Chances Are It’s What You’re Not Doing That’s Hurting Your Business…

Let me start this article by stating up front – the following may sound like one big long pitch for my stuff, but hear me out.

I’ve advised hundreds of martial arts instructors over the last seven years, and indirectly helped thousands more via my newsletter, websites, blogs, and instructional materials.

In that time, I’ve come to identify certain traits successful martial art school owners seem to all share, as well as traits that unsuccessful instructors share (or lack) as well.

Among those qualities that I’ve observed over and over again in successful school owners, there is one trait that stands out most – consistency.

Think Success Purely Based On Your Competence As An Instructor? Think Again…

Now, it is important to point out that instructors can be either consistently good or consistently bad in the quality of their instruction. And certainly, that has a direct impact on their level of success.

However, being a good instructor is really only a fraction of the activity that contributes to your financial success as a school owner. Think about it… we’ve all known instructors that were universally revered and admired by their students, but who still struggled to pay the light bill each month.

So, that’s not the type of consistency I’m talking about here.

Instead, I’m talking about taking consistent, repeatable, systematic actions in your business, day in and day out, week in and week out, month in and month out – actions that, over time, lead inevitably to martial arts business success.

If You Can’t Repeat Your Results, You Don’t Have A System

Notice I said “repeatable” and “systematic.” Repeatable, meaning doing those actions that produce repeatable results. And systematic, referring to having a true business system that has been proven to work in a variety of situations and under a variety of circumstances.

Not having this in place in your business is (based on my observations) the leading contributing factor in the failure of otherwise competent martial arts instructors in starting and running martial art schools.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “He’s just saying that because he’s about to pitch me on his stuff.” Sure I’m going to pitch you, because I know my stuff works.

But that’s not the point of this article. The point I am making here is that every martial arts school owner needs to follow a single, unified, complete system for starting and running their school.

Like I said, you need to follow a proven system that produces repeatable results. And, follow is the key word in that statement. You wouldn’t believe how often I converse with instructors who have bought and read my materials, only to continue doing what they’ve always done.

And of course, they keep experiencing the same results they’ve always known. So when they ask me what they’re doing wrong, I point them instead to what they’re not doing right.

The difference is purely semantic… but it points them directly to the issue at hand. By NOT following a single system, these instructors are tripping themselves up.

A Hodge-Podge Of Actions Does Not A System Make

Often, mixing and matching ideas from multiple sources proves to be just as bad as not doing anything at all. You just can’t be sure of your results when you haphazardly borrow ideas from multiple sources, no more than you could take random ingredients and throw them together in a bowl and end up with a cake.

However, what you can be sure of is that average instructors with average means and average business skills have been able to follow the Small Dojo Big Profits system to above-average success.

That’s because it’s a complete system… one that is simple, easy to understand, and based on results and not theory. I’ve already done the experimentation, over a total of 15 years to figure this stuff out. It’s a proven recipe, all you have to do is follow it and stick with it to improve your chances of business success.

Ever seen someone who just jumped from martial art style to martial art style, never sticking with one system long enough to gain any real skill? When all is said and done, what do they end up with?

That’s right… they know about a lot of different techniques, and styles – but they can’t do any of it with any real skill or confidence!

Same goes for you martial arts business skills. Find an approach that fits your personality and your morals, and stick with it until you’ve mastered it. That’s how to become a martial arts business success.

So, why try to mix and match ideas in the hopes that you’ll come up with a brand-new recipe for success? It just makes more sense to follow a single system that you like and that you know will work. In the end, it’s much better to model someone else’s past successes than to play Russian roulette with your business.

But, there’s an even more compelling reason to find a single, solid system and then to stick with it – and that’s The Flywheel Effect.

The Flywheel Effect

One of the marketing experts I’ve been listening to recently talks about “The Flywheel Effect.”

Basically, this is a concept in marketing where your efforts can be compared to keeping a flywheel turning. (If you don’t know what a flywheel is, picture a flywheel being a lot like a big massive grindstone.)

The flywheel is heavy, and it takes a lot of effort to get it going at first. However, once it’s in motion it doesn’t take near as much effort to keep it turning.

But here’s the real kicker…

When you keep switching business systems, it forces you to change direction. You have to expend all that effort all over again, just to stop that flywheel. So you basically waste all that momentum (and time and effort) it took to get things going in that direction.

And each time you lose momentum you have to start all over again, expending all that effort to get that big heavy wheel turning again.

Meanwhile, the instructor down the street is just doing the same things in their school, day in and day out, week in and week out, month in and month out…

And pretty soon they have a thriving school and you’re still struggling. And you ask yourself, “What do they know that I don’t?”

The answer is, “NOTHING!” They just keep doing the same things consistently, that’s all. And over time, their momentum builds and all their patience and perseverance finally pays off while you remain frustrated and discouraged at your lack of results.

And all you really had to do was knuckle under and take the same consistent actions every day.

Just Stick With It – It Will Pay Off

That’s why I encourage people to just follow what I say, use my entire system, and stick with it. You have to commit to following the program – it’s a system I developed through trial, error, research, observation, and study over 15 years. And, it works.

The people who belong to this site that have done just that are the ones getting the best results. Others who are still picking and choosing ideas, mixing and matching business approaches to create the wheel all over again… well, they don’t get the same results.

So, commit to “just follow the system”, get the flywheel going, and keep on working the numbers day in and day out as a matter of course.

After a while – it may be a month, six months, or a year – but it will pay off.

You just gotta’ keep that flywheel going.

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