Posts Tagged ‘New Business’

Life As A New Martial Art School Owner

"What the heck is that on the floor? Seriously, I thought I cleaned and mopped before I left last night!"

Being a new business owner is scary, mysterious, and exciting all at once. On the one hand, starting your new business represents an exciting new adventure, as well as the potential for financial freedom and getting to do what you love for a living.

On the other hand, not knowing what to expect can work on your nerves and make your first few months that much more difficult. Starting a martial art school is stressful enough; the last thing you need is additional stress based on uncertainty.

In addition, you may have unrealistic expectations that can later work against you when life as a school owner doesn’t turn out to be the smooth trip you thought it would be.

So, I thought I’d quickly share the following with you… Read the rest of this entry »

Using Colors To Strengthen Your Local Brand And Unify Your Business Image

Sure we use a lot of color in our schools... but how about using color in a whole new way to help grow your business?

Colors are strongly tied to emotion, and this is just as true for marketing as it is for the way you decorate your school.

• Strong, vibrant colors convey energy and excitement.
• Warm colors and earth tones convey a sense of peace and calm.
• Green conveys healing and well-being. It can also be associated with wealth and money, at least here in the United States.
• Black is foreboding, but can convey strength (plus, young men think it’s cool).
• White backgrounds are easier to read with dark text. Light text on a dark background is much harder to read and remember (this has been proven in studies regarding how people learn and retain information).

You should consider your colors carefully when decorating your school or creating a marketing piece. The right colors and layout can go a long way to improving your results when it comes to attracting new business.

Decorating Your School

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The biggest challenge new and established school owners face is getting new students. The thing most martial arts instructors fail to realize is that, once they open their doors, they are no longer just in the business of teaching martial arts. Now that they’ve decided to open a studio, they have an added responsibility to keep their doors open by attracting new business.

Although many instructors fail miserably in their marketing efforts, it’s often more due to a lack of planning than a pure lack of marketing know-how. Instead of going over the basics of marketing (you can read that by picking up any good marketing book), instead I am going to tell you how to plan your efforts so you get the most from your hard work and money. Here’s how: Read the rest of this entry »