Visit the website for the Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School in Dayton, Ohio. We now use a virtual spokesperson for our site in an effort to increase conversion. Let me know what you think by commenting on this post.
Self Defense And Security
Blog Posts
Martial Arts School Management – Value Added Services
In their fantastic book, “The Go Giver”, by Bob Burg and John David Mann, the authors define your worth in the world of work with this question, “How much more can you give in value than you can take in payment?” Answer this question well, and you will be on your way to operating a highly successful martial arts school.
Value added services are complimentary offerings that add to the core value of your programs. Teaching great classes in a clean and modern facility is a great start, but if you want to increase the value you represent to your students, then you are going to have to come up with some extras that don’t necessarily cost you money, and more importantly, leverage the relationship you already have with your students.
Here is a list of questions you can ask yourself to get started on some value added service ideas. While you go over this list, remember the platinum rule, “Treat your customers the way they want to be treated.”
- What media can I create that will help my students learn faster or encourage them to practice at home.
- What media can I put on my website that my students could access when they can’t get in to see me in the school?
- How can I leverage my website and email to increase communication with my students.
- What other types of communication can I use to help my students feel like I am listening to their needs and wants?
- Are there any extra classes that I can offer to increase the skill and knowledge, or interest of my students?
- What guest speakers from the community can I invite to talk to students or their families on a topic they might be interested in?
- What additional training can I offer my employees (my most valuable customers) that would help them feel more confident and excited about their relationship with my school?
There are countless questions that you can ask. Asking is the starting point, and if you don’t look for value added services that you can offer to your members for free and that are of great interest to them, then your school will never be as good as it can be. After the questions are answered, get to work immediately on creating something and implementing it in through your operating plan.
Here are some examples of value added services that we have created and use with great success. It is only a starting point, and you should always be asking these questions and adding or refreshing your list of offerings
- Student handbook
- Belt tying video on our website, and one page belt tying instructions hanging in every hallway and classroom, and available from an instructor or the front desk.
- Instructional DVDs
- Member’s only website
- Instructional videos on our member’s only website
- Testing procedure guidelines for Black Belts
- Black Belt testing journals
- Simple, index card size promotion reports for students to receive feedback from their instructor
There are a lot more and many are proprietary. The best ones are those that you will come up with on your own after talking to your parents and thinking about what they need and want. Grab a pencil and a piece of paper and take a few minutes to work on your business.
Matt Pasquinilli is the Executive Director of the non-profit Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School in Dayton, Ohio. www.aacdayton.com
Learn more about “The Go-Giver” here: www.thegogiver.com
JustWorld International – Together For A Just World
JustWorld International raises money and changes lives around the world. It’s impressive work, but most impressive is the way in which JustWorld founder, Jessica Newman, enlists the caring and support of young people and their families from the international equestrian community. Take a look at this short video and visit http://www.justworldinternational.org to learn more. Oh yeah, you don’t have to ride a horse to give, so consider an end-of-year donation or a gift to start 2012 with a powerful intention. You get what you give.
Tough Mudder
I finished another Tough Mudder run this past weekend. It is my third this year and they are getting easier. They are in no way easy, but definitely easier. It is a great challenge and the event is populated by happy, positive people. Finding ways to move the body and spend time with good and happy people is a sure way to live a better life.
Operating a Martial Arts School – Training Instructors
by Matt Pasquinilli and Dennis Schaefer
Whether you hire instructors from within your student body, hire Black Belts from outside your school, or train them from scratch solely for the purpose of teaching like you do, you must have a system for training them to be effective and professional employees. There are specific attributes that we look for in an instructor candidate. These attributes are usually predictors of future success. Few people ever earn a Black Belt and even fewer become good instructors. Hiring the right people and training them to teach allows you to start with a person most likely to become a great instructor.
Tip 34 – Hiring Instructors
Hire the right person and teach them how to teach martial arts. The attributes that we look for in a great instructor are kindness, compassion, energy, excitement, and great communication skills. While we do have some Black Belts who also possess these attributes, our success has come from finding a fun, mature, professional person with an open mind who is looking for a meaningful job with good pay and decent benefits. Write a list of attributes that you think would help a person be successful as a martial arts instructor and then start looking for that person. Ask the professional people that you already know if they know of someone who might fit your description, and then set up an interview.
Tip 35 – Meeting with Your Instructors
Organize short, weekly meetings for your instructors. The weekly meetings allow you to pass on information and find out what issues your instructors might be struggling with. It also keeps everyone on the same page as far as curriculum and teaching. During our weekly meetings, we are often brainstorming ways to handle problems that might be happening in class. It gives everyone a sense of ownership and support. Ideas and solutions flow freely and everyone leaves feeling like they are ready for a new week of teaching.
Tip 36 – Training Sessions
Plan monthly training sessions for your instructors. Monthly training should be hands on with a lot of role playing. These training sessions are usually two or three hours long. All of our staff members are required to attend and are paid for their time. Each month we introduce or reintroduce one or two new drills to keep classes fresh and exciting. Our role playing focuses on behavior issues that might happen in class or cover brief, “mat chats” where instructors develop short, 30 second scripts to talk to students about the tenets of our training and how it can be used at home, work, or school.
Tip 37 – Lead by Example
Teaching by example is mandatory and requires that instructors practice martial arts and the martial arts spirit each day, know the curriculum, and constantly monitor and evaluate their behavior. This includes you, the school owner and head instructor.
Matt Pasquinilli is the Executive Director of the non profit Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School in Dayton, Ohio. Dennis Schaefer is a professional martial arts instructor and author living in Oakwood, Ohio. www.aacdayton.com, www.aacdayton.ning.com
Opening and Managing a Martial Arts School – More Tips
by Matt Pasquinilli and Dennis Schaefer
Keep your interior design uniform, attractive, and simple. It should not look like your home or some arts and crafts store. Don’t pick up outdated or broken furniture from garage sales or the side of the street. Find comfortable, easy to clean seating that will promote the idea that you are professional in your approach to operating your business.
Tip 11 – Keep Your Trophies at Home
Build yourself a trophy room in your home to display your trophies, but don’t clutter your school with them. They break easily, gather tons of dust, and are usually only meaningful to you. New prospects won’t care if you or your students win tournaments, they really only care about how you can help them accomplish their goals. If their goal is to win tournaments, show them your scrapbook of photos and news stories about your past glory.
Tip 12 – NO LAWN FURNITURE
Please do not use molded plastic lawn furniture. It looks and feels cheap and will give new prospects a bad first impression. Invest in real office furniture. Most cities have resellers of used, well-maintained office chairs that have a lot of life left in them and look good when you are getting started in your business. Find them online or in the phone book.
Tip 13 – Keep Your Bathrooms Clean!
Start with your bathrooms. You must have someone wipe down the surfaces of your bathrooms everyday. Use a good disinfectant to keep it smelling clean. The boy’s bathroom must be mopped everyday because boys pee on the floor. We like to mop the girl’s bathroom everyday, too, because it makes it smell nice and clean. Clean bathrooms are a sign of a professional business and will set you apart from most of your competition.
Tip 14 – Keeping It Clean
Hire a cleaning company for at least one day a week. We have janitorial staff members who are responsible for cleaning the school five days a week. We have a lot of members and if we don’t have the floors vacuumed, trash emptied, and the furniture dusted every day, our business quickly looks sloppy and uncared for. When we started the school, we used a commercial cleaning company once a week. It was inexpensive and allowed us to focus on teaching and professionally managing the business. Go visit any of the businesses you support and respect and look for dirt and clutter. You won’t find any in the businesses that are booming and offer great customer service.
Matt Pasquinilli is Executive Director of the non profit Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School in Dayton, Ohio. Dennis Schaefer is a professional martial artist living in Oakwood, Ohio. www.aacdayton.com
Inspiration, Challenge, and Growth
What causes us to grow in body and mind, or in spirit and emotional intelligence? Can you find inspiration every day? How do you live your life every moment of every day to invite inspiration, challenge, and growth? Take a look at this video by Jason Wingrove showing a few moments in the daily lives of members of the Bondi Icebergs Club at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. What can you do today that would challenge you or inspire you to grow and live more fully in every moment of every day?
Curl curl from Jason Wingrove on Vimeo.