| Friend,
This weekend, a friend contacted me on Facebook. "Mike, I need your advice. Take a look at what this guy's business seminar, and let me know what you think. It sounds great, but $6,000 is a lot of money to plop down."
Turns out, that was $6k for a two-day seminar.
Now, this friend is just getting started in her business. She is a talented and skilled coach, and has a lot to offer her clients. Of course, she has big dreams and goals, and when she saw this guy's ads ("The SECRET to making $20k a month!") she nearly grabbed her credit card on the spot.
So what did I advise her to do?
I'll tell you in a minute, but first let me explain why I'm bringing this up.
Almost fifteen years ago, I started writing Small Dojo Big Profits.
I wrote it because after spending a decade running schools and another five years helping other people run schools and teach classes, I was pissed off at the industry.
Why?
Because time and again, I'd been fleeced by people in this industry who were just out to make a buck.
I'd had billing companies deduct $1,000 bucks from the tuition they collected for tickets to their annual convention... without my authorization. And then I played hell getting that money back.
I'd had a Canadian software company send me $800 worth of martial art school management software that was incompatible with my hardware. After I spent weeks going back and forth with their support team, they finally admitted that it wouldn't run on my system.
And when I asked for my money back? "Sorry, no refunds," they said.
Yet another billing company sat on the funds they collected for six weeks before they disbursed payment. They didn't tell me this when I enrolled for their services, and this was back when I was just getting started. Needless to say, that was a rough six weeks, because I was counting on that money coming in.
The attitude these companies had in every instance was pretty much the same:
"Tough shit, must suck being you."
And people wonder why the tone of Small Dojo Big Profits seems so angry. See, I was just a poor kid trying to achieve his dream of running a full-time martial art school. I didn't want to make a million bucks teaching martial arts. I just wanted to make a living.
But at every turn, it seemed like there was some other company, service, ad agency, or consultant trying to fleece me out of my money. And after years of paying money to companies that basically saw me and my dojo as nothing more than a paycheck, I'd had enough.
Eventually, I jettisoned all those companies and services, and my profits soared.
And that's why I wrote that book.
After I released it, school owners started coming back to me for additional advice. I felt like I couldn't leave them hanging, and that's how I ended up offering business coaching to school owners.
But it was never supposed to be a long-term gig. That's why I've written so many books and created dozens of hours of video and audio courses to go along with them. Because I knew I wouldn't be doing this forever, so I wanted to leave something behind.
That way, when the day came when I finally stopped offering coaching services, people would still have access to the business systems I created. And they wouldn't have to spend thousands of dollars to a consultant or company who could give a shit about whether or not they were struggling to pay their bills.
The idea was to make good, solid business info affordable and accessible for everyone.
Well, fifteen years later I'm still pissed, and I'm not quite ready to stop offering business coaching yet... but that day is coming soon. So, I've been doing my best to get all the information I've created and collected over the years out of my head and down on paper before that time comes.
I'm also doing something that I rarely do: I'm holding a two-day business coaching seminar in Austin next month. In that seminar, I'm going to cover the entire Small Dojo Big Profits business system.
But here's the catch... the seminar is only for members of my private online coaching group.
Now, if I told you what the cost of the seminar was, you'd probably think I was joking. It damned sure isn't $6k, I'll tell you that. Try lower. Way, way lower.
Try $99 bucks for my coaching group members.
If you want to attend the seminar, and you're not a coaching group member, all you have to do is join the coaching group. Once you're in I'll send you the details on how to register for the seminar next month on May 20th and 21st.
And hopefully we'll get to meet at this small business intensive I'm hosting next month.
Here's the link where you can join the coaching group:
Until next time,
Mike Massie MartialArtsBusinessDaily.com
Quick-start Guide to My Books and Resources: - Looking for a list of books and resources I've written? Click here! - Need business coaching to grow your dojo? Click here…
P.S. - By the way, about my friend who was thinking about spending $6k for a two-day business seminar... I sent her to another business coach who offers the same info for a fraction of the cost. Saved her about $5,900 and change.
P.S.S. - Notice that I didn't tell you that my seminar would turn you into a martial arts millionaire, or that you'll add $30k to your bottom line the month after you attend? There's a reason for that, and it's because I'm not going to bullshit you to make a buck.
P.S.S.S. - Hope to see you in Austin next month, and in the coaching group later this week. Enjoy your Monday! | 