Martial Arts Management

I was involved in a rather toxic IRS audit of one of my client’s tax return (a plumber who was operating his business as a sole proprietorship). The auditor was intent on not allowing my client’s business deductions because, although his income had been steadily increasing, his expenses had increased also. This had happened largely ...

In the last column I explained that most school owners who want to do multiple schools probably shouldn’t. I gave you a few questions to ask yourself prior to considering a second location: Why do I want a second location? Am I capable of managing multiple locations? Is my existing staff focused on our growth ...

The basis of any successful business is a series of reproducible, result-producing systems. Small and large businesses, including martial arts schools, create and implement systems for accounting, customer services, marketing, etc. You hire staff members to implement those systems and you train them to implement them correctly. Then, you teach, which is something else entirely. ...

The Ninja of the 14th Century Feudal Japan were known for their unique strategies of stealth, espionage and guerilla warfare. Their methods are traceable to much older Chinese training systems, but the Ninja were legendary because of the contrast between their tactics and the Samurai code of ethics at the time. Imagine a time where ...

Is it possible to over stretch? Is it possible to over reach a technique? Is it possible to over commit resources? Obvious answers, right? I wonder why so many of us do exactly that as business owners. We counsel our students to do appropriate stretches; we reinforce the correct form. Yet, we sometimes find ourselves ...

In the final episode of this martial arts-specific interview, fellow Black Belt and world-renowned “professional” imparts a wealth of knowledge on a wide variety of significant topics. Addressing The Seven Key Result Areas in selling and in management; the 80/20 Principle; the zero-based thinking, and more; we present to you… Master Brian Tracy. MABusiness: One ...

As I explained in Part 1 of this multi-part column, our Black­ Belt tests are very large rank-requirement classes filled with students from Green through Black Belt. There is much hard work, fun and sweat during our Black Belt tests. The tests take an entire evening, but they are not rigid, discipline-driven events; and they ...

Emotions are powerful human forces. Under the power of emotions, human beings can perform the most heroic (as well as barbaric) acts. To a great degree, civilization itself can be defined as the intelligent channeling of human emotion. Emotions are fuel and the mind is the pilot, which together propel the ship of civilized progress. ...

As an instructor and school owner, you are very familiar with the topic of goal setting. Often, the Black Belt is a metaphor for excellence and a worthy goal. This is a critical lesson that must translate into you and your students’ lives. The ability to set goals and make plans to accomplish those goals ...

I’ve just been listening to the audiotapes from my boot camp, “The Summit of Martial Arts Millionaires.” As I sit here listening to over 22 hours of tapes, I am blown away by the incredible content. As I facilitated this discussion of how to most effectively run multiple locations, one theme surfaced early: Most school ...