The Grind You Don’t See Coming

Here’s the dirty secret nobody tells martial arts gym owners: hustling harder doesn’t automatically grow your business. In fact, the more you grind, the more you become the bottleneck.

I know a gym owner who was teaching 40+ classes a week, doing every trial intro, a...

The Pain You’re Living

Most martial arts gym owners didn’t start their school to drown in admin work, chase late payments, or teach every damn class on the schedule. You opened your doors because you love martial arts and wanted to build a tribe. But somewhere along the way, the dream turned into a...

There’s no middle ground anymore: you either stay invisible and keep hoping word of mouth saves you, or you step up and dominate your market by making sure parents and adults see you first.

You have to choose: either you show up everywhere, or you let someone else own your town. It’s time to stop g...

When things get tough, the easiest thing to do is nothing. I’ve done it. I told myself if we just cut back on expenses and waited it out, things would bounce back. But while I was waiting, parents signed up somewhere else. Students we could have helped chose other activities.

Doing nothing feels sa...

I used to think discounts were the fastest way to get students in the door, free weeks, waived registrations, half-off uniforms. But after adding it all up, we realized we were giving away thousands every year with no long-term stability. Students attracted by discounts were quick to leave or jump s...

Every year, we see owners who plan to “start marketing after Labor Day” because they think fall rush begins with the school year. But Paul and I have learned the hard way: parents plan weeks before classes start. By September, schedules are set, and you’re too late.

In our own gym, the difference b...

Few things are more gut-wrenching than driving past a belt factory parking lot packed with cars while your own classes struggle to fill. It’s even worse knowing what they’re teaching isn’t worth the belts they hand out.

I’ve stood there in my own empty lobby, wondering: How can families not see wha...

This one hurts: Parents don’t always choose the best school for their kids. They choose the school they see first, and the one that looks like it has its act together online.

It’s painful because you might have world-class instruction, decades of experience, and a facility that’s spotless, but if y...