Changes Changes and more Changes

[terryl965]

Here is my problem for all you fellow MA'ers, I want my wife to retire after this school year and she has agreed on three very simple request.

1) We make our school from a no making money school to a profiable one!

2) We also keep in place the scholarship program that help kids to have something to come and do when the parent can't afford to pay!

3) We get away from being everybody patsie and run a true business!


Her lies the problem how do we change to make it profiable and keep in place the programs to help the kids that can;t afford to be there?

If it was your school how would you inplement such a turn around from how you have run your school for the last five years. In five years or so the school has never come closed to break even let alone make money, it was built to help the community, not to get rich off of it.

Not trying to support the family with the school I have other business to do that, what I need is a break even way to make my wife comfy with her retirement and the school would be able to stand alone on it own.

The total out of pocket cost is roughly 2750.00 a month that includes rent, electric, insurance and being able to pick up a few thing every month.

We currently charge $65.00 for unlimited classes a month but we are averging only 39.57 per person at that rate I need 75 people to train we currently have 19 that pay and 23 that don't. This is a must for me and my family.

Alot of you know about my health I need my wife to be around for me and the kids, but I also need her to be comfliable with being able that the school can stand alone without money coming from our pockets every month.


The easiest is put on more students the question lies in how, by bringing in more instructor and by advertising, but what advertising really works for school owners. Is the answer joining a organization so you ahve people that can help or by bringing a marketing group to do a plan on the school growth over the next year?

Thanks ahead of time for your responses.
Terry

 

[rmclain]

Your location is the first problem. You have space inside a mall in a lower income part of town - a mall that is "dying." I've seen malls take this route in Houston as well. They were booming in the 1960's, 70's & 80's then slowly went downhill until there were too few tennants to support justifying the mall and it was torn down.

I believe you need to stick with teaching mostly children and find a new location in a growing part of the area. There is lots of new home and business construction south of IH20. Lots of new, large houses which means new families with extra disposible income to pay for children's martial arts classes.

R. McLain

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Terry,

If your goal is to break even then I would change my location. If you are in a mall then your rent has to be expensive. That would be my first step.

Your second step should probably be to set your price and make it a reasonable one that all your customers can generally afford. (your current price seems fine to me but is it right for your area?)

Nothing wrong with having a scholarship program but when the scholarship program is more than 50% to 60% of your students then you need to reevaluate it and figure out just how many scholarships you can actually afford to have.

Now, here is the way you really improve your business. Have multiple classes featuring different training.

1. Weapons classes
2. Grappling classes
3. Tai Chi
4. Yoga
5. Cardio Kickboxing
6. Advanced Tournament Training
7. Etc.

Each class of course would require a higher monthly fee to attend. If you do not have Tai Chi, Aerobics experience then find someone and have them pay you rent. Even if it is just one night a week for a couple of hundred bucks a month in rent you are bringing in more money. Also make them sign at least a two year contract. (if you can)

The above extra classes are how most full time commercial schools are making things work. A friend of mine had a GM contract that paid him a very generous monthly rate to have an hour a week of cardio kickboxing availble for their employees wellness plan.

Other avenues would be to offer seminar's featuring.

1. Women's self defense
2. Tournament Sparring
3. Knife Defense
4. etc......

These are another revenue source that could help your school hit the break even mark or more. Good luck. Running a successful school is
always a challenge.

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com

 

[Makalakumu]

Alot of good points so far. Changing location and adding options are two great ideas.

With that in mind, I'll address this from a philosophic POV. I know that you can be a stickler for "tradition" and that isn't a bad thing. However, as hard as it is to believe, many people don't want tradition. If you want to reach more people, you'll have to make an attempt to reach out to this group. I would say keep "tradition" as an option that people can choose and have many other options too. In this way, you get the best of both worlds. You are not selling out and you are making steps toward making money.

 

[Miles]

Lots of good suggestion given already. I'd like to expand what has been said about the kids programs.

The dojang where I teach is in the same boat-the owners would like to have the school do more than merely pay for itself. My friend would like to be a full-time martial arts instructor.

He has joined MAIA and attended several training sessions and seminars. He also has a mentor provided by MAIA who has visited the school and offered some suggestions. As I don't have a financial interest in the school, I've offered my suggestions and support for his decisions.

What has happened has been very interesting. My friend has done a number of talks at schools about character-building and self-esteem. The result has been that a number of younger students have joined the school-he told me they had 5 enroll last week. The hope is that these students will bring in other students.

He has modified his "Dragons" program a little bit. When these kids get older, they join his regular adult class. The modifications are that the kids get less (IMHO) martial arts and more conditioning/agility, but at these ages (5-9), this is not a bad thing.

Our location is also not very good-you can't see the school from a major road though we are in a strip mall. I think that would also help from a marketing basis.

I wish you both the best of luck!

Miles

Miles

 

[Gemini]

I think it's time for you and I to have a phone con. Something I've been meaning to do for a long time anyway. This sounds like an achieveable goal, but will take some storming. I'll pm you my cell and we'll get started.

 

[terryl965]

I think it's time for you and I to have a phone con. Something I've been meaning to do for a long time anyway. This sounds like an achieveable goal, but will take some storming. I'll pm you my cell and we'll get started.

Thanks Gemini looking forward to the converstation.
Terry