Don't do it all yourself. Get a team!

This is huge for me. I love my martial art. But I really suck at most of the stuff involved in running the school. So what do I do? I get others to help me! There is definitely something to be said for "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself" But for me, that doesn't mean necessarily that I go and actually do that thing. I just have to make sure that I arrange so that whoever is doing it, does it how I want it. You never see the owner of 7-11 when you walk in do you? Why? Because he/she is off doing bigger things like growing the company as a whole.

Martial arts schools are tricky when its comes to this though. Its really easy to go straight to your top students for their help. And of course most will be willing. Avoid this as much as you can. In my experience mixing business with training usually doesn't work. At least I haven't figured it out yet. Mostly because a student is there to destress, get in shape meet friends, etc. They aren't there because they want a career in martial arts. If you do get a student to help with something, make sure its a very minimal commitment and don't stress if they can't meet it. You won't get your work done and you'll lose a great student.

Examples of team members you might need:
1. Accountant
2. Cleaning staff
3. Marketing
4. Retail manager
5. Contract manager
6. Kids program manager/adult program manager
7. Assistant instructors

At first, write down every single job you can think of in your school and leave a space for a name. If you are just starting out, and its just you, plug your name into every position. Now, as you get more team members, plug their names into those positions. The idea is to work towards eliminating yourself from as much as possible and leave yourself with only the jobs that you truly enjoy and want to do (for example teaching!!)

Time is your most valuable asset. The dollar worth per hour of your time is infinite when you work for yourself. Because its dependent on YOU how much you make. The more you maximize your time the better! You will also be less stressed and can enjoy your students, your school, and your outside life even more.