When running a martial arts school, you do not want to depend solely on the revenue you earn from your entry-level core program, i.e. 75 students paying $99 per month. Instead, you want to create multiple streams of revenue and an ascension model for your students.

When you create multiple income streams, your school will be much stronger and more stable. You’ll be in a far better position to weather bad economic conditions, turndowns in the market, seasonal fluctuations or the sudden onset of competitors. If your only source of revenue comes from teaching tae kwon do for a flat rate, for example, then you’ll really feel the pinch if that program suddenly declines, for whatever reason. You’ll have no other legs on which to stand.

Let me share with you how NAPMA Maximum Impact members throughout the world tell me they’re developing multiple streams of revenue.

Core Service Tuition

The initial investments and monthly tuition dollars you receive from your core program is like your bread and butter. It’s the base-level continuity income that you create by enrolling new students in your programs. This is a given.

Upgrade Program Tuition

In the martial arts business, the real revenue potential is in upgrade programs. You’ve already incurred the marketing expense and done the work to attract prospective students to your school; so, “ascending” them into more expensive continuity programs doesn’t cost you anything more. It does increase your average student value dramatically, however, and that, of course, increases your profitability.

At the same time, upgrade programs also provide many additional benefits to your students - so it’s a win-win. That’s why I strongly encourage you to implement a variety of upgrade programs, such as Black Belt Club, Masters Club and Leadership Training.

By the way, upgrade programs such as these are a constant topic of discussion in NAPMA’s Inner Circle and Peak Performers Groups; and I can tell you that most of the thriving schools in the nation have implemented them in one form or another.

Product Sales

If your school doesn’t already have a pro shop, then I highly recommend you implement one right away. In addition, I suggest you use “built-in products sales” to fuel its growth. This is a brilliant method in which students, to participate in your school’s curriculums, as they progress through the ranks, must purchase various products. These products are essentially “built-into” the training. You can count on the sale of these products and know when to expect them, for as long as the student continues his or her training.

Special Events

If your school is not hosting at least one special event a month, then you’re overlooking another healthy income stream. Consider summer camps, buddy days, lock-ins, birthday parties, movie nights, special guest seminars, inter-school tournaments and other similar events that will attract more attention to your school. Decide which of these events best fits your customs, traditions, personality and situation. The key is to do them consistently and market them correctly. When done properly, special events are also fantastic lead generators.

Private Lessons

Many Maximum Impact members earn a substantial amount of additional income, teaching privates. Some are teaching high-dollar private lessons to clients who pay thousands of dollars per year to train with the main instructor or his key staff members. Much of the success in this area is due to marketing, creating perceived value and sales. The point is, however, that this is a no-brainer, additional income stream that you may want to pursue.

Multiple Schools, Satellite Locations and Franchise

These days, more and more school owners operate several schools or they run satellite programs in gyms, health clubs, YMCAs, churches, recreational facilities, academic schools, junior colleges, etc. Done correctly (and legally), these additional locations can add another pillar of revenue to support your school.

Also, becoming a Regional Developer for a franchise organization, such as Mile High Karate, can create one of the most robust additional income streams available in the industry today. For more information, please visit www.milehighfranchise.com

After-School Martial Arts

Transporting kids to your school for several hours a day for an after-school martial arts program is actually a business within your business. This is not for everyone. Since after-school students typically pay two to three times the tuition of a regular student, it has been a highly profitable venture for many school owners.

Additional Programs and Services

Additional programs will generate other streams of revenue for your school. I know of some Maximum Impact members, such as Oliver Drexler, who doubled their incomes simply by adding NAPMA’s Little Ninjas preschool program. Other examples of alternate profit centers include Tai Chi, fitness martial arts, massage therapy, weight training, NAPMA’s EZ Defense program, etc.

As you can see, it’s very clear that creating multiple sources of income can dramatically increase your revenues and help insulate your school from many adverse business or other conditions. Think of it in this way: you don’t spar using just one weapon. Why would you run your school that way?

When chatting with part-timers, I find that there is a common thread. Most of them say that their dream is to go full-time in the martial arts business. That’s right. They wish they could quit their day jobs and spend more time following their true passion - teaching martial arts.

During the years, I’ve seen many instructors actually achieve this goal, due, in large part, to the information and resources they received in their monthly Maximum Impact packages, from NAPMA’s annual World Conference and through NAPMA’s various support products, seminars and consulting services.

Here’s how it typically goes: a part-timer becomes a member of Maximum Impact. Immediately, he gains access to a whole new world of effective marketing strategies; teleseminars, with highly successful school owners; retention-boosting classroom materials; motivation; profit-generating ideas; and exposure to like-minded individuals who are also extremely serious about earning their “Black Belts” in school operations.

Soon afterwards, the part-timer’s student count and gross revenue begin to reach whole new levels. This puts him in a position to leave his day job gracefully and “take the leap of faith” to a full- time school owner, safely and securely, and without having an income gap. You don’t want there to be an income gap if you can prevent it.

In fact, NAPMA member Ken Klotz of Maryland recently sent me a heartfelt e-mail saying, “I wanted to express my satisfaction with the NAPMA product and what it has done for my business. For ten years, I taught at recreation centers and sports clubs. NAPMA helped me transition from a part-time karate teacher to a full-time karate school owner with more than 450 students.”

Mr. Klotz is one of thousands of instructors who have learned how to go full time. Another is long-term NAPMA member Sam An. “I used to work at a nuclear power plant as a testing engineer before I went into the martial arts business full-time,” says An. “I worked from 7 am to 4 pm; and I then would go to the park district to teach TKD from 6 to 9 pm. As an engineer, my salary and benefits were great and I had excellent promotion potential as well. When I decided to go into TKD full-time, it was scary. My pay was nothing compared to what I received at the firm. Now, after more than 20 years in the martial art business, this is what I know:

1. I enjoy going to work everyday, because it’s mine.
2. I set my own hours.
3. I am paid according to how hard I work. There is no limit.
4. I stay in top physical shape and I’m paid for it.
5. I network with influential people in my city.
6. I don’t have to become involved in office politics.
7. My job is never boring.
8. My students pay me, as they pay respect to me.
9. It does not require much capital, like other businesses. You don’t have inventory. You are the product and you are the business.
10. My job is very satisfying. I’m paid for changing peoples’ lives in a very positive way.”

As Mr. An states, he endured some short-term pain for long-term gain, when he made the transition to full-time; but that’s very common, and, unless you’re independently wealthy, you should almost expect it.

If you’re presently a part-time instructor and your dream is to quit your day job and go full time in the martial arts business, then I believe that the timing has never been better. These days, there are so many valuable “how to” resources provided by NAPMA that you could literally shave light years off your learning curve and grow the school of your dreams with a higher probability for success than ever before.

I also recognize, however, that sometimes there’s more to it than just having access to NAPMA’s resources. The fact is that deep down inside you must be ready. You must be mentally prepared to take that leap of faith and only you will know for sure when the time is right. When it is, you will have my support.

WarriorWiz Terry Bryan, Ph.D.

Terry Bryan, Ph.D. and Extreme Success Academy speaker, teaches you how to use your warrior spirit to win at the real estate game

Interview by NAPMA President Rob Colasanti

Terry Bryan, martial artist, former school owner and real estate coach and entrepreneur, gives you an inside look at how an average martial artist and school owner became a warrior wiz of the real estate biz.

He shares the same secrets and motivations with you, as he does with the members of his inner circle mastermind group, who are all equally focused on benefiting from the passive (and, often massive) income of real estate ownership.

Wealth-building experts, such as Terry Bryan, who are also martial artists, understand your mindset and, therefore, how to change it, so your vision for the future can include many more possibilities. That’s why he was invited to the Extreme Success Academy and why you must attend. You could find your real future in just one weekend! Visit ExtremeSuccessAcademy.com to register today.

Today, Terry Bryan is one of the most successful real estate investment coaches in the U.S., with more than 100 students, some making $100,000 to $200,000 a month. He is also Kiyoshi Terry Bryan, a fellow martial arts professional, with more than 35 years as a student, teacher, school owner and industry advisor.

Inspired by the martial arts in movies and on TV, Bryan started training, as a kid, during the 60s, with some U.S. soldiers that had returned from Vietnam. They were teaching kids to keep them off the streets and away from bad influences.

Bryan joined the military in 1970, traveled throughout the world and trained with whomever he thought was the best at that time. He earned his Black Belt in Taekwondo, and then graduated into the Chinese and Okinawan martial arts. He received a 1^st-Degree Black Belt in Okinawa and now holds a 9^th-Degree Black Belt awarded by the World Karate Federation.
Rob Colasanti: Kiyoshi Terry Bryan is a fellow martial arts professional, who I’ve come to know and respect very much. Terry will be a featured guest and speaker at the 2008 NAPMA Extreme Success Academy in September. He will be helping attendees with school operations, marketing and real estate investment strategies.

Terry, I’ve spent some time with you recently and I am so excited to share some of your knowledge with our NAPMA members and MAPro readers during this interview and at the Extreme Success Academy.

We made sure to include a sidebar in this article about your martial arts background because I want our readers who don’t know you to understand that you’re a seasoned veteran of the martial arts and have been studying for many decades.

It’s my understanding that you were also a school owner; and, with all due respect, that you were a broke martial arts instructor who just couldn’t seem to grow your school. Then, by happenstance, you ran into Stephen Oliver and everything rapidly changed. Terry, please tell us what happened, and the kind of advice Steve gave you that led to such dramatically different results.

Terry: That part of my journey started in Thailand where I lived for three years and trained in Muay Thai. I was one of the first students in the early 70s. I ran kickboxing and karate schools. I had a bachelor’s degree in social work and child psychology and was a probation officer. I taught martial arts as a contribution to the community, to keep kids off the streets and out of gangs. I thought that if you had that love for the martial arts and wanted to give back to the community, then it just didn’t pay well.

In the late 70s, early 80s, I heard that Stephen Oliver was in town; many local school owners didn’t like him, so I was intrigued by what he had to say. I went to one of his Black Belt graduations. I had never seen 2,000 to 3,000 people in a gymnasium watching a Black Belt event; I was amazed.

After the event, I approached him and introduced myself as the head coach of the United State Air Force Academy Karate Team. I asked him, “How is the martial arts business?” He replied, “It’s OK, I did about $1.2 million last year, but it’s getting better.” I was dumbfounded. I thought, “Maybe, you can make money teaching martial arts!”

Rob: That number was unheard of then.

Terry: I think the average monthly tuition was $25 or $30 a month, while Steve was charging $89 a month; people thought he was crazy. I think the martial arts community was very jealous because he was charging a fair price and making money.

After he told me how much he was grossing annually, I asked, “Tell me more about martial arts as a business. He invited me to his schools, watch his intros, rummage through all the files in his program director’s room and take or make copies of forms and other important documents. I was amazed that anyone was willing to give me virtually total access to his operations.

I was dirt broke during my first five years as a karate instructor. I became a millionaire during the next five years simply because I watched what Steve was doing, “swiped” his systems and integrated them with traditional Okinawan Karate.

I think it was during the early 80’s, when I was general secretary of the U.S. Olympic Karate team, that I had one of the biggest, most profitable and traditional Karate schools in the country. In fact, at my peak, I had four schools with approximately 1,200 students. I followed Stephen’s blueprint for multi-school operations and grossed more than $1 million a year, during the late 70s and early 80s, when many schools were broke or barely operating.

Despite of all that success, I experienced what many school owners experience: I opened my first school and it generated excellent gross and net amounts; however, when I opened the second school, the gross sales increased, but the net profits decreased. At first, I thought it was a bad location.

I opened a third school and, again, the gross increased, but the net decreased. I was spending more time dealing with problems and putting out fires, so I opened a fourth school to fix everything and, once again, I experienced a rising gross, but a falling net.

Rob: Yes, that is very common.

Terry: What I discovered is that I hadn’t implemented the systems like I should have, such as a franchise, with a manual and all the aids, which would have saved me a considerable amount of time and reduced most of my problems to a manageable level. At that point, I was trying to re-invent the wheel because I just didn’t know how to handle 1,200 students doing traditional Karate.

Rob: Your experience (and that of many other school owners) reveals the value of systemization. As I watch the evolution of professionalism in the industry, I notice a very robust introduction and integration of systemization in schools across the country of all different styles. The school owners that are doing well today have peeled back the layers and systematized all the components of their schools. I think that’s a sign of the future; wouldn’t you agree?

Terry: Absolutely. Of course, the reason many schools are not systematized is the egos of the owners, who are also typically the instructors. For them, as it was for me, teaching is immensely self-gratifying and comes to represent, almost totally, who and what they are. I had 30 years experience teaching, so I placed a high value on it.

“Implementing systems and outsourcing the various tasks and responsibilities of your business is what separates the school owners that struggle and those that make money.”

Like many school owners today, I did every major and minor task at a school: opening the mail, inputting data, paying the bills, teaching, emptying the trash, etc. When I finally understood the business model for a martial arts school (thanks mostly to Stephen) and implemented that model in my school, I discovered that I could replace the teaching me with a $10- to $15-an-hour instructor.

I learned that a program director was more important and more vital because he or she generated the leads and enrolled the new students. When I started to systematize my schools, my eyes opened wide and I had a radical shift of my mindset. I recognized and understood how to take advantage of the real value of a martial arts school operation.

I think all school owners should systematize their schools as soon as possible. Outsource managing, teaching and program directing, so you can advance your role to that of a business owner and not a worker.

Rob: Let’s talk a little bit about martial arts school operations. Terry, what are the top three reasons too many martial arts school owners can’t seem to grow their schools?

Catching Arrows on Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

By Terry Bryan

People from the TV show, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, called me one day and asked me to appear on the show and catch arrows with my bare hands. They had obtained my name from one of my instructors, Jim Mather, who had caught an arrow on the 70’s TV show, That’s Incredible! He told them he was now too old to duplicate the stunt, but that they should call me.

I put them off for a time, until they promised to include a segment on the show about the benefits of karate for kids and how it helps to develop self-esteem, confidence, etc. Once I agreed, I talked with the archer and we found 135 mph to be a good speed for the arrow. Jim Mather had given me additional advice to catch the arrow in the same direction it was traveling. During the second day of practice, I finally caught an arrow.

The night before I was scheduled to fly to Los Angeles, I was talking with my Black Belts and told them what I was doing. They wanted to know how I did it. I said, “I listen for the sound as it leaves the bow, and then I start to grab it.” Somehow my comment evolved to, “If that’s all it is, then why don’t you do it blindfolded?” Of course, the Ripley’s people thought that was a great idea, so I caught one that was photographed and then I caught one blindfolded that was videotaped, and I retired the same day.

I want to emphasize that catching an arrow with your bare hands is very dangerous, so do not try this at home or at your dojo. After 30 to 40 years of martial arts training, I had developed the hand strength and learned how to breathe deep, relax and stay calm, and that’s what I did to catch those arrows.

[Editor’s note: Footage of Terry Bryan catching an arrow was included on the May 2008 NAPMA Innovations DVD.]

Terry: I’d say number one is mindset. They must convince themselves that making money is OK; it is a positive outcome. Most of them, as you know, have been taught the traditional point-of-view that to have good quality martial arts, you don’t charge for the training, or a very minimal amount; and if you do charge a tuition, then you’ll bastardize your art.

Second is to understand key basic principles, which is should be a familiar concept to martial artists. After all, most of the martial arts are based on a handful of key elements: be aware, understand strategy, and, in a self-defense situation, moving, blocking and counter-punching.

The same is true with business. If you understand the basics: marketing, sales and providing a high quality of teaching, then you’ll make money.

Third is to implement those systems we discussed earlier, and, as part of that systemization, to outsource the various tasks and responsibilities of your business. That’s what separates the school owners that struggle and those that make money.

Rob: How would you advise school owners to address the issues, the obstacles, to school growth?

Terry: First, do what successful people do and don’t do what unsuccessful people do. I invest huge amounts of money to belong to various inner circles and mastermind groups. I probably invest more than $100,000 a year to belong to the Dan Kennedy/Bill Glazer inner circle.

When you spend time with people who are very successful, you tend to absorb and learn their influence, strategies and experiences. If you want to be a successful school owner, then you must be with other successful school owners. If you hang around people that are broke, then it’s likely you’ll be broke too.

Rob: The money you spend for continuing education is actually an investment. Have you received a decent return on your investment?

Terry: I think it’s a 10-to-1 return on investment for personal development.

Many of these successful people have learned to work on their businesses and not in their businesses. Martial arts professionals should also understand that principle because it means you should start to be the leader, and guide your staff members who actually do the work.

I think the more you spend on your personal development and less on your business, the more successful you are because it’s all about special knowledge today. It’s the one percent of special knowledge you acquire that no one else has than can result in millions of dollars of difference in your income. That applies to martial arts schools or any business. You must have that little edge because we’re in the information world; we’re moving at light speed. You must have that additional information, so you can react quickly; and that separates the very average business owner from the successful business owner.

Rob: That’s what the smartest NAPMA members have been doing and why they’re instructors and school owners who have been members for 13 and 14 years. They know that the small investment they make every month in their membership has generated an excellent return and will continue to do so for years.

Terry: The return on your continuing education investment can literally make an impact in a short period of time, often only days! I go to some of the mastermind group meetings, such as Dan Kennedy’s. I’m in a room for two days with 20 millionaires, absorbing ideas and information from their discussions. By the end of the first day, I’ve already emailed my staff with instructions to start implementing those new ideas, which will generate more than enough revenues to cover my investment in a year’s coaching program.

Rob: That’s another key point, Terry: the speed of implementation. Too often school owners have found a great idea in the NAPMA package or they hear a good idea, but they take too much time to implement it; that’s not how the system works. The idea is to find those good ideas and implement, implement, implement, immediately; and it’s those school owners who are really kicking some butt these days. I see it all the time.

Terry: The days of taking a year to write a business plan full of ideas are over. I’m tight with a number of Internet experts, and they’ll move from an idea to a business plan to a Web site to sell the idea to making money in 24-48 hours. Many people are working at an unbelievable speed today.

Rob: Terry, you’ve transitioned from being a school owner to operating one of the most successful real estate coaching businesses in the country. Approximately how many people do you currently have in your various real estate coaching programs and mastermind groups?

Terry: I have a little more than 100 active members in my coaching program, and they’re all doing very, very well. Some of them are making $100,000 / $200,000 a month. I teach them how to run a business, not just be a real estate investor, which makes my program different than the rest of the world. My members use direct response marketing to find property owners who are motivated to sell, and then put them under contract to keep them long term for cash flow or sell them for cash profits. Many of my coaching members have started coaching programs.

If I opened a karate school today, I wouldn’t spend the first 10 years teaching. I would probably hire an instructor, program director and administrative person from day one, but that’s a different approach from many people. I do the same thing in real estate. I teach them how to hire a transactional broker and administrative person, and then teach them how to do the marketing and run that real estate business successfully from day one.

Rob: How can martial arts instructors, reading this interview, become involved in real estate to create passive income, without losing focus on their school?

Terry: First, if you’re the type of person who is putting in 12-14 hours a day, doing all the work at the school, then you need to learn how to systemize your school. When your marketing program is generating leads, your program director is enrolling new students and your instructional staff is doing a good job, then you’re free to spend more time to pursue other income sources, such as real estate.

I made that transition and my numbers prove that I can generate more income, when I don’t spend most of my time operating a martial arts school. When I was running my school full time, I could sell a basic, 12-month program for approximately $2,000. I could then upgrade that student to our Black Belt program or Master Club for another $6,000 or $7,000. Today, I know that I can spent much less time and make $20,000-$30,000 on one real estate deal.

For me (and my advice to anyone reading this interview), it’s all about the valuable use of my time and focusing on the big rocks and maintaining what’s really important. If you can outsource the $10-per-hour jobs to staff and focus on the big deals, then, in the long run, you will make more money in less time and give yourself plenty of quality time with the people you love and doing what you like to do.

Rob: Would a school owner who wants to profit from your real estate ideas need to obtain a real estate license and become, for all practical purposes, a real estate agent on the side?

Bryan: No, I work with a couple realtors when I need them, just like when I need an attorney or a person to answer the phones at a martial arts school. I’m a business owner. If I need a realtor, then I’ll hire one. The system is easy; it’s changing your mindset that is often difficult for people. In my mastermind group, we are the coaches of our businesses and we bring in the people to do certain parts of the job. Once you learn the systems, you put them to work, so you have to work less.

Rob: Talk to us about the advantages of a school owner owning his or her building versus renting.

Bryan: Unless you are currently renting space in one of my shopping centers, (if that’s true, then disregard everything else I say), there aren’t too many advantages renting versus owning a building for your school.

To be more serious, as I mentioned earlier, benefiting from the advantages of owning your building has as much to do with your mindset (and changing it) as it does the nuts and bolts of real estate and financing.

You must start to think like Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s, who asked a group of MBA students years ago, “What is my business?” Naturally, they answered, “The hamburger business.” He said, “No, I’m in the real estate business. Hamburgers just pay off the mortgages.” When I heard that story, during a mastermind meeting many years ago, it suddenly struck me that I had been looking at the martial arts business with the wrong mindset.

“Many successful people have learned to work on their businesses and not in their businesses. You should start to be the leader, and guide your staff members who actually do the work.”

I told myself, “I’m in the martial arts business; I have several successful karate schools, but I should be in the real estate business.” Once that light bulb went off, I realized that I could use the monthly cash flow from martial arts to pay the mortgages on standalone buildings or shopping centers, and my life changed forever.

The secret of how to become a millionaire in real estate is quite simple: find a million-dollar building and pay it off in 15 years, when it will be worth $2 million. The property will generate $200,000 a year in cash flow forever. If you decide to leave the industry or sell your school, then it is much easier for the buyer to obtain a business loan if there is real estate tied to the business.

I see very few reasons why school owners shouldn’t own their own buildings. Most of them just have this fear that they don’t have enough knowledge, or that they need $200,000 or $300,000 to participate. That’s simply not true. We buy commercial buildings all the time for no money down; in fact, sometimes people pay us to take over some of those buildings

Rob: Your advice to our readers is to stop making their landlords rich. What are the important factors a school owner should consider before they decide to buy rather than rent? In other words, how can they determine that owning is better for them than renting?

Bryan: I think it begins with operating from the short view, instead of the long view. Too many school owners don’t see the big picture and don’t know where they want to be five to 10 years in the future. They’re focused on the short view, just this month; how will they pay their bills in 30 days.

If they took the time to develop a long-view mindset, then they would know that if they do XYZ, then the future would be better for their families. Like I said, once you learn how to structure a deal to pay off a building in 10 or 15 years, you can put $2 to $3 million in your retirement portfolio. That’s a huge nest egg for most people.

Most of the martial arts school owners that I know love what they do, and they will do it for the rest of their lives. For too many of them, school ownership becomes a detriment to their families. The wife is mad because her husband, the school owner, is never home and he is using assets from their personal accounts to pay bills.

It’s better to have a clear strategy that includes a 15- to 20-year real estate investment plan that results in a $2 million retirement portfolio. Suddenly, your wife and family see the value of you being gone two, three or even five nights a week.
Rob: How does the location of your school affect that strategy, for example, a school in Los Angeles versus one in a much smaller market?

Terry: Obviously, the price of the commercial properties will be different. If you’re in Colorado, then we talk about price; if you’re in Texas, then you delete a zero from the price; and if you go to California, then add a zero to the price; the market will demand.

I see this mistake all the time: an instructor opens a school in the downtown area because a building is real cheap; however, you must also be aware of the local demographics because most of potential students and families have lower incomes, so you will struggle at that location forever. If you locate your school in an area of the city where there are higher incomes, then, yes, the cost of a building will be more expensive, but you will make that back because that’s where the students have the money to afford lessons (and at a higher price point). You can give me three ZIP codes in which you want to buy a building within three months, and I know I can find you a commercial building at 15-20% below market, with owner terms and probably no money down.

Rob: Wow. That’s why some of your real estate coaching clients are becoming wealthy. On that note, you mentioned that you have a couple Black Belts in your program, earning $100,000 a month or so. When you first mentioned that to me, I thought that $100,000 a year is a nice passive income, but you said $100,000 a month, that’s incredible. Tell us one of your best mastermind group or coaching program success stories.

Terry: One of the best success stories is Lloyd and Vicki Irvin who run a very successful MMA program in Maryland.

Some of your members may be familiar with Lloyd who is one of the sharpest Internet marketers on the planet. He has made presentation at Stephen Oliver’s Marketing Boot Camps, which is where I met him a few years ago. He was teaching Internet marketing and I was teaching real estate investing and asset protection.

When we had lunch, he mentioned that many of the Internet marketers had fabulous cash flows, but weren’t doing anything to build long-time wealth. We thought there must be a way for us to work together and create a win-win situation. A few years later, he called me and said his wife wanted to go into real estate. He asked if I would visit them, so I could teach her what she needed to know; and she started doing very well.

During a subsequent conversation, Lloyd asked me about my real estate programs. I explained that I typically attract 50-100 people to a free seminar and sell them a one-year, real estate coaching program for approximately $6,500. I told Lloyd that I would show him how I operate my seminars and mastermind groups. He told me that his free Internet seminars usually draw 500 people.

For his first program, we registered 135 people at $6,500 each, o he jumpstarted his real estate business, and now they’re doing well; they’re buying free and clear properties. He is still teaching martial arts full-time because he loves it; and he and Vicki are buying and managing real estate part-time and doing a couple hundred thousand dollars a month.

Now, the Irvin’s represent an elite example, but Lloyd is the kind of guy who doesn’t anything half way. One of his students in Nashville, Ed Clay, he’s doing really well too. I think he did $50,000 his first month in real estate, and still operates his MMA school.

Rob: I recently learned a lesson from Lloyd and Vicki Irvin about implementing ideas quickly that all NAPMA members and school owners should try to emulate. I was at an event in St. Louis, which the Irvin’s attended too. Just before they flew to the event, they made a change to their Web site and, as they were monitoring the numbers, they saw a drop in the responses, based on the change they made. Even though they were out of town at a seminar, they went to a local studio and re-shot a video for their Web site. They immediately placed it on the site and their response numbers leaped into the positive range.

I think that is one of the best lessons in speed to market and immediate implementation that resulted in immediate gain. This is exactly how our members must treat the NAPMA materials they receive every month. It’s so critical that they don’t put those materials on a pile and say, that’s a good idea, I’ll look at it later. The school owners that are really successful today are those who implement the quickest. I’m sure you agree, Terry, because you’re a major implementer.

Bryan: I do move very quickly for real estate investors, but I don’t compare with Lloyd. Dan Kennedy advises that you should try to do more in the next 12 months than you did in the last 12 years, and Lloyd has taken that to the next level. He wants to do, in the next 12 hours, what he did in the last 12 years. He does move quickly. Those around him know that you either keep up or you move out of his way.

I try to promote the same mindset with my real estate coaching clients. Within a year, many of them are making in a month what they were making in a year.

It’s simply because they are using specialized knowledge and implementing quickly. If I find a commercial building that I can acquire today at $0.50 on the dollar, then I must have it under contract today, within the next hour, or it will be gone.

Rob: Terry, in the recent past, I’ve spoken to a number of instructors who decided to build a new commercial building, use part of it for their school and sublease the rest. Is that an effective strategy and, if it is, then what are some of the risks?

Terry: Yes, it’s a good strategy. The biggest risk is that, right now, you can buy an existing building much cheaper than land and a new building. The market is filled with so many motivated sellers.

Many of your readers are probably not aware that I use direct-response marketing to find those sellers, just as they do (or should be doing) to attract new students and parents. I create a targeted list, looking for property owners who may have a troubled business, going through a divorce or are planning to leave the market. Because of the system I use, I can find properties so much cheaper than building them.

A new building can be effective, especially if there are no existing buildings located in the best area for your school. My business model for a new-build is a 20,000-square-foot flex space building, with total cost, depending on your U.S. location, of approximately $1.2 million. The model calls for 50% down and paid, free and clear, in five years. That property will generate $200,000 to $300,000 in cash flow at that point. Right now, you can buy cheaper than you can build.

Rob: During the years, one of the most common questions we receive at NAPMA pertains to lease negotiations, which is definitely not an area of expertise of many instructors. Terry, what are your suggestions when it comes to negotiating a lease?

Terry: First, I suggest a lease with an option to buy the building. If the value of the property increases, then you can capture that equity. Most leases have three primary components: price, terms and conditions. If your landlord is flexible on one of those components, then you can always create a really good deal. Again, you need experience, which, as you stated, most school owners do not.

In most cases, you’ll want to hire an expert to negotiate a commercial property lease. I always hire a good residential/commercial real estate agent or an attorney. Pay someone to do that part of it. You can outsource the entire process, including the money. We often create partnerships with 10 to 20 people, who invest $50,000 to $100,000 each. They provide the money and I buy the building and the split the equity 50/50.

Any school owner can own his or her building. He may have poor credit, but it doesn’t matter because that is our part of the deal. He may not have the money to invest, but I can show him how to raise it. There are so many ways to make a deal.

My attorney writes every article in our contracts, which means every line is a negotiation point; and, by the time, your agent or attorney discusses the whole contract with the landlord, you’ve negotiated a good deal.

Rob: I assuming you always negotiate for something. In other words, you don’t just sign the landlord’s lease. You read it carefully and find something that can be negotiated to make it a better deal for you.

Terry: I use the Brian Tracy flinch: “Is that the best you can do?” That is a technique I train my buyer/brokers to use. If you give someone what he asks, then he will assume that he didn’t ask for enough; but, if you negotiate him down a little bit and then let him negotiate for more, then he figures he received a good deal. You must negotiate from a position of strength.

I also negotiate with all the numbers in mind. I know in advance what numbers that deal must hit to be acceptable to me. I need to be 15-20% below market to be a good deal, so I start my negotiations at 25-30% below and then let the other party talk me up a little bit, but I’m still at my price point.

Rob: Let me ask the same question, Terry, but as it relates to negotiating rent, instead of a purchase. Many NAPMA members and MAPro readers probably have schools in shopping plazas, little storefront locations, so they need to understand the secrets to negotiating for those types of properties.

Terry: Depending on the geographic market and the quality of the location, I think you should be able to negotiate for three or four months of free rent to help you during the start-up period of your business. An alternative is to pay a lower rent for the six months and then increase the rent; again, to help you reduce your operating costs, when you first open your school. You may also be able to negotiate for some of finishing costs (renovations, painting, etc.).

I also suggest that school owners try to eliminate personal guarantees, which is when you are personally responsible for the lease terms, making your personal assets subject to attachment. Many landlords won’t negotiate that point and want you on the hook. You can answer back and ask the landlord to transfer the personal guarantee to your corporation, if you pay the first 18 months of rent on time. You want to negotiate for 15% below the local rental market, so if other businesses in the area are paying $10 a square foot, then you want to negotiate for $8. Often, you can do most of the finishing, since space for martial arts classes doesn’t need much renovation or expensive fixtures. If you ask the landlord to renovate or prepare the space for your specific use, then you have less negotiating space and he will charge a premium rent.

Rob: Some of our readers may not be aware that there is a difference between a prime location and a non-prime location. Please explain the difference and the pros and cons of each.

Terry: As I mentioned previously, you can choose property in a lower-income area of town, since the property’s rent will probably be lower too. You must ask yourself, however, how many high-value students can I expect to attract from the immediate area and whether high-value students from more affluent areas are willing to drive to your location to train?

Most of the research and my experience dictate that it’s better to have a good location, even if it costs a little more. You may not need to be in a larger shopping center or mall with big-name anchor stores and excellent signage. In the martial arts school business model, I think you should invest more in marketing and less in a location because, during your initial telephone conversations with prospects, you can direct them to your location, even if it is not highly visible. You want to be convenient, but that doesn’t mean your school must front on a major traffic artery.

If you’re running the typical martial arts school, with a target of children 4-14 and their parents, then you want to be within a 3-mile radius of affluent neighborhoods with high-dollar rooftops. If you operate an MMA school, with a male, 18-24, target audience, then you want to be next to a highway, so you were more accessible to a larger geographic area and so you could attract males from bars and parties.

You must consider all those factors - the type of school you operate, your skills as a marketer, and knowing your target audience and where it is located - to determine whether any particular property is a prime location for you.

Rob: Some say that it’s easier to make money than to keep it. One of your strengths is asset protection and proper investing. Terry, please explain some basic asset protection strategies. What should our readers know and do to protect their assets?

Terry: First, I will remind them that we live in a litigious society; there are lawsuits everywhere, especially in martial arts. Eventually, someone is hurt and if the injured party can prove negligence, then you’re apt to be sued.

Second, make sure all your assets, your real property, anything with equity, are in separate legal business entities: land trusts, LLCs (limited-liability corporations) and other types of corporations. Even my personal dwelling is in a land trust that is owned by an LLC. I think everyone needs that kind of protection. It’s not to act paranoid, but if you start doing well and making money, then someone will come after you, so you must do this kind of planning from day one.

You’ll need a good asset-protection attorney to help you with this. Third, as I mentioned above, as a general rule, never sign anything personally, if you can avoid it. Sign as the president of your company or the manager of the LLC; and the sooner you have the right business entity, which is doing all of the deals, the more protected you will be.

Rob: You’re saying that the first step is to hire an attorney to create trusts and other entities to protect assets?

Terry: Yes, I think you need an attorney to show you how to do it, and not all attorneys know what they’re doing. In fact, 95% of all attorneys probably don’t understand land trusts, etc. and how to create them, so you’ll need an attorney with specialized knowledge.

You need to outsource that service and find someone that knows what he is doing. You need to do it right away, before you become wealthy because once you have that wealth and it isn’t protected, it’s too late.

Rob: This interview would not be complete without a little more dialogue on sales. After all, we are in the business of marketing and selling martial arts lessons, more so than just teaching classes, everyday. Many instructors are still undercharging for their lessons, so tell us a little bit about price elasticity, as it relates to the martial arts.

Terry: Of course, Stephen Oliver is a real-life example of the correct strategy. He has advocated higher tuitions for years and has tested how people respond to those higher tuitions and discovered that enrollments increased as the tuition did.

He has also discovered (as have many others) that the hardest people to convince that their training is worth more than what they are charging are the school owners and their staffs, not the customers. I see that everywhere. When I first started my real estate coaching program, I structured it as a free initial seminar and then an upgrade to a $6,500 coaching program.

Many people told that was impossible. Those, with similar coaching programs, were offering a free seminar and then a series of upgrades, from $99 or $199 to $2,000, and then six months or a year later a $5,000 or $6,000 upgrade. I decided against all those levels. With my model, I was closing 34% of those attending the free seminar to an upgrade to the coaching program.

If you are located in the right neighborhood, then you should be able to charge $300-$500 a month.

Rob: $300 to $500?

Terry: That should be possible, but I just don’t see anyone doing it.

Rob: Toby Milroy, NAPMA’s vice president of sales and marketing, has a school in the Orlando area and most of his students are paying $339 a month. In fact, I mentioned that to a seminar audience in New York and I saw some jaws open wide.

He does target marketing. He finds specific parents in his community who want their kids to go to the “Montessori” of martial arts. He doesn’t want a school with 800 people students. He has approximately 215 high-value students and much of his results has to do with his marketing ability as well as the price points that he is charging.

Terry: We’re seeing that in every industry across the country. If you focus on the top 5% to 10% of the customers you want, then you will have higher-valued customers, make more money and experience fewer headaches. The business owners who focus on those customers do the best.

Rob: Marketing is certainly a key, but you can’t charge $339 a month in return for shabby service. You must deliver the goods. There are many school owners delivering the goods, but they’re still charging $79 a month, for example, and leaving much money on the table. You’re running a seven-figure real estate business quite successfully. You’re the equivalent of a 10^th-Degree Black Belt in sales. Give us some broad selling tips, Terry. Use your wisdom to help NAPMA members and MAPro readers become better salespeople.

Terry: I think most people that gravitate toward the martial arts, professionally, and want to open a school are probably technicians. They love martial arts and they love teaching, so their forte is probably not sales. You have two choices: learn to be an effective salesperson or hire or train someone to be responsible for that part of your business.

I would think most school owners would be happier following my model: hire sales people to sell and management people to manage and you become the visionary that develops a share vision for everyone. Be your salesperson if you have time to train and produce excellent results; otherwise, you should outsource it.

Rob: That’s great advice. You always try to match the skills of the individual with the requirements of the job. One of the worst mistakes that you could ever make is to put someone in the position of a program director whose job is to sell memberships, when he or she don’t like selling or are not trained or versed in selling. You’re setting him up for failure, and your results will be horrible.

Terry: A good business owner hires slow and fires fast, and that includes you. If you’re not good at the job, then leave that position and hire someone that is.

Rob: The U.S. is experiencing a mortgage meltdown; foreclosures are reaching record highs in many areas and home prices have fallen. You come from the school of thought that states you can become rich in virtually any economy conditions. What are you and your real estate coaching clients doing in this economy to capitalize on the situation?

Terry: I think it is a great time to be buying because you can do short sales with the bank. You can buy good properties, with cash flow from day one, and paying $0.30 to $0.50 on the dollar.

I also think the 80/20 rule is very much in effect. When 80% of the population is talking doom and gloom, then you should be the 20% that are buying. If you want a bigger house, then now’s the time to buy. If you want to buy a commercial building for your school, then now is the time to buy. You simply have to do it right. You can’t pay too much for a property and make it up in volume. That does not work, but when you’re paying only 30, 40 cents on the dollar or below market value, then you should be buying.

Rob: Do you see a turnaround in the housing market coming anytime soon?

Terry: Real estate cycles are using every seven years, with a rise or fall. In Colorado, we think we hit the bottom. We’re expecting to see 10-15% appreciation by 2011, 2012. Now, we’ve had some huge curves with all the foreclosures, but, during the next seven years, all the people that bought now will be very wealthy.

Rob: I’d also like to add that you’re a cancer survivor. I was shocked and inspired when you told me about your amazing story. For the benefit of our readers, I’d like you to talk a little bit about your bout with cancer and specifically focus on how your martial arts training helped you to kick the cancer.

Terry: I think martial arts training gives me (and everyone for that matter) the attitude that you keep on keeping on no matter what. My Karate schools were on autopilot, with systems in place and doing well when the doctor told me I had stage-three cancer and I had a 90% chance I’d be gone in six months. Being the optimistic, I asked him, what’s the good news? He said that was the good news. The bad news was that I would be in chemo and radiation treatment and sick as a dog for the next six months.

I still remember the devastating look on my wife’s face when she returned from the hallway of the office where the nurses had told her it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when, and your one mission is to put his things in order. I turned to my doctor and asked, “What can I do to help you help me?” He responded, “Wow, no one ever asked me that.”

His words of advice, and I’ll share that with everyone, is do as much as you can for as long as you can. I still remember those words and I still tell everyone that’s why I’m on a mission to do as much as I can because, in reality, we’re all terminal. It’s just a matter of time.

I looked at myself physically, mentally and financially, and if you can make $50,000 and that’s all you can do, then that’s great; but if you can make $1 million a year, then should you? I say yes, I think you should.

For me, it was throwing everything I know about western medicine (chemo and radiation), but I also used my tai chi and chi gong. Early very morning, I would have the doctors unplug me and I’d do my tai chi before my treatment. I did the acupuncture and I did herbology and it all worked. At what point is it just mental, mind over matter? I don’t know, but I think, from what I’ve seen, the martial arts definitely have an edge on that. If you think positively and believe that the chi gong, the breathing and the tai chi helps, then I think it does. For me, it made a difference. I’m still here today because of it.

Rob: I think it is mind over matter. It’s good to have you walking the earth with us, Terry. I wanted to talk a little bit further about proper mindset. You touched on it a little bit, but I think we need to expand on the topic. I think it’s the critical determining factor in success. If things ain’t going right upstairs, then the rest just doesn’t work either.

Terry: I spend a couple hours everyday, working on personal development. I read the right books because we’re surrounded by negative people and bad news and negativism on TV. It’s everywhere, so you must surround yourself with very successful people and it must be on an ongoing basis because if you don’t, you’ll fall into that trap.

Computer people say garbage, in garbage out. That’s so true. Zig Ziglar talks about that in his success seminars, but many people will say, “I don’t like positive thinking because next week I’m down again.” Zig says it’s like taking a bath; you must keep doing it. I think success is approximately 70% mental, probably 10% implementation and 10% physical or technical. I think developing the mindset is probably the most powerful thing we can do to create successful people.

Rob: I agree with you completely. I’ve talked to school owners who say, “I just can’t do this or I can’t do that or I had a buddy day last week and no one came.” It just seems as if they’re creating self-fulfilling prophecies. When I talk with more successful school owners, they’re upbeat, optimistic and action-oriented. If they fail at something, such as a Buddy Day, then they keep trying. They always have the right mindset for success, instead of the mindset for failure.

I know that leadership is one of your strengths. You have a very strong military background. Martial arts instructors are leaders and the very nature of their role puts them in that position and I think you’d agree. In your opinion, what are some of the hallmark characteristics of a good leader?

Terry: I think walking the walk and talking the talk at the same time is huge. I think leading by integrity; set your core values and lead that way. It helps so much. Having integrity for yourself and doing the right thing for you and your family is important. I think many martial artists instructors assume a mindset that they must give, give and give to their students. Your students will lose respect for you, unless you’re a leader and show them that it is a priority to take care of yourself and your family. I think if you’re trying to teach respect, then you must show that you have respect for yourself and your business, as well.

Rob: Have you found, as I have, that many martial arts instructors haven’t studied leadership very much?

Terry: I think that is true about most of their personal development. They think about learning martial arts and more technical katas and techniques. The real value of their position is to become leaders in the communities. There are many leadership courses available and I think they need to study leadership, just as they need to study curriculum and personal development. What we’re doing when we run a successful school, as an example of leadership, is to teach character development and leadership qualities. Instructors must step up to the plate and be leaders in their communities and teach their students to be leaders too.

Rob: I think leadership skills can also have a very direct effect on enrollment and retention. It’s difficult to expect your students to remain with you, if you’re not a good leader. They’ll quickly leave your school to find one.

We’re very pleased that you will be a speaker at the upcoming Extreme Success Academy, September 26-28. I understand yours will focus on how to become rich in real estate, if you’re a martial arts school owner. What specific topics will you present during your session, Terry? How will it help those that attend?

Terry: I want to replicate the teaching pattern of a martial arts program. During the first year, you spent much time on motivation and excitement and convincing students to believe that they can. During the second year, students begin to work on the details. During the third year, you teach students the spiritual idea that they can do it, no matter what.

That same pattern applies to real estate. I can show the attendees at the NAPMA Extreme Success Academy how to purchase and manage commercial real estate, but they can hire an attorney to do that for you. What I really want to show them is the potential. I will show them how they can add real estate to what they’re doing right now to increase their net worth and improve their quality of life.

I relate my success to the martial arts. When I went to college, all my term papers referred to the martial arts. I have the same mindset, when I make real estate deals or run my business: it all relates to basic martial arts principles.

This is my way to give back to the community. I made my commitment to NAPMA, Stephen Oliver and all instructors and school owners who want to change their mindsets that I would give back anyway I can. This is my opportunity to give back and show school owners who are interested in the benefits of owning residential and commercial real estate. I’ll teach attitude first and exactly how we do it and then the numbers and how we do it.

Dr. Paul Hartunian is one of the world’s foremost authorities on the subject of generating free publicity for businesses of all sizes. After becoming the man who really sold the Brooklyn Bridge, he parlayed his celebrity status and the public relations program he had developed into a multi-millionaire consulting business. Today, he is an author, lecturer and advisor to many large corporations that pay him large fees to review their press releases and publicity programs.

Paul and some of his publicity students have been featured on many TV shows, including The Phil Donahue Show, The Jenny Jones Show, The Regis Philban Show, The Tonight Show and CNN News; in major print media, such as, Smart Money, Forbes, Money Magazine, USA Today,The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times; and more than 1,000 other radio and TV talk shows.

Rob Colasanti: I’ve studied your work, and I know that most of what you teach has been time-tested. It’s invaluable and really works, which is why this interview will be of great benefit to martial arts professionals throughout the world. Using the public relations techniques you teach can certainly help school owners promote their schools and student quality. Paul, what is public relations, or PR, and why is it so important that every martial arts school owner understand how to harness its power?

Paul Hartunian: Let me start by saying that the principles I will present during this interview were just as effective 10 to 20 years ago, and I am convinced that they will be equally effective 20, 30, 40 and 50 years from now.

Public relations, PR or publicity, can be considered the opposite of advertising, but PR also complements your marketing or advertising program. Running an ad, mailing sales letters and distributing coupons are valuable advertising efforts; however, according to most studies, 98 to 99 percent of business owners advertise, but do not have a publicity program. The major reason why every business owner must learn how to use publicity is because we’ve moved from being a credential society, 10 to 20 years ago, to a celebrity-obsessed society, which occurred dramatically during the 1990’s. In a credential society, you judge a businesses or business owners by their education, professional honors and awards and their reputations. In a celebrity-obsessed society, people are judged according to their media coverage and appearances. For better or worse, great credentials are no longer enough to penetrate markets, increase your customer base and generate greater profits.

Rob Colasanti: From your observations, how well does the average martial arts school owner generate PR?

Paul Hartunian: I’ve dealt with many martial arts schools, and they do a terrible job at publicity. Ironically, they have so many great stories that would interest media reporters, but martial artists are not distributing their stories to the media, although they are ready to give school owners thousands of dollars in newspaper space and/or radio and TV airtime. (To make this interview easier, I’ll use the word “reporters” to refer to all journalists, talk show hosts, producers and editors, etc.)

Rob Colasanti: Why do you think that school owners miss this opportunity? Is there a self-limiting mindset or are they putting the “principals of their arts” above their business. Is it a lack of knowledge?

Hartunian: It has very little to do with them being martial arts school owners. In many cases, they don’t think they are qualified. They’ve been told that only professionals can write a powerful press release or that they must have a journalism background or great writing skills. None of that is correct. My purpose is to show all small business owners that they can write a great press release because it has nothing to do with one’s education or skills, except following directions. The secret to write a great press release is to follow a template that has already been tested and tried. This is no different than the many proven templates, formulas and strategies NAPMA provides its members to help them save time and money, so they don’t have to experiment on their own.

Rob Colasanti: What are some of the media outlets that martial arts instructors should consistently target for PR opportunities?

Paul Hartunian: First, I want to make it very clear that a business is a business is a business. They’re all the same when it comes to PR. It makes no difference whether you sell martial arts lessons, pizza, plumbing or roofing; the principles are exactly the same.

There are two groups of reporters to target: one I call the obvious group and the other is not so obvious. Obvious reporters for martial arts schools are those that write athletics, sports, physical fitness and health stories. In most cases, school owners and general business owners overlook the notso-obvious reporters because they don’t spend a little time thinking of creative angles for a story.

For example, you wouldn’t think a martial arts school owner would put a cooking reporter on his press release distribution list, unless he or an instructor at his school happens to be an amateur chef and wins a cooking competition. Another example is the school owner or instructor that travels to Asia to research martial arts. That’s an opportunity to submit a story to a travel reporter.

Sometimes, a story could appeal to two editors. Let’s say an attorney studies martial arts and is a Black Belt. He decides to close his legal practice and open a martial arts school. That generates two great stories, one for a legal reporter and another for a business reporter. You can expand the interest of the media in your school, just by slightly slanting your story, without much effort.

Rob Colasanti: What is another publicity strategy that school owners could easily use?

Paul Hartunian: Because most martial arts schools are housed in commercial properties, the school owners can volunteer their schools to be a focal point of community activities. For example, a school could be a collection site for Toys for Tots or a place to meet the Easter Bunny. You can use your physical location nearly every month of the year as a community outreach site.

Another benefit of this strategy is the halo effect. In other words, the community perceives you as being an “angel” because you’re willing to share and give back to the community.

Another idea is to sponsor a local athletic team: softball, Little League, Pop Warner football, etc. The publicity benefit is that the team is named after your business and displays that name on its jerseys or uniforms. When the local media reports on your sponsored team, they are using your school’s name when they refer to the team: Rob’s Judo School beat Miller Optician, six to four. Of course, there is a game every week throughout the team’s season, which means you receive regular publicity.

You can squeeze even more publicity from the team sponsorship angle by submitting a story every week, profiling one of the team members. The girl who plays second base on your sponsored softball team also plays flute in the community orchestra or is a merit scholar. You can use that kind of information to make a connection to the importance of character development, for instance, which is a primary benefit of martial arts for kids.

Colasanti: I’ve recently seen martial arts schools in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area generate publicity with similar ideas: one distributed candy at a community Halloween event. Another hosted a turkey brigade at Thanksgiving, while a third invited parents to have their children photographed and fingerprinted at the school in co-sponsorship with DARE. There are many opportunities in any community, if you just spend a little time researching and planning. Explain to our readers how writing a book can generate quite a bit of publicity.

Hartunian: I think one of the greatest ideas is to have a book published. Notice, I did not say write a book. You can write a book if you want. I currently have 67 or 68 books on Amazon.com.

Many business owners initial reaction is that they do like to write; in fact, they hate it. No problem; hire a ghostwriter, which is one of the secrets to write, publish and benefit from a book with your name on it.

Learn how to generate tons of free publicity for your school directly from Dr. Paul Harunian at the 2008 NAPMA Extreme Success Academy

Few professionals are better qualifi ed than Paul Hartunian to help you learn and use his low-cost public relations formula to create and benefit from a celebrity status in your community.

After years of working on his formula, Dr. Hartunian was presented with his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in 1983 to test it, and reap the rewards he thought it could produce. He was able to buy cheaply scrape parts of the Brooklyn Bridge that were being replaced. Within days, he became known as the man who really “sold the Brooklyn Bridge” — and earned millions. Read on for the details of his amazing story.

NAPMA President Rob Colasanti conducts another masterly interview, focusing the discussion on those lowcost strategies that you can use to create a celebrity status in your community. That is the key, according to Dr. Hartunian, because we live in a celebrity-obsessed society.

The philosophy, the purpose, of martial arts is readymade to attract the attention of the public. All you must do is apply Dr. Hartunian’s techniques to the unique message and programs of your school – the media and the public will do the rest – resulting in a level of community leadership and recognition that can only translate into a growing, prosperous school.

See Dr. Paul Hartunian* at the Extreme Success Academy in September 26–28. For more information and to register, visit ExtremeSuccessAcademy.com.

Some of the greatest “authors” never wrote a word. They used ghostwriters. Now, you can use a ghostwriter either ethically or unethically.

An ethical example is that you hire a ghostwriter to write a book on martial arts. He or she will interview you, ask if you’ve written any articles or have been interviewed. The ghostwriter will also want to know everything about your style of martial arts, your teaching system, etc. Essentially, he or she is simply presenting your story from factual information you’ve provided. An unethical example is a school owner that hires a ghostwriter to write a book on weight loss. Neither might know much about weight loss, but the strategy is to research weight loss, “create” a new method to lose weight and put the school owner’s name on the book. That would be totally unethical. Of course, martial artists wouldn’t do that because they are very ethical and disciplined; and they (and their readership) would benefit more from a book on how to develop confidence or other character development and self-improvement skills.

Colasanti: How much does it cost to utilize a ghostwriter?

Hartunian: There isn’t one answer. A ghostwriter wrote a 200-page book for me and charged $900 dollars. I am still astonished. In most cases, you can expect to pay in the range of $5,000 for a book of approximately 150 pages. Now, I know many of your members and readers are reacting negatively to the idea of spending $5,000 to have a book written. In reality, that cost is the smallest drop in the bucket compared to the value of the publicity you’ll receive. You are now a published author with a book, which will make that $5,000 laughable.

The publicity opportunities are infinite because once you’re an author you’re considered to be at a different level of society. For whatever reason, the public puts authors on a pedestal.

Colasanti: Being an author opened many doors for me, so I encourage all NAPMA members and school owners to publish a book. Great advice, Paul, but now I want to move to press releases. Our members and readers are excellent martial arts instructors, but they’re clueless when it comes to writing a press release. Give us some tips and steps.

Hartunian: Let me start with the fatal mistakes that business owners make because, as you know, pain generates a better response than pleasure. If I tell you the mistakes that will cause pain, then you will pay attention. The first mistakes I mentioned earlier: thinking that you don’t have the skill to write a powerful press release. That’s total nonsense. Everyone reading this interview has that skill. The second mistake is thinking that if your press release is more than one page, then it’s almost guaranteed to be unwanted by the media. The reason this is mistaken thinking is that reporters are not only looking for information, but also looking for those little clues in your press release that tells them that you know how to play the publicity game. One of the biggest clues is a one-page press release, although that is not an absolute rule.

Another mistake is that business owners think that it takes a long time to learn how to obtain publicity. Plenty of people have learned my system in one day, and started sending press releases, almost immediately. A few hours of your time can result in a lifetime of publicity and tens of thousands of reporters who are willing to do your marketing for you. Another mistake is thinking you need special contacts to be interviewed. You don’t have to know the local editors, TV producers, talk show hosts, etc. to attract their interest. A very common and major mistake is to promote products and businesses in press releases. That is a mortal sin.

Colasanti: Please expand on that for us.

Hartunian: As I mentioned earlier, it’s the difference between advertising and publicity. If you distribute a press release that is a blatant promotion for your school or its lessons, then the reporter will know that you don’t know what you’re doing. Worse yet, the reporter will feel insulted because you’ve tried to fool him with a press release that is really an ad. He knows the difference; so don’t even try this tactic. Your purpose, your goal, as a business owner, seeking publicity, is to be a great source of information about your industry. This is so critical, and so simple. Now, you may ask, “How do I benefit when I provide reporters with general information about martial arts?”

You benefit because reporters know how the game works. If you perform your function as a great source of information on martial arts, then you’re helping the reporters look good to their audiences; and that’s the reporters’ goal. When reporters serve their audiences, the reporters also look good to their employees; they keep their jobs, they receive promotions. The reporters become more popular; in a sense, you help them develop their celebrity status. In return, they will do their jobs, which is to promote your business better than you ever could because they have that relationship with their audiences. You don’t have a relationship with those audiences. If you’re given the opportunity to be interviewed on a local radio station, for example, and spend the entire interview promoting your school or your next karate class lessons, then the listeners will hate you.

Your publicity opportunity has become a tedious, self-serving ad. You’re just talking about you and nothing you have to say benefits the listeners. Instead, you want to answer the call-in questions of listeners with information. If a caller asks, “My son is only five. Is he too young to start martial arts?” Don’t promote your new preschool class starting Tuesday, but explain the benefits of martial arts for preschoolers.

Again, if you do your job and provide good information, then, at some point during the interview, the talk show host will likely ask you if you teach preschoolers. From there, it’s a natural transition to provide information about your preschool program. The talk show host is doing a commercial for you, and he’ll do a great job.

Colasanti: Is there a rule-of-thumb for self-promoting during a radio or TV interview? How much is considered too much?

Hartunian: You’ll find it clearly stated in many of those publicity books at the bookstore that you should mention your business name and/or product every five minutes. They’ll also advise that you always weave in the name of your business or products when answering listener/viewers’ questions.

The exact opposite is true. You should not even consider promoting your business, product or service. Remember, your job is to be a source of great information. People know when they’re being manipulated. If you just answer the
questions, then the reporter, talk show host or editor will do his job.

For example, an interviewer might say, “Rob, you haven’t mentioned your school. Did you know my kids, Jim and Jeff, attend your school? Let me tell you about Rob’s school, and what my kids come home and say.” Now, the interviewer is doing his job, creating a commercial for you. It may seem counter-intuitive, but if you simply give good information, they’ll do their job. Don’t worry about it.

Colasanti: I’ve interviewed Anthony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, Jackie Chan, Billy Blanks, Tom Hopkins and Evander Holyfield, among others, and none of them, as best as I can recall, ever once snuck in their Web site URLs or books that they had just written. I’m confident that many NAPMA members and MAPro readers visited their Web sites, found their books and bought some of their products and services.

Hartunian: That’s why those people are so successful. They know the public doesn’t want to be beaten over the head. People want answers to their questions. If you can prove to the public that you’re trustworthy, then they react in a way that is beneficial to you.

Trust is an important component of publicity and celebrity today. During the 50’s and 60’s, trust wasn’t as critical as it is now. Trust is paramount now because of all the frauds, schemes and rip- offs. People must trust you. If you keep beating them over the head with a commercial, if you pressure them to hire you or enroll at your school for lessons, then they are likely to hate you.

It’s amazing to me that salespeople and marketers still don’t understand this concept. Too many of them are teaching hard-close techniques. A school owner who sits across the desk from a prospect and says, “Would you like to start your lessons on Tuesday, at three o’clock, or Thursday, at seven o’clock? Here’s the pen, just make a choice.” That’s a hard close. That’s pressure.

Colasanti: I would imagine that after the radio or TV interview, you would want to thank the talk show host for the commercial he did for you, maybe give him some guest passes for his family and/or his production staff. That’s much more powerful and classy.

Hartunian: Otherwise, you’re just a pitchman, and people hate pitchmen. If you’re a great source of information, then you’re an expert. You’re an authority, and people want to be around and learn from authorities.

Colasanti: I now want to ask you about social proof, or testimonials. Martial arts must be the easiest business in the world from which to obtain interviews because martial arts changes people’s lives. What are some of the ways that NAPMA members and all school owners could use social proof, or testimonials, to help them gain free PR?

Hartunian: First, I will reverse your question: “How can school owners use PR to increase enrollments and then use those enrollments to obtain and use testimonials?” Then, I’ll answer your question directly.

Let me provide you with a perfect example that happens to be a personal experience; and, although it doesn’t pertain to martial arts, my point should be obvious.
When I bought a house a few years ago, I knew I would have to replace the roof. I researched the Yellow Pages and other sources, as almost anyone would, and selected four roofers to call for estimates. All four roofers were almost identical: they wore overalls with tar stains, carried clipboards and arrived in rickety trucks. Each of them looked at the roof and submitted a written estimate. They were all within a few hundred dollars.

It was almost impossible to choose one of them because there wasn’t much of a difference. Because I was having trouble deciding, I called a fifth roofer. He arrived dressed nicely and said, “I will walk around your house and inspect your roof carefully for at least 15 minutes, so I can prepare an accurate estimate. While I’m doing that, here’s an article that was written about me.”

I forget where the article appeared, but it was a major publication, such as The New York Times. He said the article provided tips about how to pick a good roofer and avoid some of the scams in the roofing business.

Of course, my immediate reaction was that this guy knew his stuff. A major publication published an article about this guy; and I thought he was just a nail banger. He must be someone special to receive that kind of publicity.

Martial arts school owners can use the same strategy during an enrollment conference with parents. When they ask, “Why should I enroll my kid in your school, when there are seven schools in the area?” “Why should I enroll my kids in your school at all?” A school owner can simply answer, “I’ll be happy to explain the benefits of attending my school, but, frankly, that’s just bragging about myself. What I’d prefer you do is take this CD (or DVD) home, and listen to the 12 interviews I did on local radio stations (or local TV stations). It’s very informative because it explains how to choose a martial arts school, how to make sure that your kids are receiving the best training and what to do after they’ve finished their martial arts training.”

Who’s doing the selling now: the martial arts instructor or social proof, testimonials?

Colasanti: That is so powerful. In fact, that is an idea that anyone reading this article should put into effect immediately.

Hartunian: The public expects a business owner to share customer testimonials; but remember the media is dazzling. When you can share stories about your school and you, newspaper clippings or audio and video interviews, then you’re not just a regular martial arts instructor anymore. You are a celebrity martial arts instructor, and that reinforces my earlier point that this is a celebrity-obsessed society.

Remember, we’re no longer a credential society, so, if your interview or story is all about your training or that you went to Japan to study under a great master, then, frankly, nobody cares. If I went into a martial arts school, I couldn’t care less. Tell me about all the media appearances you made, and I now see you as a celebrity martial arts instructor. Since this is a celebrity-obsessed society, I am more likely to believe you.

Colasanti: Because so many school owners have been featured in their local media, they’re sitting on a gold mine of free celebrity PR, but they’re just not doing anything with it.

Hartunian: Another good example is Paris Hilton. I detest Paris Hilton and everything she represents. I am the king of tough love publicity; I pull no punches. I also admire Paris Hilton because she does a better job of attracting publicity than almost anyone.

What has this woman done in her life, aside from being in a sex video (for which I thank her) and going to prison? I can’t think of anything else she has done, but because she can attract the media better than anyone on the planet, she earns $6.5 million a year to be at parties, nightclubs and openings.

With all due respect, Rob, you don’t make $6.5 million a year, and you’re intelligent. That is the power of celebrity status. The media gives you celebrity status automatically when you’re interviewed and receive publicity. You don’t have to do much more than find the opportunity.

Colasanti: That is extremely powerful advice. Paul, let’s create an imaginary, high-ranking Black Belt instructor who has just opened a martial arts school in Orlando Florida. What are some of the things he should do immediately to position himself as the martial arts superstar in that particular town?

Hartunian: I’ll start to answer your question with a question to you. Let’s say that this instructor attended martial arts schools in Asia and studied under great masters. What shouldn’t he do? What kind of publicity should he avoid?

Colasanti: He probably wouldn’t want to publicize the facts that he is a 10th-Degree Black Belt and studied under Inzio Shimibuko in Okinawa; admittedly, a great teacher, but the public doesn’t know who he is. Our imaginary instructor would also want to avoid telling the public about all of his martial arts accomplishments, awards, tournaments, etc. that are only familiar to other martial artists.

Hartunian: Exactly. Many of your readers are scratching their heads because that is what they thought they should do. To them, that’s why they studied so hard. I’m sorry to burst their bubbles, but the world changed from a credential society to a celebrity society during their training. The good news is that they can benefit from that change.

If I were a new instructor, opening a school in Orlando, then my first step on day one would be to write and distribute a press release with the headline and topic, “Six Ways to Pick the Best Martial Arts Schools For Your Kids.” I would also create a “pain” press release, “How to Avoid the Nine Most Common Martial Arts Schools Scams.”

Now, the other martial arts school owners in Orlando may respond, “Hey, wait a minute, we’re not scamming anyone!” Our new school owner should reply, “If you’re not pulling one of these scams, then you and I are great friends. We’re in this together. If you are scamming the public, then I don’t want to know you.”

I would then create some publicity based on the next holiday, for example. You could pick St. Patrick’s Day because it has the reputation for drunken celebrations. Write and distribute a press release entitled, “Great Ways to Defend Yourself From Extreme St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations.” I wouldn’t speak about specific martial arts moves in the press release, but the smart choices to avoid a negative experience on St. Patrick’s Day.

My next publicity step as a new school owner would be to create press releases that address parents’ needs when it comes to raising their children, “The Fastest Way to Boost Your Child’s Self Esteem.”

Once a number of press releases have been published and maybe I’ve been interviewed on local radio and TV stations, I would clip those stories, and frame and display them in my office and throughout the school. Forget about general message posters and art for your walls, even reduce the number of martial arts-oriented poster, so there is space for your framed stories, interviews, etc.

I would then allow those published stories (social proof) to do most of the sales job for me. During an enrollment conference, I would excuse myself from the office and the parents for five minutes. Tell them you must retrieve some literature for them. While they wait, they will start to look at the walls in your office, and they’ll see those framed stories and interviews. By the time you return, do you think you will have to do much of a “sales pitch?”

Colasanti: I think, in most cases, the parents would have been mostly sold.

Hartunian: Because the media did it for you.

Colasanti: Wow. That is absolutely fantastic. Let’s look at a typical event or program in many martial arts schools. During a year’s time, a school owner’s student base performs 100,000 random acts of kindness. Many school owners will write and distribute a press release, which, you and I both know, is a very anemic and insufficient approach, at best. How would you maximize this publicity opportunity, and make it special?

Hartunian: To be specific, let’s say the instructor and his students paint the rectory of a Catholic church.

Colasanti: That is certainly an act of kindness, maybe not so random. Typically, many instructors like to explain that martial arts is not just kicking and punching, but also helping others. A random act of kindness could be holding the door open for someone entering a store. Your brother’s shoes are in the middle of the living room floor and you put them in his closet, without expecting a reward or a pat on the back.

Many schools do plan and participate in larger projects. One NAPMA member leads a team of martial artists that builds houses in Alabama, similar to Habitat for Humanity.

Hartunian: Painting a rectory is still a good example, then. The school owner could generate five different stories from that single act of kindness. The first story is about offering to paint the rectory, with an accompanying photograph of the instructor, his students and the priest standing outside the rectory, with its peeling paint. The second story would focus on the diocese accepting the offer.

The third story is the best because it covers the actual painting of the rectory. You want a photograph of the team painting the rectory - and you want to include a few of the priests on your painting team, working with your students, smiling and enjoying themselves.

The fourth story declares that the job has been completed. Include a photograph with all the students and priests. Everyone is smiling as the school owner and head priest stand in front shaking hands. Of course, the photograph is shot outside in front of the newly painted rectory.

The fifth story is about the nuns who ask you to paint their convent, the diocese asking you to paint another rectory or another church to paint one of its buildings. Now, you’ve created some real social proof from what would have otherwise been an anemic story.

You are certainly not patting yourself on the back. Reporters will ask, “Why are martial arts students painting this building?” This provides you with an opening to explain that the philosophy of martial arts extends beyond physical moves to teaching children character development, community involvement, etc.

Colasanti: The school owner is able to reveal the giving-back aspect of the martial arts philosophy.

Hartunian: That’s right; however, let me tell you why you not only have the opportunity to publicize, but also you have the obligation to publicize.

Colasanti: What do you mean?

Hartunian: If there are no new students enrolling at a martial arts school, then the school closes. If the school closes, then there is a void in the community, one less business, organization or group of people willing to give back to the community. Your purpose for painting that rectory or any other “good works”, and the resulting publicity, is not ego, but so you can stay in business and continue to perform those “good works.” It’s very smart.

Colasanti: That is a great point, because many school owners reading this interview might think, “I did it. People will notice, but I’m not blatantly trying to generate any free publicity for it.” That’s backwards thinking.

Hartunian: That is terrible thinking. Rob, as you know, I speak throughout the U.S., and I’m paid for my appearances. I don’t do it for free. The reason I accept a fee is that I support a dog rescue organization. If I said, “I shouldn’t be taking money for this speech or seminar,” then the dog rescue organization suffers, because I don’t have money to contribute.

Colasanti: Another great point. Some of the strategies that you’ve used to create PR for yourself have been nothing short of brilliant. My personal favorite is how you used the Brooklyn Bridge. Forgive me, I know you’ve probably told this story many times, but could you please tell it to the MAPro audience? At the end, would you explain what this one good idea did for you, financially? How it helped you to embellish your reputation. I think that our audience will learn much from your story.

Hartunian: I am actually thrilled to tell this story because, in so many people’s lives, there was some pivotal moment that changed everything.

From the time I was 15, I’ve always wanted to be rich and famous. I kept working at the goal for 19 years, until I was 34 years old. I wanted to learn about publicity, so I read many different books on publicity, those $20 books you can find at most bookstores today, but doggone if I could make those ideas work. Instead, I developed my own system to obtain publicity, which, for more than 20 years, has been phenomenally successful.

The turning point came in 1983. That’s when I had finally perfected my publicity formula, and ready to test it. I had to determine if it would work. I was watching the TV news, looking for a story that could be a test for my formula. A reporter was interviewing a construction worker and asked him what he was doing. The construction worker pointed behind him to the Brooklyn Bridge. He said, “As a gift for the Bridge’s 100th anniversary, we are replacing the old pedestrian walkway, which is now rotting wood.”

At the time, I lived about 30 minutes from the Brooklyn Bridge, and I didn’t know that any part of it was made from wood. Stacked behind the construction worker was the pile of rotten wood he had removed. The construction worker was standing next to his truck. Either he was a brilliant marketer or he was very lucky because he parked his truck at an angle that allowed me to read his name and phone number painted on the truck.

It was seven o’clock in the morning, and still dark outside; but the reporter and construction were bathed in sunlight, so I knew that it must be a recorded interview. I called the phone number and the person answering the phone confirmed he was the one who had been interviewed at the Brooklyn Bridge.

I asked him what he was planning to do with the old wood he removed. He said, “Well, it’s old scrap. I’ll pay someone to haul it away.” At that moment, my heart was pounding in my chest.

I knew this is my opportunity to be rich and famous, using the publicity formula I invented. I made a deal with the guy on the phone. I said, “Will you sell me the wood for five hundred dollars?” I’m sure the construction worker was thinking, “I have this huckleberry on the phone, who’s willing to buy this junk wood from me.” He said to me, “You got a deal.”

The most exciting adventure of my life started at that moment. I had the wood cut into little one inch squares, real thin slices. I designed a 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ certificate, added some history of the Brooklyn Bridge and attached a little piece of wood to each certificate.

I then put my publicity formula to work. I wrote a press release stating that I was the first person in history really to sell the Brooklyn Bridge. This was in 1983 - no fax machines, computers or e-mails. If I remember correctly I mailed 67 copies of that release to the media. I don’t remember the day of the week, but nothing happened the next day; however, the day after that, it was like an explosion in a fireworks factory in my house.

Reporters from around the world were calling for an interview with the first person literally to sell the Brooklyn Bridge. This continued for six months. Many of your readers may be thinking, “Paul, that’s a cute story. It’s a real ego story. We’re talking about money in the bank.” Every time a reporter would do another story, he or she would add, “If you would like to own a piece of the Brooklyn Bridge, then send Paul Hartunian $14.95;” and then the reporter would include my name, address and phone number. Mail was being delivered to me in huge sacks.

I tasted the cherry on the sundae approximately six months later, when Johnny Carson called. I didn’t send a press release to Carson, but he saw a story about what I was doing in his local Nebraska newspaper, and he was curious. He asked me to send him some of my certificates, which, of course, I did. I then completely forgot about it. Three months later, Carson did seven or eight minutes on his show, showed the Brooklyn Bridge certificate, and the media went nuts again.

Colasanti: Did you sell all of your pieces of the Brooklyn Bridge?

Hartunian: The answer is yes and no. I stopped selling them many years ago. I still have a small quantity of wood left. I give a certificate to each person who becomes a member of my publicity family, when they order my kit and use my system. I’ll donate one every once in a while to a charity auction, and it usually brings in an extravagant amount of money.

The bottom line is I am a multi-millionaire because I took that one step. I live in a home on 25 acres, with a pond, horse corral, barn and stables because of that one publicity opportunity.

Colasanti: What an amazing success story. I almost hate to ask this question, but did someone try to do something similar with the World Trade Center?

Hartunian: They didn’t, and that’s very good. People called me, but I discouraged them. What people miss is the point of the Brooklyn Bridge. People contact me all the time with one idea or another. “I have a seat from a diner that Rita Hayworth visited in 1948, and the diner was demolished last year.” They’re missing the point. The World Trade Center would have been incredibly poor taste.

Someone did follow my lead and gave me credit. He launched the same publicity idea with a very famous cricket stadium in Australia. It’s the equivalent of Yankee Stadium. He is also a millionaire because of that very same idea.

Colasanti: As a consultant, professional speaker, author of more than 60 books and someone who has earned a doctorate, I know you support the idea that every businessperson, including martial arts school owners, must constantly invest in and learn and grow from the many business education resources available to them. Since you are a role model for many business owners, would you explain from your point of view why it is critical that martial arts school owners participate in a continuing education program, and not just focus on the physical nature of martial arts?

Hartunian: If you’re focusing on kicking and punching, then you’re focusing on credentials. If you think your credentials will lead to success, then you’re living in the Dark Ages. You lose. Whoever does the best job attracting the media wins. If you know how to attract the media and receive publicity and your competitors don’t, then you win and they lose. The flip side is also true. If your competitor knows how to become a celebrity in the eyes of the media and public and you don’t, then you lose and they win.

Rob, I don’t know this for a fact, but I assume you, just as I do, invest thousands of dollars in your education every year.

Colasanti: Absolutely. Stephen Oliver and I are part of the Dan Kennedy Platinum Group. Both of us support continuing education because we like to practice what we preach. We would be hypocrites if we didn’t.

Hartunian: I spend tens of thousands of dollars every year. As an example, I want to clarify my résumé. I was not born into affluence or was naturally brilliant. After I graduated from high school, I went to Rutgers University in New Jersey. Don’t be impressed. I was there for one semester. At the end of the semester, my grade point average was 0.9. The dean called me into his office and said, “Thank you for stopping by. Don’t come back next semester.” The reason I have a Ph.D. and written 68 books is because I invest in my education, and I take it seriously. Yes, martial arts instructors achieve a great level of confidence through their training, but if they only focus on that part of their education, then their businesses are very likely to go down the tubes.

Colasanti: Let’s say there’s a tragic event in the community that the media is covering. Examples would be a child abduction, home invasion and violent assault or, perhaps, a mass killing spree as has happened recently on college campuses. How could a PR-savvy individual tastefully capitalize on such a situation, while helping people in the community? Is that doable?

Hartunian: It is absolutely do-able; in fact, it’s mandatory. It is your responsibility. I’ll use 9/11 as an example to which you referred earlier. A friend of mine is a martial arts instructor. He called me September 12th and said, “I want to help people. What should I do?”

His publicity angle was first to express the remorse and outrage that we all felt. He then took a measured approach, instead of spreading panic and fear. He told parents and the public, “We’ve now entered a different world. You must know how to protect yourself. Let me explain some of the simple techniques that will help you be more aware.” He never mentioned his school, training programs and DVDs for sale. If he had sounded the least bit commercial, then people would have hated him.

Where you can go wrong is to blow a tragic incident way out of proportion. I can understand how otherwise well-meaning business owners, public figures and even martial arts school owners will react without thinking, distributing press releases and doing interviews that suggest parents must be responsible for their kids. No, no NO; that’s the wrong approach.

Martial arts professionals should take the opposite tack, just as my friend did. He quietly and calmly reassured parents. “Parents, I know you’ve heard all the stories of kids going to school with guns. They’re being bullied and abducted. First, let me calm you a little bit because, according to statistics, your child only has a one in 38,000 probability of being a victim. Let me help you become more aware and more prepared for these issues and incidents.” That’s the way to approach it.

Colasanti: It’s sounds to me that if you’re aggressive, then you repel people; but if you take a backseat approach, then they’ll find you.

Hartunian: Exactly, and that’s what you want them to do. If you’ve ever seen me speak, then you know I never hard sell. I want people to make their own decisions. If you make a decision and you’re comfortable with it, then I’m right for you.

Colasanti: Here’s an interesting question. One of the most important elements of growing a martial arts school, and I would go so far as to say any membership-driven organization, is retention. It does you little good to attract 10 new students through the front door, if 10 current students are exiting by the back door. Would you agree that becoming a master at generating PR would help you keep many of the students you already have? What are your thoughts?

Hartunian: Generating PR will do even more. Obviously, it will help create a flow of prospects through the front door, but publicity will also start to close the back door because everyone likes to be with celebrities, which refers to our celebrity-obsessed society again.

If Rob’s Karate School - and its students - are in the news and on TV, regularly, and tell the world how great the training is and how much they enjoy it, then not only will current students want to continue to be affiliated with the school, but also more prospects will be attracted.

They want to be able to tell others, “I go to Rob’s Karate School.” In fact, they want to wear a Rob’s Karate School uniform, jacket or T-shirt. If they’re young, then they want to wear that jacket to academic school because all the other kids just saw Rob’s Karate School featured on TV or in the newspaper. If some of the karate school’s students were seen on TV too, then they are very unlikely to leave the school. They now have celebrity status with their peers.

The secret is to learn how to balance your business sense with your community awareness sense. As I stated previously, you don’t simply want to siphon money from your community. You want to be a member of the community, and give back to the community. Sponsor an essay contest, with the topic, “My Favorite Football Team.” It has nothing to do with martial arts, but it’s fun and you’ll be noticed.

I worked with my favorite pizza place in the town where I used to live. The pizza shop was a microscopic, little place in a town with many pizza parlors. The owner asked me, “How can I compete? I’m in trouble.” I said, “Sponsor a contest: ‘Design Your Favorite Pizza.’ The prize is the winning pizza for a free party of ten people; and the pizza becomes part of your menu. It won’t cost much at all.”

He did it and the neighborhood loved the pizza contest. He attracted many new customers. In fact, it was so popular that he had to separate the competition into sub-categories: 10-years-old and younger, 65 and older, the highest-calorie pizza, the low-cal pizza, etc. His business went wild.

Colasanti: What a fantastic idea. Sometimes, you must think out of the box a little bit. Recently, I interviewed a NAPMA member, and this poor woman just had a disaster at her school. One of her instructors was accused of sexual misconduct with a minor. He went to jail, and she lost 250 of her 350 students. Even her grandmaster dismissed her from the association. The incident didn’t occur at the school and was after hours.

Hartunian: Please allow me to interrupt you, Rob, because I think I can guess what she did wrong, in terms of responding to such a crisis. My guess is that she did not immediately go to the media on the very day and hour that the incident and the subsequent arrest were announced and became public knowledge.

Colasanti: You are right. The media came to her.

Hartunian: That’s bad news. You don’t want Mike Wallace coming to your door. Her first mistake was that she wasn’t prepared - and disaster struck. She didn’t know how to use publicity.

Let me explain the correct approach for a school owner in this situation. First, she would have already learned how to use publicity and would have been using it regularly, developing a celebrity status for herself in the community, to help her business thrive.

As soon as her school was linked to such bad news, she would have known, within the minute, to call the various media outlets in her community and tell them that she was the school owner and that she wanted to talk to a reporter or appear on the radio or TV station to explain the entire story. The media will love you for it because they will come to your door, anyway. The school owner was blind-sided.

I imagined she stammered and stuttered, and had no answer. They cornered her. She probably gave terrible answers that made martial arts, in general, look terrible. Of course, I don’t know what questions the reporters asked, but I can make a good guess. “How could we trust these martial arts instructors with our kids? You’re alone with five-, six-and seven-year-old kids. You’re touching them. How can you do this?” I’m sure the school owner wanted to pass out. She didn’t have good answers, and it was completely her fault.

Colasanti: Are you saying that her correct strategy would have been to be the first one to go to the media?

Hartunian: Absolutely. Be first. History is filled with celebrities and leaders making this same mistake. Instead of lying, Bill Clinton should have stepped forward immediately and said, “It was a stupid idea to have sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. We’ve all had lapses in judgment. I’m human. I was so stupid, and I know many people think I’m disgusting; and I don’t blame them.”

Clinton lied, and this school owner was unprepared. At least, she should’ ve said, “I have no comment.” She made it even worse. She talked to them. That’s another disaster added to the first one. Inevitably, one or more of your members will find themselves in a similar situation, whether the accusations are true or not. It may not be a crime. It may be just a lapse of judgment. As human beings, not necessarily NAPMA members or martial art school owners, we’ll make mistakes.

The lesson is to be prepared and learn how to deal with the media. Use publicity for your benefit, and as soon as something happens, call the media, immediately, with the advice of your lawyer, of course. I’m not a lawyer. This isn’t legal advice.

Colasanti: You have shared many tremendous ideas about generating free publicity. Let me ask you, how important is one’s attitude, confidence and overall mindset, when it comes to using your many excellent strategies and tactics successfully?

Hartunian: Proper mindset is obviously important in every phase of life, without exception. There is one aspect of your mindset that relates to publicity that I want to address. Many people tell me they would be nervous during an interview. Some can’t even imagine being on radio or TV.

I tell them, however, that they won’t be nervous because, if you think about it, guests on radio and TV talk shows rarely sound nervous. When you do hear the occasional nervous interviewee, it’s because he or she is being interviewed in a studio, in unfamiliar surroundings, with other people in the room or a production staff on the other side of a large piece of glass.

The vast majority of newspaper, magazine and radio interviews are done over the phone. Various filters and other electronics are used to make it sound like the interviewee is in the studio. Typically, he or she is sitting at home in a familiar chair in familiar surroundings, with no one in the room, or within earshot.

That’s why I suggest that your first radio interviews should be at low-power radio stations, broadcasting at 100 watts or less. You can spit farther than the reach of a 100-watt radio station. In other words, very few listeners will hear you, so, if you make a mistake, don’t worry.

Start with the low-power stations, so you can prove to yourself that you weren’t nervous. It was fun. It was exciting. Then, you’re prepared for bigger radio stations (or newspapers) with bigger audiences; you’ll be more comfortable and not nervous. Radio talk show hosts and reporters are very good at what they do. They know how to make you feel comfortable, like you’re talking to your best friend.

Colasanti: That is great advice, Paul. My final question is what does success mean to you?

Hartunian: The standard definition of success is to be able to do whatever you want, whenever you want; and I certainly subscribe to that definition, as well. I have a more philosophical meaning of success. I know that I’m on this planet for a reason, and the reason is not simply to accumulate money. It was a huge breakthrough, eight or nine years ago, when money was coming to me in enormous quantities.

I was talking to my girlfriend at the time, and I said, “I can’t spend this much money during the rest of my life, so there must be another reason why it is happening.” Sure enough, shortly after that we established a non-profit dog rescue organization Aunt Mary’s Dog House. I’m the primary funding source. I contribute enormous amounts of money, not only into the dog rescue organization, but also to many other animal and human welfare organizations.

My whole philosophy, and I’m convinced that this is correct, is that the world is not changed with good thoughts. You can sit in the corner and chant, do yoga and beam good wishes and white light at people, but nothing will change. A perfect example is a three-month-old puppy that entered my life. It had been thrown from a third-floor window and had broken his leg. Since no one wanted to pay for the expensive surgery, the dog was to be put down.

The authorities called our organization. I could have sat in front of that puppy and chanted or said, “Think positively. Your leg is better and better every day.” Nothing would have happened. When I wrote out a check for a $1,000, however, the puppy was now likely to live a full life. The world is changed with a checkbook.

Of course, you should have good thoughts and positive thinking, but if you think that’s how the world changes, then you’re living in a dream. Mother Teresa was backed by an enormous fortune, so was Mahatma Gandhi. One of my favorite quotes is from one of Mahatma Gandhi’s managers who replied to someone’s comment about how Gandhi lived in poverty, “It’s very expensive keeping Gandhi in poverty.” That is true. Your job is to accumulate as much money as you possibly can, as quickly as you can, and then buy yourself all the toys. Use the rest of your money to change the world.

Colasanti: Spoken like a true entrepreneur and humanitarian. Your organization is The Dog House?

Hartunian: It’s Aunt Mary’s Dog House at auntmarysdoghouse.com. We’ve taken an enormous numbers of dogs into our shelter. They receive veterinary care, training, great food and toys; and then we find them permanent homes. It’s the most rewarding work I’ve ever done in my life.

Colasanti: What is the best way for our readers to learn more about you and your products and services?

Hartunian: A free resource is my blog, which I update constantly with publicity tips and strategies. It’s at paulspublicityblog.com. It’s free; please subscribe and read the enormous amount of information there. You can also register for my freeezine, or electronic newspaper. Visit bestpublicityezine.com. If you want to learn about my publicity kit, which is not free, go to milliondollarpublicity.com. You’re welcome to call my office at 973-857-4142 for the answers to your questions.