A "Successful" school

[ninjanurse]

What makes a successful martial arts school? I believe that success is measured by the quality of the fruit that falls from the tree not the quantity. But does the grower who spends more money in his orchard always have better fruit?

I have been asked by my Master Instructor to "redefine my goals" regarding my school. He has a Masters in Business and wants his charter schools to be "successul". His point seems to be that in order to run a "successful school" I must quit my job and take it on full-time-which also includes going into debt opening a primo facility-and raise my prices so I get paid "what I am worth".

I measure success by the "aha moments" rather than the "bottom line" and while it is my eventual goal to teach full-time I have chosen a different route. Right now I have 2 part-time programs (2 days a week in each location) that are affordably priced so that they are accessible to most if not all interested students. I have no business debt at present and would very much like to keep it that way. As the programs grow I will adjust accordingly.

I would like to get input from school owners that have taken both routes-the pros and cons of each, etc. , and students who have studied in either situation or both. I am not looking for validation of my choices just information and discussion as there is not a right or wrong way just a different way.

[ps1]

I have been asked by my Master Instructor to "redefine my goals" regarding my school. He has a Masters in Business and wants his charter schools to be "successul". His point seems to be that in order to run a "successful school" I must quit my job and take it on full-time-which also includes going into debt opening a primo facility-and raise my prices so I get paid "what I am worth".

By this statement you lead me to believe that your school is actually an extention of your instructor's school. If that is correct, what you think and your goals are of little concequence. He is the boss and his goals are what matter. If he is not getting a cut of the profits, then he does not have stake in the business and you should do what you want. Be courteous of course, but firm on your position.

Saddly, this is the area where many instructors and students part ways. The instructor wants you to do something you can not or choose not to. Surely, you want to have at least a few high quality students before you were to entertain the idea of quiting your job to teach full time.

I attempted to run a school in the same manner as you describe. However, I made the mistake of allowing the YWCA keep control of the costs. They treated it like a spinning or aerobics class and charged by the class. $9 per class. We were open twice a week but to come every day would cost a person $72 per month. That was high for the area I was in. Needless to say we ended up closing due to lack of interest. To date, that is my only experience with running my own place and I would not make the same mistake again. I will have financial control next time.

[ninjanurse]

Thanks for the reply. He has no financial stake in my school other than testing fees and a yearly association fee, and there is no pressure to change this aspect of the arrangement. He truly wants me to be successful in what I do and his advice does not fall on deaf ears. I think we just have a philosophical difference of opinion on the business of martial arts.

Too bad about your Y program. I ran a similar one for another school years ago that met the same fate. It was only a feeder prgram (one of many) for our school but the experience taught me a lot.

[Holland]

To me its about quality more than quantity...however if someone is such a hard nose that they can only keep a few students then that can be an issue as well.

For whatever reason my school has been insanely successful. Given, as an outreach ministry of our church we have very minimal dues...BUT no one ever seems to quit. Since 2000 we have promoted 14 adults to black belt and we have about 80 regulars right now. Our adult class...which has only a sprinkling of teenagers, averages 30 people a workout.

I think in our case it was a combination of good karate, paying attention to details, and the fact that the first 7 people I promoted to black belt were 27 years old and older. That gave us a very mature black belt core.

But enough about us....you can check our site out at https://www.capefearisshinryu.com if you want.

I will say that what you have going on right now seems like it is successful. I would always rather teach a few students, with no debt, and no pressure than I would to run a school with bills to pay.

[bushido_man96]

There are some things that you need to be able to run a school full-time. One is a large population base. You have to have a good base, because you can't assume that every student you get will stay with you. It just doesn't happen. If you have a smaller population, then it is harder to get new students to cycle into the school. You may also need another source of income other than tuition, like a pro shop or something similar. You must also eventually consider the idea of appointing staff members, like assistant instructors and the like.

As for being paid 'what you are worth,' this can be good advise. In today's society, many people believe the adage of 'you get what you pay for.' Now, I don't want it to sound like I am money hungry, because I am not; there are detriments to running prices that are too high as well. You have to find that happy medium where you don't look too cheap, and people wonder why you don't charge as much as so-and-so, and you don't want to be so expensive that it instantly rules some people out.

Reading your intial post, I would determine that you are on a pretty good course right now, and by evaluating and reorganizing, you will remain flexible with your plans. Best of luck to you!

[wheeze]

To me its about quality more than quantity...however if someone is such a hard nose that they can only keep a few students then that can be an issue as well.

For whatever reason my school has been insanely successful. Given, as an outreach ministry of our church we have very minimal dues...BUT no one ever seems to quit. Since 2000 we have promoted 14 adults to black belt and we have about 80 regulars right now. Our adult class...which has only a sprinkling of teenagers, averages 30 people a workout.

I think in our case it was a combination of good karate, paying attention to details, and the fact that the first 7 people I promoted to black belt were 27 years old and older. That gave us a very mature black belt core.

But enough about us....you can check our site out at https://www.capefearisshinryu.com if you want.

I will say that what you have going on right now seems like it is successful. I would always rather teach a few students, with no debt, and no pressure than I would to run a school with bills to pay.

our school is a outreach of the church we are apart of. we have three classes. adult, beginning class (ages 4 thru and a advanced class (ages 9 - 16) they are small classes which i like as it is easier for me to give each more attention. i have revamped the curriculum and include the following....

orange belt - basic technique

green belt - advanced technique

red belt - basic grappling/free style wrestling/jui-jitsu

blue belt - close order combat/sparring/grappling

purple belt - pressure points and choke holds

brown belt - more grappling and advanced jui-jitsu combined with karate

black belt - street fighting/with more grappling/jui-jitsu/karate/and detailed study of body language and situational ethics placing the student in street situations.

I include kumite, kata, and self-defense. I encourage my students that running or walking away from a fight is not being a coward but a wise choice. We promote according to ability. we charge very little and have street kids coming in now.

If anyone has any suggestions on curriculum i am all ears!

[bushido_man96]

To me its about quality more than quantity...however if someone is such a hard nose that they can only keep a few students then that can be an issue as well.

For whatever reason my school has been insanely successful. Given, as an outreach ministry of our church we have very minimal dues...BUT no one ever seems to quit. Since 2000 we have promoted 14 adults to black belt and we have about 80 regulars right now. Our adult class...which has only a sprinkling of teenagers, averages 30 people a workout.

I think in our case it was a combination of good karate, paying attention to details, and the fact that the first 7 people I promoted to black belt were 27 years old and older. That gave us a very mature black belt core.

But enough about us....you can check our site out at https://www.capefearisshinryu.com if you want.

I will say that what you have going on right now seems like it is successful. I would always rather teach a few students, with no debt, and no pressure than I would to run a school with bills to pay.

our school is a outreach of the church we are apart of. we have three classes. adult, beginning class (ages 4 thru and a advanced class (ages 9 - 16) they are small classes which i like as it is easier for me to give each more attention. i have revamped the curriculum and include the following....

orange belt - basic technique

green belt - advanced technique

red belt - basic grappling/free style wrestling/jui-jitsu

blue belt - close order combat/sparring/grappling

purple belt - pressure points and choke holds

brown belt - more grappling and advanced jui-jitsu combined with karate

black belt - street fighting/with more grappling/jui-jitsu/karate/and detailed study of body language and situational ethics placing the student in street situations.

I include kumite, kata, and self-defense. I encourage my students that running or walking away from a fight is not being a coward but a wise choice. We promote according to ability. we charge very little and have street kids coming in now.

If anyone has any suggestions on curriculum i am all ears!

Nice approach. I like it.

[ninjanurse]

Thank you all for the input so far. Am I charging too little? Probably. Am I getting paid what I am worth? Yes.....in smiles, hugs, thank you's, and "aha moments". I don't get too much of that in my "real job" ...and the money isn't good either!

[bushido_man96]

Thank you all for the input so far. Am I charging too little? Probably. Am I getting paid what I am worth? Yes.....in smiles, hugs, thank you's, and "aha moments". I don't get too much of that in my "real job" ...and the money isn't good either!

You cannot replace these feel good moments with any monetary value!

[Jiffy]

IMHO the ultimate example of a successful Martial Arts school is one the produces quality students AND returns a reasonable profit. (note: reasonable profit, not one that rips off it's customers).

If however only one was achievable, I would choose quality over profit.