We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nathan Hallford. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nathan below.

Alright, Nathan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I had never planned to open my own BJJ Academy but I knew I enjoyed teaching. I had been helping with and covering classes for several years when the opportunity to teach twice a week at another martial arts school presented itself. It was the “easy” way to dip my toe in the pool of running a school without actually having to take the plunge.

After a few months of this I had another opportunity come up where I could open my own school but I had big reservations. Would I have enough money to cover rent and expenses? Would I be able to re-coup my investment in mats and deposits? How would I attract new clients as the majority of people I knew in the industry ALREADY had a school they trained at. But I knew if I wanted to succeed I needed to take the risk. So I went ahead, found a place and signed a lease. That will be 5 years ago in April of 2022 and I am very glad I took the risk. It has paid dividends many times over for my family as my side hustle has become a way for me to provide for my family.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I got into this industry because I always enjoyed sharing my knowledge and having people under my wing as a mentor. I have very fond memories of some of my mentors and wanted to “pay it forward” in a good way. I have structured our entire culture around that type of thinking. I do not want students who are only there for them to get better, but will bring those along behind them. I have a mentor who always used the phrase “a rising tide raises all boats” as a way to make sure he was always focused on helping his team in the bigger picture vs individual results. We will all win together as we all get better is a mantra I try to live by.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

As everyone in the world is aware of the entire world had to pivot because of Covid 19. I had just signed a lease on a new place and then had to close my doors for 3 months during the initial lockdown. On top of that our martial art is incredibly close contact based so 6 feet of social distance was NOT going to work. We managed as best we could thru the pandemic and managed to keep our doors open and return to profitability. I had students who 100% supported me with payments WHILE we were closed so they would have a place to come back to when we could. I have not forgotten those and always try to go above and beyond to thank them for what they allowed my family to do and continue to pay our bills.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

The best advice I can give is provide content but all while being your authentic self. People see thru the facade of people who “fake it” on social media eventually. You spend time building a brand, so build it on a foundation of being true to yourself and what you want your culture to be. It’s hard to remember all the stories and “fibs” you may come up with, but remembering the truth and who you are is always easy so be you.

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