Priorities

Posted by Mike Massie on July 21, 2009

If Ignorance Is Bliss, What Does Confusion Do For You?

Have you ever considered what your top priorities are as a new or aspiring martial arts school owner?

This is a topic that I’ve written about before, and I’m sure I’ll return to it again… probably because it’s something that new business owners confuse so often, and that confusion inevitably leads to disastrous consequences.

“And The Number One Priority For New Business Owners Is…”

This is something school owners get confused about - a lot. Too bad there aren't big huge road signs pointing the way to what you should really be focused on - which is getting new students!

Increasing revenues. Period. No two ways about it.

The hard cold facts of reality dictate that if you can’t pay your rent and your salary, you aren’t going to have your doors open for very long.

And, this is why I get so frustrated with school owners who think they can get by without spending money on marketing their schools.

Of course to me, it’s just counter-intuitive to think you can get new students and increase your enrollment without marketing.

But then again, over the last 15 years or so I’ve learned a thing or two. If I squint real hard and cross my eyes, I can actually remember a time when I thought just the act of starting a martial arts program was enough to attract students.

You know, like there was some sort of new-student-attraction-chi-energy that instructors possess that negates the need for having a good solid marketing plan in place. (And please, don’t contact me to tell me you have a chi kung exercise for that.)

Well, I quickly found out otherwise… and I’ve been learning how to market effectively ever since.

Having A High-Foot Traffic Location Isn’t What It Used To Be

The days of opening schools in high-foot-traffic areas (like shopping malls) and expecting that to be enough to fill your classes are long gone. Even if you can afford that sort of location (and if you can, why aren’t you just living off your trust fund like a good little trust fund baby?) there are too many activities to compete with these days to rely on foot traffic alone to fill your school.

You need more than just a big sign on the front of your building to capture the attention of your market… more than ever, you need multiple contacts with potential buyers to ensure that they pick up the phone or go online and contact you first when they are ready to enroll.

Sure, if you’re located next to the local grocery store, they’re going to see your school every time they need a gallon of milk or a carton of eggs… but what are the chances they’ll remember your name and phone number when they finally make the decision to enroll their kid in classes?

So, they are going to have to look you up online… BINGO!

That’s where your marketing still has to come into play, because if they find your competitor’s contact information online FIRST – guess which school gets the call?

Everything Else Is Just An Excuse For Having Crummy Marketing

While you may think your number one priority is teaching great classes, or making you sure you get that shiny new certification, or affiliating with the most reputable high-ranking instructors and organizations, or joining the latest “inner-secret-social-knitting-circle-and-business-mentorship group” – you’re dead wrong.

Sure, any of the above can make you a better instructor, help you pad your resume so you appear to be better qualified as an instructor, and shore up your ego… but they don’t count for much in the way of real, concrete actions that will help keep your doors open and grow your school.

In short, only revenue-building activities have any weight on the scales of your success or failure in business.

These revenue-building activities include:

1. Getting the phone to ring
2. Getting your email inbox overflowing with new leads
3. Getting new prospective students to walk through your front door
4. Converting a high percentage of your leads to memberships
5. Keeping a high percentage of the students you have enrolled

Now, students are always going to come and go – that’s a fact of life. No matter how dedicated they are, they move, get married, have kids, their job responsibilities change, etc.

So, you need to make getting a constant flow of new students through your front door your #1 priority.

Such A Simple Concept… So Why Do People Keep Getting It Confused?

I know, it seems so simple. So, why people keep getting it confused is anyone’s guess.

Of course, it wouldn’t have anything to do with the monthly mash-up of random martial arts management ideas that’s delivered to the front door of every school owner on the planet every month… would it?

Nah, it couldn’t be that.

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For a simple-to-follow, easy-to-implement, just-what-you-need-to-succeed, including done-for-you-every-month marketing, martial arts business coaching program that’s under $20 bucks a month, click here.

For set-it-and-forget-it local online marketing on a $200 a month or less budget, click here.

Question on Finding a Good Location

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.

More Q&A On Running A Martial Arts School

Posted by Mike Massie on April 4, 2008

Q: I have trouble getting my students to pay me on time. How do I deal with it?

A: You’re either teaching in the wrong area or you’re attracting the wrong type of client. Move to an area where the mean income is higher, or change your marketing strategies so you attract a better class of client.

In addition, you should look at automating your billing using a low-cost ACH-EFT service provider that also allows you to bill debit and credit cards.

Next…

Q: Location seems to be important in the success or failure of a school. What is better, getting a cheaper rate on rent and doing lots of advertising or renting in a higher foot traffic location with much higher rent?

A: First off, how good are your marketing skills? Second, do you have enough money to pay all your bills for the school and your bills at home for a year, even if you don’t turn a profit? If you don’t have much experience in marketing, and you have a lot of money, go for the high foot traffic area (next to a major supermarket is a tried and true tactic). However, if you have some marketing chops, and you are short on cash, the lower rent method may be better – but you still need to be able to pay your bills when you open. If you’re broke, read my manual because I show you how to do it.

Next question…

Q: The economy sucks/we’re in a recession/I live in a poor area… how will this affect my school?

A: First, refer to the question and answer above on getting your students to pay on time. If you open any business in an area where people don’t have a lot of money, you are already ice skating uphill in a headwind. Things will be twice as bad when the economy goes south, which it will every 7-10 years or so.

However, most small businesses weather these times, and some even thrive through slower economic periods. Just look at real estate right now. A few years back, any fool with a license to broker homes was making a killing – now, they’re all bailing and only the strong and smart will survive. It
all depends on the individual, some probably do just as well when the market drops out, some do poorly and quit to become wage-earners, and some get resourceful and have break out months.

Same goes for MA schools. Personally, this is turning out to be our best year since we opened the new school almost three years ago… it’s all about reaping what you sow and finding ways to make things work, just like in any other industry. Success is reserved for those who create their own luck, not for those who are lucky.

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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.