Key Number 3: Creating a positive community in your school to reinforce student longevity. Your goal is to move martial arts training in your school beyond just an activity, and become a lifestyle or a hub of the family. I have the amazing opportunity to speak with school owners throughout the world. I’m impressed by ...

Master Samuel Scott is a 6th-Degree Black Belt. He teaches a system called Talahib Kuntao, a mixture of Indonesian and Filipino martial arts. Master Scott was also a nationally ranked fighter, and was inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame and named the Instructor Of The Year for 1996. Toby Milroy: This month's Success ...

Jonathan Metcalf. It’s clear that the proverbial bright light has flashed in Jonathan Metcalf’s mind-because he understands the BIG IT: owning a martial arts school is an extraordinary opportunity. He has discovered that you can continue to honor the traditions of your art as you change people’s lives and serve your community, which just so ...

It’s an unfortunate reality in our business that, despite our best intentions, students quit, for good or bad reasons. It is an even more unfortunate reality that many schools do very little to prevent attrition. I remember buying a car once. At that time, I did not have a very sophisticated understanding of the sales ...

Jason Yi, a NAPMA Inner Circle member, who will also be in attendance at the 2008 NAPMA Extreme Success Academy, serving on a panel of experts with other Inner Circle Group members to help you grow your school, is the subject of this month’s Member Success Story. Jason is a bright, entrepreneurially minded school owner, ...

If not, is your school DOOMED for mediocrity (or failure)? In the last 2 installments, we’ve been exploring the “Environment of Support” you are creating for yourself, and how it relates to the success of you and your business. I was thumbing through one of those silly desk calendars loaded with cute little quips, and ...

If not, is your School DOOMED for Mediocrity (or Failure)? Last month, my column explored the influence of our environment on our performance as entrepreneurs. Picture Donald Trump making his way to the boardroom, but, in place of his regular staff of executives and experts, are a bunch of interns and mailroom employees. Now, I’m ...

An Interview with Ron Achenbach, NAPMA Inner Circle Member, by Toby Milroy, NAPMA COO It’s easy to describe Ron Achenbach as the “everyman” school owner/chief instructor. He operates a median-size school of 180 students in a middle-size town: Karate America Leadership Academy in DePere, Wisconsin, a suburb of Green Bay. What makes Ron’s story so ...

Charles Dudley, NAPMA Inner Circle member, was taught to maintain the tradition of the complex Korean styles in which he trained for 37 years; but, as much as he honored his long-time teacher, Master Dudley realized that he had to adapt the Korean arts to an American audience, so he could succeed in an American ...

Interview by Toby Milroy, NAPMA Vice-President of Sales and Marketing Frank Brown As the Mile High Karate franchise trainer, Frank Brown is in a unique position to observe why school owners are unable to grow their schools; and, often, the major reason is a misperception of their self-worth. That low self-worth results in low tuition ...