Staff & Systems
Staff and systems is about the school running without the owner standing on the floor. Articles cover hiring instructors and front-desk staff, the leadership and assistant-instructor pipeline most schools build from their own students, pay structures and what roles are worth, training and certification, delegation and accountability, the operating documents that make a school repeatable — class plans, opening and closing procedure, enrollment scripts, absence follow-up — and what changes when a school opens a second location. The section also covers the owner’s own job: which tasks genuinely require the owner, and which are being held because letting go is uncomfortable. Employment practice and pay levels have changed considerably across the journal’s thirty years; archive articles here are labelled and their principles usually outlast their specifics.
-
Twenty Mistakes School Owners Make, Part 1
Although experience is the best teacher, I believe that most established business owners would want new business owners to avoid…
Read More » -
20 Mistakes That School Owners Make-Part 2
Call-Out: “Often we make the mistake of operating with a small-club mentality and do not grasp the fact that business…
Read More » -
Be Careful What You Wish for—You May Get It! Part 2
In 95% of cases, opening a second location splits your revenue instead of doubling it and leaves you working twice…
Read More » -
The Other Side of Strategy
Last month, I told you how I moved away from the deck. This month, I want to take the role…
Read More » -
Be Careful What You Wish for (You May Get It!)
Most school owners who want to run multiple schools shouldn’t. The only real justification for a second location is that…
Read More » -
Tactician to Strategist—Part 2
As we finish our exploration of becoming a strategist, another factor can sometimes add to the mix. Some of us…
Read More » -
Tactician to Strategist—Part 1
During the next two months, I’ll focus on a critical transition in the life of a martial arts school. The…
Read More » -
How I Opened Five Schools in 18 Months
I opened five schools in 18 months, and I do not recommend you try it. What I do recommend is…
Read More » -
Breaking Through Plateaus
I had a meeting recently with 35 really smart school owners who are all involved in growth process for their…
Read More » -
The Pulse of a School
You can judge the success of a martial arts school in about five minutes by watching it during prime time.…
Read More »