10 Essential Martial Arts Business Questions for 2010

Like any good martial arts instructor, sometimes it best to ask questions rather than give answers all the time. This way, you might uncover things more critical to your operation and business and it will mean more when it’s your idea.

Here are 10 questions to help your martial arts business grow in 2010:

1. How can I make my students lives easier/better?
   Always put your students first. Thinking about this might help you to uncover a new service or program you didn’t have before or how to improve existing ones.  You could consider offering more convenient hours, DVD’s, curriculum manuals, etc.
2. What are the biggest opportunities right now for my martial arts school to grow?
   Determining this will help you attack the low hanging fruit you need to give your business a much needed shot in the arm. What is the simplest things you can do that will give you the biggest bang for your buck?
3. What information do my instructors need right now?
   This speaks to direction, motivation and purpose. Rally the troops to make sure you’re all on the same page for the New Year. Share with them your vision and teach them how to improve. The last thing you need is instructors making this all up as they go along.
4. What systems can I set up to make my business run more efficiently?
   If you don’t have any, now is a good time to start. This could be as simple as create a system for answering the phone, teaching a trial program, teaching a class, greeting prospective new students, scheduling appointments, etc.  The more systems you have in place, the more efficient your operation becomes.
5. How can I increase my bottom line?
   Evaluate how many revenue streams you have and determine if you can create any more relevant ones. You can even work on ideas of how to get more out of your existing sources. Look at possibly adding new programs, upsells, cross sells, merchandise, seminars, etc.
6. What business skills do I need to improve upon?
   You know where you’re strong and where you’re weak. Work on things that need the most help. For some this might be marketing. For others, networking. Whatever “it” is, take a class… read a blog … buy a book.. subscribe to a magazine… get a mentor. Whatever you can do to improve the desired skill set.
7. What can I do to make it easier to do business with me?
   You might be hard to do business with and not even know it. Look at things like you sign up process, if you accept credit cards, are you easy to contact, etc. How can you make it even easier?
8. What can I do to retain more students?
   First you need to keep track of your stats to know if this is even a problem.  If your back door is busier than your front door, you’ve got some serious problems to fix! The key is to keep your students excited and engaged in their training. Ideas to help keep more students includes offering free private lessons, adding new classes and programs as well as introducing new drills and class formats.
9. How can I get more referrals?
   This is the lifeblood of the most successful martial arts schools. If you don’t have a referral program in place, get on it! Learn more about referral programs here.
10. How can I get “on” my business instead of “in” it?
    Are you in the trenches everyday answering phones… greeting walk in’s… teaching every class… private lessons… or do you have the resources and staff to help you be the visionary for your martial arts school? Read “E-Myth” by Michael Gerber for more information on this subject. A must read (WARNING: he’s a bit of wind bag but makes some great points).

What questions would you add to this list?

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