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Business & Tech

Ex-Falcon Tackles Martial Arts

Since 1993, the Chinese Shaolin Center has offered kung fu and tai chi for beginners and experts alike in Northeast Cobb.

Master Michael Reid, a sixth-degree Shaolin master and former linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons, is living his passion of owning a Shaolin studio and training students to develop themselves through the study of traditional martial arts at the Chinese Shaolin Center. Reid also serves as head of operations for all Chinese Shaolin Center schools and clubs in Georgia.

Q. What's the hardest thing about being a small-business owner in Northeast Cobb?

A. Unlike a grocery store or gas station, I run a business that's based on discretionary income. The economy is not booming, so you have to do a very good job and attract new clients. Nineteen years ago, it was all teaching and training. Now you've got to worry about making enough money to keep your door open.

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Q. What's the best thing about your job?

A. I do something I enjoy every day. I've been studying martial arts since 1988 when I joined the Atlanta Falcons. In college I was playing football, studying for a computer science degree and enjoying fraternity life, so between all that there was not enough time to study martial arts.

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Q. What is the best thing about Northeast Cobb?

A. I feel safe here; there's a sense of community. This is much bigger than Albany, Ga., where I'm from, and it has metropolitan aspects, but it still feels like being in Georgia. It's nice that you don't have to go downtown for everything.

Q. Why did you choose to open your business in Northeast Cobb?

A. I'm the first student of my instructor to open a school. His school was in Norcross. Back there we looked at marketing strategies, and Cobb made the most sense to me. Nineteen years ago there were definitely growth opportunities.

Q. Why did you pick this particular kind of business?

A. When I left the NFL, I had the choice to go the corporate route. I could've gone to IBM since I had worked for them a few times. I could've been an NFL coach. I would have had to move my family everywhere in order to move up the ranks.Β 

My other dream as a child was to be a Shaolin master. So, this way, I can still be an athlete, a teacher and a sort of coach.

Q. What are some of the services you offer that people don't know about?

A. I don't think a lot of people really understand what we do. The average person doesn't understand kung fu or tai chi.

I do not run a fighter or a sports school. I am a teacher of an art that helps students develop positively over a long period of time. It's hard to sell the fact that we are about the development of the person because of the common image of martial arts. We help students to be healthier, think better, manage stress and develop themselves.

Q. What advice can you offer to someone thinking about starting a small business?

A. First, do some research and make sure you are committed. I have no business background, so I made a ton of mistakes, but I was committed, so I could learn and grow.

Second, know exactly what you want; otherwise, your passion will consume you, and you will become frustrated.

Third, do you want a personal job, or do you want a business? Because one of them only works when you are there.

Q. Is there anything else you would like our readers to know?

A. We still live in a country where you can achieve great things if you believe in yourself and never take no for an answer.

On the other hand, you must do the research to know what it takes to achieve your dreams. As people, we should aspire to do things that bring us happiness. Why am I here, 19 years later, with no business background? There was a passionate dream I had, and I believed what we were doing was important. And it was important.

Finally, mentorship is important to help you build up your plan.

Northeast Cobb's Chinese Shaolin Center is at 2727 Canton Rd., Suite 500. It is on the corner of Piedmont and Canton roads in the Piedmont Walk Shopping Center. For more information, call 770-422-9250, or email csc.marietta@shaolincenter.com. Classes are offered on a daily basis except Friday.

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