| Friend,
Yesterday I wrote to you about martial art school owners who are too nice, and who let their students skate on tuition, causing cash flow issues that hurt their dojo.
But I also briefly mentioned the topic of today's email, which is another common issue among school owners who struggle with cash flow issues.
Not Charging Enough
I don't have to tell you that this is another issue I often see among school owners who come to me for advice. That's because you already know that most martial art school owners and instructors just don't charge enough for their services.
But what's really interesting to me are the things they say when I ask them why they are charging so little for their time and knowledge. In response to my question, they'll make statements like:
"I don't want to charge too much for classes."
-or-
"I don't want to price anyone out of training with me."
-or-
"My instructor charged 'X', so I decided to charge 'X' too."
The Real Reason Instructors Charge Too Little For Lessons
I've heard every excuse in the book as to why martial arts instructors don't charge more for their services. But in truth, what every single excuse really boils down to is this...
==> People who lack confidence in the value of the product or service they offer will always feel guilty for charging a premium price for that product or service. <==
When I dig a little deeper and confront an instructor or school owner with this, they'll almost always admit that yes, they aren't quite confident enough in the value of what they offer to feel "right" about charging more.
Why The Service You Offer Is Worth More Than You're Charging
Even if you're charging rates that are at the top of your local market for martial arts instruction, I'm here to tell you that you're still not charging what your services are worth.
Let's look at what martial arts training provides, compared to other, similar services like gym memberships, boot camp fitness programs, personal training, gymnastics, dance, cheer, group sports like soccer, and golf and other sports instruction.
There are three unique and highly valuable benefits that a good, quality martial arts instructional program can provide to the martial arts student. Taken separately, these benefits can be had from other services (all except one).
But none of those other services I mentioned offers all three at once. Not one.
These benefits are:
Physical Fitness - There are few workouts that are more challenging and more exciting that a good hard martial arts class. Unless you're taking it easy on your students, or unless you're a lazy instructor, your students will be getting an amazing full-body workout that offers improvements in strength, cardio, and flexibility in every single class. The only thing that comes close is yoga, but yoga isn't really all that fun to do, is it?*
Mind-Body Training - There are very few sports or workouts that offer a combination of mental discipline and focus along with a challenging workout. There's something about martial arts training that forces your mind and body to learn to harmonize and not fight each other. Certainly, learning to get into flow doesn't happen immediately, and it often takes years of practice to achieve a flow state in your martial arts training. But when it happens, it's a feeling that students want to repeat, time and time again.
And let's not forget the stress relief that comes from martial arts training. Some of it comes from the so-called "moving meditation" that you'll find in traditional styles. But also, you can't argue with the fact that getting to hit stuff as hard as you can over and over again is therapeutic in a way that you just don't get with other activities.
Self-Defense - This is the benefit that all those other activities can't match. The only other activity that might offer self-defense benefits are firearms classes and shooting competitions. But, you can't always take a gun with you everywhere you go, and firearms aren't always the solution to every altercation. In fact, I'd say that they are rarely the solution to an altercation (although when you need one, you really do need one).
Consider that a martial arts student not only enjoys the benefits of getting a great workout, improving their mental focus, and relieving stress; they also are learning valuable, potentially life-saving self-defense skills in every single class. What other recreational or sports activity offers all three of these benefits together?
The answer is, none of them. Not a single one.
The Value Is Inherent To The Benefits
So when you look at what you offer from that perspective, you soon realize that what we offer our clients is so much more valuable than other similarly priced services.
Never mind that many of us also teach character education in our children's classes, or that our schools also offer a sense of belonging, camaraderie, and family that students would be hard-pressed to find somewhere else.
So, stop feeling guilty about charging a premium for your services. What you offer is worth so much more than you could ever charge a client.
Obviously, you can't charge what your services are worth, because who can put a price on what we offer? However, you can charge enough to make a decent living doing what you love and helping people.
By doing so, you'll stay in business to help others for years to come. And, you'll be more satisfied with your career choice, which in turn will make it more rewarding and enjoyable to do the job you love.
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! - Looking for low-cost business coaching to grow your dojo? Click here…
P.S. - If you want to know how to find the right price for your services, you can read Small Dojo Big Profits or The Profit-Boosting Principles, or you can join MAbizU.com and go through the 100 and 200-level martial arts business courses on the site. P.S.S. - *No offense to the yoga instructors out there, because I too enjoy the health benefits of yoga practice. But to be honest, due to my ADHD tendencies I'd rather have salted bamboo slivers stuck under my fingernails than suffer through a 60-minute yoga class. For folks like me who find that five minutes of asana practice is about all we can take, martial arts training is the natural alternative. | 