We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rory Singer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rory below.
Rory, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Being a business owner is hard. It’s especially hard when you not only own the business but are an important part of delivering the business to your customers. As a martial arts academy owner/coach, I am always available to my students and/or their parents. I not only work on the business, but in it. Don’t get me wrong, I love coaching and interacting with my students on the mat. What I don’t love is dealing with cancellations, default accounts, prospects complaining because they don’t like our well thought out processes, and the thousands of other things that come up on the regular. I can’t imagine most business owners like that part. Even though my business partner takes the reigns on much of that, I still find myself having to step in from time to time, or take some things off his plate to reduce his stress levels.
All that being said, I wouldn’t trade any of it if it meant we no longer got to make the impact on the lives of our students in the way that we do. Whether it’s helping someone lose weight, get stronger, gain confidence, meet the love of their life (which has happend numerous times), find life long friends, and/or pursue a career in fighting; SBG Athens is more than just martial arts. Additionally, growing our Tribe has allowed us to do more good in our community. More people means more food donated, blood given, toys handed out, and cleaner streets.
Although I am often told by students how the academy has affected their lives or the lives of their children, one parent in particular really had a huge impact. Her son trained with us well over ten years ago. She enrolled him because she began to worry about his grades, his attitude, the friends with whom he was spending time, and he was getting more withdrawn. He was a quiet kid but he worked hard on the mats. In the six or so months he trained with us (life, school, and other interests pulled him in other directions) he got pretty good at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, competed, and even won a tournament. At the time his mom told me how grateful she was to us for helping put her son on the “right track”.
Fast forward to a few months ago. I ran into the mom again at my son’s school during “meet the teachers”. She was in the classroom next to the one we were visiting. She once again thanked me for the impact our program had on her son. But this time she added that he was in his final year of Law School at Harvard. I got chills and choked up. Talk about impact! Talk about truly recognizing your purpose. Wow!
I think the pandemic also shined a bright light on how important it is to have a strong community of people around you. When other businesses were closing, especially other martial arts academies, we were still keeping everyone connected. When times were the toughest, our Tribe was there for each other and helped many get through the dark times. It’s situations like that, stories like the one above, and so many others which cement how important SBG Athens is to so many people. It’s what drives me to make sure more people find us, and those that have, know; this is SBG, you will be okay.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
SBG Athens is more than just martial arts. Yes, we provide the best martial arts and group fitness training in Athens, but we do more than just make good people more dangerous to bad people. We are a Tribe of folks that look out for each other and our community. One of the mottos we frequently say is, “This is SBG, you will be okay.” We live that every day inside the walls of the academy and it takes many forms. Sometimes it comes in the form of a meal train for a member whose husband recently had brain surgery or a coach that broke their ankle ice skating (and they say BJJ is dangerous). It’s being there for each other in times of crisis or need. It can look like one member helping another when their car breaks down, or someone needs a ride to training.
I moved to Athens, GA in 1996 to attend school at UGA. I followed my older brother, Adam, who moved to Athens the year before to also attend UGA. He was following his girlfriend, now wife of 26 years. If you would have told me that a carpet bagging, Jewish kid from Marlboro, NJ, would move to Athens, GA, open a fight gym while getting an Engineering degree, to then go on reality television (Season 3 of TUF), fight in the UFC, coach/train with two UFC world champions, meet the love of his life (married 15 years), have two wonderful children, and run one of the top martial arts academies in the state, I would have thought you crazy. But here we are experiencing great success, changing lives, and doing it teaching Mixed Martial Arts, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and Group Fitness (Training for Warriors).
Our recent focus as a business has been in dialing in our systems/procedures and looking to hire new front desk personnel (who will hopefully become integral parts of our staff). 2022 was our best year ever and 2023 is looking to stay that course. With growth comes growing pains. We are unfortunately loosing one of our key employees (he has to go see about a girl). After speaking with a close friend about the business he helps his fiancé run, we realized that we always need to be hiring (and firing those that don’t meet our expectations). So, for the first time we will be conducting interviews and hiring from outside the Tribe. One of my goals is a second location and I believe this will help us put the proper people in place (along with the amazing staff we presently employ) to do so.
Lastly, as the year winds down, we get into our big community service push. We will end the year with our second and final Blood Drive, Food Drive, and Toys for Tots toy drive. We do the blood drive with Life South Community Blood Centers because our donations stay local. This is what they have to say about us, “What a great day for our community’s blood supply. We registered 46 donors and collected blood from 45 of them including 10 who donated double red blood cells. Your involvement and the generosity of the SBG community is truly the answerer to many prayers. Thank you also for making the day so easy and pleasant for our staff. Your blood drive is one that everyone always looks forward to working.”
In 2012 we started working with the Foodbank of Northeast Georgia during a two-week period of time that would in 2013 be called Hunger Bowl. Over this two-week period, businesses in Northeast Georgia participate in a food drive. SBG Athens has been the winning small business since 2013. In just the past three years we have donated over 120,000 pounds of food. Once again, our donations stay local and provide much needed food for our food deprived neighbors. Children in our community will eat a well-balanced meal because of the efforts of our Tribe and their families. A parent who would otherwise go without, will get to eat dinner with their child. A child won’t know the pain of hunger because we will help to provide the Foodbank with monetary donations. This year $1 = 3 balanced meals.
We will close out the year with a toy drive in conjunction with the Marine Corp Reserve’s Toys for Tots. Last year, we collected over 500 toys for local boys and girls. Again, we are the number one small business donation center in Athens. We have donated thousands of toys over the years and have been doing so since the mid two thousands.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I’m not sure what qualities I possess that were most impactful. If I’m being completely honest, I don’t always think I’m a very good business owner. Something about imposter syndrome, I’m sure. What I can say though is the following. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Seek out people in your industry (or really any industry) who have a track record of success. Be willing to admit you don’t know what you don’t know. Ask questions, be coachable, and be willing to act fast when given good information. And most importantly, don’t judge yourself against the success of others. That mentality can be crippling. Be happy with what you have accomplished as it is because of your efforts that you have what you do. And if you don’t like what you have, get off your butt and do something about it. You are likely the only one standing in your own way.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
When I truly feel overwhelmed, I find solace in jigsaw puzzles. Puzzles got me through the pandemic when we had to shut the gym down for in-person training and were forced to move everything online. I was stuck at home, homeschooling two young children, and trying to keep our Tribe connected via Zoom and FB live. My wife was considered essential and was working without the ability to even take a day off. It was extremely stressful I completed a lot of puzzles during that time. It took (and continues to take) my mind off things and grounded me in a sense. I’m also fortunate to train and coach Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (amongst other things). When I’m training and my partner is trying to “murder” me, it’s hard to focus on anything else. My advice is to find something healthy and constructive to do with your time. There is nothing wrong with stepping back from your job, business, and even your family for a short period of time to center yourself. Get some clarity, realize problems almost always have solutions, and get to work remedying that which is causing your stress. Lastly, having a strong support network of friends and family is of vital importance. Knowing you aren’t alone and have people to whom you can turn can be lifesaving.
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