Skydiving is a wonderful adventure: you get to jump out of airplanes for pure fun, face your fears, soar above the ground and enjoy the view that not so many people get to enjoy.
In addition, it’s a fun community to be a part of: a mix of fun – loving, adventurous, free – spirited, and inspiring people from different backgrounds that are united by this unique sport.
To earn a skydiving license, jumpers need to complete four steps: doing a “taster” tandem, completing an AFF course, performing some solo jumps and making a personal commitment to continuing education. However, to keep improving and getting more ratings, skydivers also need to learn more and participate in various industry courses.
Note that for most people the goal of becoming a certified skydiver instructor is to make a living as one. Making a living is directly correlated to how much you can make based on your prices and being confident in how you present them.
When creating a school or courses for skydivers, it’s up to you to set your own pricing structure. You can create online courses and add additional revenue by setting prices based on all services you offer.
If you are still a new instructor and are trying to get more clients under your belt, you may want to experiment with some cheaper pricing models to get some cash flow going. If you are a more experienced instructor and simply want to add a few more clients to your base, your demand may merit a higher pricing structure.
However, irrespective of where you place your pricing, the most stable approach to growing your course attendance and business is recurring income. Note that with a recurring pricing model, you are able to forecast your monthly income and won’t have to scramble to generate new students once you get a few to start committing to long – term plans.
Also note that your income can grow further with this method if you add online courses to your services and leverage online training software to run your business.
Also have it in mind that ongoing client relationships also allow you to hone your skill and give you time to establish results for your clients. These results will translate into your best form of advertising, thus helping you get even more clients.
There are many factors that will influence the price you charge your skydiving students. Aside that fact there are numerous courses in the Skydiving business, these factors mentioned below will primarily affect what would be the right price to charge for your Skydiving course.
Factors That Affect The Price You Charge For Your Skydiving Course
-
Location
When setting your course rates as a skydiving course instructor, you have to consider how much your clients expect to pay based on the rates in your city. For instance, clients in Washington would likely think that $100/hour is pretty reasonable while those in the Bronx would laugh at you.
Have it in mind that the socioeconomic conditions within the respective regions differ and your pricing model will need to be aligned with whatever it is people are willing to pay.
Take your time to check out a few other instructors in the area to see if they publish their prices and to see if there is some consistency to get a feel for the location – based pricing factors in your target market community.
-
Economy
Always have it in mind that a thriving economy merits higher prices than a downturn. Skydiving is seen by many to be a luxury item, similar to getting massages, manicures and pedicures, and even the occasional teeth whitening. As these items are not a necessity, they will be amongst the first things cut from a client’s budget should the economy experience a downturn.
It is imperative to have a pulse on the economy and be sensitive to recessions so that you can continue to maintain or attract new clientele. This may mean dropping your course prices by $10 or $15 an hour or adding more services for the same price.
-
Skydiving Course
The exact course you teach to students will also influence the price you charge. In the Skydiving business, there are so many courses and their price range tends to differ accordingly. For instance, the price you charge for taking students on tandem courses will vary from the price you charge to teach AFF courses. Also note that both prices will also differ from the price you set for canopy courses.
-
Cost to train client
Note that this involves the investments you make for the training and course. You may be charged by a drop zone to use their facility, and that is quite common in the industry. This typically ranges from $10 to $25 and should be passed on to the client.
Also, investing in specific equipment for your student’s benefit affords you the justification to charge a bit more. If you are teaching at your own drop zone that has a full set of chutes and altimeter, then you can charge more than if you were teaching at the local school with boards and markers.
-
Target population
Also have it in mind that if your target population differs from your local neighbourhood, then it will influence your price and charge especially since different types of clientele will have different interests. For example, the pricing structure for a foreign client would differ from that of a local client.
Understanding the prices that your target audience expects to pay – and that are attainable – will be crucial to your ability to foster income.
-
Self – worth
Your self – worth is one of the most important factors to setting your price. For instance, think about some super instructor for Navy Seals; they can easily justify charging $400/hour because they have high self – worth and recognize people are willing to pay them that much. However, there are few key factors influence self – worth:
- Experience – How long have you been getting people to their goals?
- Education – Do you have a Skydiving Certification? An Online Instructor Certification? More than one? Bachelors? Masters? Loads of continuing education training? The more education you have the more confidence you will gain, therefore the more you can charge.
- Personal Belief – What do you believe you are worth?
Note that since the best price to charge for your Skydiving course will vary depending on the factors mentioned above, there is no way to give a hard – and – fast figure. Howbeit, note that with adequate research and by making the best with what you have, you can grow to become one of the best places for Skydiving courses.