| Friend,
When clients tell me that they're burned out, I just want to grab a megaphone and talk to them like a hostage negotiator:
"Sir, drop the black belt and back away from the dojo!"
The reason? Most of the time, these school owners and instructors have unwittingly allowed themselves to become hostages to their dojos.
It's just one of those things that slowly creeps up on you. You start off by opening a school to do what you love and have time freedom (and to be free from financial worries)...
...and then one day you wake up and find you're a prisoner in a cell of your own making.
Maybe you're trying to do everything on your own (which I talked about earlier in the week) or maybe you're just working longer hours than is necessary. Or maybe you have staff and you're not at the dojo all day, but you're micromanaging things from a distance (technology makes this so easy to do these days).
Whatever the reason, many instructors reach a point in their business when they realize that their dojo has an absolute monopoly on their time. It seems like every day from sunup to sundown, every waking moment is spent either working at the dojo, or worrying about the dojo.
Well, I'm here to tell you that this is a situation that is easily fixed. Here's how:
Step #1 is to implement systems for everything. Everything in your dojo should follow a system that is based on breaking down each task into its simplest components and steps, and repeating steps that get the greatest desired outcome. Let's take marketing, for example. Once you develop systems to market your school, you can easily implement those systems over and over again, without having to do all the steps it took to create those systems.
A good website can go a long way toward automating your marketing. Developing marketing materials for every month and season of the year and using them over and over again is another way to implement systems in your marketing.
And, having a marketing plan that lays out every promotion you're going to do for every week of the year is another way to use systems to simplify your marketing.
This is just one aspect of your business (albeit a very important one), but I think you can see how creating these systems once and then using them over and over again will save you time and headaches.
The same goes for your curriculum. Creating a rotating curriculum for each class and level in your school saves you from having to write weekly lesson plans. It's a task you can do once, and then never have to do again.
Virtually every task and knowledge domain in your dojo can be simplified and time-managed by developing systems for that task. And the great thing is, once you have your systems in place, it is VERY easy to train staff to replace you, because all they have to do is follow the system.
Step #2 I spoke about earlier in the week, and that's to delegate. Can't say enough about that.
And Step #3 is to TAKE TIME OFF. I already mentioned leaving the dojo at the dojo (this alone helped save my marriage). But, you also need to take time away from the dojo on a weekly, quarterly, and yearly basis.
Years ago I spent four days shadowing a very successful multi-school owner. I learned a lot in those four days, but the most valuable thing I learned was that I never wanted to be in his shoes.
Why?
For four days straight, I watched the guy work 12-hour days at his studios. Most of the time he was putting out fires at individual schools. But I'm telling you, the guy started working after breakfast and didn't stop until 9 or 10 at night.
His work ethic was admirable. His bank account, impressive. But his quality of life sucked. No thanks.
After that trip, my wife and I decided to do some lifestyle engineering and I set up my school operations to support the lifestyle we wanted.
I systemized our operations and trained staff to support us, so I only had to work about 30 hours a week in the school, and my wife, about 10-15.
I set up our class schedule so we were able to take time off each week. At that school I eventually decided to stop teaching on the weekends, ensuring that I got a full two days off every week. And, I started working half-days on Fridays.
And, we started scheduling 20 days a year when we shut the school down completely. That way we could take a ten day vacation in the middle of the summer and over the Christmas break and not have to worry about what was going on at the dojo.
Now, here's the crazy thing... my income didn't suffer a bit when I implemented these changes. In fact, it increased over time.
Looking back the reason was simple - I was much more effective and focused when I was at the studio, because I was able to rest and recharge each and every week.
Moreover, I didn't have a million piddly things distracting me all day long, because I had systems in place to make my work day run much more smoothly (look up "decision fatigue" for more on why this is so important).
So, here's my advice to you if you're finding that your dojo is running you, instead of you running your dojo...
Drop the black belt, and step away from the dojo. :)
Until next time,
Mike Massie MartialArtsBusinessDaily.com
P.S. - It may seem counterintuitive that you can work less and earn more. Early on in starting your dojo, you WILL have to work long hours and extended work weeks while you're developing and implementing your systems. However, once they're in place, you can easily cut back on your working hours while increasing your income.
P.S.S. - It's also necessary to take time each week away from the dojo to plan and strategize. You can't do this while you're answering phones and speaking to walk-ins. Take two hours each week, go to the local coffee shop or just sit on your back porch or deck with a cup of coffee (or any other pleasant, quiet place) and write out your goals for your business. Then, strategize by creating an action item list of the steps you need to take to get there.
P.S.S. - This is the sort of high-level work that is most likely to boost your income, and you can only do it when you have systems in place to free you up from having to run your business 24/7/365. So, start working on getting your systems in place, today! | 