RPMA has had some rough times in the past, that’s for sure. Starting a martial arts school was one of the hardest things Brennan and I have done. COVID 19 has certainly thrown some difficulties our way.
The Beginning of the Plague
I still remember when news of COVID first hit. Empty shelves at Wegmans, shortages of toilet paper and hand sanitizer were all over the news. A new virus was on the loose. The night before I had watched a zombie movie, so I felt ready. We figured things would be a bit crazy for a week or two. Brennan and I thought we would have a couple of weeks off and then life would go back to normal. Here we are a year later, still wearing masks and having our temperatures checked.
COVID 19 and Training
We have been following all the regulations New York State has asked of us. We are confident that we have a safe training environment. And the proof is truly in the pudding! We have not had a single Corona exposure the whole time we’ve been open. However, that means our training methods, habits, and practices have all changed. This isn’t a bad thing, if anything it has helped to keep everyone safe from not only Corona virus, but also the flue and common skin infections.
Being a Small Business Owner During Plague Times
As business owners, we’ve been in rough spots before. Really, this is no different. However, that doesn’t mean this has been easy. It truly felt like starting over. Most of our students who had been with us for years were gone, many of them either lost their jobs or simply didn’t feel safe training. While Zoom classes and posted videos helped a little, they didn’t replace actual classes. Because of all this, we certainly took a pretty hard loss.
Just like in martial arts, you need to be able to think on your feet when you’re a business owner. Luckily, we’ve managed to do that thus far! The training hall will persevere, we always have.