Inspiring (Holiday) Story from a School Owner!

I was speaking to a school owner from a pretty typical suburb the other day, it was really entertaining, and I thought you might find it interesting as well (which he gave me permission to share with you).

So, this gentleman, a nice, sharp guy, has been running his school for 14 years, and has been “stuck” at about $26,000 a month gross for the last seven years.

He told me his story, described how his  life looked right now, and told me about his stressful holiday break.

More about the  “stressful holiday break” in a moment.

His story:

He decided to leave a career in the fire  department to pursue his passion for the martial arts, and open his school full-time in 1999.

Now, his school has been running profitably for many years, however, he’s been “stuck” at this $26,000 per month plateau for a long time, and had become “comfortable” to some extent.

Here is how his business looks (more or less):

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$26,000/month gross;

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$4,500/month rent;

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$8,000/month payroll and taxes (two full-time employees and a couple part timers);

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$2,500/month to the billing company;

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$2,000/month in supplies and equipment;

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$3,000/month in marketing;

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$1,000/month (average) for “Special Events” (he does a lot of seminars, traveling to train in his art, etc.);

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$1,000/month in utilities and expenses.

Leaving about $4,000/month to pay himself and “live on.”

Now, here is where it started to get entertaining.

He said to me:

“You know, I’ve been getting your emails and your mailers for years, but I never really thought that I needed help. I felt that I was doing better than most of my competitors in my area, so that was “good enough.”

But I realized something when I visited my family over the holidays. It was the typical holiday gathering, my brother and his two kids, my sister and her kids, and my mother, not to mention a couple of the “cousins.”

Sometime after dinner, while sitting around the TV chatting, my brother said something to me that really made me start thinking … in fact, after a while started to make me very angry.

He said (not meaning any disrespect, just making a casual observation), “Hey, I bumped into your friend Marcus the other day (a good friend I worked with in the Fire Department), and he mentioned that he’d been promoted to Battalion Chief.”

Well, first, I was happy for my friend, and still am, but I started to think about “where I was” in my career, in the martial arts school.

I mean, I work a lot of hours and am happy to do so, and I love my students and my school, but I’m really only making about $45,000 a year with no benefits.

Had I stayed in the Fire Department, I’d very likely be a Battalion Chief or better (as Marcus was LOWER ranked than me when I left), which in my area pays about $120,000 per ear plus health benefits, a pension, and lots of other perks and bonuses.

“WAIT A MINUTE … I’m only making about 1/3 to 1/4 of what I would be if I would have stayed in the department? Aaaarrrrhhhgghhh!”

He went on to describe to me that he thought about it for three days, and got more and more irritated.

Then he said something really valuable. Pay attention to this.

He said:

“I was content with the level I’d achieved, but only because I was comparing myself to other folks who weren’t doing very well”

A powerful paradigm to internalize!

So now, he’s a new NAPMA Peak Performers member, and he’ll be master-minding with the top 5% of the school owners in the world, and working one-on-one with me and Grandmaster Stephen Oliver to take his school to the next level.

There is no reason that he shouldn’t be making more money than he would be in his other career opportunities.

There is no reason that any school owner, in any part of the world shouldn’t be making a comparable income to that of your average doctor or attorney.

There is no reason for any school owner to not be making at least a six figure income.

If you’re feeling like my new friend, and you’re tired of “Hanging Out with the Turkeys,” but instead want to “Fly With the Eagles,” visit our website and watch the free video and collect the free bonuses. We’ll see if this might be a good fit for you and your school.

NAPMA.com/PrivateCoachingSession

P.S. If you feel like “you’re doing fine” right now, you may want to consider “Why” you’re satisfied with that? It’s been my experience that “Good is the Enemy of Great”!

I’m sure you never wanted to be just a “good” Black Belt, and I’m ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that if you set your goals to be just “good,” you’d not ever accomplish anything EXCEPTIONAL.

I hope I’ll see you at one of the NAPMA live events, or have the chance to speak to you personally very soon!