According to CNBC, under President Trump, “the economy has achieved feats most experts thought impossible. GDP is growing at a 3 percent-plus rate and the unemployment rate is near a 50-year low.”

In addition, his tax cuts should help martial arts schools that are set up as S-corporations or LLCs as you will see a significant corporate tax cut with the rate dropping from 35% to 21%.  Here is a calculator to see how it may affect your business.

Each year, we look at the number of martial arts schools listed on InfoUSA.com. Since we started this in 2013, we’ve seen a steady decline in the number of martial arts schools in the USA. This year, however, we’ve seen a modest increase.

2013: 20,234
2016: 15,896 – 4,338
2017: 14,901 – 995
2018: 15,157 + 256

What’s also very interesting is that, according to Sports and Fitness Insurance Corp (SFIC) National Accounts Director, Jennifer Urmston, applications for martial arts schools is steady but not growing while applications for self-defense schools has increased significantly. Specifically, request for coverage of active shooter training has created a new market.

In fact, last week, I was asked to submit a proposal to train a Jewish Family organization with 500 employees and 10 locations in active shooter response. The proposal was for nearly $20,000. Thank you COBRA-Defense!

So how was business in 2018? Please comment and share your experience.