Posted by Mike Massie on March 5, 2010
Facing Down Hard Times In Your School?
If you're facing hard times in your martial art school, you're not alone. Here are some tips to help you make it through until things improve.
Facing down hard times? You’re not alone. I’ve heard from more than a few school owners who are feeling the crunch during this recession.
Here are some tips for those of you who may be struggling to keep your school open in the down economy.
The Mental Side – Survival Strategies
First off, focus on the positives – it’s the only way you’ll get through. Just keep doing that – your attitude is what will bring people into your school.
People are attracted to upbeat personalities. If you’re happy and energetic, it will really make you stand out and people will be drawn to it. Remember, your energy drives your school.
The Financial Side – Making It Through
First off, cut back on everything EXCEPT your marketing budget. Anything you don’t need to operate or survive should be cut from your budget.
However, it is imperative that you step-up your marketing activities, rather than slow them down. Those school owners that I coach who are growing in this economy are not doing so because they are lucky, located in “good” areas, or because they are martial arts superstars…
They are growing because they spend 80% of their work hours outside of class on their marketing – and they do this consistently, every single month.
Even so, you still need to make sure you’re spending your marketing dollars wisely. So, go through your marketing expenditures with a fine-tooth comb. If any marketing method is costing you more than it’s bringing in, cancel it and shift those funds to something that is actually giving you a good return on your investment.
A good rule of thumb here is that every dollar you spend on marketing should return $1 in revenue during the same marketing cycle (in out industry, 30 days).
However, I like to get $2 back on every dollar I spend within a 30-day time frame. You need those fast profits and high rates of return on your marketing dollars, because a martial arts school relies on cash flow for survival. So, your every marketing promotion should bring back a return of 200% within 30 days of running it.
Focus your efforts and resources only on those promotions that meet that criteria. And if you’re broke, focus on low-cost and high-return marketing activities like online marketing and door-to-door flier distribution. They take more time to implement, but they’re cheap and effective when done properly.
Keep Your Head In The Game
Finally, be present! If you check out on your school and students because things are not going so well, guess what? They’ll sense it and you’ll only be making the situation worse.
Remain fully invested in your students, regardless of what happens. Loyalty breeds loyalty, and you’ll be surprised at how many of them will be cheering for you and will stick with you, even if things don’t work out…
The Longview – What If Things Don’t Work Out?
“A mistake is a future benefit, the full value of which is yet to be realized.”
- Edwin Land, inventor of the Polaroid camera
First off, it’s not the end of the world if you have to go back to teaching part-time. So, don’t be ashamed of finding a part-time teaching location, ending your lease, and moving your classes somewhere without all the overhead and high rent.
Also, know when to call it quits on having a full-time location. Is it worth it to force yourself into major debt or bankruptcy, just so you don’t feel like a failure?
Well, guess what? All entrepreneurs fail at some point in their careers as business owners. It’s part and parcel for the game. Don’t feel bad if things don’t work out this time around. Just roll with it, regroup, and the next time around you’ll be wiser for your experience.
Remember, there’s ALWAYS another opportunity waiting just around the corner. The past is just a memory, and come tomorrow today will be the past.
You will recover and you will be able to start over again. So, stay positive and just keep looking for those opportunities as you move forward.
Posted by Mike Massie on February 10, 2010
Setting A Marketing Budget When You’re Just Starting Out…
You probably don't have a lot of money to throw at your marketing... but that doesn't mean you shouldn't set a reasonable marketing budget.
Early on (when I taught part-time), I spent all my profit on advertising. ALL of it.
I just figured if I wanted to be a full-time school owner, I had to act like one.
So, if I profited $500 or $800 in a month, I spent it on ads (and later, on equipment and saving to move into a full-time location).
Once I hit the point where I was getting enough students and leads, and I knew what it took to get those leads each month, I budgeted that amount.
No Hard And Fast Rule On What To Spend On Your Marketing Budget
There’s no hard and fast rule for what to allot to your marketing budget. The 10% figure I give in Small Dojo Big Profits is just a guideline. And, I actually had someone from another industry giving me a hard time about that figure at one point.
My response was that if you don’t set a guideline, you’ll either overspend or underspend. Then again, 10% is a good figure once you’re up and running, but 10% of nothing, or 10% of a few hundred bucks is not enough to get your business off the ground and make it grow.
Just Make Sure You Spend It On What Works
Just remember, a lot of what you spend on advertising early on will be to find out what works and what doesn’t in your area. To save you some money, things that are working well for instructors right now are:
- Internet/SEO
- signage (permanent/building, snipe signs, banners, vehicles)
- door-to-door fliers and door hangers
- direct mail (postcards are cheapest – but this takes a sharp marketer to do right)
- social media marketing
And remember, getting press coverage is free. Hire someone to write your press releases if writing isn’t your forte, or trade service for service.
Posted by Mike Massie on February 2, 2010
“But I Can’t Do That In My School Because Of…”
Your services are likely worth much more than you think they are. So long as you set your prices lower than your value, you will never experience the true potential of your success.
Last week I sent out an email that listed actual enrollment numbers for three members of the Martial Art School Alliance website.
These are three instructors who are kicking tail despite the down economy. And, one of them actually lives in an area where the unemployment level is 15%.
It just goes to show you can succeed in this economy, and that most of the things we think are holding us back from being successful are internal and self-imposed.
Which bring me to today’s topic…
What To Charge, What To Charge
Earlier today, I received the following question from a reader regarding that email:
“Even with their below average facilities, do you recommend them charging $99 a month?”
People quote me on that $99 a month figure all the time (and the 10% of your gross for marketing – it’s a guideline, people, not an unbreakable rule) and I have to remind them that was the absolute lowest I thought a school should charge…
Back in 2003.
Seven years later, your cost of doing business has increased significantly. You need to be charging at least 20 – 30 % more today than you were seven years ago. That is, you should if you want to have something left over after overhead, taxes, inflation, and the sinking value of the dollar are done with your revenues.
They Are Doing What With What?
For the record, two of those guys have nice schools. Jim is the one teaching out of a warehouse facility, and he is doing phenomenal at it due to having the right mindset and being an awesome teacher and coach. (And actually, I kind of like his school… it takes me back to when I first started training. Who needs heat and AC, anyway?)
But here’s the kicker – all three of these guys charge about $150 a month average in tuition.
Now, I know for some of you out there this isn’t a shocker. You’re already charging that much or more.
But for many of you, you’re thinking that’s an impossible figure to charge your students for lessons.
Some of you are outraged, thinking these guys are ripping their students off (baloney – every one of them is worth that and more). Others of you think they must have something you don’t in order to demand those rates. Still others of you are wondering if I’m even telling the truth.
And that’s why you’re always broke.
You Can Lead A Horse To Water…
I’ve argued and argued this point for years. Well, I’m finally sick of arguing and fighting with instructors about how much to charge.
For those of you who are willing to believe your value merits charging a premium for your services, outstanding. You deserve to be successful and well-respected. Just keep adding value to your services and bringing value to your communities and you’ll continue to be rewarded for it.
But for those of you who don’t want to believe you can charge a premium for your services, for whatever reason, that’s fine by me as well. You can stay broke, while instructors who know their value will have nicer schools, better equipment, higher salaries, and a better quality of living.
Not because they have something you don’t.
No, it’s because they have the proper mindset for success.
Until next time,
Michael D. Massie
P.S.: I am inundated with requests for “free” advice these days. I am simply too busy to give away my valuable time and knowledge for free, as it’s a disservice to my paying clients.
Remember, if you are a MASAI member you can almost always get your questions answered at no additional cost in the member forums. However, if you need to correspond with me by phone or email for help with a pressing business issue, please visit the MASAI online store and order phone or email coaching with me.
Thanks for your understanding!
Posted by Mike Massie on January 21, 2010
…And What I Plan To Do About It
For nearly all my adult life, I've taught martial arts professionally and operated full-time martial arts schools... so I know EXACTLY what challenges you face, day in and day out.
Yesterday, I told you that the only way to preserve traditional martial arts values in this industry is for like-minded instructors band together.
I’d like you to know, that’s exactly what I’m trying to do through the Martial Art School Alliance International.
But before I tell you how we’re doing that, I feel it’s important to explain to you how I ended up launching this huge project (which has taken me the better part of a year to realize) and how exactly that can benefit you as a school owner.
“Oh No… Not Another Damn Consulting Company!”
Sorry for the strong language, but back when I was just running my schools, do you know how tired I got of people in the industry trying to get into my wallet?
Sure you do – because you probably feel the same way. And that’s why, ten years ago, I could have never, ever imagined myself doing what I do now… running a popular martial arts business blog, providing online coaching to hundreds of school owners, and helping new school owners find their way through a minefield of conflicting information and advice.
The thing is, I didn’t get in this for the money… in fact, I never meant to get in this thing at all. This all started out with me writing a martial arts business manual about doing business honestly and with common-sense fiscal values. But, it ended up with me becoming a weekly advice columnist for thousands of martial arts school owners and instructors.
Why The Martial Art School Alliance?
Not that I’m complaining… and to tell you the truth, I really don’t mind it at all. While I never intended to become a business coach, I have to say I enjoy helping school owners succeed.
But I never intended to do this full-time, even after it took off. So once I started getting a lot of requests for advice and business guidance, I knew I’d have to find a way to deliver information on a mass scale soon… else I’d be spending all my time working with individual clients and I’d never have a life.
Funny thing about that… did you know that there’s a lot more money in doing one-on-one consulting?
Sure, I could make a killing charging people for “consulting packages” (what I call prolonging your pain – consultants make a lot more money when they take a roundabout route to helping you solve your problems).
So, why don’t I do that?
Number one – and I’m being perfectly honest here – I don’t believe that it’s an efficient use of my time. Second, I value my time dearly, and quite frankly most school owners who need solid business advice can’t afford to pay my hourly rates.
So, I figure it’s better for both me and the school owners I help each month to deliver information on a mass scale at a very reasonable price. They get what is very nearly personalized coaching at a fraction of the cost, and I get to go hang out at the bookstore or with my wife any day and time of the week I please. It’s a win-win, all the way around.
So, now you can see why I created the MASAI site, and why I felt it was worth investing the last nine months of my life to realize.
Was It Worth It?
Heck yes. I’d have to say that this project has been as rewarding as promoting one of my students to black belt, if not more so.
And truthfully, I am darn proud of the results. As of today we have nearly 100 information-packed articles and dozens upon dozens of ad templates and resource documents on the site. In addition, I spend considerable time answering questions on our forums, and frequently respond with new content that specifically answers questions our members have posted on the boards.
The great thing is, our members are also more than willing to help each other out by sharing advice and information on the boards. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to answer a member’s request for advice only to find three or four of our members have beat me to the punch.
They’re a great group of people, and it just goes to show what a strong community we’re building through this organization.
Future Plans – Where MASAI Is Headed
One of the issues that’s been bothering me for the last few years is my concern with where the martial arts industry is headed. It seems like every year, we get further and further away from our traditional values, and move more and more toward becoming an industry without a soul or conscience.
“It seems like every year, we get further and further away from our traditional values, and move more and more toward becoming an industry without a soul or conscience.”
Well, I’m not okay with that – at all. And, after reading your responses from last week’s poll, I can’t just stand idly by without doing something about it.
That’s why I’m making it a point to make MASAI a haven for instructors who want to preserve their traditional values while still embracing the future.
You see, there’s just no way we can ignore the sweeping social, economic, and technological trends that are going on around us at breakneck speeds each day. To do that would kill the industry just as surely as abandoning our traditional values would.
Even so, I still strongly believe we need to preserve the heritage of traditional values in the martial arts. And, I believe that the best way to do that is to help like-minded martial arts instructors to be financially successful by providing the highest quality of martial arts business advice possible.
“The best way to do (preserve traditional martial arts values) is to help like-minded martial arts instructors to be financially successful by providing the highest quality of martial arts business advice possible.”
And that’s where MASAI is headed.
We’re Not “Anti-MMA” – We’re Just “Pro-Tradition”
Don’t be mistaken, we’re not trying to “fight” MMA. In fact, I there’s a lot I like about it and I openly encourage MMA instructors to join MASAI. Besides, like it or not, MMA is here to stay.
Moreover, there are a lot of instructors out there who actually want to teach MMA with traditional values; if anything, I want to see more of that, and to support those instructors.
On the other hand, we’re not going to be abandoning our member’s core values just to make a buck; that’s because we’re here to serve our members and to help them preserve the integrity of the industry.
My ultimate goal is to run an organization that is progressive enough to stay ahead of trends, while still staying true to the martial arts industry’s traditional roots.
Of course, I don’t have any delusions about how big this thing can get… I believe that 400 or 500 members is all we’ll ever see as far as growth and membership is concerned.
However, 400 – 500 like-minded martial artists banded together can accomplish a great deal with regards to preserving a legacy for generations to come. That’s my vision, and if you’d like to be a part of it I invite you to join us to be a part of that vision.
Now That You Know How MASAI Came About…
Does it sound like something that you can get behind? I hope so, because with every school that joins we grow stronger, and better able to serve our members.
And in case you’re curious, I’m not asking for much with regards to membership fees (less than the cost of a cup of coffee from your local convenience store each day). And that’s despite the fact that I’ve been told over and over again to raise the membership fees to double, triple, or more that what we’re charging.
But, I want the site to be accessible to all martial arts instructors, even those who are just starting out. And let me be honest about this – we can still deliver quite a lot with regards to business guidance and information, marketing and advertising assistance, and ongoing daily support without charging an arm and a leg for membership.
The Bottom Line…
The bottom line is, this isn’t about me – it’s about you and what your values are. So, I hope you become involved, and also invite others to join in order to help us grow.
Because one thing is certain; if martial arts instructors don’t band together to preserve the traditional values of the martial arts, this industry is going to look entirely different in five or ten years…
…and I have a strong suspicion neither one of us will like how it looks.
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Posted by Mike Massie on January 6, 2010
Time To Update Your Website? Let’s Do It Properly…
Effective web marketing caters to the right audience and resonates with the buyer. Your martial arts website's purpose is to get leads, so focus it exclusively on that goal.
There is simply no excuse for having a lackluster website in the information age.
Almost everyone uses the internet these days to research purchases before they buy. That’s why it’s imperative that you keep your site updated and fresh, much like rotating the inventory in your school store.
With it being the New Year, right now is the best time to update your website with new information on your business, especially to announce new hours, specials, and programs. So, rather than doing it halfway, look at your entire site and overhaul your content to maximize your martial arts website’s effectiveness.
And I’m going to tell you how…
Catering To Two Types Of Site Visitors
There are two types of people who will visit your site:
- People that want to find the information they are looking for as quickly as possible (for simplicity, we’ll call them “surfers”) -
- And people who want as much information as possible so they can make an informed decision (we’ll call them “researchers”) -
Remember, there’s a reason people research goods and services on the internet before they make a purchase (actually, two reasons).
- They are generally time-strapped and need information fast,
- And they want to get the most up-to-date information possible.
Your job is to provide them with exactly what they are looking for – no more, no less. So, you need to have something for both…
How To Make Sure They Contact You
For the site surfers, your contact info needs to be front and center at the top of your site. Also, you must have a lead capture form on every page possible, as well as an easily located “Contact Us” page.
Be aware that this type of website visitor will skim your information. So, use section headlines to summarize your most important information, and bullet points to provide short, concise benefits for your “surfing” prospects.
Your site also needs to load fast, so cut back on the flash and graphics and keep your site files down as much as possible.
Hint: Multiple videos embedded on the same page can cause a page to load slowly. So, at most embed one or two videos to a page. But by all means – DO have video on your site! YouTube has made it easy for anyone to use video as an online marketing tool, and any school owner would be foolish not to take full advantage of it.
For people who are “researchers”, you should have plenty of information on each of your programs. And, it should be written in such a manner that it caters to the target audience.
And, no matter what the type of site visitor, you must have a call to action on every single page of your site.
Don’t over-complicate this – just tell them what to do and give them a darn good reason to do it. “Call today for more information on classes and to take advantage of our FREE registration special!”
You Need To Have A Clear And Unified Marketing Message
Finally, your website content needs to have a unified tone and theme. Tone is the attitude of the writer conveyed by their choice of vocabulary and sentence structure. Your tone can be light, friendly, serious, upbeat… but above all it must resonate with your target audience!
The mistake most school owners make in writing the content for their martial arts websites is too much variation in tone across the site. When you write one section of your site content in one tone or theme, and another on the opposite end of the spectrum, it can create confusion or skepticism in your prospect’s mind.
Your marketing message is the second half of this equation. This relates to the tone of your site, but it has more to do with what you’re saying than with how you’re saying it. Your overall marketing message should be summed up in 17 words or less, and it should convey your U.S.P. (unique selling proposition).
Once you can do this, your entire site’s content should revolve around your marketing message.
Why is this important? For starters, sending mixed signals to your prospects will create confusion, and a confused mind does not buy.
Second, it’s easiest to sell what you believe in. So, your marketing message should be in complete harmony with your own personality and values.
Wrapping Up Today’s Article On Martial Arts Websites
Look, I know this sounds like a lot to think about, but all you really have to remember are a few key points:
- Update your site regularly. If your site doesn’t currently allow you to do this, get a new site that allows you to edit and update it at will.
- Make it easy for people to contact you, and give them a good reason to do so.
- Provide enough information to satisfy the researchers, and put your most important information in section headings and bullets for surfers.
- Be consistent in your tone and marketing message across your entire site.
- Make sure your marketing message is in line with your core values.
That’s it! All that’s left is to take action on what you’ve learned from this article. Doing so will leverage your martial art school website as a valuable tool to grow your school.
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Need help with your web marketing? I’ve helped dozens of martial arts school owners to improve their Google rankings and to get more leads from their web marketing. If you’d like to find out more about how your school can get more leads and enrollments through better web marketing, click here to contact me.
