Posted by Mike Massie on July 29, 2010
Q&A On Starting and Running A Martial Art School When You’re Flat Busted
Starting a martial art school with no money is tough but not impossible. Here's how I did it...
Q: Starting a martial art school from scratch when you’re flat broke is tough, but not impossible. I know because I did it facing incredible odds.
Still, I know how easy it is to become discouraged when facing such a difficult proposition. If you’re in this boat, you’re not alone. Recently, “FC” posted the following on the Starting A Martial Art School member forums:
“Lately I’ve been getting really discouraged and it’s taken a toll on my motivation. Today I sat down and wrote out why I felt I was struggling, instead of just ignoring it and fighting against the current. There were two major points of frustration for me–places where I feel very unsure of where to go and so I remain stuck–and I’m hoping that I can get some feedback as to how others might handle them.
The first point is that everything seems so daunting. I read about things like Mike’s ‘10-12 Rule’ of always having 10-12 marketing methods running at all times and about putting in 40-60 hours per week into starting up. It’s not that I’m not dedicated. It has more to do with that I have a full-time job that doesn’t pay a whole lot. So another 40-60 hours per week is tough to find, and when I do have time I’m not sure how to spend it because I don’t have much money. Instead, I find myself stressed because I don’t feel I can keep up.
My second point is that my (work) schedule fluctuates week to week. This makes it hard to maintain a routine. I also never know what I’ll make week to week… This makes it hard to budget and I feel hesitant about dropping money into different marketing methods that I’m not 100% confident in.
So my question to you guys is, how would you plan for success if you were in my shoes? Where would you start? What kind of routine would you set up? What kind of “rules” would you give yourself? What kind of goals would you feel able to realistically set?”
A: Here’s my reply:
Your main concern is money – you need more of it, right?
I was in a similar situation when I started out, so here’s what I did when I started my first school:
- First, I simplified. I cut out everything in my life that was extraneous. Social life, dating, eating out, entertainment, etc. I moved into a very small, spare garage apartment, and lived extremely frugally. This served two purposes – 1) it allowed me to pay my bills and have enough extra money from working four days a week to have some left over for a few ads and fliers each month, and 2) it kept my focus completely on my business.
- Second, regarding my jobs at the time… I purposely gravitated toward jobs that didn’t interfere with my business. I found that working as a supervisor for a security company nights and weekends (11 PM – 7 AM… yes, it sucked but it didn’t interfere with my teaching schedule) and in later in health care served my purposes (I took a job as a private care assistant, which paid as well as any other job and allowed me to work 6 AM to 4 PM four days a week, then rush off to teach classes after). You may find it tougher to do this now, since the job market sucks… but I really hustled to get those jobs, and kept my eyes open for positions I might apply for that better suited my teaching schedule. I had once canceled my classes in another town in order to take a well-paying job, and regretted that decision. So, I resolved to only take jobs that worked around my class schedule… even if it meant working two part-time jobs at times.
- Third, I prioritized, which is reflected in what I’ve already written. I put my business and goal of owning a school first before anything else. Granted, this later caused some balance issues in my life but initially it served the purpose of keeping me on track to reaching my goals.
- Finally, I made time to work on my business every day. If I went in to work late, I took time beforehand to make fliers and distribute them (I didn’t even own a computer, so I had to go to Kinko’s and rent their computers, learning on the fly). Or, I spent time working on my curriculum and planning classes. Or, I called up my students to check on them, especially making sure I called my leads first, then my MIAs and no-shows. Or, I spent time looking for new places to teach in alternate locations so I could get more students and make more money (incidentally, by the time I really got my school up and running, I was teaching in my own school, at the rec center, for the local university, at a local daycare, and for the after-school enrichment program in the local ISD – in short, I was hustling 24/7).
Yes, it’s easy to get overwhelmed… but remember, I didn’t do this all at once. I ate the elephant one bite at a time.
And good Lord, if I’d have had the internet and social media back then… well, let’s just say I would have gone from zero to one-hundred-fifty in less than a year instead of in three years (after a year of stops and starts, it took me less than a year to get my school open once I got serious, and that was all from getting focused and hustling).
You’re roughly the same age I was when I did this. I was a high school drop out, I had no local contacts, moved to Austin with $50 and dream (literally, I had $50 in my pocket and the name of a friend of a friend when I came to town), I had no money, no credit, and no one to turn to for help with any real substantial financing. Trust me, if I could do it you can as well.
The bottom line is, you need to set a definite, long-term goal and then break that down into incremental smaller steps that bring you closer to that goal. And, you need to take some sort of action every day to bring you closer to your goal.
I find that feeling a sense of helplessness comes from having no direction, no plan, and therefore from feeling like you aren’t working toward your goal. Simply having written goals and a written plan with daily, weekly, and monthly action steps and benchmarks and taking small daily actions toward your goal will improve your mental and emotional state immensely. It’s hard to be discouraged when you’re so focused on your goal that you don’t even notice setbacks and sidetracks.
So, get focused and make small, daily, incremental steps toward achieving your goal of owning a school. Small steps add up over time. That’s my advice. And, if you want to know how I did this, step-by-step, then read Small Dojo Big Profits.
I’d say good luck, but luck has nothing to do with it… 
—
Do any of you experienced school owners out there have any additional advice for FC? If so, post your comments below!
Posted by Mike Massie on July 6, 2010
I rarely post links to any other blogs or sites, simply because most of what is written on martial arts business topics online is derivative or it doesn’t match my personal philosophy of business.
However, Stephen Kesting posts some really good information on his site and in his newsletter, and this article by Krista Scott-Dixon is no exception. In it, Krista provides a female perspective on why more women aren’t interested in grappling, why they get involved and don’t stick around, and what instructors can do to entice more women into their classes… and keep them there.
While it was written specifically regarding grappling and BJJ, Krista’s advice obviously applies to ANY martial art or martial art school.
Incidentally, my only real beef with her article is her suggestion to offer free or discounted classes for women. I totally disagree with that, as I feel it promotes a double-standard that ultimately is disadvantageous for the school owner, insulting to women, and unfair to the men who pay full-price for the same classes.
Also, it goes against good business principles (businesses are called businesses because they are created for the purposes of making money). But other than that one little suggestion she makes about charging women less, I believe that it’s a great article that I think every instructor and school owner should read.
Go check it out now:
How To Get More Women Into Grappling
Posted by Mike Massie on June 29, 2010
The Only Job Security For Martial Art School Owners
Even the youngest students expect a level of professionalism from their instructors. Remember, children will express their views and opinions to their parents, and such conversations often influence parent's buying decisions.
Here’s a question for you…
How professional is your school?
This is an area that is typically ignored or taken for granted in martial arts schools, yet I have observed it to be a pivotal factor in the success of many, many schools.
So, here are some areas where you may consider evaluating and improving the level of professionalism in your school.
Doing so could very well pay off for you in increased enrollments and word-of-mouth referrals.
Facilities
The next time you walk into your school, make a point of looking at it with fresh eyes. Look at it from the perspective of someone who is walking in for the first time evaluating the facility as a potential customer. What would they think?
In my experience, few school owners pay particular attention to the cleanliness and orderliness of their schools. This is a huge mistake. The way your school looks (and smells) is a big part of how people perceive your facility.
In my first school, it was admittedly not in the best location. We had no external doors or windows, it was at the end of a long hallway, and the space was more or less a warehouse facility. Also, I had fixed the place up using a lot of secondhand and bargain basement building materials, which resulted in mismatched floor tiles, and a “DIY” appearance on the fit and finish of the interior.
So, we took great pains to keep the place as clean as possible. I’ll never forget the time when we had a female guest instructor teaching, and she walked out of the restroom with a surprised look on her face. “That’s the cleanest bathroom I have ever seen in a martial arts school,” she stated.
The point here is that, even if you don’t have the best facilities, you can still make a good impression by keeping them as clean as possible. Also, a fresh coat of paint on the walls once or twice a year and replacing old and worn equipment is a must. If it’s dirty, clean it. If it’s old and worn, replace it. Look at everything in your school with fresh eyes at least once a week, make a list of what needs cleaned, repaired, and replaced, and knock it out immediately.
Procedures
Do you answer the phone professionally… every time you answer? Are visitors promptly welcomed as they walk in the door? Do you return phone calls promptly the same day you receive a voice message? Do you even have a list of procedures to follow that outline how to take a new student from their first contact with the school through the entire enrollment process?
Having protocols and procedures in place are what make the difference between amateurs and professionals. Amateurs wing it, while professionals know exactly what to do at every step of the way, because they have a procedure, protocols, and contingency plans in place that they’ve memorized and practiced until they become second nature.
Customers can tell when you’re winging it. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been calling martial arts schools in my area while performing a competitive analysis in certain areas of my city. And, I’m amazed at the fact that 50% of the schools I call don’t answer their phones, while the other 50% do not have any basic phone sales training at all. That’s right – NONE of the schools I have called knew a thing about setting appointments and selling over the phone.
So, imagine what would happen if just one of them put professional protocols and procedures in place. I can assure you, they’d quickly outdistance their competition and increase their market share dramatically.
Be professional. Have professional procedures and protocols in place that cover everything from answering the phones to handling students professionally who are withdrawing from classes. All other things being equal, what separates you from your competitors is how professionally your clients are treated. Over time, this WILL make a huge difference in the volume of your referrals in your community.
Policies
How well do you treat your clients? Do you have posted policies regarding membership agreements, late fees, cancellations, and attendance? Are you of your word when it comes to enforcing those policies equally across the board? Do you treat every student fairly and without bias or preference based on your posted company policies?
Your company’s policies are part of the agreement you make with your customers that says, “I’ll provide ‘x’ service for you, you’ll pay me ‘y’ in return, and if ‘z’ comes up this is how you can expect us to handle it.” Having such policies in place assures the client that you intend to treat them fairly should things go awry, and it also lets them know what they can expect when the unexpected occurs.
Ask yourself, for instance:
- Is it fair to make someone pay the balance on their membership if they move to another town due to a change of employment?
- Would you want to continue paying for martial arts lessons if you were permanently disabled due to illness or injury?
- If you were the student, would you like to have the option to make up classes missed due to illness or vacation by attending extra classes during the weeks following the missed classes?
- Were you the student, would you appreciate having a three-day grace period before late fees were incurred on late tuition payments?
- If you were the student, would you appreciate having the NSF fees waived on the first occurrence of a check or EFT payment being returned or rejected for non-sufficient funds?
Such policies give the student the benefit of the doubt. In addition, having policies such as these posted in your school conveys the message that, while you do have policies in place to prevent unethical customers taking advantage of the school, you also have the customer’s well-being in mind. “Firm but fair” is a good attitude to have when it comes to drafting and implementing your company’s policies.
In Closing
Professionalism is the result of expertise, experience, competence, caring, and consistency in action.
And while any amateur can hang out a shingle and start a school, the professional instructor is one who emphasizes excellence in every aspect of their school’s operations. Elevating your school to the level of such excellence will take you a long way toward securing your financial future as an instructor.
Be excellent at what you do, because professionalism is job security for martial art school owners.
Posted by Mike Massie on June 17, 2010
The Martial Arts Marketing Survey Results Are In…
Roughly 100 school owners participated 
in the survey I posted last week. In case you missed it, the survey asked just one simple question:
“What’s your most effective martial arts marketing method?”
The Results
The results were really no surprise to me. After all the answers were tallied, the top three contenders for the number one most effective marketing method were:
- Website and online marketing - 45% of respondents said that their website or other online marketing method was the most effective lead generator for their schools;
- Guest passes and referrals - 28% of school owners participating in the survey cited guest passes and referral programs as being their top source of leads;
- Fliers, brochures, and poster distribution - Another 12% of participants said that fliers, posters, and brochure distribution got them more leads than any other marketing method.
Incidentally, snipe signs (political signs, yard signs) came in at a close fourth to fliers and posters with 9% of the votes.
Analyzing The Results – How Times Have Changed
This was a really short, simple survey and it doesn’t take a genius to interpret the results. However, what bears consideration is how much martial art school marketing has changed in the last decade.
Ten years ago I was running a successful school (my first Small Dojo Big Profits school) in a town of about 40,000 people just north of Austin, TX. Although I had built a website for my school around that time, my main source of leads was from running newspaper ads and direct mail.
My, how times have changed. Several advances in internet technology have greatly increased the utility and popularity of internet shopping and research, including:
- The advent of the modern internet roughly five years ago (sometimes called “web 2.0″) -
- The widespread use of broadband internet access -
- The creation and adoption of “smart phone” technology and mobile apps -
In short, technology has advanced far enough over the last decade to transform internet use from a mere novelty to an integral part of everyday life.
We get our news on the internet. We communicate with our friends and socialize on the internet. We get work done on the internet.
And…
We now shop and research the majority of our buying decisions on the internet.
I’ve been studying marketing online for almost a decade now. This was mostly out of simple geek curiosity, although I had a sneaking suspicion it was eventually going to pervade many aspects our daily lives. And, thank goodness I did!
As it turns out, all that geeky knowledge of internet marketing came in handy a few years ago. By focusing completely on my online marketing when the recession first reared its ugly head in 2006, I was able to continue to grow my school and eventually thrive during a very tumultuous economic period.
That’s why it’s no surprise to me that survey respondents listed internet marketing as their number most popular and effective source of lead generation for martial arts schools.
“So, If I Want To Market Online… What’s The First Step?”
Obviously, you need to have a website. Ideally, your website should be professionally designed by a web designer who understands small business lead generation.
It should provide ample means for site visitors to contact you (prominently displayed phone number, lead capture form, and site contact form). And, it should integrate modern social media.
If you’re a “techie” person, this may be something you want to take on yourself. However, I’ve had several web design clients who were tech savvy (one was a professional web developer) who still hired me to build their sites.
Why? Because it takes a very unique skill-set to merge technology, design, and marketing know-how in order to develop a successful online marketing platform for a martial art school.
So, be sure you choose carefully when getting your site built, and select someone with a proven track record of building high-performance lead capture websites for martial arts schools.
Now, you know where to start… so get marketing!
Posted by Mike Massie on June 10, 2010
The face of the martial arts industry changes all the time, and keeping up with what is working for other school owners is one way to stay ahead of the curve.
So, I’d like to know from our readers what your most effective marketing method is at the present time. Just click the link below to participate in the survey… it’s just one question long, so it will take you about 5 seconds to complete.
Be sure to click the “Done” button after you make your selection. I’ll report and discuss the results of the survey in my next blog article. Thanks for participating!
