif-ferent times of the day, and we setup schedules with them. I really enjoy it, too. I have kids who have been coming for years. One kid is in college now, and he’ll come in and thank us for helping. That’s the whole point of what we do. I’ve been lucky to see good things happen through this for a lot of kids.” What Galvanosi won’t do it cancel classes or change the pro-gramming his adult members are used to. “Class attendance is down in the summer, definitely, with people going to the beach. But it’s not fair to the few people who stick around if we change our schedules. You have to have integrity. And my values are teaching great classes consistently.”

SUMMERCAMP

Summer means “outside.” Just don’t try hanging your heavy bags from that sycamore tree in the park. In January 2012, the Austin, Texas, Parks and Recre-ation Department in Austin, Texas, began regulating use of public parks by fitness trainers. Professional train-ers in Austin are required to buy a “Commercial Use of Parkland” permit, which costs $50 for six months. Trainers must also pay a monthly use fee if they serve an average of four or more clients per day. Permits are available for 35 of the city’s 250 public parks. The policy prohibits trainers from bringing equipment to parks “that could damage the parkland.” This includes items such as tractor tires, or items that attach to “trees, hand rails or other fixed items.” Complaints from park users in Santa Monica, Calif.,

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SUMMERCAMP

are forcing that jurisdiction to consider similar restrictions. The city may charge trainers an an-nual fee of up to $100 plus a small percentage of their receipts, as it currently does for tennis coaches using city parks, and surf instructors us-ing beachfront. Los Angeles County beaches require an ap-proved license for any kind of fitness training or camp, and that includes payment of a $200 appli-cation fee, a $100 location fee and 15 percent of gross receipts – all paid in advance. These beach-es, including Venice and Zuma beach, are crowded throughout the summer with a variety of surf and volleyball camps, and an increasing number of trainers specializing in CrossFit and martial arts. Advocates for these fees and licenses say that commercial use of public parks takes a toll on park resources, much more so than an individual walk-ing her dog through the park regularly.

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0 36S t a f f R e p o r t

CLEANThe Reputation of Your Business is At Stake.

+ If people touch it, punch it, kick it or grapple on it, you need to clean it. And that extends far beyond what you see here.


CLEAN

This is not an article about why you clean. That would be like writ-ing about why you train. No, this is about how, what and even who you clean. And we include a directory of contacts to expand on the “how” of cleaning. We talked to the cleaning professionals to get their input on doing it well. We asked them several questions about cleaning, such as: What are gym owners and trainers missing about keeping gyms clean? What’s the biggest problem facing gym owners today? And how might your company help?

Start EvErywhErEShould gym owners start by cleaning their mats, their equipment, or their non-training areas? “Yes, and more,” was the common theme answer to such a question. You can’t separate the cleaning of mats and equipment from the cleaning of the people who use them. It’s a closed system and the gym manager controls the inputs. “It is vitally important for a gym to not only have clean mats, but to have a totally clean mentality throughout their gym,” said Jimmy Pedro, vice president of Zebra and owner of Pedro’s Judo Center in Massachusetts. “This means that all areas of the gym must be clean, including the mats, entry ways, bathrooms, etc. Trainers must teach their students clean personal hygiene habits, as well. Far too often, I have seen very clean gyms become overrun with skin infections due to inconsiderate students who don’t care for their own hygiene and don’t care about other members.” Start with what you can control directly. Clean your mats daily to prevent the spread of communicable bacteria, viruses and fungi, and diseases like impetigo, ringworm, MRSA and herpes. “Most

+ The more equipment you have, the bigger your cleaning responsibility. Don’t

be a dumbbell and miss these details.

gym owners neglect to clean as often as needed,” said Chuck Jef-ferson, director of sales and marketing for Dollamur. “They need to disinfect the mats daily, at least, and more often depending on the number of students training.” Pedro points to a gym’s gear, as well. “Many trainers don’t disin-fect their gear regularly; it builds up bacteria and ends up smelling and causing a hazardous condition.” Guy Sako of Defense Soap has partnerships with fighters and gym owners, including Ben Rothwell, UFC heavyweight and Wis-consin gym owner. “It’s good for gym owners to partner with a hygiene company, we can learn from each other and solve prob-lems,” said Sako. “Ben Rothwell uses our foot cleaners in his gym in Kenosha, Wisc.”

MakE It PErSonalPeople can’t use just any product to clean themselves, advises Gar-rett Olgin, co-founder of Athletic Body Care. “Unless prescribed or recommended by a doctor,” said Olgin, “stay away from products that use strong oils and drying agents that take off all the natural oils on the skin. The oils on your skin protect your body from infections such as Staph, MRSA, impetigo and much more.” Olgin also reminds people how to wash. “Most soap products need up to 10 minutes on the skin to become effective. People that lather under the water stream are not killing the germs, they are only washing the dirt and oils off the skin. Lather your body, and let the soap sit on your skin to activate properly. The same goes for washing your hair.” “The biggest thing that people miss,” said Sako, “is that your body is protected with flora; it naturally protects you. If that gets damaged, you are susceptible. Fights and such do damage to the skin, but antibacterial soaps do damage too. They deplete the natural skin flora; this is natural bacteria on skin and it can protect you. And when you deplete it, you remove your skin’s ability to fight off infec-tion. Unless you’re filthy, don’t shower before you train.” you’rE nEglEctIng SoMEthIngTrainers and gym managers need procedures that reinforce clean habits. “Make sure there is something between the bathroom and the mat, and reinforce the standards of personal hygiene,” Bunge said. “The more you teach students to wash, wipe down, shower, change clothes, the more you protect yourself and your gym,” said Bunge. “Respect the sport, protect yourself and others.” Pedro agrees, and said, “Demand that clients are clean and cour-teous to each other. They must wash and disinfect their gear regu-larly, shower immediately after practice, cut finger nails and toe nails regularly, and don’t train if they have any fungal infections.” The big question, Dollamur’s Jefferson said, is if gyms with wres-tling programs should allow shoes on mats. “In short, it’s not recom-

mended,” he said. “Wrestling has long had a huge problem with her-pes, impetigo, MRSA and more. They wear their shoes on the mat, then into bathroom. Wherever the shoes go, someone’s face goes. That’s scary.”

Athletic Body Care“The Number 1 reason for infec-tion or fungal contraction is be-cause people wait until after they train or compete to protect their body,” said Garrett Olgin, co-founder of Athletic Body Care. “Many products are designed to use in the shower or before and after exercise. You do not catch infection before or after you are training. Make sure that you use

products that protect your skin during activity. Prevention before in-fection is the key to staying active.”

• Foaming Skin Sanitizer• Power Body Wash• Daily Defense Lotion• Antifungal Treatment• Dispenser and Refill• Bodyguardwww.athleticbodycare.com818.279.2451

Defense Soap“The first thing you want to do is find a soap that doesn’t deplete your skin’s natural flora. You need an antibacterial, antifungal and anti-viral soap. Defense has created a soap that fights all of them. This product applies well in the MMA world because of the trauma we expose skin to; you are

at higher risk because of this trauma,” said Guy Sako. For your hair, keep it short and just use the soap. For girls or those with longer hair, dandruff shampoo kills fungus in hair. All dandruff shampoos have antifungal in them.”


DIRECTORY

Jimmy Pedro – “Demand that cl ients are clean and cour teous to each other. They must wash and disinfect their gear regular ly, shower immediately af ter practice, cut f inger nail s and toe nail s regular ly, and don’t train i f they have any fungal infections.”

• Defense Soap Bars• Defense Soap Shower Gel• Defense Body Wipes• Defense Kits• Defense Healing Salve• Defense Pure Essential Oil• Defense Barrier Foam• Defense Equipment Spray• Foot Cleaning Station• Sole Cleanerwww.defensesoap.com440.799.4330

Dollamur“The microfiber mops are important to pull the dirt and grime up,” said Dollamur’s Chuck Jefferson. “Do a dry mop first to get all the hair and dust off before you do the disinfecting solution. Ultimately you want to be disinfecting every day to get everything. If there are classes where they have shoes on, you should mop before and after each class. Our disinfecting solution tells you how long you need to kill each bacteria. If it dries within a minute, you didn’t use enough. Needs to look wet or damp for at least 10 minutes. Disinfect daily, then deep clean monthly to avoid build up.”

• Mat Cleaner• Dollamur Mat Mop, Pads• Dollamur Mop Kitwww.dollamur.com800.662.4616

kennedy Industries• KS Skin Cream• Kenshield Athletic Laundry Sanitizer• Sport Hair & Body Antibacterial Cleanser• Cleaning Wipes• Kenclean Plus Athletic Surface Disinfectant Cleaner • Deep Clean System• Mopping Systems• The Sole Mat• Spray-n-Roll Sprayer• Odor Magic & Stain Digester



• Kennedy Instant Hand Sanitizer and Dispenser• Scrubbing Machineswww.kennedyindustries.com215.443.3313

Matguard U.S.A.“To make sure students are protected,” said Tom Bunge, president of Matguard, “they need to use an FDA-approved product, like our body wipes or body spray. The FDA is very specific about what will kill bacteria. There are only certain things that will kill, like prod-ucts with a high-alcohol level. We have 70-percent alcohol in all our products. You can use them over and over and not dry your skin. It’s

a patented product. And for mats and equipment, you can’t use an everyday cleaner. We recommend a hospital-grade disinfectant. Clean bags from top to bottom, clean all head gear, weight-train-ing equipment. Take cleaning to another level. Your business and reputation are at stake, and it can take a long time to rebound from the perception that your business is not clean.”

• Athletic Equipment and Surface Spray• Disinfectant Equipment and Surface Wipes• Blood Spot and Body Fluid Cleaner, Wipes and Spray• Helmet & Pad Disinfectant and Wipes• Antiseptic Foam and Liquid Dispensers• Antiseptic Body Wipes• Body Cleansewww.matguardusa.com877.MAT.WIPES

Zebra “The absolute best product on the market for deep cleaning mats – especially tatami-textured mats – is the Zebra Gym Scrubber,” said Zebra VP Jimmy Pedro. “Although it is expensive, it is well worth the investment because it deep cleans the mats and can be used in other areas of the gym. It’s also important to get a cleaner that disin-fects and kills all major bacterial infectious diseases; the Zebra Mat Cleaner does this. The Zebra Starter Cleaning Kit has everything needed to clean mats: Mat Mop, Gallon Cleaner, Mop Heads, Quart Cleaner, etc. And the Pro Gym Cleaning Kit is perfect for commer-cial gyms that absolutely need hassle-free cleaning solutions for their whole gym.” • Mat Cleaner liquid – ready-to-use or concentrate• Micro-Fiber Mat Mop• Gym Scrubber• Cleaning Kits, Pro and Starter kits• Mat Vacuum and Bags• Air Moverwww.zebramats.com800. 989. 8085

Tom Bunge – “They need to use an FDA-approved product, l ike our body wipes or body spray. The FDA is ver y specif ic about what wil l k il l bacter ia. There are only cer tain things that wil l k il l , l ike products with a high-alcohol level .”


Protecting your business from water

damage

Protecting your business from water

damageS T o R Y B Y

M i c h a e l a . S w a i n

Preparing for a water-damage event includes having a plan to han-dle water intrusion, knowing how to inspect and maintain prop-erty to reduce the risk of water damage, and understanding your insurance coverage. This article suggests ways you can prepare to manage a potential water-damage loss, and provides some helpful

tips you can use when inspecting your business for possible water-intrusion areas. If you lease your business space, make sure the owner is aware of the information here. Yes, someone else may own the building, but it’s filled with your property.

ooner or later, almost every business will suffer some type of loss from water damage, whether it’s a broken water pipe, a leaky roof or a flood. Because most water damage arises from unexpected events, losses can be quite severe, and can significantly harm your business. In addition to damag-ing your equipment and property, a water-damage loss can result in downtime and loss of business income. Planning ahead can help reduce the impact a water-damage loss has on your business.S


Start By Understanding Your Insurance CoverageIt’s extremely important to read and understand your insurance policy. This will allow you to take the appropriate actions to resolve your water damage claim, and restore your business operations to pre-water intrusion status. Typically, most policies contain a water exclusion, which is in-tended to exclude coverage for flood-type losses; however, many “sudden and accidental” losses could be covered. If your policy con-tains a water exclusion, it will not cover your business if a loss is caused by the following:• Flood, surface water, waves, tides, tidal waves, overflow of any body of water or its spray, whether wind-driven or not• Mudslide or mudflow • Water that backs up from a sewer or drain• Water under the ground surface pressing on, or flowing or seeping through foundations, walls, floors or paved surfaces, basements, doors, windows, or other openings

Ask your agent or insurance company underwriter to answer any ques-tions you have regarding your policy and available insurance coverage.

Eight Ways to Prevent Water DamageConducting regular inspections of your property may help prevent a water-damage loss. The Institute for Business & Home Safety, an ini-tiative of the insurance industry to reduce deaths, injuries, property damage, economic losses, and human suffering caused by natural disasters, contributes some of the following recommendations for inspecting your property.

1. Inspect flashing and sealantsCheck sealants and caulking around windows, roofs, and doors for effectiveness. If they’re brittle, or if there are noticeable gaps in

spaces, reseal them or apply new caulk to the area. Make periodic window inspections part of your maintenance plan. Do the oper-able windows shut tightly? Are weather-stripping elements in place? Are the exterior joints and flashing systems in good shape? Are there broken panes of glass? Are any of the units “fogged,” indicating a seal failure? Can you feel air blowing through the window? If so, water can get in.

2. Check roof drainage and ventilation systemsRoof drains and gutters must be free of debris, and they must drain water away from buildings. This can increase the life expectancy of your roof. You also need to inspect roof-mounted heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment. Are the seals intact around HVAC systems? Are the flashings around skylights, stack vents, and other rooftop elements in good condition? When inspecting from be-low, do you see daylight where you should not? And how about the roof itself? If it’s in poor condition, it may need to be replaced.

3. Check the roof after stormsIf your area experiences hail storms, it is a good idea to check your roof as soon as possible after a storm. You may need to contact a professional contractor to help you inspect these areas properly. Flat roofs require more frequent inspections than pitched roofs.

4. Inspect foundations and exterior wallsLook for cracks in walls and gaps in expansion joints (flexible de-vices between bricks, pipes, and other building materials that absorb movement). Older brick structures may have aged brick joints that need re-pointing, sealants that may have disintegrated, damage from acid rain, or settlement cracks. Have a professional building contrac-tor inspect significant gaps or cracks. Building components such as hose bibs, roof drains, and land-

Conducting regular inspections of your

property may help prevent a water-damage loss.”


scape irrigation systems can put a lot of water in the wrong place at the wrong time. To prevent water damage, check the following ev-ery month: Plumbing systems, drainage systems, plus flood control and sump systems. Once a quarter, check all wall systems for proper flashing and sealant integrity, and all major wall joints at windows, doors, electrical, and plumbing penetrations.

5. Look for humidity and moist areasPeriodically check for mustiness or moldy smells. On a quarterly ba-sis, check basement floor drains and drainage systems. Also check basement walls for signs of water staining or damage. Try to keep these areas dry by tracking the source of the moisture and repairing it immediately. If moisture occurs frequently, there may be underlying causes that require professional evaluation and repair. Water stains on the ceiling or running down walls may be the sign of a much greater problem behind the drywall. If left untreated, the ceiling or wall could collapse.

6. Check plumbing for leaksLook for leaking fixtures, dripping pipes (including fire sprinkler systems), clogged drains, and defective water drainage systems. You may also consider contacting a sprinkler system contractor to in-spect your system for readiness and check for deteriorating pipes that could burst during the winter months.

7. Improve your technologyIt’s a common misconception that once a computer gets wet, it can-not be repaired. Many restoration professionals will tell you other-

wise. Restoring files from damaged computers will be expensive, so plan ahead by backing up files. You can easily store all your business information on external storage drives. Scanners can help store writ-ten information so you can easily retrieve it at a later date. It’s a good idea to identify offsite storage vendors that are located away from coastal areas and flood plains, and store your data with them.

8. Protect electronic equipmentDust covers designed for equipment such as computers, telephone switchboards, and other sensitive electronic equipment may provide some protection should a pipe burst or a roof leak. Make it a policy to cover equipment at the close of every business day and during fire drills. Keep computer equipment elevated above ground-level floors.

Practice Your Crisis-Management PlanBefore a crisis occurs, it’s important to communicate and practice your crisis management plan. Know what you need to take with you in the event of an emergency. Assign specific responsibilities to staff members so there is no confusion about who should remove records or evacuate personnel. Locate critical files and equipment in zones where they can be quickly evacuated, along with staff. Assign a pri-ority level to those zones, and label or color code the important files and equipment that should be removed first. Establishing a crisis management plan makes good business sense. Without a crisis management plan in place when a catastrophe strikes, your business could be destroyed or have a reduced chance of ever fully recovering. Your crisis management plan should describe the specific actions


to take if water damage events occur. Have a backup plan in case crit-ical personnel are out at the time of a catastrophe. Identify backup power supplies and evaluate the crisis response capabilities of vendors you use as well. As part of your crisis management plan, identify local vendors that can respond quickly to your needs, including building contrac-tors, water extraction/restoration specialists, computer profession-als, and off-site storage companies located away from coastal areas. When selecting vendors, confirm they have insurance and ask for proof of insurance before they begin any work.

Responding to Water-Damage EventsBy responding quickly to a water-damage event, you may be able to minimize some of the damage. Your water emergency preparedness plan should include:• Quick shut down of water supply lines. Label water shut-off valves and educate staff on where to locate them in case of an emergency.• Safe shut down of electric and gas supply lines, as appropriate.• Easy access to appropriate tools.• Emergency telephone numbers for fire, police and emergency personnel, and HVAC and plumbing specialists.

You can make temporary or emergency repairs to reduce the like-lihood of additional property damage. Under most emergency cir-cumstance, you probably do not need specific authorization from your insurance agent or insurance company to take reasonable, im-mediate, preventive actions. It is good planning to check what their policy is before a water-damage event occurs. Report any water damage events to your insurance agent or

carrier immediately upon discovery. Timely reporting will get the claims adjustment process started, helping you restore your business sooner.

Michael A. Swain is a Senior Loss Control Specialist for Markel Insurance Company.

RESOURCES

Federal Emergency Management agency (FEMa)202-566-1600www.fema.gov www.ready.gov/floods

Institute for Business & home Safety813-286-3400www.ibhs.org

national Flood Insurance Program (nFIP)888-379-9531www.floodsmart.gov

national lightning Safety Institute303-666-8817www.lightningsafety.com

national roofing contractors association847-299-9070www.nrca.net

When selecting vendors, confirm they have insurance and ask for proof

of insurance before they begin any work.”


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• Properly maintain your equipment and facilities. A buyer will slash the purchase price for any sig-nificant spend required to upgrade equipment and attract new members.

• Get all students/members under contract. Oral agreements with members are worthless to a new owner. Term contracts would be more attractive to a buyer than open-end contracts because the future cash flow is more certain.

• Find and groom both a business manager and head instructor. Begin to disassociate yourself from the business well in advance of the planned sell date. A potential buyer will gain comfort that he/she will be able to run a profitable busi-ness after your departure.

• Show positive growth trends in the years pre-

ceding the sale. Buyers will pay more for a growing business than one stagnant or declining. It is much easier to tell a growth story when you have sup-porting history.

Determining the value of your business today will give you the opportunity to evaluate your current business operations and effectively plan for the future. When the time comes to sell, you’ll be well prepared and know the true worth of the business you’ve built.

Michael Connor is the Director of Finance for Member Solutions, a leading provider of billing, servicing, and business support for membership-based businesses.

BUSINESS SOLUTIONSsp o n s o r e d B y M e M B e r so l u T i o n s

> Continued from page 13

MICHAEL CONNOR Michael


The One-Two Punch

ON THE MAT

Last October, I was fortunate enough to travel to Okinawa to perform a Burn With Kearns MMA Fitness Trainer certification program. My good friend and affiliate Ben Monerie and I decided to film some video clips near the beach. We did

not have much training equipment, just the stan-dard tools I take to clients: a Bosu ball, an AirFit suspension trainer, sledge hammers, bands and a medicine ball. I got inspired while we were working out and

decided to tie the AirFit to the palm tree and use the Bosu at the same time. I know, a little crazy, but that’s me. It made sense to me. If the AirFit workout I was doing was getting a little easy, how could I challenge myself? The first step for me is to make exercise more taxing on the central nervous system. Incorporate more muscles versus always thinking of adding more weight or more reps. Adding a platform with limited stability – the Bosu – is a perfect way to do this. The workout would look almost same without the ball, but every exercise is made more challeng-ing because of the Bosu. By either standing on the Bosu, or by putting my hands on it, I’ve upped the challenge and activated more muscles. Isn’t that what we all want anyway, to get fit faster than the last workout. Okay enough talk. Here’s the program I call the One-Two Punch. Warn your students: “You will feel muscles you did not know you had!” Each exercise can be performed for at least 10 to 12 reps to start. As you progress, you can increase the reps to 20 or 30, or go for time as long as the quality of the technique is there.

1. Dark Side (Bosu upside down) one-legged

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squats: Stand on the Bosu and hold the AirFit. Slowly lower yourself as low as you can go. Then rise and repeat.

2. AirFit one-legged push-ups: No Bosu required; just try pushups while you lift one leg off the ground.

3. AirFit rows with feet on the Bosu: Bubble side up, and make sure the Bosu is not on a slippery surface.

4. Dark Side overhead squats with AirFit: Stand and balance on top of the Bosu. With your arms in the AirFit straps, raise your hands overhead and perform squats.

5. Dark Side knee to chest: Place your feet in the AirFit straps and – in a prone position – place your hands on the Bosu. Now draw one knee to the chest, return and repeat with the other knee.

6. Dark Side pikes: From the same starting posi-tion, raise your hips straight up in the air, return and repeat.

7. Dark Side Spiderman: From the same starting position, bring your knee to the outside of your elbow.

Coach Kevin Kearns has been the strength-and-conditioning coach to more than 15 UFC fighters. His Burn With Kearns system for MMA Conditioning is now available for certi-fication world-wide. Go to www.burnwithkearns.com for locations and dates. Licensing is available; contact Coach Kearns directly at [email protected]

Kevin KearnsKevin

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PRO SHOPA Essentia Water Because nothing is as simple as you think, water is now specialized. Essentia is an electrolyte-enhanced water with optimum alkalinity and an ideal pH. Called “functional water,” Essentia is a high pH water; it’s 9.5 pH level is higher than most tap water which is generally around 7 pH. The lower acidity (higher pH) is said to improve hydration, and help your body balance levels from an often acid-heavy diet. We’ve read dentist’s recommendations for high-pH water to help rinse acid from teeth. If nothing else, this water’s pure and clean taste will have you drinking more and staying hydrated. Visit www.essentiawater.com for information about retail opportunities.

B The Master’s Secrets Author and martial arts instructor Solomon Brenner has assembled the success secrets of industry lead-ers in a brief but powerful book called “Success Secrets of Black Belt Masters.” The list of contribu-tors includes John Hackleman, Ernie Reyes, Bill Wallace and a dozen more industry experts, each contributing valuable journal-style chapters on their real-world advice for success. Buy a few copies for members of your staff or management team. Visit www.martialartssuccesssecrets.com

N e W P r o D u C t s + s e r V i C e s

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C Century Creed Training Gear We’ve had a few products from the Creed line for a few months, and we’re impressed with the overall quality and function of the Sparring Gloves, Thai Pads and Shin Guards we tested. The Creed line also includes Head Gear, Sparring Gloves (up to 20 oz.) and MMA Training Gloves. This high-quality gear fits well and is built for comfort and durability. We especially like the Thai Pads. They are easy to wear and remain secure while providing the ultimate in protection, even including a well-placed pad to guard the wearer’s elbow from stray kicks. Internal foam pad-ding absorbs kicks well, and is still firm enough to help test and strengthen your fighter’s shin. Also stand-out products in the Creed line, the MMA Shin Guards are designed to stay in place throughout an MMA workout, even while grappling. The back half of these guards resembles a neoprene sock, and it keeps the padding in the right place on the front of your leg so it’s there when you need it. The Creed Sparring Gloves provide an extra-large hand compartment so you can get the gloves on and off easily when wearing handwraps. The wide, single-wrap closure encircles the wrist for added protection. Check www.centurymma.com for the entire Creed product line.

TESTED


Irish MMA: Building From The Base

OUTSIDE THE OCTAGON

It may seem like Irish fighters have burst from no-where onto the MMA main stage. Most recently Dublin’s ‘Notorious’ Conor McGregor enjoyed one of the most high-profile debuts the Ultimate Fight-ing Championship has ever seen. While McGregor (13-2) and Irishman Norman Parke (17-2, and win-ner of TUF: The Smashes) have thrust Irish MMA into to global spotlight, it’s been a long road, not a quantum leap, to reach this stage. “He didn’t pick it up off the floor” is an Irish saying that best describes how success is a result of a process rather than luck. It’s particularly appli-cable to Conor and Norman as they have toiled on the Irish and European MMA circuit for years be-fore making the jump across to the big time. It has also helped that they train at two of the most suc-cessful gyms in Ireland with coaches that wouldn’t be out of place in some of the top MMA gyms in the world. So far this has been the story of Irish MMA. While Ireland has a rich talent pool of fighters, the development of Norman Parke has more to do with Rodney Moore and his Northern Irish branch of the Next Generation than Irish MMA per se. Equally, McGregor is a product of John Kava-nagh’s Straight Blast Gym in Dublin and not neces-sarily the Irish MMA scene in its totality. The increase in popularity in MMA since the mid-2000s has seen a proliferation of MMA clubs offering classes and MMA promotions provid-ing events the length and breadth of Ireland, to the point of near saturation. The sport is now at a crossroads in Ireland where with careful guidance it could migrate into the mainstream as a genuine national interest. The alternative is that opportun-ists entering the sport searching for the ‘quick buck’ begin to outnumber the genuine proponents and the sport remains at the fringes of society, dis-missed as a sideshow. Thankfully, many of the men that created the sport in Ireland in the late 1990s are still active at the grass roots level, which gives confidence that MMA will be guided into the mainstream with

the right intentions. In June 2012, Ireland joined the International Federation of Mixed Martial Arts as an observation member with the view of establishing a national federation. In March 2013, the Mixed Martial Arts Federation of Ireland (MMAFI) received full political support to de-velop amateur MMA. The focus of MMAFI will be on grass roots development of MMA by creating an amateur structure that allows fighters to develop over time. The immediate benefits will be a safer environment for athletes with compulsory medicals, proper of-ficials, stricter weigh-in protocols and mandatory lay-offs for knock outs and cuts, for example. This all seems a common sense approach, but in many cases these simple steps are not being taken. In addition to a lack of safeguards, fighters with little or no amateur experience are being offered fights in front of paying spectators, sometimes at events recorded for TV. An added difficulty in making MMAFI official is the fact that they are dealing with sports councils from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ire-land. But MMA has always been about the entire island of Ireland and MMAFI wants to ensure it’ll stay that way. Once the mountain of paperwork has been completed MMAFI is looking forward to staging its first sanctioned events in Ireland. The plan is for four days of martial arts competition in Belfast in October 2013, with the main event seeing the first MMAFI-recognized amateur MMA titles be-ing awarded. It’s only natural that Irish MMA fans begin to look for the next Conor McGregor or Norman Parke. Thankfully, with the work MMAFI will do to regulate MMA in Ireland, we might not have to wait too long. Thanks to Peter Lavery and Barry Oglesby for their contributions to this article.

Fergus [email protected]

Fergus


Jared Williams looked at MMA gyms in Charleston, South Carolina, and saw a big opportunity. “Most gyms taught two disciplines of MMA,” said Williams, “but I wanted something that offered more.” And he is betting that the people of the Charleston area want more, too.

Williams opened Charleston MMA in June 2012. “An MMA gym should have as many facets of martial arts as it can,” said Williams. “It shouldn’t be limited. Charleston MMA teaches and trains students in MMA, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai and a whole lot more.

Open And Growing FastThe early report is that Williams was right about Charleston and its desire for a multi-discipline MMA gym. “We ini-tially opened up in a different location with just 3,600 square feet of space,” he said. “Within two months, we knew we needed more space so we moved into a new location and we now have a total of 7,000 square feet. We went from 1,600 square feet in mat space to 3,600.” The new location gives Charleston MMA room for a cage, a boxing ring and free weights in addition to all the other training equipment. And it gives them training space for more members, as well. “We probably had 60 MMA clients,”

Williams said, “and now we have around 100. We are preparing for growth and planning ahead with this facility. We look forward to growing to about 200 mem-bers by the end of 2013, and this facility will meet all their needs.” In this first year, the gym’s mem-bers are mostly young males interested in MMA and BJJ at a higher level. “It’s a good mix,” said Williams, “between MMA competitors and BJJ students, mostly 18 to 40-year-old men. It’s a very pure MMA gym.” Williams said he wanted just that; that is to get to these people first, giving them a place to train together before working on a more di-verse member base. “This is backward from what most other gyms do,” Wil-liams said. “They start with martial arts first, then add MMA. We started this

way to show our dedication to MMA.” That ethic is noticeable with one look at the gym’s website, which prom-inently highlights fight events and ac-tion photos. “As we get more estab-lished, we will focus more on martial arts as a whole.” Williams calls it “pure MMA,” but that doesn’t mean beginners are unwel-come. “We’re appealing to MMA com-petitors but also the general public,” he said, “and they can see the beginner classes run right along side the fighters. We want others to see that it’s about learning, and training and being com-mitted to working hard. Anyone can train right along side those fighters.”

Committed to Customer ServiceTo prove it’s committed to high-quality training and customer service, Charles-ton MMA allows members to sign up month-by-month, not on a term con-tract basis. “Offering a month to month contract shows our commitment to our

customers,” said Williams. “We don’t want to lock them into something they can’t get out of. We want them here be-cause they want to be here. Life happens and things can change.” This commitment-free member-ship also works well for the military population nearby. “We have a number of members from the nearby air force base,” said Williams. “They may get deployed, and we don’t want them to worry about putting their membership on hold. They are here to train when they can, and that’s our commitment.” Charleston also give members of the military discounted pricing. “Discounts are for persons with ID for Fire, Police, Military, and for employees of two ma-jor corporations in the area, one in aero-space and one in electronics. They are a big part of the community. We did that because that’s the market that we live in. And we want to support this commu-nity. We want them here, and we want them to bring in their family members.” This also helps propel good word-of-mouth marketing for Charles-ton MMA. “For us, word of mouth is key,” Williams said. “Our name is spread the way it should be spread.” Williams also markets within the in-dustry, and local MMA events, and at other gyms. “We have a partner-ship with White Rock Boxing in Co-lumbia, South Carolina, so our guys go up there and train and their guys come down here as well.” In their relatively short one-year of operation, Williams and the Charleston MMA instructors have built valuable relationships with the students who train there. Continuing that business plan should help the gym continue to grow in MMA service to the Charles-ton area.

NAME: Charleston MMA GymLOCATION: Hanahan, South CarolinaOWNERS: Jared WilliamsYEARS IN BUSINESS: 1DISCIPLINES: MMA, BJJ (Gi, No Gi), Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Wrestling, Boxing

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