MARKETING RESOURCE

PLANT THE SEEDS FOR SUCCESS IN STUDENTS NOW AND YOU WILL GUIDE THEM ALONG THE MARTIAL PATH.

the situation. them to see the best in themselves and in through tough times, you will be inspiring

the situation.friends and peers and encourage them them to see the best in themselves and in Encouragement. When you support your through tough times, you will be inspiring interest in other people and ask questions. friends and peers and encourage them know how much you care. Take a genuine

Encouragement. When you support your care about how much you know until they

interest in other people and ask questions. Care about others. Other people do not know how much you care. Take a genuine listen to what you say. care about how much you know until they peers watch what you do more than they 2. Care about others. Other people do not 1. Be a good example. People, friends and

you lately? 8. What is one story that has inspired 7. What do your peers do to inspire you? you lately?your peers? 8. What is one story that has inspired 6. What do you do to be an inspiration to 7. What do your peers do to inspire you?Ask Your Students: your peers?listening to other people’s inspiring stories. 6. What do you do to be an inspiration to as inspire too. Everyone learns best from Ask Your Students: 5. Tell stories. Facts tell and stories sell as well listening to other people’s inspiring stories. you find inspiring and motivating. as inspire too. Everyone learns best from ideas, environments and knowledge that 5. Tell stories. Facts tell and stories sell as well 4. Be inspired yourself. Look for people, listen to what you say.

you find inspiring and motivating. 1. Be a good example. People, friends and peers watch what you do more than they 4. Be inspired yourself. Look for people, ideas, environments and knowledge that INSPIRATION: How to inspire others to be their best.

How to inspire others to be their best.– MAYA ANGELOU –

– MAYA ANGELOU –THERE IS NO GREATER AGONY THAN BEARING

July 2016 July 2016

like to do in life. • Make a bucket list of all the things you would forget about time limitations. • Learn something new and allow yourself to like to do in life. become a leader.• Make a bucket list of all the things you would • Teach someone to do something and forget about time limitations. you could not do but secretly wanted to try.• Learn something new and allow yourself to • Try something you have always assumed become a leader. lack inspiration, try the follow things:• Teach someone to do something and pulls you towards a future you want. When you you could not do but secretly wanted to try. the willpower to do something. Inspiration • Try something you have always assumed Motivation involves pushing and trying to find lack inspiration, try the follow things:motivation, but they are completely different. pulls you towards a future you want. When you It is easy to confuse inspiration with the willpower to do something. Inspiration

inspire you? 3. Why is it important to do things that will that inspires you? 2. What is something on your bucket list inspire you? 3. inspired you? Why is it important to do things that will 1. What have you done recently that that inspires you? Ask Your Students:2. What is something on your bucket list your family or friends could work on.inspired you? • Brainstorm ideas for a new project you and 1. What have you done recently that you would like to accomplish.Ask Your Students: goals, things you would like to do and things your family or friends could work on. • Create a vision board with pictures of your • Brainstorm ideas for a new project you and Motivation involves pushing and trying to find

you would like to accomplish. INSPIRATION: Find inspiration in possibilities. It is easy to confuse inspiration with motivation, but they are completely different. • Create a vision board with pictures of your goals, things you would like to do and things

– ELEANOR ROOSEVELT – Find inspiration in possibilities.

– ELEANOR ROOSEVELT –

DO ONE THING EVERY DAY THAT SCARES YOU. ”

July 2016 July 2016

they were not afraid to try. People who do could change the world despite all odds, and They were true leaders that believed they

someone else? 3. How can you be an inspiration to they were not afraid to try. People who do who decided that the world needed their help. could change the world despite all odds, and Jr. All of those people were ordinary people They were true leaders that believed they Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King who decided that the world needed their help.innovative, or is just different. Examples are Jr. All of those people were ordinary people and willingness to be selfless, be creative, be Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King We appreciate when someone has the ability innovative, or is just different. Examples are done extraordinary things that inspire us. and willingness to be selfless, be creative, be to mind is usually ordinary people who have We appreciate when someone has the ability When we think about inspiration, what comes

to you? someone else? 2. What makes other people inspirational 3. How can you be an inspiration to 1. What leader is an inspiration to you? 2. What makes other people inspirational to you?Ask Your Students: what you have or have not achieved yet.1. What leader is an inspiration to you?you can be an inspiration to others no matter Ask Your Students: are inspirational. It is important to know that what you have or have not achieved yet.something to better the world around them done extraordinary things that inspire us.

you can be an inspiration to others no matter to mind is usually ordinary people who have idea about what to do or create.

are inspirational. It is important to know that When we think about inspiration, what comes something to better the world around them INSPIRATION: Inspire is to make someone want to do something; to give someone an idea about what to do or create.

Inspire is to make someone want to do something; to give someone an

– JOHN WOODEN –

MAKE EACH DAY YOUR MASTERPIECE. ”

– JOHN WOODEN –

MAKE EACH DAY YOUR MASTERPIECE. ”

July 2016

to learn. share your blueprint with those that are willing start to ask you for advice, so be preparted to had the skills and the blueprint. People will to learn.achieved everything you have because you share your blueprint with those that are willing Provide others with the blueprint. You have start to ask you for advice, so be preparted to inspire others around you to do the same.had the skills and the blueprint. People will and what you have accomplished. This will achieved everything you have because you true to yourself and be proud of who you are Provide others with the blueprint. You have follow through with all things you promise. Be inspire others around you to do the same.as an inspiration. You must be authentic and and what you have accomplished. This will you as a leader and show people who you are true to yourself and be proud of who you are Reach out to someone who has recognized follow through with all things you promise. Be something to be an inspiration to others. as an inspiration. You must be authentic and Act and Show. Get out there and do you as a leader and show people who you are

was inspiring? 3. Have you ever had a mentor that to reach the belt rank you are at? 2. Have others asked your advice on how was inspiring? an inspiration to others? 3. Have you ever had a mentor that 1. How do you act and show yourself as to reach the belt rank you are at? Ask Your Students:2. Have others asked your advice on how in you.an inspiration to others? mentor look up to you and completely believe 1. How do you act and show yourself as completely open and honest as the people you Ask Your Students: that person wants to achieve. You must be in you.sure that you background aligns with what mentor look up to you and completely believe be inspirational is to serve as a mentor. Be completely open and honest as the people you Become a mentor. One of the best ways to that person wants to achieve. You must be Reach out to someone who has recognized daily basis.something to be an inspiration to others.

sure that you background aligns with what be inspirational is to serve as a mentor. Be INSPIRATION: Go from wanting to inspire people to actually inspiring people on a Act and Show. Get out there and do Become a mentor. One of the best ways to daily basis.

– JOHN QUINCY ADAMS –

MORE, DO MORE AND BECOME MORE, YOU ARE A LEADER. ” INSPIRATION: Go from wanting to inspire people to actually inspiring people on a

IF YOUR ACTIONS INSPIRE OTHERS TO DREAM MORE, LEARN – JOHN QUINCY ADAMS –

MORE, DO MORE AND BECOME MORE, YOU ARE A LEADER. ”

WEEK THREEIF YOUR ACTIONS INSPIRE OTHERS TO DREAM MORE, LEARN

July 2016

To get your free customizable monthly Marketing Resource, visit MAIAHUB.com or get the download link from our Facebook page: fb.com/masuccess.

BY PERRY WILLIAM KELLY

hat happens when you

Wput a master motivational speaker who used to be a Navy SEAL and a master business consultant who used to be an Air Force fighter pilot together and task them with inspiring and educating martial arts business owners? Well, no one knows because the 2021 Virtual SuperShow hasn’t happened yet. (At the event, which is scheduled for July 7-9, they will be the keynote speakers.) One thing we do know now is that you won’t get “reel life” versions of a SEAL and a top gun — sorry, Mark Wahlberg and Tom Cruise. You will get “real life” versions of American heroes, specifically Brent Gleeson and Robert “Cujo” Teschner, both of whom have put their lives on the line for your freedom. These warriors went on to become successful businessmen and consultants, and when you sign up for the SuperShow, you’ll get a

Brent Gleeson virtual ringside seat to learn some of the secrets they’ve taught top executives around the world.

I recently connected with these two gentlemen to learn more about their backgrounds and find out what they plan on addressing when they speak at the Virtual SuperShow. Let’s lock and load!

Brent Gleeson Training

Gleeson is the founder and CEO of TakingPoint Leadership, a management consulting firm that focuses on transforming businesses and building high-performance company culture. The son of a Vietnam vet, this father of four grew up in Dallas. In high school, he was a competitive swimmer, which is a fine start for a guy who would go on to become a SEAL.

Gleeson completed his undergraduate degree in finance and economics at Southern Methodist University and seemed destined for a future in corporate America. In fact, he was working as a financial analyst for a global investment firm when his life took a slight detour.

A rugby player in college, Gleeson was looking for a way to stay in shape when a fraternity brother who had a lifelong goal

of joining the Navy said he needed a partner to help him prepare for the infamous Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training course. In short order, they were lifting weights, swimming miles and running marathons.

Although he initially had no intention of joining the military, Gleeson became fascinated with the history and culture of the SEALs, as well as their hyper-focused mindset. His interest piqued, he shifted his own mindset to one that advocated living “a life of no regret and [not] being that guy who thought about doing that but didn’t.” After quitting his corporate job, he joined the Navy in 2000 with the aim of becoming a SEAL.

Gleeson sailed through the 24-week-long BUD/S training. Of the 250 people who started, only 23 graduated. In 2002, he joined SEAL Team 5, and by 2003, he began a series of deployments in Iraq. In addition to his 100-plus combat missions there, he engaged in numerous covert operations in Africa and other hot spots.

Gleeson’s plan was always to return to the business world once his military service ended. So after his discharge in 2004, he headed off to the University of San Diego, later graduating with a Master of Science degree in real estate. He also attended England’s Oxford University, where he studied English composition and criminal justice.

When he entered the business world,

Brent Gleeson Succeeding

When he entered the business world, Gleeson attacked it like he was on a SEAL mission. He founded three companies that raked in the cash before he decided to share his military and business savvy with the world. When I chatted with him, I asked how the principles he conveys to Fortune 500 companies will apply to smaller businesses like those run by the martial artists who attend the Virtual SuperShow.

“One thing that I have found — and I have owned three companies, three start-ups that have experienced rapid growth into medium-size organizations — [is that] essentially a start-up starts up as a small business,” he said. “One thing that I’ve come to realize that I’ve spent time researching and writing about is that many of the challenges that small businesses face are the same as very large organizations.

“Whether you want to become a larger business or stay a small business, it’s still about laying those critical foundations when it comes to designing a culture that achieves a specific outcome. These challenges are similar regardless of the industry — from a martial arts school to an oil and gas company.”

Brent Gleeson Authoring

When I mentioned his best-selling book Embrace the Suck: The Navy SEAL Way to an Extraordinary Life, Gleeson said that tidbits from it will be shared with attendees at the SuperShow.

“The book in its simplest form is about resilience, mental fortitude and bouncing back from adversity — it’s a self-help book,” he said. “The content of books that I saw out there is a lot of fluff, a lot of happy self-talk — [not] a lot of very actionable content. I wanted to lean more to the grittier side, more tough-love, in-your-face, how-we-develop-people-in-the-world-of-specialoperations [material].

“The first part of the book is about how we change pain and adversity into greater wisdom, greater enlightenment. You come across an obstacle in your personal [or] professional life and you sit down and reflect on the most arduous situations you’ve ever been in and the obstacle in front of you. In that moment, it might shrink into an insignificant barrier that you can easily overcome.

“I talk about temptation and putting better restraints on ourselves so that we can not only avoid temptation but also eliminate it from our lives by putting up better lane makers, better definitions of what we want out of this short life. I talk about discipline and accountability. Research shows that people who are more disciplined and hold themselves more accountable are happier and more fulfilled and may achieve more of the goals they set.

“I close the book with a chapter that is entitled ‘We Are All Going to Die, So Get Up Off Your Ass and Execute!’ — meaning we don’t really know when this short life is going to come to an end. Basically, I call it your own personal exit strategy, if you will,

defining what winning looks like for your own personal life and working backward from there.”

Brent Gleeson Believing

tion based on what we can control and then deprioritize what we can’t. In the article, he wrote that when business slows down, it’s time to concentrate on planning, human resources, strategy and other aspects that might have been pushed aside. “Now is the time to focus on the brand, focus on marketing — getting word out about what the business does,” he said. “ReFor the past five years, Gleeson has written for Forbes magazine. search shows, especially back in 2008 when the housing market In a recent column, he outlined the merits of having core values imploded and the recession soon followed, that businesses large in an organization. I asked why core values are so important or small that focused on their brand, focused on content generaand what steps can be taken to ensure they’re embraced by all tion and focused on marketing came out stronger with greater members of a team. market share than competitors who didn’t.”

“If high-performing business organizations, sports teams I wondered if Gleeson had any last words of advice for school and even the world of special operations have manifestos of owners who attend the Virtual SuperShow. “Don’t just ‘wander core values, why would we not have that for ourselves or our around,’” he said. “Go in with a plan as to what is going to impact families?” he replied. “When you think about guiding principles your business the most, a plan with your top three goals of what and core values and what those supporting you want to walk away with, goals that are behaviors are, you can drill down into how [to] actionable. What key learnings can you extract hold yourself accountable. Core values also help you make better decisions and define what you Teschner heads that can move the needle on your business [so you get] a return on your investment?” are willing to do and what you are absolutely an international not willing to do.”

When it comes to key steps, he noted that consulting firm Robert Teschner core values have to be authentic. “The way those values become authentic, there are a called VMax Group, Helping Teschner heads an international consulting couple of things,” he said. “One is that hope- which teaches firm called VMax Group, which teaches busifully anybody who is a leader of people in a nesses how to thrive by cultivating accountcompany, team or organization lives by those businesses how to able leadership and team spirit. The father of values on and off the battlefield. [A second] way is to deeply ingrain them in your culture thrive by cultivating five currently lives in St. Louis but grew up in an Air Force family that was stationed around by talking about them all the time — from how accountable the world. you [hire] new talent to how you develop your Regarding his background, Teschner said his people, how you recognize and reward achieve- leadership and life changed when he watched Top Gun on a ment in your organization, how you use those values in a coaching moment — when you are team spirit. military base with a bunch of F-4 and F-16 pilots. By the time the end credits rolled, he’d realized mentoring others.” that this was what he wanted to do. One could

In Embrace the Suck, Gleeson points out that the most resil- argue, however, that his family’s military roots might have had ient people often help others when they need to relieve stress something to do with his calling. and boost their efficacy. Gleeson himself has helped raise mil- His grandfather trained as a fighter pilot in World War II, and lions of dollars for the SEAL Family Foundation, which prompted his father served in Vietnam and won the Bronze Star for, as me to ask if all martial artists should be doing such things dur- Teschner put it, “volunteering to be in the backseat of anything ing these unprecedented times. that flew in harm’s way — because he didn’t fly himself.” His

“Research shows that altruism and giving back can be power- father, originally an Air Force intelligence officer, later went to ful for overcoming your most personal struggles with anxiety, law school and became a judge advocate general. depression and post-traumatic stress,” he said. “When we make When Teschner graduated from high school, the Air Force was it about someone else, something else or a cause greater than cutting back, and that caused him to conclude that the U.S. Air ourselves, we stop wallowing in our own misery. Not to make Force Academy would be his best bet for becoming a fighter giving back seem like a selfish endeavor, [but] that type of be- pilot. After four years of what he calls “outstanding leaderhavior is deeply rewarding [and] deeply healing. And you discover ship training,” he graduated near the top of his class with an that someone else has always got it worse than you do.” advanced degree in operational art and science, as well as one in

That led us to the COVID pandemic and a recent article in which national security strategy. he mentions a popular SEAL saying: Calm is contagious. He said He commenced active duty in 1995 as a second lieutenant and this means that in times of crisis, we should develop a plan of ac- began his pilot training in Wichita Falls, Texas. He graduated

Robert Teschner

first in his class, which gave him the chance to select the aircraft he would fly. He chose the F-15C, a tried-and-true design that focuses on air superiority.

His career saw him log nearly 2,000 hours of flight time with service in Iraq in support of the United Nations. He also provided air support for troops and bombers engaged in various missions.

Teschner attended the U.S. Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, as a student, then became an instructor there. Before he retired as a full colonel, he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. It came as a complete surprise because a month earlier, he’d been cleared to fly F-22 Raptors. The diagnosis led to a number of surgeries, removal of his lower colon and years of recovery. He attributes his survival to the training he received in the military, which prepared him to maintain a strong attitude, to win no matter what and to do whatever needs to be done.

Robert Teschner Writing

After retiring from the military, he used his experience to launch a company and write a best-selling book titled Debrief to Win: How America’s Top Guns Practice Accountable Leadership … and How You Can, Too!

Teschner’s “accountable leadership” and “debrief” process avoids wasting time by having teams focus on things that truly matter. This enables them to figure out how to duplicate success the next time and avoid making the same mistakes. He

said businesses can benefit because his program accelerates the learning of new hires and gets them “mission ready” more quickly. He noted that a meta-analysis conducted by Tannenbaum and Cerasoli found that if companies follow his process, individual and team performance improves an average of 20 to 25 percent.

I asked how he plans to present his process to the SuperShow audience. “If you study teamwork, you quickly find out that accountability is absolutely essential to teamwork done well,” he said. “Every one of these small [martial arts] businesses has a small team that they are harnessing to go forward. That teamwork requires accountability … regardless of the size of the team.”

Teschner said he has other intel in store for school owners at the Virtual SuperShow. “I will touch on what I learned from the very first days at the Air Force Academy: Teamwork is a fullcontact sport that we have to take seriously, prepare for, think about [and] organize to do. It doesn’t just happen. You can’t just bring a bunch of people in a room and tell them, ‘Go get ’em!’

“From there, I will discuss what accountability does for us and that it is not about making people feel bad or feeling blamed or shamed for having done something wrong. Really, it’s about bringing out the best of our team members — looking for tomorrow as being better than today was, celebrating the micro-victories even in the midst of a failure and learning constantly.”

I wondered if his debrief process required any tweaking during the pandemic. “The only thing that I have noticed in coaching clients is that if you are meeting in person and wearing masks, it is hard for folks to know, ‘Hey, am I getting across to you?’”

It’s tough to gauge whether you’re getting through to others without being able to see anything except their eyes, he added. “It may be confusing for people to understand what the real tone is. And tone is important for every member of the team, especially if we are dissecting a failure, so the mood remains positive and upbeat. This is easily mitigated by transitioning to virtual.” Robert Teschner Surviving

Teschner said he draws on his bout with cancer to convey advice for the tough times in which we live: “I did a talk recently for a cancer benefit, and they asked me to use one word to describe my journey with cancer. I said the way I view it is as a war. That has two immediate implications.

“Number one, in a war, we don’t win all battles. So the key for your side in a war is to bounce back after a loss, knowing that it is a succession of many battles and their victories that will ultimately lead to victory. So you may not do well today, but you can if pick yourself up and bounce back tomorrow.”

The second implication is that no one goes into battle alone, he said. “I’ve always been part of a team. And for those who feel they are by themselves, it’s a natural feeling — but they’re not. The pandemic is an example because it has put us on a wartime footing no matter where we are on the planet. As much as we have been isolated, we have to seek more than normal to build our teams. That is the choice with cancer, other challenges in life and the pandemic.”

Brent Gleeson and Robert Teschner Further Learning

If you wish to learn more of the wisdom these two warriorscholars routinely share with clients, make plans to be part of the 2021 Virtual SuperShow. As worthy of attention as their keynotes are sure to be, these accomplished veterans are just the tip of the iceberg that is the SuperShow. For more information on the other nine-tenths, visit masupershow.com.

Perry William Kelly has a sixth-degree black belt in jiu-jitsu and is an instructor in four other martial arts. He’s the former national coordinator for use of force for the Correctional Service of Canada. In 2017 he was a karate gold medalist at the World Police and Fire Games, and in 2018 he received the Joe Lewis Eternal Warrior Award. His website is perrywkelly.com.

SuperShow.

Robert Teschner Brent Gleeson

BY NGUYEN “TOM” GRIGGS

Something that many leaders — and people in general — deal with regularly is the urge to overdo certain aspects of their jobs. We all know someone who was given a chance to run things and let it go to his or her head, or the person simply did too much to try to impress the boss. Here’s an example.

When I was in fourth grade, we had a substitute teacher. She was a regular substitute at our school and was known for being tough. Many students saw her as someone who tried too hard and was out to prove something. Those personality traits made her stubborn and unwilling to understand other perspectives.

One day when she was subbing in our class, she was her usual overcompensating self. In the class was a student who stuttered. She called on him to answer a question, and he was silent. She became irate and then berated him.

When he remained silent, she took things to another level and demanded that he go to the chalkboard to answer her question in writing — and then explain his answer. The student walked to the board and provided the correct answer but was too petrified to verbalize it.

Anyone who has experience with stuttering knows that it can be a mixture of physical and psychological issues. But emotions such as fear and panic can make speaking nearly impossible. I vividly recall this moment because the substitute decided to make an example of the young man. She treated him as if he was being insolent and churlish when he actually suffered from a real speech impediment.

If the teacher had listened to the other students in the class, she would have known that he had a stuttering problem. Instead, she got angrier and began handing out conduct notices to the various students who kept trying to tell her. Things subsided only when the vice principal happened to walk by and hear the commotion, after which he intervened.

Several students told the vice principal how the substitute was behaving. He asked the student if what the other students were saying was true, and after several attempts, the student said yes. The vice principal then took the substitute outside, and when he returned, he ran the class for the rest of the day.

I don’t recall seeing that substitute at my school afterward. But what I remember even now is how a quiet student was humiliated and dehumanized in front of his classmates. While the story is upsetting, it does illustrate two points that pertain to our business.

First, we must never ignore the people we serve and never silence them when they try to speak. The substitute wouldn’t listen to the students regarding the young man’s stuttering problem. She wanted to be a tough instructor who demanded compliance. When faced with perceived noncompliance, she became angrier and refused to listen to the other students, which resulted in more frustration. Leading others means constantly listening and being proactively attentive. When people aren’t being heard, it’s a major source of angst and frustration for them.

Second, we must not force our perspective on others. I can’t imagine how the parents of the boy felt when they learned about their son’s mistreatment by the teacher. Think about how the school administrators felt when they found out that the substitute had a reputation for being harsh and they still employed her. An essential part of leading others is giving them a chance to see things from our perspective. Creating instances of reflection and conversation provides opportunities for them to grow, which is what all good leaders want. It provides an opportunity for us to grow, as well.

Nguyen “Tom” Griggs is a professional consultant/speaker on subjects that include teams, leadership and conflict. To contact him, send an email to tom@ntgriggs.com.

BY DAVE KOVAR

o say that the past year and a half

Thas been interesting would be an understatement. Most of us never saw 2020 coming — at least, I didn’t. I’m not going to lie: It’s been a challenging time for my school and me. But I’m proud to say that we’re emerging from it in pretty good shape. Thanks to the hard work of our amazing team, our loyal student body and a little help from the PPP, we’re coming back stronger than ever. In this column, I will share the nine steps we used to keep our momentum going in case your business needs a boost.

You can love your current situation or you can hate it, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are where you are. It’s a waste of time to try to wish it away. The sooner you acknowledge and accept where you are, the sooner you can start taking steps to get where you want to go.

Too often, when things are challenging, our minds drift to back-in-the-day stories of when life was “perfect.” In reality, that time probably wasn’t as perfect or easy as you remember. Sometimes, our brains have a way of filtering out bad memories. Cultivating the belief that your best years are still ahead sets you on a more successful trajectory than does staying mired in the past.

It’s hard to get somewhere if you don’t know where you’re going. Be clear on what you want for your school, your health, your staff and your student body. This will help you know where to focus your attention.

I know many well-meaning people who major in minor things. They run around day in and day out, doing unimportant things — then wonder why they can never get anything done. Remember that there’s a difference between being effective and being efficient. Being effective means you’re doing the right things. Being efficient means you’re doing things right. Take the time to focus on the right things first, then focus on doing those things right.

I’m not sure about you, but nothing feels better than relaxing at the end of a productive day. Sometimes, we wait for motivation before we are productive, but motivation follows action. If you want to get motivated, take purposeful action. Great stuff will begin to happen.

How many people have I known who were incredibly intelligent, incredibly talented and incredibly hard-working but never got close to their potential? A lot. Chances are you have, too. The ability to stay the course, also known as perseverance, can never be underestimated.

Staying the course and continuing to do a task that’s no longer needed or has become irrelevant are two different things. Rarely do we get it right out of the gate. Just like every great coach, you will have to deviate from your game plan from time to time. Just remember to do it for the right reasons.

Very few people would argue with the notion that it’s better to have friends than enemies. If you have some time and want to be productive but you’re not sure what to do, reach out and connect with a staff member, student or friend. It’s the right thing to do, and when you’re there for the people in your world when they need you, chances are good they’ll be there for you when you need them.

Focusing on your health is not selfish. It’s the most important thing you can do for your family, your students and your community. Remember that the world needs you at your best. Try to give it to them.

To contact Dave Kovar, send an email to dave.kovar@kovars.com.

s I was thinking of a title for this article, I tried not to be overly dramatic, but I’m standing by my statement that “Facebook is changing forever.” It’s certainly a big deal, but it shouldn’t come as a shocker — with any technology, the one thing you can count on is that nothing is going to stay the same for long.

My goal in writing this is that by the end of the article, you’ll understand what’s taking place, why it’s happening, how it will impact your advertising and, most important, why you need to prepare for it.

As I write this in late March 2021, there are still many unknowns surrounding Apple’s next iOS 14 update for the iPhone and iPad, so much so that even Facebook is unsure of the impact it will have. With that being said, I’ll be transparent about what I’m unsure of, as well. Until the “ATT prompt” goes live, there will be much speculation.

Although Facebook is changing forever and our strategies as marketers will change with it, we must remember what Charles Darwin said many moons ago: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”

We made it through a pandemic and a presidential election in 2020; we can get through Zuckerberg and Cook’s little tiff, as well.

Apple and Facebook have been at odds for a decade, and Apple has decided to make the iPhone a battlefield in the war. Back in 2020, Apple announced that it would make privacy-enhancing changes to iOS 14, which will impact how Facebook receives and processes data.

To that end, in the spring of 2021, Apple will introduce the AppTrackingTransparency framework. This will be required by all apps — not just Facebook — and will include a prompt that pops up on your phone, asking if you prefer to “allow” tracking or “ask app not to track.” The expectation is that most people will opt out of tracking, which will have a significant impact on targeting and data gathering for marketers. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, said:

“Every day, billions of dollars change hands, and countless decisions are made, on the basis of our likes and dislikes, our friends and families, our relationships and conversations, our wishes and fears, our hopes and dreams. These scraps of data, each one harmless enough on its own, are carefully assembled, synthesized, traded and sold.”

It’s those scraps of data that we digital marketers need to help small-business owners prosper via online marketing.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg stated that these privacy changes will hurt the growth of “millions of businesses around the world.” I agree. Marketers thrive on data. We need it to help us make better decisions. We cannot read our prospects’ minds, but we can read their actions. And when we have heaps of actions, we can adjust our marketing campaigns toward people who have a higher chance of converting — which ultimately leads to fewer wasted dollars.

I have a phrase that I repeat at least three times a week in my office: “Math is the path.” It means that every decision in our business should be based on the data. And with less data, coupled with a curtailed ability to track actions taken online, marketing will become much more difficult.

As advertisers, we have to understand that this is the direction the industry is headed as a whole — more privacy and less tracking. And there’s no way for Facebook to get around this. If the social media company tries, it risks having its app removed from Apple’s App Store.

I know what you’re probably thinking: Not everyone uses an iPhone. And you’re absolutely right. But the implications will extend beyond iOS users. Because of this update, Facebook is making major structural changes to its Facebook Ads Manager platform. So it truly will affect all of us.

Back in 2013, Facebook unveiled the Facebook pixel‚ which got a facelift in 2015 and again in 2017. Simply put, the Facebook pixel is a piece of JavaScript code that’s As advertisers, we have added to the backend of websites to understand that to track visitor activity. It’s ultithis is the direction the mately an analytics tool that helps industry is headed as a you measure and increase the whole — more privacy effectiveness of your advertising and less tracking. campaigns. It does this by report-

ing and analyzing the actions people take on your site. The pixel then uses this data to assign people to different target groups that you can engage with ads in the future.

You’ve probably experienced the power of the pixel even if you didn’t know it. Have you ever been to a website and then hopped on Facebook — and as you scroll, you see an ad from the same business whose website you were just on? That’s the Facebook pixel hard at work. It has the ability to follow you around the internet.

The Facebook pixel is a digital marketer’s most powerful tool — and it’s about to get hit with a heavy dose of kryptonite. After the update, if a user opts out of tracking, the pixel no longer will be able to follow that user around the web. The entire “retargeting and remarketing” game will take a big hit and, as a result, we’ll have access to less data, smaller audiences and reduced optimization.

At the end of the day, Facebook needs volume to properly optimize your business’ ad campaigns, and with less data being sent, optimization is less likely to be effective.

There are a few more techy changes that will occur — such as attribution, event ranking and aggravated event measurement — and they will have direct and indirect impacts on how you advertise in Facebook Ads Manager. If you want to put on your nerd glasses, check out the next section. Otherwise, skip it and jump to the action steps listed in Technique vs. Strategy.

Attribution: To account for less data, Facebook is changing the way it reports its attribution. Simply put, attribution is how Facebook links a conversion to a

conversions are reported, which can make it look like your ads aren’t converting as well.

Event Ranking: One of the major changes occurring to Facebook ads is that you’ll be able to optimize only for eight events per domain, and now

These event conversions are leveraged when you run conversion objective campaigns.

Aggregated Event Measurement: Apple originally created a “solution” for web tracking after someone opts out. The company dubbed it Private Click Mea-

can be shared, so Facebook instead will use its own solution: Aggregated Event Measurement. AEM will apply to iOS 14 opted-out users and will allow crossdomain measurement and app-to-web conversions.

Enough with the tech talk! Let’s get into the action steps you need to take to prepare for the iOS update.

As a third-degree black belt in taekwondo and a first degree in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I’ve been fortunate to learn the importance of not only having great technique, both on the feet and on the ground, but also having a strategy to implement the techniques to allow for a successful sparring round. As my instructor says, “Strategy trumps technique every day of the week and twice on Sunday.”

There are many similarities between technique and strategy on the mat and in the digital-marketing game. You can know every single armbar, leg lock, choke, sweep and escape, but if you don’t have a strategy to successfully implement them, it will be difficult to defend yourself on the ground. The most effective mat players are the ones who have both technique and strategy. It’s the same with digital marketing.

Hop on YouTube or Google, and within seconds, you’ll be able to find “free advice” on how to run ads. (The dangerous part of this is you need to know whether the person you’re listening to is actually the real deal). Pretty much anyone can learn the technical button-pushing aspects of launching ads. Facebook even has a free course called The Facebook Blueprint. But the strategy — that takes real digital-world experience.

Now that you understand what’s going on between Facebook and Apple, we’ll dive into what techniques you can implement to prepare your business to overcome these changes. And then we’ll unpack the strategies you should take action on to ensure that your social media marketing game continues to pay off.

Facebook will require you to have your Business Manager set up if you want to continue running ads. The company has pushed advertisers to do so for the past few years, but with the iOS 14 update, they’re putting their foot down.

Many martial arts school owners who run their own ads (and some uninformed agencies) run their Facebook ads from their personal Facebook Ad Account. Besides the fact that this goes against what Facebook suggests, it also limits certain features that you can leverage such as custom audiences.

Creating a Business Manager is free. It requires only that you provide some basic business information. If you haven’t created yours yet, head to business.facebook.com and follow the prompts.

This one is a little more difficult. Facebook will require you to verify that your domain is a real domain that you own. There are a couple of ways to do this.

First, go to your Business Manager. Click on Brand Safety and then Domains. You’ll need to add your domain if it’s not already listed.

Now, the techy part: You’ve got to update your DNS records. If you use one of the industry-standard websites (like Market Muscles), they’ll help you through this. If you don’t, you’ll have to either update your DNS records inside your hosting platform or reach out to the company that hosts your site to have it done. It’s a pretty basic copy-and-paste job, but if you’re not familiar with updating DNS records, it can be harder than your black-belt pretest.

Now you must wait for your domain to be verified. This can take up to 72 hours. Next, if you work with an agency or have someone else running your ads, you’ll need to add them as a partner and give them asset access.

If everything you just read sounds like a different language, I get it. Sometimes in our business, the best question isn’t How can I do this? It’s Who can do this for me? If you work with a third party like my Grow Pro Agency, someone will walk with you step by step to get this done.

While this isn’t required, I recommend that you verify your business inside your Business Manager. This can be done by heading to Settings. It will require you to upload some information, but it’s worth the effort.

Once you get the technical work done, it’s time to implement some digital-marketing strategies that will help you overcome the reduction in data that will be sent when you run ads. It seems as though actions that occur inside Facebook will still be tracked. The change will affect mostly third-party sites — which is actually great news.

Actions that people take inside Facebook — such as watching your videos, watching your Facebook Lives, engaging with your content and engaging with your events — will still be tracked so you can retarget those people with your ads. Knowing this, there are three steps you can take to ensure that you can continue to grow your audience inside Facebook and build awareness of your school.

I’ve preached for years that posting video is essential. It’s the No. 1 type of consumed content online, and sadly it’s the one that most school owners neglect.

With smartphones having the ability to record videos that are near professional quality, all schools should be putting out video content each week. Whenever school owners tell me they’re uncomfortable on camera, I say, “Then you need to start practicing!” If it’s not going to be you, designate someone from your team to start creating video content.

Why is this so important? With the Facebook pixel losing a lot of its power in regard to retargeting, videos posted inside Facebook will not be affected. That means a strategy that remains viable when running Facebook ads involves creating audiences of people who watch a certain percentage of your videos. With the audiences you create, you can show those people your ads.

Facebook Lives are another great option you have in regard to video marketing. They receive more reach and are one of the best free digital-marketing strategies out there.

In a nutshell, here’s the truth about video content:

No content = no click

No click = no lead

No lead = no sale

If you want to stand out in the public’s increasingly cluttered newsfeed, the key is video content.

They say that content is king. I say that promoted content is queen.

Here’s the thing about taking time to create content: Facebook has become a pay-to-play platform, so it’s not the best content that wins; it’s the best promoted content that wins.

Take a look at the engagement (likes, loves, comments, shares, etc.) of your posts nowadays and compare that to your posts in 2019. Notice anything? More than likely, a few years ago, you had a lot more engagement than you do now. It’s a fact that reach (the number of people who see your posts) has plummeted over the years. The average now is about 5.8 percent of your following.

Imagine investing your time to create a great video that highlights your life-skills program and finding out that it was shown to just 5.8 percent of the people who follow you. That’s pretty disheartening.

Because there are more people on Facebook than ever, more businesses than ever and more advertisers than ever, it becomes a supply-and-demand issue. Facebook can choose which content it puts in front of its users, and because it’s headstrong about putting “community first,” your business posts are relegated to the backburner.

What can you do to combat this? You’ve got to pay to play. Normally, I don’t recommend boosting posts‚ but to get your content in front of your people, you need to start. The key element to understand when boosting posts is that it won’t turn into immediate purchases and signups. The purpose is to increase engagement. Once your posts and your page start getting more engagement, you can retarget those people with ads that feature a call to action. This allows you to fish out of a lake instead of fishing out of a pond.

An additional strategy you can implement is creating events. It’s one of the easier things to do on the platform and is pretty much “fill in the blank.” Anytime you’re having an event in your school, whether it’s a Stranger Danger seminar, a women’s selfdefense clinic, a parents night out or a graduation ceremony, create an event. Once you do that, you can create an audience that engages with the event, an audience that says it’s interested.

Example: You have a graduation ceremony coming up and create a Facebook event. Now, little Johnny’s mom decides to share the event because Johnny is testing for his blue belt. All of the mom’s friends see the event, and they like it and comment on it to wish him luck. Because they engaged with your event, you can put them into an audience composed of people you can retarget and show an ad to.

To modify the equations I listed above:

Content = clicks

Clicks = leads

Leads = sales

At the end of the day, your email list is one of the few digital assets you actually own. That’s why you need to consistently build your list of names, phone numbers and email addresses of people in your community who are interested in your academy.

Email is personal and highly targeted, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. With a kick-butt retargeting game plan, email can consistently convert recipients into students.

All these recommendations might seem overwhelming — which I completely understand. But what’s the best way to eat an elephant? One bite at a time! Here are your one-step-at-a-time action items.

Step 1 — Create a Facebook Business Manager.

Step 2 — Verify your domain.

Step 3 — Verify your business.

Step 1 — Video is essential.

Step 2 — The best promoted content wins.

Step 3 — Always grow your email list.

Remember what I said about the best question in business: Often it’s not How can I do this?; it’s Who can do this for me? If you need help with any of the processes mentioned in this article, I’ll be happy to offer a complimentary one-on-one coaching call through our Connect With a Coach online calendar. Visit maiahub.com for more information.

Cris Rodriguez has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a third degree in taekwondo. The co-owner of Gracie PAC MMA, she has 25 years of experience in the martial arts and 18 years of experience as a teacher. Based in Tampa, Florida, Rodriguez has studied internet marketing for eight years and is the founder of Grow Pro Agency, a digital-marketing firm that runs Facebook and Instagram ads for martial arts school owners.

In May 2018, my team at InCourage Martial Arts and I were preparing to open a brand-new martial arts studio in Fairfax, Virginia.

This studio was going to be in a new location, starting completely from scratch with no existing students. On top of that, as the owner, I would be off-site. We would need someone to handle the onsite operations.

Considering all these factors, I concluded that resources were limited and costs needed to be kept as low as possible.

The existing business model in most martial arts studios requires both a program director and an instructor to keep things running smoothly. For this new studio, however, our goal was to do it with just one full-time staff member.

Of course, running anything with just one person (at least, one full-time person) is challenging because there are so many things that need to be done: marketing for new students, keeping current students, coming up with fun and engaging class plans, recruiting and hiring part-time staff, designing operations for afterschool and camp programs, planning and then marketing special events, etc. — all while teaching great classes and providing great customer service.

Realizing that there was no possible way all this could be done effectively by one person, our management team at InCourage

Martial Arts considered a very important question: What are the essential tasks that must be done by the operator, and what can be outsourced?

The answer to this question became the ultimate foundation of our new business plan, and that foundation proved even more essential when COVID hit in 2020.

We didn’t know it at the time, but some of the decisions that we made back in 2018 — along with some good luck that we stumbled upon along the way — allowed us not only to survive during the pandemic but also to thrive. We had a record year in 2020.

THE NEW BUSINESS PLAN 1. Simplify membership offerings. 2. Fully digitize and automate the registration process for new and current members. 3. Maximize mat space. No offices, no front desk. 4. Outsource all strategic operational planning, marketing, staff recruiting, bookkeeping, equipment ordering and administrative tasks.

This plan allows our on-site operator to focus 100 percent of his time and energy on executing martial arts programs, organizing events and providing the best customer service to the students and their families.

This also allows us to keep to a 45-hour work week for the operator so he is more effective and does not experience burnout. We believe that “we work to live, not live to work,” and this set schedule really allows our operator to have a life outside the studio.

The key to realizing these goals, and achieving profitability for this particular “one-man-show,” was finding the best possible

tools to help run the studio without adding any work or incurring any high costs.

OUR SIMPLE MEMBERSHIP OFFERING Time on our mats is what students are paying for. We got rid of our leadership programs, weapons programs and tournament team — pretty much anything that needed an explanation — and came up with a simple, basic set of plans that all our incoming students could understand: 1 class per week: $125/month 2 classes per week: $175/month 3 classes per week: $199/month

All these programs have a 14-day cancellation policy. No further explanations are needed, no hard sales pitch is required and the members can choose for themselves what fits their budget and time. Easy.

FULLY DIGITIZE AND AUTOMATE THE REGISTRATION PROCESS (WWW.MYSTUDIO.IO) Every single trial, membership, event registration and retail order for the Fairfax InCourage Martial Arts location has been purchased by the members online, at their convenience (through a URL, the studio’s website, the MyStudio app or the point-of-sale iPad kiosk in the studio), and no physical paperwork or contracts have been made since we opened the doors to this studio.

This brand-new school became accessible to everyone, 24/7, no matter where they were. Our team has never had to spend any of its precious time in long enrollment appointments.

Instead of using many disjointed software platforms, we have been able to run the school with just one — MyStudio — which costs $79 for a website, member app and student-management platform. The platform saved not only costs on technology but also costs on payroll because customers could serve themselves and purchase anything, anytime, anywhere. No one needed to help them.

Once word-of-mouth began to spread and more and more students started to join, this 24/7 access allowed everyone to register quickly and easily for new trials, classes, memberships, events and camps. We literally were making money while we slept.

In addition to automating the registration process, we also automated the following essential communications (via email and text) and management tasks through the MyStudio platform: • Welcome and educational communications for new trials • Membership-enrollment details after a trial attends four classes with us • Automated referral-ask after a trial registers for a membership • Belt-graduation scheduling when a student meets attendance and skill requirements • Website updates with the latest offerings, sales and information because it’s directly connected to our member app and management system

MAXIMIZE MAT SPACE: NO OFFICES, NO FRONT DESK Since we already knew that all the registrations were going to be done by the members wherever they were and at whatever time was convenient for them, we did not need an office or a front desk for our new school.

We designed the space to be fully open and bright, with plenty of seating for parents and one wall where we would have our iPad point-of-sale kiosk, our advertisement flyers and a coffee/water station.

Not only was this easier to design and build but it also saved us more than 50 percent in buildout costs compared to a more traditional martial arts school design. Our total buildout cost was $22,000 — a very modest amount in our metropolitan area.

OUTSOURCE ALL OPERATIONAL PLANNING AND MARKETING The instructor the InCourage management team chose to lead the onsite operations of this new school was an extremely talented martial artist and teacher. We did not want him to worry about all the details of creating new games for the students to play, planning new special events, making monthly class plans and themes, and generating afterschool or camp operations plans. Part of working smarter is having the courage to admit that you can’t always do everything alone and it’s OK to rely on others — whether that’s real people or software.

Additionally, we wanted to outsource the time-consuming tasks of recruiting staff, calling suppliers when we ran out of uniforms or T-shirts, and managing vendors that service the studios — because these were not our top priorities, either.

All these tasks are now handled by the management team at InCourage Systems (www.incouragesystems.com), and our main operator can simply focus on the actual day-to-day operations and running the generated plans in the most awesome way possible.

Of course, it’s important to remember the axiom “work smarter, not harder” if you want to run a successful business — especially with limited team members and resources.

Part of working smarter is having the courage to admit that you can’t always do everything alone and it’s OK to rely on others — whether that’s real people or software.

By keeping costs extremely low, delegating management tasks, outsourcing planning material and utilizing software that can do much of the heavy lifting, our InCourage Fairfax studio grew extremely quickly — even in the middle of a worldwide pandemic.

The success of the studio also proved to us that not only was it possible to operate a brand-new school with a one-man team using MyStudio but it also was possible to be prosperous with it. Since then, InCourage has opened two more schools, for a total of five studios in 2021.

But you don’t have to just take my word for it. I also think that it’s best to see it from the viewpoint of our operator, who has been our partner at InCourage Fairfax since the start. Below is a Q&A session with Master Taehwan “Tay” An, the one full-time team member at the InCourage Fairfax school.

I was born and raised in South Korea, and I was part of a competitive taekwondo athlete team, specializing in sparring, all throughout my school years.

In 2009, I immigrated to the United States with the hope of becoming an international taekwondo educator. I worked with different studios in Ohio and Virginia before I joined InCourage Martial Arts in 2018.

I was offered the job just six months after I joined InCourage. It was a very exciting opportunity for me, and I was ready to jump in! Not only did I have strong confidence in my teaching skills and experience, but I also trusted that the InCourage team would support me whenever I needed it.

Referrals from members has been a big one for us. As a new location, word of mouth was our most effective advertisement so every special event — like birthday parties and PTA fundraiser events — allows members to bring their friends and have fun together.

Keeping our members happy made them eager to refer us. Combine that with the MyStudio app and system that lets anyone sign up anytime, and this lets us scale quickly with little legwork.

A big key factor for those happy members has also been all the monthly themes that InCourage Systems provides to us — like the holidays, famous books, movies, and even video games! The kids are always super excited to see the new decorations every month, and the class lesson plans are integrated with stories and characters. It makes everything so much more fun!

First, it’s critical to understand the wants and needs of the community that you serve. If we wanted to make a profit, we needed to keep our community in mind no matter what.

We started the studio thinking we would have as our main revenue drivers our traditional martial arts program, a big afterschool offering and summer camps. We were right about two of them, but we found out we needed to change our assumptions around afterschool when we learned about the actual needs of our community.

For example, the public schools near us get out relatively late, so it didn’t make sense for us to run a big afterschool program because there just isn’t time. Because of this, we renovated our school to have a smaller activity room and added extra workout space so we could have two different evening classes at the same time. This allowed us to expand capacity and grow revenues where the demand was — for traditional martial arts and summer camps, allowing us to continue to grow membership year over year.

In 2020, COVID-19 hit hard. Students no longer went to school or really anywhere in person, and we had to adapt to the changes based on our community and our members’ needs.

We’re located in the metropolitan Washington D.C. area, so there are a lot of working parents. If these parents needed to work from home or go to work in-person, then they needed a program where children could maximize their learning experience during the new virtual school day.

Knowing all this, we started a distance-learning camp for our members, and we truly made the best of our situation — and made great revenue, as well!

Being flexible and meeting the real needs of the community have been key to our growth and survival as a business.

InCourage Fairfax is very open with two workout floors, an activity room and a lobby — all with very few walls. The front windows are also wide and clear, making the studio more welcoming and inviting to people who pass by because they can easily see us.

Not having a dedicated office has worked out great for us, as it gives a more welcoming space for members. We just have a couple of iPads set up so students can register for trials and memberships or put in a request for more information. For making payments, signing up, asking about attendance, hours and all the other questions, the members just use the MyStudio app on their preferred devices, so that makes it easy!

First, I have to admit that I cannot do this alone. There are so many big and little tasks needed to run the entire studio.

Most of the planning for our programs, events, parties, themes and everything is done by our InCourage Systems team, and this helps me tremendously. My job then becomes delegating the remaining tasks to myself and our small team — and to make sure that we execute it well.

With those other responsibilities off my shoulders, I can focus on running the classes and everything really well.

For information about the software InCourage uses, visit www.mystudio.io. For more information about the InCourage Systems team and their offerings for other studios, visit www.incouragesystems.com.

by Justin Lee Ford Photos by Cody Shipman

Back in 2019, a successful executive who wanted to do something new in life decided to invest in a franchise. Having coached his son’s soccer team in his younger years, he knew that athletic activities are great for communities and families, as well as worthy endeavors in which to invest. His search for the right franchise and his interest in improving the community through athletics eventually took him to Premier Martial Arts.

If case you haven’t heard, Premier Martial Arts is a franchise with more than 100 locations. Founded in 1998 by Black Belt Hall of Famer Barry Van Over, Premier has grown rapidly in recent years and now spans the United States and Canada and extends into England.

When the executive met with Premier, he saw it as an opportunity not only to be part of a successful franchise but also to spread the benefits of enhanced focus and improved self-confidence while fostering self-defense skill at the local level.

Of course, you and I already know about those benefits. It’s not an exaggeration to say that what we do saves lives. Adults learn skills that enable them to stop criminal attacks, and kids learn how to cultivate healthy habits at home and improve their focus and discipline at school. With this opportunity, however, comes a great responsibility. Sometimes, we’re taking broken people and repairing them. We’re putting the polish back on those who feel like they lack luster. We give them immediate results and show them what they’re capable of in the future, then provide a means for them to continue to improve. That’s part of the job of a martial arts teacher.

At the end of 2019, I crossed paths with the executive. He said he’d reached out to Premier Martial Arts and decided to buy in. He had plans for two locations and asked me to head the 1,800-square-foot facility that was coming to Decatur, Georgia.

Previously, I worked as head instructor at a martial arts studio that had operated for three decades. From that experience, I learned many lessons about building ties with the community, as well as countless lessons about teaching. Seeing this as an opportunity to grow while giving back, I accepted the offer to open and then run the school.

phase was digital marketing, which is not surprising because so Because of delays brought on by the pandemic and the time many people have upped their phone usage during the pandemic. required to launch any business, we did not start introducing To maximize public interest in your new studio at this particular ourselves to the public until October 2020. We knew we had a time in history, you need to communicate the efforts you’re takgoldmine of a location — it was attached to an apartment ing to promote safety and hygiene. The martial arts industry has complex and a local transit sta- adopted numerous COVID precaution — but we realized we still had work to do. The last thing we To maximize public interest in your new tions, so you should let the public know that you’re complying. New wanted was to be ill-equipped to studio at this particular time in history, students and their families need to deal with surging interest from you need to communicate the efforts you’re feel that your school will provide a the public. You get only one safe environment in which to grow. chance to make a first impres- taking to promote safety and hygiene. Because of our strategic locasion, and botching it can lead to a tion and our targeted marketing, negative reputation that spreads like a disease. we were fortunate to have leads pour in. We decided to amp Action Item: The months before you open are when you should fo- up interest in our school by asking for referrals from each new cus on building brand awareness in your area. Of course, you want member. In this way, those students not only could be the first to get leads calling you and, even better, walking in your door — people to train at a brand-new facility but also could invite their even if you’re not fully operational. Our No. 1 lead source during this friends to take advantage of the opportunity with them.

Action Item: It’s important to remember the life cycle of a student’s excitement. Interest runs particularly high at two times: when the student signs up and when he or she advances in the curriculum. As such, these are the best moments to ask for referrals — and suggest upgrades and mention merchandise sales. Avoid pressuring the student, though. The better the impression you make during the early days, the more likely the student will be to oblige.

If you ask for a referral and the student’s friend or a family member enrolls, there are many incentives and rewards you can provide. If you’re not officially open and revenue isn’t flowing in, perhaps you won’t be able to offer a massive incentive for referrals — but fear not. Instead, emphasize the benefits that come when a student has a training partner in his or her class. A parent who trains can help a child learn at home and better understand the lessons that are imparted on the mat. A school friend who trains can be a familiar face in a new environment, which makes everything more fun.

Such connections are incredibly powerful. However, there are at least two other interpersonal dynamics that are essential for your new school to foster so you can have a successful opening.

Take a moment to envision what success looks like for you. Does it involve having a studio with high-performing students? Making an impact on your community? Becoming financially secure while doing what you love?

It’s likely that your vision encompasses all these. Regardless of what it looks like, it must focus on the students who come through your door now. You can have the most comprehensive curriculum and be the most pedagogically advanced teacher, yet this means naught if students aren’t showing up and tuition payments aren’t being made. Opening and then building a successful studio isn’t a solo mission; it requires that the proper relations be built — in a meaningful way.

Charisma and connections are the social currency on which humans rely. Cultivating a high level of trust, rapport and interest is instrumental to succeeding in any business. Never forget that we are a service-based industry. Without our connections to the local people, we are unable to sell memberships or pass on the benefits of the martial arts. Action Item: During your presale phase, focus on nurturing student-student connections, which is the dynamic that students have with one another. You also should nurture staff-student connections, which refers to the dynamic between students and teachers.

To quote a friend, “It’s easy to quit a membership; it’s difficult to quit a relationship.” There’s a reason so many memberships in fitness facilities expire after hardly any usage while many personal relationships go on longer than they perhaps should.

As wonderful as it is to build strong connections between students, it’s difficult to do this in meaningful ways prior to the start of classes. One way is to start a Facebook group exclusively for members. Or you can organize an event outside your aboutto-open studio. Events that create shared experiences, such as parents-night-out occasions and leadership-team meetings, can be a superb way to build camaraderie.

Action Item: If your classes haven’t begun yet, your students are unlikely to have seen each other in person much, if at all. However, they will have met you and your team. As part of an industry that relies on members’ recurring attendance and interest, you know that having the proper relationship with students and their families is fundamental. From the moment you speak with them on the phone as a lead to the minute they come in to enroll as a member, you need to constantly work to develop a connection.

They’re coming to you because they desire a skill, attribute or opportunity that the martial arts can provide. You must convince them that you’re the best person to give it to them. This starts with communication regarding who you are and what your business does. Discuss with your team what your core values are: honesty, trust, community, leadership and so on. Once everyone knows the mission, it can be communicated more clearly to prospects whether on the phone or in person at an event.

Time for a little backstory: Growing up, I always wanted to impact lives. My grandparents ran a foster home, and over the years, they took care of 150 kids. I always found that inspirational. When I was in my early 20s, I traveled to China to receive my first dose of overseas training. One of the centers I visited was the largest martial arts academy in China: the Shaolin Tagou Wushu School. Located in Henan province, it houses thousands of students and has sent them to perform in numerous events, including the 2008 Olympics.

Seeing these students in action reinforced the notion of how far-reaching the impact of the martial arts can be. I knew I wanted to aid as many people as possible through the power of the arts. My goal wasn’t to change the world; it was to change somebody’s world. If one person trains for even a month or if a sibling overhears a mat chat about self-discipline and now feels accountable for his or her home chores, I’m happy. I don’t say this to craft an American Idol–worthy backstory. I say it to communicate the concept that we instructors have a powerful purpose. Action Item: Especially in your school’s early days, don’t be afraid to communicate your reasons for doing what you do. The clearer the image you paint of who you are, the more trustworthy your business becomes. It’s hard for human eyes to trust a chameleon that never reveals itself.

Anyone who’s been in a relationship, however, will tell you that communication is one thing and comprehension is another. Just because I say “Ni hao!” to you doesn’t mean you’ll understand what I’m trying to communicate. We instructors must ensure that our interpersonal skills are sufficiently developed to help those around us comprehend our words and intentions.

Did you grow up with a PE teacher you hated? Perhaps you disliked him all the more because you thought he disliked you. People aren’t attracted to others who are like them; people are attracted to others who simply like them. Develop a genuine interest in people and they will gather around you. Take care of your students first, and this will lead them to take care of you. Action Item: In dealing with new students, strive to eradicate “perceived indifference.” The term refers to students’ beliefs that their instructor doesn’t like them. As an instructor, you know how silly this sounds, but it can seem real to some people.

When you speak with students and their families, smile

whenever it’s appropriate. Use earnest praise and constructive feedback. Allow your positive energy to permeate the studio even if it’s not open yet. Something as simple as memorizing a person’s name and saying it at least three times during his or her consultation and initial training sessions will go far.

Remember that you’re crafting the environment in which your clients will grow. Every action you take and every word you speak help create your school’s culture. Ensure that it’s a place students want to come back to and staff members never want to leave.

To develop such a dynamic, there are several things an instructor can do. In my case, if a child reveals that he’s a fan of Spider-Man, I’ll do a “superhero trick” — aka a tricking move — so he can get a glimpse of the amazing skills martial arts training can lead to. If you’re not into tricking, simply communicate that you have the skills the child admires and/or desires.

If an adult walks in, looking for tai chi chuan classes, I’ll have a genuine conversation with the person. I’ll explain that what we teach is far from internal Chinese martial arts but that even externally focused exercise can lead to the development of enhanced coordination, better breathing and intention-empowered action. If the adult wants these deeper benefits, I reassure the person that we absolutely can help. It isn’t about selling people what they don’t desire; it’s about showing the value of what we offer and how it crosses over into what they want. Action Item: To sell your new program, you have to believe in its purpose and the fact that you actually can help your members. Never forget that at the end of the day, you’re selling skills to people. If you can’t convey that message to prospects, they won’t sign up. This means investing in your skill set, helping your team continue their education and showing everyone how to build rapport so they can communicate better with the public.

When you’re preselling memberships before your studio officially opens, it’s easy for your motivation to drop from time to time. That’s natural because you aren’t able to teach full-size groups, you may be experiencing construction delays and attrition is still happening — especially as you get closer to the first tuition billing date. If you or a staff member begins to feel burned out during this crucial period, it’s time to remember your “why.”

If you started doing this for money, remember that finances fluctuate. Some studios might be raking in the bucks right now, while others might have hit a financial drought. That’s natural.

If you started doing this for community betterment, understand that there will be certain students with whom you have trouble connecting and certain parents who are more difficult than others. That, too, is natural.

In the long run, it doesn’t matter whether you’re chasing success or chasing significance. It isn’t even about why you started. It’s about why you have continued this far and why you’ll keep on keeping on. Although the tough days prior to opening might have you thinking that you’re a long way from your goals, you’re on the right path. If you’re taking steps forward, all you need to do is ensure that it’s in the right direction. You’re seeking progress, not instant perfection.

Once you open your doors, be sure to celebrate with your staff and students. Express your appreciation for what they’ve helped you accomplish. The studio wouldn’t be there without the students and the students wouldn’t have this opportunity to learn martial arts without you and your staff.

You are all on the same team, and you’re off to a great start!

Justin Lee Ford has writing credits that span multiple websites and publications. He’s trained in several disciplines and taught at numerous martial arts studios. His website is cupofkick.com.

BY HERB BORKLAND

seventh-degree black belt under Pat

ABurleson, Chris Folmar has studied jujitsu, aikido and hapkido. He owns KinAppTech, a martial arts smartphone-app company.

MASuccess: Where did you grow up, and what did your dad do? Chris Folmar: I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. My father was an insurance company executive and practitioner of jujitsu, so martial arts were always part of my life. I studied Hawaiian jujitsu at a local dojo in 1977. After seeing Star Wars, I was an excellent jedi.” (laughs)

Dad moved with his job to Virginia. One day, he challenged me to do a push-up. I could not. The next day, he took me to a taekwondo school. He was the vice president of his company and did not have time to train anymore, but he wanted his son to be more physically fit. I liked jujitsu, but I loved TKD’s kicks, spins, coordination and endurance. I was an instructor at 15, competing at 18. Martial arts are ingrained in my personality and identity.

MAS: What was your turning point? Folmar: Hard question! The moment I knew was probably around the time I was 14 before testing for black belt. I was moved from the kids to the adult class. After The Karate Kid came out, the kids [who were] training were starting to be younger, so my promotion was based on age, not ability. It showed! I remember one well-known guy — let’s not use his name — who told me, “This is no place for a punk ninja.”

So I decided I [was] going to show all these people. You get knocked down a lot when you’re smaller, but I got fast, too. My dad said, “They’re just getting older. You’re getting better.” It was a good place for me, feeling confident and successful.

By the way, because of why Dad got me started, I still never use push-ups as a punishment. Instead, we celebrate with push-ups. Physical activity should not be a punishment. I went to college based on proximity to [the] school. I went six days a week until my first child was born when I was 32. Then I started teaching at a community center and still do. Every success I’ve had in life comes from what happened on the mat.

MAS: Many owners today think your app BudoCode can lead to a breakthrough for their schools. Folmar: Instructors love that their students can practice the official versions of their school’s techniques and stay motivated. Don’t think of it as a replacement for in-person. The next generation of parents [has] grown up on social media. They never had to wait for a commercial break to go to the bathroom. (laughs) Everything is ondemand. BudoCode makes the arts available for people where and when they want. The arts need to change in a world unlike the one we grew up in.

As we look to the future as martial artists and business owners, we need to remember the most important fundamentals of business: We are here for the customers. We need to meet them where they are. Great martial arts programs do not need to be tied to a physical location. Don’t think inperson is the only way.

To contact Herb Borkland, send an email to herbork@comcast.net.

BY ERIC P. FLEISHMAN

As martial arts schools reopen, school owners everywhere are seeing new sign-ups. Enrollment is rising because people are once again free to congregate safely, and the numbers are being boosted by the popularity of TV shows like Cobra Kai.

With all these new students trying out their new moves, keeping everyone safe and healthy becomes the priority. Nothing puts a damper on enlightenment-through-training like the pain of an unexpected injury. However, by implementing a proper warmup along with a comprehensive stretching regimen, you can dramatically decrease the chance of injury. With that in mind, I offer this list of the five most important yoga-based stretches to include in your program.

Located along the back of the leg, the hamstring is a critical muscle to keep flexible. Maintaining supple hamstrings ensures higher, more powerful kicks and explosive capabilities that will propel the body forward when it’s time to move quickly. There is also a direct correlation between tight hamstrings and a stiff lower back. Thus, keeping the hamstrings flexible promotes lowerback health.

To stretch them properly, place your foot on a table or chair, lean forward and grab your toes. Hold the stretch for 10 to 15 seconds per side.

This large upper-leg muscle group encompasses four sections and is responsible the “snap” of a front kick. As the lower body’s power center, it can cramp easily from dehydration or exhaustion, so whenever the burn of sustained exercise is felt, it’s a reminder to stay hydrated.

To stretch the quad, stand on one leg and grab the opposite ankle, flexing the knee. To increase the intensity of the stretch, slightly bend the standing leg while increasing the pull on the bent leg. This also opens the hip flexor, providing an additional benefit.

Having tight glutes not only can hinder athletic movement but also can cause tightness in the lower lumbar region.

To stretch the glutes, lie on your back with your knees bent. Place the ankle of one leg on the opposite knee in a figure-4 position and pull your knees gently toward your chest. Repeat on both sides, holding for 10 to 15 seconds per side.

Having fit arms is crucial for martial arts expression, whether a move requires strength, speed or agility. One component is grip strength, which derives primarily from the forearms. Keeping the forearms loose will enable a martial artist to function at increased intensity without compromising power.

To stretch the forearms, extend an arm as if to say “stop.” Then, with the opposite hand, pull back on your fingers until you feel the limitations of your flexibility.

To stretch the triceps, which also come into play when performing arm techniques, extend your bent arm directly upward, keeping your elbow pointed at the ceiling. Reach around with the opposite hand and gently pull back until you feel tension in the triceps. Hold the stretches for 10 to 15 seconds per side.

Without proper care, the latissimus dorsi muscles that cover the back, which is the source of pulling power, can tighten, spasm and become strained.

The easiest way to stretch these muscles is to hang from a pull-up bar for 10 to 15 seconds using a neutral grip. My favorite back stretch is performed by standing in front of a pole, then reaching across the body to grab the pole and leaning away from that outstretched hand. Hold it for 10 to 15 seconds per side.

Eric P. Fleishman — aka Eric the Trainer — is a Hollywood-based trainer of celebrities. In the 28 years he’s worked in the industry, he’s taught actors, musicians, MMA fighters and military personnel. He hosts a popular TV show called Celebrity Sweat, which is available on Amazon Prime.

BY KATHY OLEVSKY

“I’ve written this column for 10 years now, telling the world how I’ve survived 45 years in the martial arts business despite having made many mistakes. In fact, I have not even begun to cover them all. I share my stories to help you learn from them — and because it’s important to know that you, too, may blunder along the way but that your school can survive.”

After the major changes and constant unpredictability of 2020, the martial arts industry started to come back strong in 2021. During this time, we had to get experimental — sometimes with success and sometimes without. At this time, I would like to share some of the biggest mistakes I’ve made in my years of running a school (not just 2020) in the hope that the solutions I found can help you as our industry continues to revive.

Pay and Charge Your Black Belts. In our early years, we followed the tradition that holds that when students reach black belt, they’re no longer charged and they start teaching. Now, we know that we will continue to teach our black belts for many years, so they should pay to be students.

If they teach for us, they should be on our payroll. This way, there’s a clear understanding of expectations. We set the policies, and they work for us and teach our way.

It’s OK to Close on Holidays. Our thinking was that if we closed on holidays, our students would get mad and think they weren’t getting the proper value. In reality, instructors need time off just like the rest of the world. We function better when we have some downtime.

Most martial artists work crazy hours — and often two jobs. Time off reduces burnout. For the past 30 years, we’ve taken off a week in July, a week in December and all major holidays, and we’ve never had a complaint.

Don’t Undersell Your Services. We used to love to tell people that we were the best deal in town when it came to martial arts training. At that time, we were charging $79 a month for unlimited attendance. A mentor said we were amazing martial artists with no business acumen. That explains why we could barely cover our expenses and were not paying ourselves.

His advice was to see what music lessons, gymnastics lessons and dance lessons cost in our area, then decide if we were as valuable or more valuable to our clients. He told us to start charging new students what we thought we were worth and gradually increase rates for our current students as they came up for renewal.

New students did not even blink at paying more, so we knew he was right. It took three years, but we gradually got everyone up to a more appropriate fee.

Keep It Simple. Over the years, there have been many approaches for creating membership programs in the martial arts industry. At one point, we had a program for beginners with three options for paying. We also had three programs for advanced students with three options for paying. Each option gave different benefits.

The lesson we learned is that the more options you give, the harder it is for a customer to make a decision. We currently have one option for beginners and another for everyone who continues with us after the first year. It doesn’t matter if the person is a 5-year-old white belt or a 45-year-old black belt. Now, the selling takes place when the student participates in class or the parent watches class. Enrollment is simply paperwork. For us, the days of the hard sell are gone.

Pay Yourself. Looking back, I can’t believe all the years we operated a dojo for love of the art and didn’t pay ourselves. If this is you, budget yourself into the bills now. If your rent is $1,500 a month and your utilities are $600 a month, don’t you think you’re worth $200 a month? Even if you pay yourself only $50 a week, you must start somewhere. I promise that if you do this, you’ll find a way to make your paycheck grow with your academy.

Please read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert T. Kiyosaki. Listen to it while you’re driving to work if you don’t have time to read. It might change your life like it did mine.

To contact Kathy Olevsky, send an email to kathy.olevsky@raleighkarate.com.