Underestimating Cash Flow needs:
The lack of operating capitol is the biggest mistake small business owners make and most certainly the biggest down fall for most martial art school owners. The thing to keep in mind is as the school grow also does the need for cash flow. As you grow the need for salaries, taxes, supplies, advertisement, inventory, insurance, cleaning and higher rent for those that expand. Make a financial plan, use a financial planner to help you project, establish a working relationship with a bank, keep a savings. Planning correctly can be the difference between life and death of your school. Design and the plan and work the plan..
Failure to broaden teaching skills and curriculum:
Johnny Karate School owner begins to teach a kid’s class and an adult class, then he offers an advance class 2 times a week as the school grows. He hits the mark of about 50 or so students and stays there year after year. Now if Johnny school owner expands his curriculum to include lets say a tiny tiger class of 3 to 5 - year olds and offers a basic adult fitness kickboxing class. Then he can easily add an additional 30-40 students possibly and almost double his base. A school owner must remember to expand your classes and curriculum to hit peak success. Broaden your vision and way of thinking. You can teen classes, day classes, stress relief yoga or tai chi or even an after school karate program. The most important thing is to create it and make it fit the vision.
Hiring unnecessary Employees.
Revenue increasing activity. Is that person you hired assisting you with your schools vision, growth, the plan and increasing revenue through their activity? Or is there being there allowing you to focus on more revenue increasing activity? This is the key if not then you have an unnecessary employee that is a cost and not a benefit to your plan. Remember to add employees only as needed and at the proper time. The key is to avoid over doing it too fast. Most school get over zealous and add staff or open a new location before it is time with their budget.
Opening multiple location(s) too soon: The only time you should open an additional location is to give a senior qualified staff member a career opportunity to step up the career ladder. Secondly, is if you have reached a successful peak with your current location and have the additional income and the staff to support another location. Too many owners let the ego drive their ambition and over step with the infamous next location before they are ready to meet the operating needs required.
Failure to share your school vision with your staff:
You should be having weekly or bi-weekly staff meetings. This is necessary to allow the members of your staff to know your vision and to work towards the common goal. This is to assure that your all on the same path and working towards the same goals. These meetings also are great method to track progress. Keep track of your progress, share the vision share the gory and stay on track with your plan.
Failure to stay objective on business decisions:
Even though you are the boss and may be the “Master” of the school. Keep in mind that you will not know everything about everything involved in your operation. Network with other owners, peers, other business associates, friends, relatives or a combination of all the above and ask their opinion. In the film industry they run a premiere to test it in their market before fully releasing the mass marketing. They use this to gauge how it is received and get the markets opinion so they know if changes or revisions are needed. Be open minded and seek advise occasionally. It is alright not to know everything
.
YOU AND YOUR STAFF
How to make your staff feel appreciated? This is often the most difficult challenge a school owner faces. As an owner we must understand that a happy staff is vital to your schools growth and the students retention. Keeping your employees attitude at an all time high and creating high-energy environment is your goal. Changing an employee’s attitude takes time however changing a student’s and parent’s negative perception of your employees takes even longer. This is why it is critical to maintain a high- energy, positive school atmosphere and staff that meets that same energy is critical to the schools success and plan.
As a school owner we can not forget that it is not only important to give our students recognition and make them feel good, but we want to make our staff feel good and give them recognition as well. Here are some suggestions:
1. Provide training on martial art and teaching skills and also understanding how to teach and motivate students.
2.Write a "good job" notes and put it in your staffs pay check envelope.
3.Employee of the month plaque with their picture.
4.Build your staff up on the floor. Make everyone aware of their accomplishments and their abilities. Talk .them up when speaking to parents and students. Keep in mind they are your product.
5..Employee outings. Do some thing fun with your staff monthly, (bowling, dinner, softball, etc.) this builds a great team spirit. However, be sure to keep this on a professional level.
6.Be a "good finder". Don't just be someone who is there to correct them when they don't perform well, recognize them for the good that they do.
7. .Have employees policies and make sure they clearly understand them. Policies can cover everything from dress code, conduct, tardiness, sick leave, vacation, pay, etc.
8 .Reward results. Share the vision and share the success. Reward the goals achieved and progress. This helps keep the staff motivated and them to repeat great performance.
Employee contracts
I strongly suggest you use employee contracts to keep the relationship between you and your staff on an honest note. Employee contracts can be used as a tool to protect your school against any unwarranted acts by your employees, or to be used as a chance to put everything that is expected of your employees down on paper, that way everyone is in full understanding of the employee / employer relationship.
Bench Strength
The key is not to just develop active staff members, but to develop future staff members as well. Suppose for one reason or another you lost an active staff member, what would you do? How prepared are you to replace him/her? By having an active staff and a "bench staff", in the case that you open up an additional location, lose a staff member or re-locate a member to another position you want to have other team members waiting to get in the game.
Train your staff properly
Assure that you have trained your staff “properly” and give them he tools to succeed at their jobs. This includes their initial training and their follow up training after they have been hired. A perfect example is sending the staff training each year at the your association or billing companies annual convention.
Make sure it also understood that they are apart of a team and should come to you whenever they have a question. Open communication makes your staff feel comfortable with you and the team and keeps them from hiding their shortcomings that could possibly snowball on you with time.
Make sure policies are set and understood. Policies can include dress codes, rules of conduct tardiness, sick leave, holidays, pay increases and much more.
Reward the results with bonuses, pay increases win vacations etc. Share your growth good fortune that are your staff helped you procure.
Make sure that you training is not just focused techniques or teaching methods but also on keep them energized and motivated, dedicated to your goals and vision.
The key to staff development in three words is training, training and training.
MARKETING
As a martial art school owner you are aware that one of your biggest challenges in hat role is to get more prospective students in your door. Marketing is key ingredient to this task and duty. Marketing is much more than just advertising with some flyers. IT encompasses all of your ongoing campaigns and efforts to brand your school ands sale your services.
I have always been a big fan of low cost advertising and on-going branding. Low cost marketing will not break your budget and still get you your desired results. The key is consistency. One rule is the 5 by 15 rule. By the 15th of each month you should have 5 marketing campaigns set up for the following month.
Let’s first talk about branding marketing. Branding marketing is about getting your company name and product known in your direct market. When your name is heard or your logo seen your audience should know who you are and what you offer. The key is separate your school from the others with brand marketing. Branding marketing consists of things like image building and niche building.
Direct response marketing is advertisement that seeks out the customer base who will most likely do business with your school and directs them to take some kind of action such as to request a free information packet or to schedule an introductory appointment.
Direct response advertising is a lead generation type campaigning that is about getting prospective student’s name and information in your control. It is about providing you the name of the potential prospects that are most likely to use your service rather than getting people to know your company name and logo as in branding marketing. Direct response differs it is not about getting your name out there, it's about getting your prospect's name in to you and a call to action from your targeted prospect.
Both marketing types are essential to your schools long-term success.
Marketing your school – 30 Quick Tips.
Your Name- Branding your school name and logo in your market in essential marketing tool.
Does the name and logo match what your product is. For example the name “Master’s Elite Karate” is very complete yet neutral karate school name. However it could possibly even limit you’re market to only “karate”. To use “Martial” is even better than karate because it is boarder and has less limits to your prospective student and client base.
Another way that you may limit your market is by having the systems name or names that are hard to pronounce to the general public. Lets use “Master Geyston’s Shoto Kan Schools of Karate”. The style name may be too broad for people to understand and may limit your mass market appeal. If a mother heard someone say Tae Kwon Do is good then she rules your school out when prospecting for her child due to the name. IN this case a more generic and broader school name may help with your market appeal.
Let’s say you want to attract more adults then you may want to add in Fitness and/or Kickboxing with the school name, or even Family Martial Arts. Etc. with possibly adult benefits mentioned the name says a lot. So in this it can Master’s Elite Karate and Kickboxing or Master’s Elite Family Karate Center.
Be sure people can pronounce it, that it does not confuse them, and that it is uniquely yours. No one wants to feel stupid. So they may not want to call based solely on the fact that they may feel stupid because they cant pronounce the name of your business.
Find your product or service niche. This is also known as positioning by those who love buzz words. It refers to the segment of the market you want to call your very own. If your specialize in tournaments, kids market, life skills, maybe a no holds bar school, maybe your target is fitness or being a tae bo studio. What is your niche? Discover and identify your niche and what makes you differ than your competitors? Critical in your direction and marketing.
3. Your School Identity - This is an honest identity that conveys your company's personality throughout your marketing. Be sure it realistically reflects who you are. Example: Don’t claim to be Olympic Sport Karate school if your style is not in the Olympics, etc.
4. Create and use a logo that matches your niche, school identity and total sum of your marketing efforts. Some people call this a trademark or symbol. Whatever you call it, it's a graphic representation, more visual than verbal, of your company. It's smart to have one.
5. Your School Package is the box your product comes in, the office your services come from, your van, your salespeople, you. The way you package your offering will attract or repel your customers and prospects. If you sale positive life style skills do you and your staff act and sound positive. Are you professional? Basically do you walk the talk?
6. Your personal attire. You and your employees represent your business. People will develop a perception and attitude about your business based on what you and your employees are wearing at work.
7. Program pricing. Pick a price niche...high, medium, or low...depending on your demographics and competitors. Amongst consumers they say 14 percent use price as the determining factor of whether or not they will buy.
8. Signs. Inside signs support the niche and package. These spur impulse purchases, act as silent salespeople, merchandise your offerings, and cross-merchandise. It works 24/7. A sign that states “We are a Black Belt School” is not only good for packaging for new prospects but also pre-frames and helps sale upgrades and renewals to your current base. Signs for retail center reminds your customers that you your are also a martial art retail center.
Outside signs- They may be near your place of business, far away, or moving about on a bus or taxi. they direct people to your product, service, or store.
9. Post your hours of operation. Yes, your hours are part of your marketing. If you're open evenings (or early mornings) and your competitors aren't, you may gain business.
.
10. Phone demeanor and procedures. How you answer the phone turns people on - or off. You and the people who answer your phones should know exactly how to turn on each caller by words and attitude. Your purpose of answering a call is to sale an introductory lesson. So keep that in mind each time you pick up the phone.
11. Location without question, this is one of the most important parts of the success for a lot of businesses. But it is only one part of marketing. There are 99 other parts, too. If your location is highly visible you may have more walk in than a school that is not visible. If your school happens not to be in highly visible area you may have to purchase more advertisement than as school in a highly visible areas. Location is important in your overall marketing campaigns.
A solid business plan. This is your road map that should be consulted regularly to be sure you are heading in the right direction. A good business plan has a marketing plan built into it.
13. Advertising- Here's one of the most crucial parts of marketing, but it's only fraction of your marketing process. Some people think marketing means advertising, that is not 100% true as you can see.
14. Service is first and last. Consumers consider service or lack of it to be one of the four most important influences in selecting a business from which to buy. Service wins and loses customers. If you have a swinging back door your front door eventually will lose the race. Provide the service you sold after the sale. That is the true sale.
15. Co-op ventures with others. Capitalize on countless opportunities to display the signs or circulars of other businesses if they'll do the same for you. Many will, cutting your marketing costs.
16. Publicity contacts- The media are inundated with requests for free publicity, so if you have contacts in the media, the chances increase of your publicity appearing. My success with my Springfield Illinois was based on large support of the media. Developed myself into a media resource and media personality. See my section on how to work with the media.
17. Community service and special events. Planning activities around your business is a good way to attract free publicity and do something for your community.
18. Student and parent testimonials are free and actually easy to obtain, and very impressive to new prospects. Use them as signs, or in your brochure, ads or direct mailings. They work. If you say it is sales if they say it is truth.
19. Sales training, the more training you do, the more profits you'll earn. Be sure all staff and sales people know the key parts of the way you do business and reflect your identity. Make sure they understand sales presentation. The best salespeople use certain words and phrases. This indicates that all employees speak the same language of your product. The best sales presentations are scripted and memorized, then delivered with zest.
20. Referrals and good word of mouth marketing. You can control this by providing superb service, informative brochures, and steady mailings. If should over deliver on the service, build up the bond with your customers and ask for referrals on regular basis.
Demonstrations do them and use them. Most demonstrations are used improperly. All demonstrations should be a call to action from the audience to join the school. It is marketing. Have a call to action plan at each demonstration event. If not you only did an entertainment segment for the festival.
Seminars and lectures are also winning way to keep your name and product out there. These forums not only allow you to establish yourself as an authority, but serve as the springboard to the sale of both products and services. Again have a call to action or way to get the audience in your door or their contact information in your control.
23. Phone-hold marketing. When all your telephone lines are busy, this answering machine puts your callers on hold, then plays music while imparting useful information about your company.
Print ads and newspaper display ads. These are the prime marketing medium of the small businesses across America. Build an inventory of newspaper ads and offers that have worked for you.
Direct marketing coupons. Companies compile coupon cards into decks called postcard decks, then mail a group of related coupons for products and service to target groups. The mailing cost is shared by all who supply the coupons.
25. Direct-mail postcards- Postcards are valuable weapons in the quest to break through marketing clutter, cut costs, and keep up steady communications with customers.
26. Direct-mail letters: You'll be able, after enough testing, to know which letter will produce known results from a specific audience. Each letter should be self-contained.
27. Billboards. These are seen by large numbers of motorists and do a good job o telling or reminding people of you. Keys to their success are great locations and easy to read short copy.
28. Advertising specialties and gifts. There are myriad gifts that can be imprinted with your name, reminding customers of you and nudging them to buy from you. Calendars and scratch pads are some of the most common ad specialties.
29. Radio commercials. These are usually thirty or sixty seconds long, may or may not have background music, and are part of a campaign carrying the same basic marketing theme.
30. Television commercials this is one of the business worlds most powerful marketing device in history lets you sell your product or service with words, pictures, and music. A very potent tool, yet can be one of your most costly too. The commercial gives a visual on your product and services.
Marketing by Using VIP cards
On going referral program and 30 days free VIP cards.
The math is easy 1 = 2. You have heard may people talk about buddy referral programs such as referral contests or the APS “Join In”. But another very simple fast and effective referral program is to get new students in their first introductory lesson to refer a friend to the program and bring them along on their second class.
You could ask the new enrolling student who is your best friend? Who sits next to you at school? Or do you have a really good friend that you play baseball or soccer with that may want to do karate with you?
Everyone has someone that falls in one of these categories. Explain that you would lie to give them a gift to share with their friend. Ask for their name and phone and give the students a “join in” coupon or a VIP card along with a letter telling the student how much fun they and other kids are having and offer them the introductory program.
By doing this you made 1 intro into 2. Best math out there. I suggest this being an on going process with your enrollment process.
Weekly VIP card distribution
Have VIP cards printed out and passed on-going on a weekly basis. This is an area I highly recommend you use as part of the staff meetings. Make it part of the staff assignments that they must distribute no less than 5-VIP cards per week. I have used VIP cards at drive up windows at the bank, included with my tips at restaurant. Basically any place your talking with people in your community.
Running a Annual VIP contest .
School Owner here is what you do to get ready.
Prepare a large White Envelope for every Student. Try and hand delivery to the parents starting two weeks before the contest during class. Then after a couple of days, at least by Saturday afternoon mail what students had not picked up yet.
Inside the envelope is:
1. Have a grand prize on display by the time the contest begins
2. Also create a prize wheel they can spend
3. Have tickets they get for their referrals
Include in the packet
1. The below 2 two cover Letters
2. 50 VIP cards, Make sure the students know how put their name on the back of them for credit
Ask for ticket at beginning of each class. Make a huge deal out of it as the students get to spin he prize wheel for each ticket turned in. Build up the excitement for a good response. Keep in mind it is only as big as you create it to be.
Why give away 30 days?
Now Owners you may be asking why give away 30 days FREE and how do you convert these guests to a full term program. Is a an incentive that will make people take action and with this program you will close them in the 2nd week.
Here is how. Everyone on the free month begins with a private intro class. At the end of the class you do a conference and set up a progress evaluation in 2 week. Very similar to the 2-4-6 week procedure. Now you have reason to sit down this should be follow up review session possibly a perfect time for power word exercise stripe. Either way the student has had time to enjoy the excitement of your program and the parent to see the value of your teaching and the life skills associated with your program. At this meeting you now want to close.
At that time explain that there is a way they can save $100, with their permission can you explain that? .
Then explain the normal enrollment process and that they bypassed this as a VIP. It appears from your review session that they truly enjoyed the classes and most likely will continue after the 30 days expires to. Your special VIP offer is to offer that they can enroll today you will convert their free month to a $100 credit towards the BTC program on the down payment. Today you can also allow them to join for only 6 months opposed to the normal term of 12 months due to the fact that they are on the VIP program. This is a special offer you can offer them before the 30 days expires.
You will find the majority of prospects will enroll after the 2-week session.
Here's how the VIP program works.
Dear Students and Parents ---
Give a VIP Guest Pass to a friend who is interested in trying out some Master Elite Karate Classes. Have your parents fill out the info card and bring it to your next class. An instructor will collect the cards before class begins.
For each name you turn in, you get 25 extra prize tickets and you get to spin the VIP Prize Wheel at the end of your class. Write your name on the back of each ticket and save them for the February Party and VIP Grand Prize Giveaway.
The more tickets you have, the more chances you have to win the GRAND PRIZE! an Amusement Center Stand Up Arcade Game - a cool addition to your bedroom, and or family room.
VIP REFERRAL CONTES
This contest will be run by a ticket system, meaning the whole object is to collect a lot of tickets! These tickets serve a dual purpose.
- For each ticket you bring in you get to spin the prize wheel that night.
- To get started, we’ll have a Grand Prize drawing at the VIP party in February to WIN the Stand up Arcade Game. All tickets will be placed in a bin at the end of our 12-week MARC program. We will host a MARC party in February to see how we compared to the other schools and how many students we touched in a positive way in our communities. Then we will draw that ONE WINNING ticket for our GRAND PRIZE where the big winner will take home the Grand Prize…an awesome game to participate in with your family and friends! Your friends will envy you- so charge them a quarter ;-) …
- Tickets, Tickets, Tickets! You have to save your tickets! Each time you earn a ticket, write your name on the back and put it in a safe place. The VIP referral contest will begin Friday, (place Date here) with Bring a Buddy Night special VIP party and then will run for 12 weeks! After the 12th week we will hold a special VIP party, place everyone’s tickets in the barrel and draw for our grand prize in (Place Date of Drawing)
The more tickets you earn the better chance you have to win.
- A Spin on the prize wheel
- 25 tickets every time you turn in a completed VIP Info Card.
- Additional 50 tickets when your friends become a Master Elite member after their 30 days.
Good Luck! You Rock and Master Elite Karate Rocks!
(Letter to Parents to introduce the program)
Dear Students and Parents of Masters Elite Karate ,
We look for the best within ourselves and the best within our students. We are dedicated to expanding the benefits of the martial arts to everyone in our community. I am very proud of the quality education provided by Masters Elite Karate School.
I want to invite you to share the benefits that you or a family member is receiving from training here at Master Elite Karate by taking part in our annual VIP program by sponsoring a new member. There is no higher compliment you can give to your instructors or school than to refer a new member. Schools across the nation are reaching out this month in a friendly VIP competition designed to help spread the benefits of the martial arts throughout our individual communities.
All you have to do to help our school lead in this national program and to make a positive difference in our community is to select an immediate family member, a close friend, an associate, or someone you feel will get the most benefit from our exciting program and give them a VIP pass.
This pass is valued at over $100 and good for 4 weeks of FREE training in our Karate program. If you believe in our school, our programs and our life skill benefits then lets share it with a friend and make a positive difference in our communities.
We look to you, a dedicated and intricate part of our Karate Family, and an upstanding community member, to strengthen the quality of our community and school by referring someone of high standards like yourself.
And best of all as my way for saying thanks for your help in making Master Elite the leader in the nationwide VIP is that I have bought a Special GRAND PRIZE to be given away. You can WIN the VIP Grand Prize – A Stand Up Arcade Style Game for your Room!!! Great Prize for any child’s room or in any adult’s family/game room. In this packet is information on how you can win this exciting GAME.
Shihan John Geyston
Master Instructor
Master Elite Karate
