💸 5 Ways to Ensure You Never Make Money Running a Martial Arts School

Most people think business growth is all about addition — doing more of the right things. But sometimes, the fastest way to figure out what works… is to study what doesn’t.

This is the principle of Inversion Thinking — a decision-making framework used by top CEOs, elite investors, and high-level operators.
Instead of asking, “How do I succeed?”, they flip it and ask, “How do I guarantee failure?”

Because when you define what failure looks like, it becomes a lot easier to avoid.

So in this week’s edition of The Kick, we’re not handing you another checklist of things to start doing.

We’re handing you a mirror.

Here’s what to avoid at all costs — unless you’re committed to staying stuck.

1. Keep Winging It Instead of Planning It

If your strategy is to just show up and “go with the flow,” you’re not running a business — you’re gambling with your livelihood.

The school owners who grow? They don’t wait until January to start planning. They reverse-engineer their monthly revenue, break it into lead targets, and map it across the entire year. They build events, marketing, and milestones into a 12-month rhythm — then adjust weekly.

Winging it is not a vibe. It’s a liability.
If you’re always reacting, you’ll always feel behind.

2. Be Everything to Everyone

You teach kids. You offer adult fitness. You have a Tai Chi class, a Krav program, a birthday party package, and a PNO every other Friday.

You’re also exhausted. And no one’s clear on what you actually do.

Trying to serve everyone guarantees you’ll stand for nothing. And when your message is unclear, your audience scrolls past you.

Niche wins. Clarity converts.
Define who you serve — and go all in on being the best solution for that person.

3. Ignore Your Lead Follow-Up (They’ll Call Back… Right?)

You ran the ad. You got 42 leads. But no one booked. Must’ve been a bad week…

Or maybe you just didn’t follow up.

We say it every week because it’s that important: speed to lead = conversion.

If you don’t have a process to follow up within 5 minutes, confirm appointments, and keep the lead warm… your ad spend is going to waste. And that “bad week”? It’s not bad luck. It’s bad systems.

Great marketing gets attention.
Great follow-up turns attention into revenue.

4. Teach Every Class Yourself

You’re on the mat 6 days a week. You’re teaching the classes. You’re answering questions. You’re fixing uniforms, handling billing issues, and trying to post something to Instagram between drills.

Let’s be honest:
That’s not entrepreneurship. That’s a job you created for yourself that comes with more stress and no PTO.

Want to scale? Want to finally take a vacation? Want to work on the business instead of constantly in it?

You need a team of trained, trusted leaders. Coaches who don’t just teach — they carry the culture, uphold the standard, and deliver the transformation.

Freedom doesn’t come from hustle.
It comes from leadership.

5. Sell Martial Arts Instead of Transformation

Parents don’t care about your kata.
They care about who their child is becoming — the discipline, confidence, and resilience that lasts long after the belt test.

Adults aren’t looking for another class.
They’re looking for energy, identity, clarity — a stronger version of themselves.

If you’re selling classes, you’ll always compete on price.
If you’re selling transformation, price becomes secondary.

Stop pitching the program. Start painting the picture.
That’s what closes trials. That’s what drives retention.

Bonus: Ignore Your Numbers (Math Is for Accountants, Right?)

Let’s be blunt: if you don’t know your numbers, you’re not running your business — your business is running you.

You should know:

• How many leads you need per month to hit your growth goals

• What your trial-to-enrollment conversion rate is

• What your monthly revenue and retention percentages are

• And exactly how much you’re profiting per student

You can’t fix what you’re not measuring.
And if you’re not measuring, you’re just guessing — and hoping the bank account doesn’t surprise you at the end of the month.

Final Thought: Flip the Script

Want to guarantee failure?
Just keep:

• Winging it

• Avoiding leadership

• Ignoring your numbers

• Selling the wrong thing

• Doing it all yourself

But if you’re ready to flip the script?

Start planning.
Start leading.
Start tracking.
Start building something that scales.

That’s how you go from stressed-out instructor to confident CEO.

Want the Systems That Keep You From Stalling?

If you’re tired of repeating the same mistakes, CORE OS gives you the exact tools, templates, and systems that high-performing schools use to grow without burning out.

• 12-month marketing calendars

• Lead follow-up scripts & automations

• Staff scorecards & training systems

• Event playbooks, holiday campaigns, and more

All done-for-you. All editable.
All inside CORE OS.

👉 Learn more or join here: https://impaktmastermind.com/core-lander

You can’t afford to keep guessing.
It’s time to run your school like the business it was meant to be.

This week’s scroll hit hard — with truth on leadership, integrity, and protecting the culture you’re building. Here’s what had us nodding and taking notes:

💬 Dan Martell
“Great leaders don’t need to be motivational all the time — they just hold their team to a standard.”
Clarity > hype. Your culture is built on what you tolerate.
👉 Watch it here

⚖️ Simon Sinek
“Do the right thing. The law is almost always a lower standard than ethics.”
Real leadership means living above the minimum.
👉 Watch it here

🧭 Dave Kovar
“A lesson on integrity: My honesty is worth more than the couple of dollars I’m gonna save.”
Every small choice compounds into your character.
👉 Watch it here

🛡️ Josh Dumoulin – Off the Mat Podcast
“Protect the tribe.”
Leadership isn’t always loud. Sometimes, it’s the quiet conviction to defend what matters.
🎧 Watch the clip

🧠 Kelly Murray & Nicole Stratychuk – Having It All Podcast
“It’s time to release what’s weighing you down—relationships, routines, old identities…
When you finally clear the space, you have to be damn intentional about what (and who) you let back in.”
Real alignment starts with subtraction.
🎧 Listen here

This week’s takeaway?
Integrity isn’t optional.
Leadership isn’t performance.
And protecting your culture means holding the line when it’s hard — not just when it’s easy.

😂 Martial Memes

These memes hit home for all of us martial artists and gave us a good chuckle. Click on the image to view the original account that posted each meme. Enjoy!

Have a MEME that you want featured? Send them to us at [email protected] or tag our instagram account @thekicknewsletter.