4 Books Every Martial Arts School Owner Should Read
April 29, 2009 by Ryan Wheaton
Filed under Marketing Concepts
As a martial arts school owner, it’s always important to always be studying, learning, and growing.
And, I’m not just talking about the martial arts style or system you study, I’m talking about what you fill your noggin with as it relates to marketing and business!
You can’t build your business unless you are learning and implementing new ideas, systems, and strategies.
I don’t know about you but I read a ton about marketing and business. And, I must confess I’m obsessed! It’s about all I read anymore. I just ordered 5 new books yesterday from Amazon and just got 3 in the mail.
If you’re not a marketing and business book fanatic like I am, this post will help you find some good reading!
There are some great books specific to marketing martial arts that I will write about later. However, I thought I would first recommend a few books that aren’t about the martial arts business that can really help your martial arts school or mixed martial arts gym grow.
Here we go, in no particular order…
1. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It
Michael Gerber
This book hit me right in the face and woke me up to the fact that I was thinking more like a technician and not an entrepreneur. It’s a real eye opener! The book is a little longer than the others listed below but worth the read. Mr. Gerber tends to go on and on with his stories, but they do help illustrate his points.
According to Gerber, every business owner needs to simultaneously be 1) an entrepreneur and 2) a manager as well as 3) a technician.
1) The technician is the one in the trenches producing the product or offering the service.
2) The manager ensures that the operations and finances run smoothly.
3) The entrepreneur drives the company in the right direction and leads with vision.
Of the three, it is the entrepreneur role that is the key to long term business success. However, most small businesses fail because the technician is usually the one in charge and doesn’t know how to run a company or lead with vision. They’re only good at the job, not running or leading the business!
2. Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable
Seth Godin
Cows, after you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all. However, imagine driving down the highway and seeing a purple cow.
A purple cow is the idea of something out of the ordinary… something that gets noticed and gets people talking.
Every day, we are bombarded with boring, average products and services. They all start looking and sounding the same.
For example, open up any yellow page and flip to the martial arts section and this will stare you right back in the face… you’ll see a ton of ads that all look the same and sound the same.
What a waste of money! No one is trying to look, sound, or act any different. There are no purple cows!
The author reveals that a Purple Cow must be inherent. In short, it’s not something that can be added on later it must be at the core and work from the inside out.
Godin has an incredible gift of being succinct yet still getting his point across. This is an easy read and finished it in two days. I didn’t want to put it down!
3. All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World
Seth Godin
Yes, I’m a Seth Godin fan…. I saw him speak in Salt Lake City on his “The Dip” book tour (also a great book!) a couple of years ago and found him very insightful and entertaining.
He is a great marketer and definitely gets it.
The title of this book alone is brilliant.
However, it isn’t exactly true. It’s not the marketers who are the liars. It’s the customers who lie to themselves.
According to Godin, successful marketers don’t talk about features or benefits. Instead, they tell a story. A story customers want to believe.
There are some great examples to learn from that can help inspire you to tell your story in a new way.
4. Creating Customer Evangelists
Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba
If you’re looking for ways to get people talking about your business, READ THIS BOOK!
Creating Customer Evangelists describes the 6 step process of creating customer evangelists:
1. Customer Plus-Delta (Continuously gather and use customer feedback)
2. Napsterize Your Knowledge (Share freely what you know)
3. Build the Buzz (Find the right word of mouth networks and tap into them)
4. Create Community (Encourage your customers to come together)
5. Make Bite-Size Chunks (Make it easy to try, like a free trial)
6. Create a Cause (Focus on making the world, or even just your community, a better place)
While these all might sound rather intuitive, not every business implements them. There is also a workbook you can get to accompany your reading that I also recommend.
I have used the principles in this book since 2002 and believe me they work!
Well there you have it, Four solid books you should buy and read as soon as possible. I have a ton of other books I will recommend in other posts but this will at least get you started.
Be sure to leave your comment about the books you would recommend!
(I really do read them ALL!)
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I'm Ryan Wheaton and I work with martial arts school owners to help them attract more students. Many martial arts school owners are confused at how to best market their business and feel awkward in selling situations. I help them overcome those challenges to become confident and competent in marketing and selling their services - helping them become more profitable so they can live the lifestyle they want to live.
I’ve listened to the E-Myth on cassette. Is this a different version? The other three I’ve not heard of but will be getting ASAP.
Leslie,
My understanding is that The E-Myth Revisited is a just a newer version of his original book and includes additional information he wanted to add. I only read the revised version so I can’t tell you what the differences are, just that there are some. Thanks for commenting!
Ryan