Martial Arts Marketing Canada

As martial arts Black Belt we know better! Can you imagine having started your training as a White Belt having your instructor give you a video and wish you luck. "Come and see me in 4 years when you are ready to be a Black Belt". Do you think you would make it?

So why is it when it comes to business so many martial arts school owners think they are Black Belt in being an entrepreneur? Do our ego's become so BIG we are willing to fail just so we don't need to admit we don't know everything?

Back when I first opened by school I purchased a copy of "Black Belt Management" by John Graden. It was actually part of my NAPMA package. Now back in the day Napma was a pretty good organization, but it still only covered maybe 10% of what I needed! Plus, I was uncoached and NAPMA could not help me with that.

Now being uncoached in business is like trying to learn martial arts without a teacher. GOOD LUCK! You need someone to keep you on track, doing things the right way and allowing you to ask questions. Being coached is the difference between success and failure, excelling and just getting by.

I am being coached and it has made the world of difference in my business and life. And guess what, my coach is being coached too!

I am currently offering an opportunity on my website for those school owners who are not being coached to get in on a program at a FRACTION of the cost of other coaching programs. Once you are in, your keep this great price also. I will add however that this price is not going to last! I am accepting a few people into this Email Coaching Program, then the price will increase to what the real value is!

Here is the URL for more information. Take a look, email me any questions, and I look forward to talking to you very soon!

I watch the statistics for this website each and every morning at the start of my day. It has been fascinating that the traffic here slows down, the worse the economy seems to get. Go figure! You would think that smart marketing would become more and more important as the problems get worse.

It has been several weeks since my last article, why? My school has been very busy! November has been an excellent month for us for enrollments, despite the bad news everywhere. So why are we growing when so many other schools are going out of business or just surviving? two reasons, #1 is student services. We are always striving to make the student experience better and better. Then when Mom and Dad look to eliminate unnecessary things from the budget, we are not one of them! But I will do specific student service articles later.

The second reason, how many students do you actually need to do well?

I live in an auto town. The unemployment rate is up 30% and 2 plants are closing in the next little while. There are approximately 200,000 people in this town, not to mention the surrounding area. There are also about 20 commercial martial art schools.

The area (5 square miles) that my school is in has about 30,000 or more people in it. How many people out of this are going to be affected by the current situation? Let's face it there are a lot of people still out there with lots of money! But, lets put this figure high at 50%. That leaves me 15,000 unaffected.

How many of those are prospects (age etc). Ok how about 5000? This will exclude older people, people with no children etc. Again I am giving a high figure!

Now, look at your current situation, would another 100 students change your life? With the above figure I would need .02% to move to enroll 100 new students. See my point?

So, stop worrying and bitching about the economy, and start doing smart marketing. Start with your current flock of students. You will be amazed at what you see happening! Feel free to email and questions to artm...@karate-marketing.com.

Leadership in the martial arts business is critical to success. Here are 40 characteristics of a great leader.

1. Leaders isolate themselves to recharge and reflect
2. They are experts at learning and knowing peoples names.
3. They are skilled at relationship building
4. They keep a journal and capture lessons
5. Learn from their own mistakes and the mistakes of others
6. Unafraid of criticism
7. Value quality vs. quantity
8. They are proactive
9. Understand that evil exists and fight it.
10. Understand the times (seasons) in which they live
11. They are numerically literate (interested in the numbers)
12. Have a library
13. They are skilled at speaking well of others
14. They are students of excellence in every area
15. Leaders rejoice in the success of others
16. They can see how others see them, they can put themselves in other people shoes.
17. They are good finishers, but just good starters.
18. They expect more of themselves than others do.
19. They give without remembering, and recieve without forgetting.
20. They are always Optimistic.They know you get what you expect.
21. Leaders are great asker's of questions.
22. Leaders move outside their comfort zone. The run to opportunity.
23. Habit of prayer or reflection.
24. Willing to do things that others aren't willing to do.
25. They focus on older wisdom - time edits the bad.
26. They are masters of personal appetites
27. They are merchants of hope. Quieter's of fear.
28. They are loyal to those who have been loyal to them
29. Maintain regular habits and schedules
30. Do small things extraordinarily well.
31. They create systems, they make things work.
32. Leaders can take charge in a crisis
33. Leaders are good listeners. Seek first to understand, then be understood.
34. They know everything counts. Pay attention to the details.
35. They create time, reverse procrastination.
36. Leaders anticipate. They look down the road. They have VISION.
37. They are confrontational. (attack problems head on)
38. Leaders apply what they have learned. They are doers
39. Leaders invest time and money in personal education.
40. They are 'good' finders in all situations and great 'Sayers' of these finding.