StephenOliver

I'm not sure what you mean by "high priced" and "huge schools" my rule of thumb for schools that I work with in my coaching program is that they should average a minimum of $200 per month per active student - my schools are targeting $300 per month per active student. Therefore a school in 2,000 to 2,500 square feet with 150 active students would be grossing $30,000 to $45,000 per month. The target should be 20 or more new students per month (that typically would lead to 200-250 active students or more (often many more) As far as a recommendation. It depends upon the desired outcome. Schools @ less than $10,000 a month typically need to fix their pricing, fix their curriculum, learn some half way effective processes for enrolling new students, then need to "beat the bushes" for new students. Their first step would probably be my Extraordinary Marketing program: http://www.ExtraordinaryMarketing.com A school owner who is already at $12,000+ gross per month and looking to make a significant income full-time from running a school should be in my coaching program: http://www.MartialArts-Mastermind.com. It's inexpensive relative to the results - schools paying $249 per week ($997 a month) typically add between $10,000 and $30,000 to their school's revenue - most of it net profit. As part-time school or, a school owner not really serious about turning a club into a business really shouldn't bother. They would benefit from my Extraordinary Marketing Program if and only if, they were willing to really focus on implementation and get their "mythology" about what they teach out of the way of operating a professional school and a productive business. Finally, high performance individuals looking to cut the learning curve and have the marketing, sales, teaching systems provided for them - plug into a proven system, and have a recognized martial arts system and martial artists to provide ranking & curriculum structure should consider becoming a Mile High Karate school (https://www.MileHighFranchise.com) We are establishing regional training centers (are up and running in Denver, Victoria, BC - Canada, Maryland, Orlando, Salt Lake City, and in process of getting set up in New York City.

It's interesting to see the range of responses here. There are multiple considerations on how to pursue the correct answer(s) to the questions of how to grow your school. Generally, an easy introductory offer is good - discounting tuition beyond that will not bring people in and will just dilute revenue unncessarily otherwise. "Getting your name 'out there' "really does little in and of itself to build enrollment. Clearly you must become recognized in your community - but, most importantly you must give people an easy way to respond and have a deadline for that response. Your best solutions depend upon time available (ie. for leg-work & "sweat equity") and, financial resources available. Larger schools may draw a large amount of their traffic (as I do with Mile High Karate - https://www.MileHighKarate.com) through Television, Major Newspapers, and regular direct mail efforts) Smaller schools must concentrate on flyers door to door, "VIP" systems meeting people one on one and asking for appointments, and community outreach programs. Additionally, the internet is becoming a very viable source of new students where you can either BUY traffic to your site through Google, Yahoo, & now MSN - or, learn SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to be found in the "organic" searches: Example: Search Yahoo for something like "Karate Lessons Lakewood Colorado" (or, any combination of lessons, classes, school in any area where we have a school such as Littleton, Thornton, Westminster, Englewood, Highlands Ranch) and you will find many of the top 20 to be Mile High Karate - that's an example of Free (but, labor intensive) marketing efforts.

I know - actually I'm him. What questions do you have about developing your school?