MASuccess Magazine

By Beth A. Block

Our industry provides lots of opportunities to take photos: everything from the first class to private lessons, extra activities and rank promotions. Many of us have covered the photos we take in a photo release. If you haven’t already done this, I strongly suggest you add this to your enrollment form.

Most of us have not thought about the pictures our families take of their kids. Those pictures usually include other people’s kids. Our photo release doesn’t cover those pictures since we didn’t take them.

Every studio has children enrolled from single-parent homes. We get the enrollment form signed by that parent. Do you think about liability issues from the absent parent? One of your fellow studios was stuck in the middle of a dispute between parents over a picture.

A girl of seven years old was enrolled by Mom. The enrollment director had Mom complete all the paperwork. Mom indicated on the enrollment form that no pictures of the girl could be taken or used in ...

By Kathy Olevsky

In our school, as in most martial arts programs, we charge our clients monthly for their memberships. In our case, we try very hard to draft from bank accounts, rather than credit cards. However, most of our clients actually prefer to have us charge their credit cards.

We currently have 86% of our accounts charged to credit cards. When we have approached the 25- to 40-year-olds, most of them admit to not even having a check for their checking account. Their age group distributes money primarily through online methods.

In 2018, we experienced a growing problem in our industry. We were notified by a credit card processor that they had taken money out of our account because of a chargeback. Basically, a student disputed our charges.

As it turned out, over the past year we have had multiple students file disputes with their credit card company. The policy of these companies is to automatically take the money back and give it to their client. In our case, if we wante...

By Beth A. Block

Summertime is just around the corner. Many of you are planning your programs, lining up your staff and promoting your camps. As you’re thinking about how you can turn summer into a profit, take a moment to consider the top five summer camp insurance claims we’ve seen.

The worst involved a swimming pool. Many studio owners take their campers to the pool. Usually, these public pool sites have many other groups of people at the pool simultaneously. This was the case for one of your fellow owners.

On a steaming hot day, they arrived at the pool. The studio’s team and the pool lifeguards missed seeing a student-camper struggling at the bottom of the pool. The good news is that the camper was seen and brought up before he could drown. The bad news is that that wasn’t enough to stop the family from suing.

The second claim that makes this list involves a van. After a field trip to the park, the van was being unloaded at the studio. The studio was a bit short-staffed tha...

By Keith D. Yates

Can you have a successful mixed martial arts (MMA) school geared towards children? Can you come back from looking insolvency square in the face? Can you overcome years of weight gain, even having reached the point where you’re considered morbidly obese?

The answers to these questions are yes, yes, and yes, if you are the resilient David and Suzana Chacon, owners of Dominion Martial Arts Institute of Mentorship in Oswego, Illinois!

David began his martial arts training at Gen-Ki Karate in Chicago as a child. He also spent a few years in a taekwondo school, earning only a red belt because his parents divorced and he had to stop training. In his early 20s, he developed an interest in ground fighting because, like many stand-up fighters, he felt insecure about what to do if he ever found himself on the ground in a real-life street situation. So, when he was 23, he looked around for a solution and found an MMA coach.

But David says it was more than just wantin...

Attorneys are vital to the success and continued viability of your school. However, there is always an inherent and unavoidable conflict between you and your attorney. Any time people are paid for a service or you pay for a service, each party will act to protect his/her best financial interests.

Here’s my list of 10 things (some related to fees and some not) that your attorney would rather you not know (or ignore):

1. All Fees Are Negotiable

I don’t charge the same hourly rate for all types of cases. Litigation is not charged at the same level as would assistance in filing administrative documents.

Let’s be honest. All things an attorney does don’t require similar sets of skills. Similarly, it never hurts to attempt to negotiate a reduced rate. If you’re a new client or even one that has a longstanding relationship, asking for a discount, or even a flat fee, is a possibility. As my father always said, “The answer to an unasked question is always no.”

Finally, if you...

This month, let’s discuss levity and its role in leadership and teams.

“Levity” is “cheerfulness” or “enjoyment.” As we work and try to manage successful businesses, it’s easy to lose sight of just having fun. Honestly, there are some days when we fight just to get out of bed.

However, there are always moments when some joyfulness and laughter can be found. Even when things seem hard or crazy, you have to be intentional in finding levity. Allow me to share a wild but true story.

In my previous column series, “Pop’s Pearls of Wisdom,” I stated that my parents owned liquor stores and then motels. One day, my dad and I were working the front desk at the motel when he received a call from a customer. The client complained that there was a rat in his room.

We were quite thorough about pest control and cleanliness. My dad was tired from several days of rowdy customers and the previous night’s incident that involved the police. But he decided to not fight with the customer and...

Many of us like to help other people. We are in a teaching art. My instructor told me years ago that the best way to learn our martial art is to teach it. I’ve been lucky enough to have been given the opportunity to share what I’ve learned in the studio with the ranks coming up behind me.

I’ve also noticed that many of us who share our martial art with others often help people. We know the value of martial arts to change and empower people. One of the studio owners I’ve spoken to recently is exactly that kind of person.

He had the opportunity to bring a child into the school that was struggling with social skills. The child was struggling with home-life and academic problems, and bullying by other kids. Those types of problems usually occur together for kids.

The studio owner had a lot of heart for this child. So, the child was brought in on a scholarship and was enthusiastic about class. He made sure his mom got him to class regularly. He worked hard on being a good ...

I‘ve been operating a martial arts school full time for 40 years. I think I may have made every mistake that can be made in this business. The reason I’m still in business, I believe, is because I asked for help. I learned quickly that others before me had already found solutions. In this reality-based column, I’ll point out key mistakes I made in my business career, which are common errors among school owners, both large and small, throughout our industry. Then I’ll share the solutions I applied to overcome them.

When I first started in the martial arts back in the late 1970's, it was common to hear an instructor say to a student, “Only one in 1,000 will make it to black belt.” That statement was a source of pride. It meant that a black belt was to be truly honored. It meant that a black belt wasn’t a common man (or woman); they were elite.

The statement was made with good intentions, but it did irreparable harm!

Anyone who is going to become a success in life needs to bel...

by Beth Block

As humans, our reactions slow down immensely in emergency situations. Therefore, as martial artists we repeatedly practice the same self-defense techniques for years, even decades, to prepare for the event of a real attack.

As instructors, we know that our students’ responses in an emergency will be flight, freeze or fight. This is hardwired into humankind’s DNA as the “survival instinct.” The goal of repetitive training is to shorten students’ reaction time when attacked and to provide them with the tools to allow muscle memory to take over in self-defense mode.

Now, let me ask you some questions. Is physical confrontation the only type of emergency you or your students will face? Is that all you’re preparing your staff and students for? Or, are you preparing them for any type of battle that may occur?

Are we looking to develop self-discipline? Meaning, the ability to shorten the flight or freeze reaction? Are we seeking to develop common sense? That is, the ability ...

by Philip E. Goss, Jr., ESQ.

You train your students to physically defend themselves in as an efficient manner as possible. The shorter the unpleasant “transaction” lasts, the better. Sometimes, involvement in the legal system is necessary and truncating the process, as in a fight, is always in your best interests.

Neither I nor other attorneys operate under the assumption that legal talent is sought to draft all corporate documents. The Internet places a vast library of potential and free (but questionable) legal resources at your immediate disposal. Ninety eight percent of the time, what you find on the Internet can work for its intended purposes. However, it is the 2% that will cause you angst and added expense.

Just about everyone is familiar with the concept of a “legal injunction.” In short, an injunction is an order of the court that requires someone to either do something or refrain from doing something. Some injunctions can be obtained before the other party even knows you’...