Posted by Mike Massie on November 19, 2009
My Pet Peeve – When Platitudes Are Passed Off As Solid Martial Arts Business Advice
I see it all the time in our industry. Some “guru” writes an article that at first gives the impression of providing solid business advice…
But as soon as you read past the opening paragraph, you know you’ve been had, because the article is nothing more than a bunch of platitudes masquerading as real-life business know-how.
- “Keep your eyes on the goal…”
- “Keep going…”
- “Stay focused…”
- “Believe it and it will happen…”
The list goes on and on.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with providing a pep talk every once in a while for other business owners, and Lord knows we need it on occasion. And certainly, cultivating a resilient spirit is a necessity for long-term business success.
Here’s What Gets My Goat About Martial Arts Consulting…
However, what gets my goat is when we see “experts” passing this stuff off – over and over again – under the guise of providing us with valuable and useful business advice.
A book I recently read on running a martial arts school is a perfect example of the vacuousness of some martial arts consulting gurus. The front cover claimed this book would show you how to build your fantasy school, or some such nonsense.
I ordered the book. I read it. It wasn’t nonsense, but the entire book was filled with chapter after chapter of platitudes and vague advice…
And the sad thing is I found it to contain little, if any, solid and actionable advice on the real nuts and bolts of starting and running a martial arts school. It’s no wonder so many martial arts instructors are so confused when it comes to knowing exactly what it takes to start and run a successful martial arts school.
What It Typically Means When You’re Fed A Bunch Of Platitudes By “Experts”
Let me tell you something… and let this be your litmus test from here on out for what passes as useful business advice that you can bank your school’s financial future on:
Massie’s B.S. Advice Litmus Test
If it isn’t actionable, it’s probably B.S.
When I wrote Small Dojo Big Profits, I started with the goal that the book would provide actionable steps an instructor could follow to start and run a successful martial arts school. And that’s exactly what the book provides – an action plan.
The same goes for my monthly membership site at Starting-A-Martial-Arts-School.com… each month I provide actionable, easy-to-follow advice on what you need to do that month to build your school.
Then again, I suppose I could start providing a bunch of meaningless platitudes in my materials and manuals…
But then I’d have to charge you extra for it. 
Until next time,
Michael D. Massie
Coaching Program: http://www.starting-a-martial-arts-school.com/
Adult Curriculum: http://selfdefenseblackbelt.com/
Social Network for Martial Arts Instructors: http://www.masainetwork.com/
Business Manual: http://www.small-dojo-big-profits.com/
Summer Camp Manual: http://startingasummerdaycamp.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MartialArtsBusinessDaily
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mabizdaily
Posted by Mike Massie on November 5, 2009
Know Thy Image
I fully expect some clown to start offering martial arts for pets or some such nonsense at some point - which would be an extreme case of trying to offer something for everyone... or every-pet, in this case.
Trying to be all things to all people is a sure-fire way to become nothing to no one. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t diversify into having multiple programs for multiple age demographics. Not at all… in fact, for most school owners and in most locations I think it’s a mistake to just go after a single demographic.
Know What Pays Thy Bills
However, I do think you need to know what pays the bills, and be practical about pursuing that demographic and making it the priority in your school. For example…
In my first school, I built the entire school on kids programs. That was my whole image, and even though I taught adult classes, fitness classes, and so on, my entire image was tied up in being a kid-friendly school.
But in my most recent school, I focused more on presenting the message that we had programs for the whole family. Still, I wanted to teach more adults, so I focused more on that.
The thing is, getting kids in your school is usually the easiest task. It’s the adults that are much harder to attract. That’s why I always go for the kid’s market first, then go after the adults once the kid’s programs are paying the bills.
Know Thy Demographic
What’s that have to do with image?
Well, all my ads are pretty much middle of the road as far as raciness goes. The raciest thing I’ve ever run was for my boot camp, and that’s because the model showed midriff and had a belly piercing (it looked good, though – the ads performed well).
Mostly, I’ve stuck with mom-friendly stuff, because in the areas I operated in most of my clients and decision-makers were moms.
Know Thy Target Market
Here’s something to consider, though…
Say you run a gym that’s MMA oriented, and your enrollment is mostly made up of the 20- and 30-something, tatted up, Affiliction-wearing guys.
Chances are good that your kids classes are going to be made up of kids from those households.
So, you’ll still get some “contact” enrollments just by virtue of farming your existing clientele – it’s just going to fall out that way.
But, that “bad boy” image isn’t going to go over well with families who just walk in off the street. Your average soccer mom is going to be turned off by it, and she’ll take her kids down the street to the plain-vanilla-typical-suburban-family-image school down the street.
This is just one example, and I think you can see the converse also applies. If your school is viewed as a “kiddie” school, chances are good that will work against you if you are marketing hard core MMA or adult self-defense programs.
Know Thy Image As It Applies To Thy Demographic
This is why it’s important to understand the demographics of your area… so you can make sure you don’t have an image disconnect between the image your marketing projects and your local market.
In more densely populated urban areas, it may be possible to pick and choose your ideal student by targeting a particular demographic. This is what you see advertisers doing in mass media marketing – the audience is broad enough to allow the advertiser’s to pick and choose their market to a certain extent.
However, your market reach is effectively only 5-10 miles from your location (ten being on the extreme edges of your market).
So, the demographic found in that geographical area absolutely dictates what your marketing image should be.
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Questions? Comments?
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