The Business of Transformation: Garage Kings and Rise Up BJJ

Intro: [00:00:07] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Woodstock, Georgia. It’s time for Cherokee Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Stone Payton: [00:00:24] Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of Cherokee Business Radio. Stone Payton here with you this morning, and today’s episode is brought to you in part by Woodstock Neighbors magazine, bringing neighbors and business together. For more information, go to Facebook and Instagram at Woodstock Neighbors dot wbvm. And if you have a heart for community and you want to grow your small business, consider joining our community partner program, the Main Street Warriors. Go check us out at Main Street warriors.org. You guys are in for a real treat. First up on Cherokee Business Radio this morning, please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Garage Kings, Woodstock, Roswell and Canton. Mr. Jay Hart, how are you, man?

Jay Hart: [00:01:16] I’m doing well. Doing well. How are you doing?

Stone Payton: [00:01:17] I am doing great. It’s a delight to have you in the studio. It is one of our community partners that suggested you and I have a conversation on air. Neeahtima Dowdy over at Woodstock Neighbors. So glad she put us together. I got a ton of questions. We’re not going to get to them all, but, uh, I think maybe a good place to start. Could you just share with us mission. Purpose. What are you and your team really out there trying to do for folks?

Jay Hart: [00:01:42] Man yeah. So we are Garage Kings. Okay. So we try to own the whole garage from the floors to the doors to storage solutions. We got you covered. So really, you know, people are looking for more space in their home nowadays. And the garage is one of those spaces that’s untouched, right? You can really enhance your home and and do things that you can’t even imagine to that space that allows you to, to enjoy your home more. So just looking to transform garages.

Stone Payton: [00:02:13] So what’s the backstory, man? How’d you get into this line of work?

Jay Hart: [00:02:17] Yeah, so a quick backstory was I spent seven years in corporate America.

Stone Payton: [00:02:23] Ouch. I’m sorry.

Jay Hart: [00:02:24] Right. So I was, uh. Joni.

Stone Payton: [00:02:27] Sorry, too, right? Joni. Joni, I keep calling you Joni. Joni.

Jay Hart: [00:02:31] That’s why we’re here. So. Yeah. So seven years there. I figured it was time to go out on my own. Give it a shot. You know, if I didn’t take that, that chance or that jump, then, yeah, I probably never would have, you know? So you can’t fly if you don’t jump. That’s what they say. So I took that leap and, uh, was looking for a franchise to buy. You know, I didn’t want to go solo and and not have any guidance. So, uh, was looking for a franchise to buy. Came across Garage Kings. Um, they, uh, they liked me, I liked them. We made the marriage last, uh, last January, I guess. Ah, okay. And, uh, been going at it ever since. Yeah.

Stone Payton: [00:03:10] And it’s been a strong first year for you.

Jay Hart: [00:03:11] Yeah, it has actually, um, you know, we have our ups and downs. It was a little slow in the winter months, you know, holidays and and people not being outside as much and not wanting to, to clean their garage out when it’s cold. Right. So, um, but now it’s starting to pick up. And now we’ve just recently added garage doors as a line of business. So it’s kind of, uh, should take off for us.

Stone Payton: [00:03:36] So say more about the decision to go with a formal franchise as opposed to kind of figure it out on your own. Did you spend a lot of time weighing the pros and cons, or did you know pretty much just right out of the gate, if I’m going to do this, I’m going to go with an established franchise.

Jay Hart: [00:03:52] I think I knew right out of the gate, um, I was selling elevators before, so I knew how to kind of run a business, but not really start a business. I didn’t want to figure out everything. Right? I want to, you know, all the. Failures and stuff to be already ironed out, you know? Um, so with the franchise, they kind of got all that stuff figured out for you, you know, from marketing to accounting. Um, you know, the products they’re going to offer. How do you do things? It’s all figured out. So I really just had to step in and hit the ground running and didn’t have to think about all the extra stuff that goes into to owning and operating a business. All right.

Stone Payton: [00:04:31] Talk a little bit more about the work. Let’s say I reach out to you or somehow you find me as a prospective client. What’s the what are the first few steps? Do we take a look at the garage? We sit down and scratch out some stuff on a cocktail napkin. Walk us through that process.

Jay Hart: [00:04:47] Exactly. So we’ll come on site to your garage. And, uh, a few things we got to look at right now. There’s a lot of competition in this business. It’s a saturated market, so that’s good and bad. Um. It’s an unregulated industry, really. Anybody can do this type of work when it comes to laying epoxy floors. Um, and a lot of painters say they can do epoxy floors, right. Not to to dog on anybody, but they don’t do it to the quality that we do. Okay. So it starts with, um, gotta check the moisture in the concrete okay. Because moisture could be a concern. It could delaminate the epoxy. So you want to test that with the proper equipment. You want to do a hardness test of the concrete okay. A scratch test because we do grind this concrete. And that’s really the only proper way to prep the concrete is to grind it, expose those pores, and then use commercial grade vacuum cleaners to extract out all that dust from the concrete. So there’s no layer between the concrete and the epoxy. So it gets that lasting bond. So we’ll measure those two things. We’ll also take the total square footage kind of I kind of go through a little presentation on site to kind of show us what separates us from the competitors. Uh, we give the homeowner a price. Hopefully they like it at that point in time and we can pull the trigger and get them scheduled.

Stone Payton: [00:06:08] So you mentioned that it’s saturated. And part of the reason that it is a saturated market is not everyone is going through the processes that you’re going through. Exactly. They’re hitting the Home Depot. They’re getting the bucket of.

Jay Hart: [00:06:22] This yourself kit.

Stone Payton: [00:06:23] Yep. Right. And that could be a lot of headache down the road I would think.

Jay Hart: [00:06:27] Well yeah. So I mean you want to buy right. Right. And you want to buy once okay. So the worst thing you want to do is, is go with the cheap bid, you know, the $3 square foot guy possibly and be redoing it in a year. So that’s what we try to avoid. That’s why I try to show these homeowners the value that we bring to the table and what separates us. That way you get that lasting floor and you don’t have to think about it again.

Stone Payton: [00:06:52] My late father in law used to say, buy the best and cry once. Exactly. That was his. That was his motto. So now that you’ve been at it a little while, what’s the most rewarding, man? What are you? What are you enjoying the most?

Jay Hart: [00:07:04] Just seeing the, uh, the homeowners reactions when they see the floor, right? When they see that transformation, when they can kind of see themselves now and join the space a lot more. Um, we have a little saying, you know, park somewhere else, dad, like. Once you get these floors done, you kind of want to, you know, put a couch in there and put a TV up and hang out in the garage now. So.

Stone Payton: [00:07:27] So how does the whole sales and marketing thing work for a guy like you in a market that you’ve mentioned is pretty crowded? Are you out there shaking the bushes? Have you got kind of a system now, partially from the benefit of having being part of a franchise where, um, inquiries are coming in? Is it a little bit of all of that?

Jay Hart: [00:07:47] It is a little bit of all of that. Now being with our franchise, we have a national brand. So, you know, we kind of get that on a larger scale, right? Um, we’re also really heavily into the digital marketing, you know, Facebook ads, Instagram ads. You kind of got to be in that space nowadays.

Stone Payton: [00:08:03] So my phone over here is hearing us talk about Garage King. So when I get home, I’m going to see ads for Garage King, aren’t I? You will. I don’t know how or why, but that’s just that’s the deal. But you guys, you’ve kind of cracked the code on all that or the franchise has on your behalf. We have a.

Jay Hart: [00:08:17] Marketing provider we use now. I also do a lot of, of, uh, Facebook boosting ads myself for my organically. Right. Um, and also doing stuff like this, you know, being out in the community, putting your name out there. I go to a lot of networking meetings. You know, I work with a lot of other contractors. I try to, um, rub elbows with painters, with power washers, you know, things that other home service based businesses where we can kind of come together and, and refer each other. Well, I.

Stone Payton: [00:08:47] Can’t speak for everyone, but I got to say, if someone were in my home remodeling the bathroom and then I’m poking around in the garage and I’m thinking, hey, I might want to do something in the garage if I were to ask that bathroom remodeler who I should, that would have so much more gravity for sure. Carry so much more weight with me than I think. I don’t know, maybe I maybe I don’t understand my own susceptibility to Facebook ads and all that, but no, that would carry. So that would be an a very important what do you guys call it, like a marketing channel or strategy is to have those trusted relationships with other providers.

Jay Hart: [00:09:23] That’s how I met Neotama. So we met at a business networking meetup meeting, and, um, I got on with her magazine. And, you know, here we are about a year later and going strong. There you.

Stone Payton: [00:09:34] Go. So, uh, take a so what is your take on the the local business climate, the, the, the level of support that you have experienced, if any, from other business owners and, and, uh, community leaders here in this Woodstock, Cherokee County area. Have you, have you found that to be a pretty positive force?

Jay Hart: [00:09:56] Very positive. Uh, it’s kind of crazy how positive it is, really. I mean, I don’t feel like it’s like this everywhere. Um, especially also to touch on the Chamber of Commerce. Okay. Now, I’m a member of the Chamber of Commerce for Cherokee County, and I don’t think there’s a better chamber of commerce out there. I mean, they do so much for the small business owners in this county. So, um, and to throw a little nugget out there, we are having our ribbon cutting next, next week, the 27th at 3 p.m. with the chamber. So sweet. Yeah.

Stone Payton: [00:10:29] And you have a physical location. I do have a physical location. Yeah. Where is.

Jay Hart: [00:10:32] That? It’s on 609 Malden Drive. Right down here in Woodstock. Yeah. So, um, that sounds golf.

Stone Payton: [00:10:39] Cardinal Giovanni, I think I can go. That’s my criteria for doing business with people. If I can get to them through walk or golf cart.

Jay Hart: [00:10:45] You got cross 92. But if you can do that, you’ll be all right.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:10:49] I’m just trying to figure out when the 27th is. What day of the week is that? Wednesday. Next Wednesday?

Stone Payton: [00:10:54] Well, congratulations on the on the ribbon cutting man. Thank you. All right. So if we’re shopping probably the answers would be good for any home services. But particularly if we’re starting to really think about this garage thing, I don’t feel like I’m even competent enough to know what to ask. What am I looking for? What are some things to make sure you know? Red flags. You know, green flags. If you were to educate a potential customer, uh, what are some things you would have me be thinking about going into? You know, because it’s probably a pretty substantial investment, you know, like it is. Yeah.

Jay Hart: [00:11:28] So the concrete hardness test is a big one. Okay. We do use a diamond bit grinder. So if you have soft concrete I want to match my diamonds up with that hardness level. So we get a good grind. Ah I don’t want to come in there and tear your concrete up. Right. So so measuring the hardness of the concrete is a big one. Moisture. If you don’t measure moisture and there is high moisture in your in your concrete, it could delaminate the floor. Okay. Um, the types of materials you want to make sure that your contractor is getting commercial grade, uh, materials. Okay. No. Do it yourself epoxy kits. The new thing for garages is polyaspartic. That’s what we utilize, okay? It’s just UV stable, and it’s really strong. High solid material. Um, and then just, you know. Look at the B-bbee rating, you know, check. Check. And make sure they’re accredited. Okay. Which we are. So that’s good for us. Um, Google reviews, you know, those tell a story a lot. So we have some good some good Google reviews you can check out. Um, yeah.

Stone Payton: [00:12:35] So I’m going to switch gears on you before we wrap, uh, passions outside the scope of your work. You know, a lot of folks who listen to tap into any of our Cherokee business radio shows that I personally participate in. They know I like to hunt, fish, and travel. I don’t know when you’d find the time doing all, but, uh, anything you have a tendency to nerd out about or pursue outside the garage work. Yeah.

Jay Hart: [00:12:57] So I’ll touch on a couple things real quick. I do like to travel. Um, we’re actually going to South Carolina here in a few weeks for a workcation. I’m doing a basement floor out there.

Stone Payton: [00:13:07] There you go. Write it all off. Right.

Jay Hart: [00:13:08] Exactly. So I like it doing a basement floor. Then we’ll take a few days and enjoy the beach. Um. Avid college football fan. Go, team!

Stone Payton: [00:13:18] Go, dawgs!

Jay Hart: [00:13:18] Okay, I actually got. I got a special floor called the back to back floor. You know, it’s red and black. So I can do any color for the Florida fans or the Auburn fans. Bama. Bama fans. I’ll even help you guys out as well. Um, and I’ve kind of nerded out lately on, uh, sports cards. It’s coming back. Trading cards. You know, really remember being a kid ripping those packs open?

Stone Payton: [00:13:42] I do remember that. And I also remember we could walk down to the 7-Eleven and get the big Slurpee cups that had all the the baseball players on them. I remember doing that.

Jay Hart: [00:13:50] So, so sports cards is making a huge comeback. And, uh, I’ve got a decent collection going. Don’t tell my wife. Hopefully she’s not listening. She doesn’t know all the the cards I’ve bought lately, but she sees the packages coming in. She’s like, are those your more cards for you? I’m like, yeah.

Stone Payton: [00:14:06] So you heard it first here. It’s it’s coming back guys. It is coming back. All right. Let’s make sure that our listeners know where you are. So let’s make sure we get that addressed again. But also the best way to reach out to you, whether it’s, you know, a Facebook, a website. I just wanted to be able to have a conversation with you or somebody on your team if they want to explore this.

Jay Hart: [00:14:25] Yeah for sure. So our physical location is here in Woodstock, 609 Malden Drive. We actually have a floor laid down in there so you can see the floor. We got samples, we got cabinets, we’ve got slatwall. Everything’s there that you’d want for your garage. Garage Kings.com is our website. There you can go see everything you need to see color samples. The story behind Garage Kings. Some reviews. Uh, 188 garages. Sorry, 1888 garages is our hotline to schedule an estimate. Um, there’s also a book now, um, link on our, on our website that you can book now. Um, and then Jay Hart at Garage Kings.com for my email. Man, if.

Stone Payton: [00:15:12] You can’t get in touch with Jay, that’s on you. He’s. That’s it. He’s got to.

Jay Hart: [00:15:16] Pass. I won’t get my personal number out here on this, uh, live broadcast, but if you reach out to me, I’ll be texting you from my personal number as well.

Stone Payton: [00:15:23] Oh, fantastic. And not to be dismissed. I want to make sure that we underscore. Yes, do a marvelous job with the floors, but you’ve got all the other stuff the the slat walls walk through there’s because there’s a lot of stuff you can do and should do to organize your garage.

Jay Hart: [00:15:38] Yeah. So actually last week we just did a full garage transformation. Okay. So we redid the floors. We did slat wall across the whole garage, all three walls. This guy had kayaks, lawnmowers, bicycles, cleaning gear, you know, lawn equipment all throughout his garage. Now it’s all neatly stored on his walls. Everything is off the floor and on the walls. We also ripped down his 30 year old garage doors and replaced those with brand new doors, insulated with windows, brand new openers, garage door openers. They’re Wi-Fi enabled. You can open them remotely from your phone. They got cameras on them, so you can log into these cameras on your garage door openers and kind of nice. Check out your garage from remotely or see if your kids are sneaking out. And yeah, it’s cool.

Stone Payton: [00:16:30] Fantastic. All right, one more time. Key coordinates so our folks can get to you.

Jay Hart: [00:16:34] 609 Malden Drive is our address here in Woodstock Garage Kings.com for our website. J a y dot h a r t at garage Kings.com is my email.

Stone Payton: [00:16:48] Well, thanks so much for coming in and visiting man. Keep up the good work. Congratulations on the momentum and maybe swing back by the studio sometime, and we’ll check in on you and keep following this story. Sure thing.

Jay Hart: [00:16:59] Let’s do it. I appreciate you for having me.

Stone Payton: [00:17:01] Oh, delighted to do it. Hey, how about hanging out with us while we visit with our next guest?

Jay Hart: [00:17:05] Of course. Let’s do.

Stone Payton: [00:17:05] It. All right, guys, y’all ready for the headliner? She’s been waiting very patiently. She’s been taking notes. She’s been encouraging. Jay, please join me in welcoming to the show owner and head instructor with Rise Up, BJJ, Ms. Joanie Chamberland. How you doing?

Joanie Chamberland: [00:17:23] I am doing great. Minus the pollen season upon us. I’ve been sneezing all morning, but I’m excited to be here.

Stone Payton: [00:17:29] Joanie is always very well prepared and she walked in with her Kleenex box.

Jay Hart: [00:17:35] She did. I can verify.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:17:36] I’ll try not to sneeze all morning, so.

Stone Payton: [00:17:39] All right, so tell us a little bit about rise up, man. Tell what’s what are you doing?

Joanie Chamberland: [00:17:43] So we’re a little different than other people since it’s a female owned gym. So it’s very clean organized. But the main thing is I’ve been to a lot of gyms and I’ve trained a lot of different martial arts, trained a lot of gyms. So I try to make my gym different to where when you come in like you’re comfortable, everything is clean. You know that you’re going to be safe and that you’re going to be welcome in the environment that you’re in.

Stone Payton: [00:18:07] And is it jiu jitsu? Is that what the two J’s are?

Joanie Chamberland: [00:18:10] Yes, yes. Brazilian jiu jitsu.

Stone Payton: [00:18:12] Brazilian jiu jitsu. All right, tell us more about that whole arena and how you got involved. Give us a little backstory.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:18:20] So I’ve actually trained martial arts my whole life. Um, and for a bit, when my dad lost his job, when I was in high school, I was just working out at Gold’s Gym, and I saw a jiu jitsu school next door, and my friends and I used to wrestle in the living room for fun, and my brother’s best friend was actually taking some lessons and a friend’s garage. And so I kept losing because I’m small. And so he was like, here, let me teach you some some tricks so you can beat your friend. She was like the super athlete, right? And so I was like, what is this? And he was like, yeah, this is jiu jitsu. Um, and I was like, oh, I saw a place next door to where I work out. So I walked in like, you got to train six days a week. And I was like, I can’t do that. So I went to one of my old, um, taekwondo schools that also had Krav Maga, and he was like, you’re too small for Krav. And I was like, okay, guess I’m going to go to jiu jitsu. He’s like, well, we have a grappling program here. So I started there and like within a month, our instructor came in and we started like a legit jiu jitsu program. And honestly, it’s just I just I fell in love with it. It’s amazing. It’s never the same. It’s constantly evolving. So and you can be small and beat people that are bigger than you. So I was like, this is perfect.

Stone Payton: [00:19:27] So I very much want to have a whole conversation around self-defense. But before we go there, just from a an aspect of staying fit and feeling good, I have to believe engaging in this activity periodically a couple times a week has got to be just really good for your health. Yeah.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:19:45] Oh, absolutely. Even, you know, like triathletes will come in sometimes and they are gassed doing jiu jitsu. It’s a whole different level of cardio. Even our warm ups can be hard, but once your body is used to it, it’s not it’s not it’s not that big. But the thing about jiu jitsu is wonderful is you can always make it harder just by the input that you’re putting in, like how hard you’re trying, making sure that you’re active with your mind while you’re doing this workout. And it just doesn’t feel like a workout because you’re with friends, you’re with your team, you’re just and you’re learning something new every time. So unlike going to the gym where you’re just lifting the same weight the same way and you’re trying to do some new stuff, so it’s less boring, like in jiu jitsu, you’re constantly changing what you’re doing, so it just doesn’t even feel like you’re working out. So like by the end of it, you’re just all around feeling better, and it doesn’t even feel like you did anything that should promote that. So it’s it’s pretty wonderful.

Stone Payton: [00:20:35] So how young and how old can should someone be doing this kind of stuff.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:20:40] So we start them at four. Oh, my. Yeah. Wow. Um, new program that started like, I want to say it’s three years ago now. We started the little ones. So we started we have 4 to 6 year old class. Then we have 7 to 1213 ish. I don’t know if y’all have seen her, you know, middle schoolers these days, but they’re adult sized. So they also go into the adult class depending on their size. But we teach all ages so four and up and and we are teaching jiu jitsu to these kids as well. But. As early as you want to start. No matter what it’s always going to be. I wish I started sooner, so I mean, I start at 16 and I just wish I would have started sooner as well. But for an up and at any time in your life is is always a great time to start.

Stone Payton: [00:21:22] So even at 60 with a bit of a penchant for bourbon and, um, you know, steak, I, I’m operating under the impression I can come into the gym and start at a, at a level and a pace and all of that that’s appropriate for me without me having to worry about having a heart attack. Yes, exactly.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:21:40] So what we do is when you come in, we have somebody show you around and they’ll kind of show you like how to get on the mat because we wipe our feet, because I like to be clean and I don’t want feet where my face goes. So we wipe our feet. We show you how to do that, where to line up, and then we partner you with somebody who’s a higher rank so that they can help you and make sure that you’re understanding how to do the moves. You’re doing them correctly. You won’t get hurt while you’re doing it. And they’ll also watch you, like, tell you like, all right. Make sure you’re breathing. You know, they’re helping you through everything because that’s something that we do forget when we’re doing jujitsu is to breathe. So they’ll they’ll be helping you. They’ll be telling you, like, you know, lean here. Be careful. Don’t do this. That could hurt your back. Like, whatever. So they’re going to be working with you to make sure that you have a great experience, that you’re not hurt. Because if we hurt our toys, then we don’t have any. So we want to make sure everybody comes in and they’re having a good time, and they’re learning how to do jiu jitsu without getting hurt. And then as you go on and we start fundamentals classes as well. So whenever you come in you’re going to be in a fundamentals class. Learning the basics, learning how to do all your movements before you just get thrown into, all right, do jiu jitsu. Time to full on brawl, but you don’t know what you’re doing. So we make sure that you always have somebody with you that’s helping you through all those steps. Because two brand new people together is is what gets hurt. So it’s it’s terrifying as an instructor to watch like, oh no, oh no.

Jay Hart: [00:22:58] Recipe for disaster.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:23:00] Exactly.

Stone Payton: [00:23:00] So say more about rank because I’m sure this is an integral part of the whole ecosystem. You compete at what I assume is a pretty high rank. And then it occurs to me that even locally in in your place to have a little bit of competition or some sort of ladder or something, it keeps it fresh, right? Going back to as opposed to I’m over in the corner doing my dumbbells.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:23:23] Yeah, right. So with jiu jitsu, it takes about a year to get to your first belt. Okay. Um, and you can’t. So the, the belt rings for the adults are white, blue, purple, brown, black. It takes about ten years to get to your black belt. Wow. Um, so it’s like a year for the first two years for the second three years for the third. Essentially, it’s not always that, but that’s pretty much the average. So when kids come in, let’s say they start at four, right? They wouldn’t be able to get their next rank until they’re 16. You got to be 16 to be a blue belt. So there are a ton of kids ranks in between. So they have their own scales. So they have gray belt, they have yellow, orange, green. And then they go into blue. And there’s three of each belt. So it keeps them in. But they we do ranks on the belt. So we have what’s called stripes. And so about every ten ish weeks that people do it differently. Some do it by attendance, I do attendance time and making sure they know their material.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:24:16] Um, you’ll get stripes on your belt. That’s your ranks. So there’s four stripes per belt. So the kids are getting that stripe and that’s like showing them like that. They’re getting closer. Same with the adults. But so there is a ranking system. Um, there are competitions I did compete I recently retired just because it takes a lot of time. Like I’d be traveling so much and I can’t be at the gym. And and I love teaching. That’s what I want to do. So y’all can see it on YouTube. There’s a ton of videos of me fighting. I fought at every level there is, and I didn’t start till I was a brown belt, which is not recommended. I try to get all my students to compete, like at least one time when they’re white belts, to see what it’s like in the beginning. But yeah, so we have ranking systems and then we also have competitions and there’s some local, there’s some out of states, there’s some in other countries like they’re they’re happening everywhere. But we actually have one we’re getting ready for on the 23rd here. Um, in Marietta.

Stone Payton: [00:25:08] Oh, fun, fun. So there was a time when I played competitive table tennis in college, and that is a little different than ping pong, for those of you who don’t know, uh, but I will share with you. I did not get better when I played in my own little shop, very much because I became the best, you know, in my little play. But when I would go out and play people who were a little better, I would improve. Pretty, pretty. Is it the same in the jiu jitsu world?

Joanie Chamberland: [00:25:37] Well, definitely. And I think a big thing with jiu jitsu is people think it’s not a team sport because you’re not like passing the ball to your teammate as you’re going. Mhm. Uh, but in my gym we foster like a very team sport related thing. So we’re constantly trying to make each other better. So I do have my students train with higher ranks and people that will push them to get them better. And we do some competition classes. But going out there and competing, you get to see what your level is like and like what you have to bring back to the gym to try and sharpen up for your next matches. So there. Definitely like it helps you get a lot better. But same thing with teaching. So I have my people teach to earn their ranks so that when you’re teaching and you’re watching, you’re learning more stuff there as well. So it is really like a big team sport because we’re working together to help each other, coach each other while we’re going. Um, everybody comes out and cheers together and we can actually win team trophies. So like, our goal at this Naga is we are a small school. Um, and we’ve won second place twice. And we just keep losing to one of the big, like, franchise teams that has multiple schools. So they all just sign up under the same school name.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:26:43] Um, so right now, you know, we’re trying to get that top spot finally. But yeah, we’re super close. But it just ends up being that same thing every year. Like they have like, you know, 150 people. So they’re getting first place. We have 13 and we get second place and don’t have that many less points because you get more points for first place and second, then third. So our goal is just to go out there like as a team and win this trophy, even though we just have this like pretty much little baby team going out there. But since everybody’s winning, you know, we get up on that podium. So it is very much a team effort. Like we’re super excited to do that. And then we have uh, my best friend owns a gym in Douglasville and she has a jiu jitsu program. And we have our own team rivalry with her where we have our own trophy. And whoever at that Naga gets the most points gets to have that team trophy. So they want it, um, two times a go. We want it this time. So we kind of have that one as well. So even if we don’t get the Naga Itself’s team trophy, like we have our own little thing going on, which helps us like, you know, have something to look forward to every competition.

Stone Payton: [00:27:42] Okay. Let’s talk about the self-defense aspect of this. I would think that would be important for a lot of folks and maybe particularly females. But I got to tell you, I’m not particularly confident. I don’t think I could take J. You know, I would try to talk my way out of that pretty quick.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:27:59] So the greatest thing about jiu jitsu is one you don’t really have to use it, right? It’s about doing something repetitively and feeling comfortable because there’s fight, flight or freeze. And until you’re in those situations, you don’t know what you’re going to do. So with jiu jitsu, you get stuck in these really uncomfortable places. But, you know, all you have to do is tap and they’re going to let go of you, get off you, you won’t get hurt. And it trains your mind to know, like to be comfortable in places you probably wouldn’t be. But the other thing is, like if I’m looking at Jay, yeah, I don’t want to take that guy either. Like I’m just going to run really fast and I’m going to yell fire, and I’m going to be very aware of my surroundings. But. If I were stricken and taken to the ground, I’m going to know how to defend myself against him. Because just because somebody is big doesn’t mean they know how to use their weight. And so with jujitsu, you’re going to learn that, like it might feel uncomfortable, but they’re going to shift their weight and you’re going to be able to knock them over. So it’s it’s very good for self-defense.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:28:55] And like you said, especially for women because of the way women get attacked more likely than men. Um, and being able to defend yourself now it’s still men still get attacked in 90% of fights go on the ground. So jiu jitsu is your ground. Self-defense for the most part. We do learn how to take somebody to the ground in a real self-defense situation. I’m not trying to do that, okay? I’m going to poke you in the eyeballs and run. But if I were already on the ground or, you know, hit behind the head or something like that where I’m on the ground now, I know how to defend myself. So and it’s, it’s just doing it repetitively. And that’s why I have I actually made a series of women’s self-defense seminars and they’re happening quarterly. And I just kind of teach women like what martial arts are out there to help with self-defense. And honestly, the one that works best is the one that you’re going to actually keep taking because it’s muscle memory. So it’s it’s great. And I don’t teach a just self-defense based jiu jitsu. But no matter what you do, jiu jitsu in its own is going to teach you self-defense.

Stone Payton: [00:29:52] So you touched on it earlier in the conversation, but I want to go back there. It sounds like you have gone to great lengths to really set yourself apart from the garden variety self-defense thing at the shopping center, right? Say more about about what you’ve done and why to make it different.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:30:13] So honestly, the main thing is I wanted an environment that I enjoy. Yeah. Um, and that I can teach the things that I’m good at. And, and I really like to watch and learn and help people continue growing. So, like, I still train myself, but I wanted this environment where everyone can come in and thrive because they say jiu jitsu is for everyone. And I’m not going to lie to you, jiu jitsu is not for the mentally weak. And so we need to create an atmosphere where you’re going to feel like your confidence is going to come down a little bit when you come into jiu jitsu, because you’re doing something so different. So you need to be comfortable with knowing that, like, yeah, you’re going to be vulnerable and uncomfortable and these people are going to help you get better and make yourself better. So I wanted a clean environment. A just because when you walk into a place that’s not clean, you’re just like, I don’t know that I want to be here. Do I want to lay on these floors? Are they going to keep me safe? So keep it clean. Keep it like family friendly. Have everybody come in and just feel like this is the place that I can be myself and learn this sport. Because it is very, very challenging. And I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve called my coach. I was like, I’m done, I’m quitting, you know? So you need that environment that you feel comfortable being like, hey, like I’ve had, I don’t know what to do anymore. And the number one thing white belts ask is like, am I ever going to know what I’m doing? And it’s like, welcome to jiu jitsu. Guys like you never know what you’re doing.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:31:29] And as soon as you feel like you do, you come in the next day and you’re like, I know nothing. So you need to be in a place where you know, you feel comfortable to tell people that and be like, hey, this is where I’m at. Like, help me get past this thing. So I really wanted to be different and, and make sure that that’s what I’m giving. And like, that’s what I enjoy giving and and we’re serious, but we’re not. You know, I like to have fun. So we cut up. We we talked jokes. We we play board game nights together. I mean, we just have a good time at the gym overall. And and I also didn’t want this thing of does it really work? Like, am I just learning this thing or throwing my kid in here so they can get a belt and all this stuff? And that’s just not what we do. Like we it’s very much like an academy. Like we are getting better. We’re here to help you continue to keep your kids on a good path to give them those, you know, life skills and continue and learn that, like, man, jiu jitsu is just like life. Some days you go in and you’re winning at it, and the next day you walk in, you’re like, man, I was born yesterday, I know nothing. So it’s really a great, like parallel to life and like pushing through the hard things, but knowing that you also got a bunch of people behind your back to help you through that. So that was kind of our goal at my gym is to be that environment for everybody and know that, like, if you bring somebody there, no matter what, they’re going to learn something and get better.

Stone Payton: [00:32:44] I love it. And so there’s this whole jiu jitsu thing that you’ve got to continually evolve and keep up with and help other people with. And oh, by the way, you got to run a business.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:32:54] Right?

Stone Payton: [00:32:55] So before we wrap, speak a little bit about that journey, uh, what you feel like you’ve learned in that process and maybe leave our listeners, a lot of our listeners are either entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs. Maybe leave them with a couple of tips.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:33:10] So, um, I worked in a martial arts school. I worked in an ATA, um, it’s now called IMA, which is where I’m hosting my big event. But I used to work the front desk, teach classes, and I would do everything. So sign people up, call leads, show them around all of that stuff and teach the classes. So I was like, oh yeah, I got this. Like, you know, I was too scared to open by myself and I was going to have a partner. And that just did not end up working out. And my boss was like, listen, you bring some money in if they bring something. To the table and this person wasn’t bringing anything. So I’m like, all right, well, I’m going to do it. So I opened by myself. And when you’re the only one doing all of that, like the classes, the leads, the emails, the calling, the networking events, teaching, it’s it’s a lot different. But you have to remember that people are patient. So I would just be like, hey, um, I’m going to finish this class up. I got to talk with him and then I got to talk with you. So if you just give me a couple minutes, it’s just me working by myself right now until I can, you know, hire somebody and improve upon that. And everyone was always, like, very kind, you know, they they took their time. They just sat and they waited for me or they would say like, hey, can we just, like, meet up at a different time? So just people are way more patient than you think there are as long as you’re just up front with them.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:34:25] I would literally just say like, hey guys, it’s just me and I really want to get to you. If you can’t wait 15 minutes, let’s schedule this for tomorrow. Whatever. Of course, now I do have a CFO who does my front desk, who does my signups. We meet every week. Um, he works with me all the time, and he’s doing all that stuff that I’m like, I really don’t want to be doing this. Like, I’m good at this stuff, but it’s not what I want to do. Like, I don’t want to take your payments. I don’t want to do any of that. So any time questions like that come around now I’m like, this is not my job. Please go see Angel at the front desk. He’s amazing. This is what he likes to do. I’ll be out on the floor. So it takes some time. And it’s totally worth investing in that person that’s going to help you do the stuff that you don’t want to do and that you it’s you physically can’t do, right. I teach 3 to 4 classes a night. I can’t be teaching a class and signing somebody up. It doesn’t work. Yeah. So, um, for those of y’all that want to start. You’re capable of doing so for sure, and then find somebody that helps complement the things that you don’t want to do.

Stone Payton: [00:35:24] I’m really glad I asked. All right. Let’s make sure that our listeners know where you are, how to touch base with you. Uh, you mentioned an event or two that’s coming up. Let’s make sure they have all that info before we go.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:35:35] So I did choose a rise up BJ, since, you know, we’re in Atlanta, I put a, you know, quotations around that. So it’s rise up BJ com B for Brazilian J for Jiu-Jitsu JJ so b jj.com. Um and we have an events tab. So if you go on there you’ll see all the events I spoke of. But we have the women’s self-defense seminar on there. Then we have the roll for cure, which is a big event I do to raise money and awareness for neurofibromatosis. And the money does go to a nonprofit. So we’re looking for silent auction donations, vendors, everybody come out and make a big party. And then our physical location is actually in Kennesaw right off exit four, Bells Ferry Road, where the Publix is with the everybody knows where Harbor Freight is. So it’s in that shopping center, right? I don’t know how they don’t know what Publix is, but yeah. So we’re in the back corner down there. It is a little hard to see us, but we’re in the back left corner by the liquor store. So I’m sure you’ve seen us if you go in and out of there. Um, so that’s where we’re located at physically. But rise up, BJ. Com is the best way to go and reach us. Everything is on the website.

Stone Payton: [00:36:38] What a delight to have you in this studio. Thanks for coming in and sharing your story and keep us posted.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:36:45] Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me. It’s been it’s been great. And meeting Jay as well for sure.

Stone Payton: [00:36:50] My pleasure. Alright, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today and everyone here at the Business Radio X family saying we’ll see you again on Cherokee Business Radio.