Something you hear a lot of talk about these days among business and marketing "gurus" is finding your tribe...

You'll hear guys like Seth Godin, Gary V, and even Guy Kawasaki talking about finding 1,000 true fans and building your tribe.

The thing is, that advice works really well if you're building an online platform, but it doesn't necessarily apply to growing a small local business.

Now, if you were say, running a bakery or restaurant, sure - over time you should easily be able to attract and sway 1,000 local customers who could be your word-of-mouth army, spreading the gospel of your brand in your local community.

That is, IF you had a superior product and offered a service that was better in every way to your competition.

But growing a martial art school is a little different. The business model differs from retail, so it's harder to find 1,000 people who are willing to sample what you offer. And it's even more difficult to find that many people who resonate with what you teach so much, that they become enthusiastic, raving fans.

Think about it - in most cases a martial art school owner feels fortunate to find just 100 members who are dedicated and committed to their training. 

But see, that's actually where the magic can happen...

Granted, you may not be able to find 1,000 true fans all at once... but over time, you CAN find 100 true fans, over and over again. And, even though those students will eventually move on and leave your dojo, so long as you treat them right and help them achieve their goals while you have them, they'll remain true fans for life.*

Let me say that again...

THEY'LL REMAIN TRUE FANS FOR LIFE.

And, once you have 1,000 true fans out there in your local community, they're going to tell other people about your school. Pretty soon when someone mentions taking martial arts lessons in your area, your school will be the one that's referred, over, and over, and over again.

That's how you put word of mouth marketing to use in growing your school.

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be talking a lot about finding and building your tribe to grow your school. And, the strategies I'm going to share have been key in building each one of my schools.

So, keep an eye out for the first email on Monday. This series will be worth following, especially if you're starting or growing your dojo.