Stephen Oliver’s 4 Keys to Rapid Income Growth for Martial Arts Schools

Stephen Oliver covers character development, premium tuition, leadership programs, retention, multi-source marketing and tracking numbers as the systems behind high-profit martial arts schools, in this Martial Arts Wealth Mastery training.

Published on YouTube May 19, 2022 · Running time 1 hr 32 min · Watch on YouTube

What this session covers

Stephen Oliver says parents are not really paying for kicks, punches, grappling or forms. They are paying for outcomes such as confidence, discipline, focus, goal-setting, resilience, respect and leadership. He argues schools should stop positioning themselves as activity centers and communicate the value of black belt training, and says “martial arts without philosophy is just street fighting.”

On pricing, he says tuition should be based on outcome, not minutes per class or classes per week, and that many schools can raise it dramatically. He says a school grossing $100K per month with 300 students is usually healthier than one needing 1,000 students for the same number, and warns against “feeding the beast” with constant new students.

He also stresses knowing your numbers (leads, appointments, intros, enrollments, renewals, active count, dropout rate and cost per enrollment), using benchmarks to find leaks, and building a “Marketing Parthenon” of several sources instead of one. Leadership and assistant instructor programs, he says, add value, retention and staff development.

Key points

• Parents pay for outcomes, not kicks and punches.
• Base tuition on outcome, not minutes per class.
• $100K per month with 300 students is usually healthier than needing 1,000 students.
• Track leads, appointments, intros, enrollments, renewals, active count, dropout rate and cost per enrollment.
• Use multiple marketing pillars rather than one source.
• Leadership programs build value, retention and staff.

Frequently asked questions

Why does Stephen Oliver say schools can raise tuition?

He says parents pay for outcomes like confidence and discipline, and that tuition should reflect outcome rather than minutes per class.

Is a bigger student count always healthier?

Not according to Stephen. He says a school grossing $100K per month with 300 students is usually healthier than one needing 1,000 students to reach the same number.

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