Posted by Mike Massie on September 9, 2009
He Who Procrastinates, Will Ruminate When It’s Too Late…
You can just make those calls tomorrow, right? WRONG!
“I’ll get to it tomorrow.”
“I have plenty of time.”
“So-and-so will take care of it.”
“I’ll get around to it.”
Ever catch yourself saying these things?
Or better yet…
Ever catch yourself doing these things?
Don’t expect any sympathy from me… because I’ve heard all the excuses:
- “I work all day and then run my school at night.” You and about 20,000 other school owners. Get over it.
- “I didn’t know how.” Ever hear of a book, a website, an audio, or a phone? We live in the information age, my friend. Self-education is as easy as doing a Google search…
- “I had a million things on my mind.” Welcome to running a business.
- “I was too tired to do it.” Really? You were too tired to make money? Here’s some advice then – sell your school and go get a government job. That way, you can sit around and do nothing all day while you waste someone else’s money.
Harsh? Not in the least.
You see, procrastination is a lot more insidious than we typically think. The reason is that it becomes a habit, a pattern, a way to cop out when we’re faced with things we don’t want to do.
Not only that… it’s self-destructive as well.
Your Procrastination Gives Your Competition More Time To Hose You
Guess what? When you procrastinate, you’re playing defense for the other team…
That’s right – you’re keeping yourself from reaching your goals and making headway against the competition…
And in some cases, clearing the field so the other team can score…
All by being a big, fat, lazy procrastinator.
Yeah, you heard me…
L-A-Z-Y… lazy!
Because if you think about it, procrastination is nothing more than when we allow ourselves to justify our own laziness.
So… Do It Now!
One of my all-time favorite success sayings is from Brian Tracy, and it’s dead-simple:
“Do it now! Do it now! Do it now!”
Anytime I want to put off something until tomorrow, I can hear Brian’s words in my head.
And then, my internal drill instructor kicks in, I kick my butt in gear, and I get the task at hand done.
Why is this so important?
Because, you have NO idea what the competition is planning!
One instance of hesitation, and BAM! They get the jump on you.
In times past, I’ve known very talented martial artists who have gotten their tails kicked in business by less-talented martial arts school owners… all because they were too darned lazy to do things when they should have.
Now, you could argue that the more talented martial artist “deserves” to be successful more than the other school owner. I mean, being as he or she is a better martial artist, has more experience, their students do well in competition… I could go on and on.
But from a business perspective, many times it’s the guy who runs the belt factory down the street who deserves it more…
Why? Because he’s doing the work required to get new students!
The Universal Law Governing Work And Reward
It’s the way the universe works… and it’s a universal law that’s repeated over and over again in Scripture. “You reap what you sow.” “Observe the ant…” “…the work of a man’s hand comes back to him.” I could go on and on.
Of course, everyone wants to blame someone else, right?
But the thing is (and this is what I tell my friends and clients) the buck stops with you!
It’s YOUR SCHOOL, YOUR TAIL on the LINE, and YOUR SUCCESS or FAILURE at STAKE!
If you do the work at the opportune time, you get the reward for doing so.
Simple.
Procrastination = Lost Opportunities
The same thing goes for implementing new ideas…
Some folks are going to look at the SDBBP and go, “Yeah, that looks cool – but I’m going to wait and let someone else take the risk of trying it first…”
Well, let me tell you something -
By the time you do that, your competitor down the street may have already locked in your town…
And by then it will be too late.
Until next time,
Michael Massie, National Director of Operations
The Self Defense Black Belt Program™
http://selfdefenseblackbelt.com/
Posted by Mike Massie on June 11, 2009
Remember how it felt the first time you gloved up? That's how it's going to feel the first time you face real adversity in your business - only much, much worse.
clutch:
n. A tense, critical situation.
Remember how it felt the first time you gloved up?
That’s the way it’s going to feel the first time you face adversity in your business.
But only magnified by a power of 10.
You have butterflies all the time, you fret instead of focusing, you can’t eat, can’t sleep, and you generally want to fall apart.
“Courage is grace under pressure.”
- Ernest Hemingway
But, you can’t. It’s simply not allowed. Because, all truly successful people know that Hemingway had it nailed… and that, my friends, is the key to finding success in the midst of adversity.
So, how will you act in the clutch?
Will you choke, or dig deep and pull out the best performance of your life?
Now, you might be an accomplished competitor and fighter, someone who is accustomed to calling on hidden resources and toughing it through during a hard match.
But, have you practiced putting that same intestinal fortitude to work in the games of business and life?
The truth is, many of our most accomplished athletes have choked in the ring and arena.
(And yours truly – in the ring and in business. Believe me, it happens to everyone if they stay in the martial arts or in the business arena long enough…)
But many more fall under the pressures of their daily lives. Yet, “in the clutch” is where real business success happens, when you gut it out under the most intimidating of circumstances and obstacles.
So, let me ask you again…
How will you act in the clutch?
Will you gut it out, or choke?
Ultimately, it’s your call.
—
Mike Massie is the author of Small Dojo Big Profits and runs a martial arts business coaching website for new instructors and small school owners, StartingAMartialArtSchool.com.
Click here to purchase Mike’s business manuals and materials.
Posted by Mike Massie on March 25, 2009
Q&A On Finding a Good Location for a Martial Arts School
Jason wrote in recently to ask the following:
Q: “What factors should I consider with location? Do I need to be in the most perfect retail space out there, or could I consider 3rd place and if marketed correctly, can I get students? I don’t have the luxury of being the only guy in town. So, my other question would be what do I need to be concerned about with my competition?”
Finding a good location for your martial arts school can be a confusing process
A: Competition is a fact of life. I once ran a martial art school in a town where there was virtually no competition for the first few years I was in business. Then, I had 3 schools open in a very short period of time.
What I found was that it actually improved my business, because of the increased awareness their marketing created, as well as the fact that it forced me to improve my game. Suddenly, I had to be better than someone else, and it forced me to step things up.
Just make sure you don’t open right around the corner from a competitor. Those situations never turn out well for either party.
Factors that are important to consider when choosing a location include
- How much money there is in the area,
- And how many people there are in that are willing to spend it.
Look for locations within a few miles of at least 2 or 3 elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school, and that are very close to heavily populated residential areas with a higher median income than is typical for your area.
Remember that you want your martial arts school to be located in an area where people have discretionary income, and where there are a lot of kids and families.
You don’t necessarily need to be in the best location, but if you can find a good deal on a prime storefront location that has a lot of foot traffic or a good anchor tenant that brings in a lot of cars and customers, take it.
Bottom line… finding a location is always a process of weighing pros and cons, and then finding the optimum compromise between the two.
Posted by Mike Massie on July 21, 2008
Today, Gary writes in to ask:
Q: “Hello Mr Massie,
I know in your book you mention not charging less than $99/month, and I agree with you. However, the city I currently live in, and the city I hope to move back to within the next year and a half are filled with Martial art schools that charge $45-$70 a month for unlimited # of classes.
I know that I’m a good teacher. I know that the products that I choose to teach are great. But can I charge double or in some cases more than double and expect to succeed?”
A: Thanks for the question, Gary.
First off, what your competition charges has no correlation whatsoever to what your services are worth.
In my town, my closest competitor charges $70 a month, the next closest charges $30 a month, and several other programs charge in the $50 range.
I charge $109 a month base tuition. I have the most successful school in town.
It’s all about mindset – charge what you truly believe you’re worth, feel good about it, and you’ll get what you expect.
Here’s an easy-to-understand example to get you in the right mindset about this:
A physician in private practice usually charges anywhere from $70 – $150 for an office visit.
But, in many places now, you can go down the street to the local clinic and get see a doctor for about $20 – $40.
So, why don’t the private practice guys charge less so they can compete with the low-cost clinics?
Because they understand two things:
1. Who their clientèle are.
2. And what their services are worth.
Look at any other service industry and you’ll easily be able to find a similar example.
Bottom line… charge what you’re worth.
