On this episode of the 7 Figure CEO Podcast, I had the great honor of speaking with Danny Alvarez of Alvarez Jiu Jitsu (Arlington, TX). Mr. Alvarez is a 4th-degree Black Belt in BJJ, has won Master Worlds 3 times in Gi, 5 times in No-Gi, was the #1 ranked Black Belt for the 2017-2018 season, earned over 50 Championship Titles, is one of my A-Team clients and is also a Grow Pro client!
Mr. Alvarez started training while working full-time at General Motors, where he was making a great living but was ultimately dissatisfied with his job. He’d spend his lunch breaks watching BJJ videos on tape and taking notes in a journal so he could apply what he learned during his training in the evening.
He was doing private lessons out of his garage and at the same time started studying the way his instructor ran business operations so he could be prepared when he found the right moment to open his own academy. And that moment did come when GM offered employees that had been with the company 10 years a buyout. He took that money and used a portion to open his own gym.
Alvarez BJJ has undergone a series of facility changes throughout the course of its inception as the academy continues growing - starting in a small mat space in a gymnastics facility, then moving to a 4500 sq ft warehouse space with no A/C. At a crossroads, his suite neighbor offered to buy him out of his lease which lead him to take the leap and move into the 15000 sq ft facility he currently runs his academy out of.
Alvarez BJJ has programs for kids, teens and adults. Mr. Alvarez is not only an accomplished Martial Artist, he’s also a great coach and is constantly learning and pushing himself in the pursuit of continuous growth on and off the mat.
In this episode, Mr. Alvarez explains the “secret” to getting Google reviews, how he balances working with family and building a community from the ground up. He takes pride in his academy and puts everything he can behind it, in order to build it to the success it is today. As a coach and instructor, he’s a strong advocate for "leading by example" and knows the value of consistency in order to accomplish your goals.
You’re going to want to tune into this episode!