A Word of Encouragement to Martial Arts Academy Owners
Well, we’re all shut down, and from what I’ve seen online there’s a lot of panic and a lot of frustration. I feel you. I share your pain because I share your situation.
But there’s hope. There’s a lot you can do, some of which I discuss here, but this isn’t about that.
This is about something else.
Take a deep breath. Remember how you felt when you first launched your academy. When you signed your first lease. When it first started to look like this crazy thing you’re doing might actually come through.
Live in that moment.
Because if worse comes to worst, we can start over. I know that sounds like the end of the world, but take a second.
All the same people who trust and follow you, who believe in and support your and your academy, are still out there. They’ll still be here when you start up again. Any of us would have given an eye tooth to have that kind of a mailing list when we were starting out. You’re WAY ahead of where you were when you opened, and look how far you’ve come since then.
More, all the mistakes you made the first time around? You don’t have to make them again.
There’s a lot we can do to save our businesses. But the first thing we need is perspective. The sum total of the value of your business is your student list. That hasn’t gone anywhere, and that’s not going anywhere. Your mats? Your beautiful new bathrooms? Those are expenses and they’re replaceable.
I believe most of you will come through this. You’ll come to accommodations with your landlord and lenders, and you’ll move forward. This crisis will set you back to where you were a year, two years, five years ago, sure. But remember how happy you were to be there when that’s where you were in the growth of your business.
My academy started from a place of love. That’s true for most of you. When things get scary, remember that love and the hard work got you to where you are this year, and they’ll get you back there again.
Maybe pass this message along to someone who needs to hear it. Feel free to copy/paste so it doesn’t link back to my page if you like. Plant hope.
#onemat