3 Min Black Belt Business Newsletter
Do you run a martial arts school of any style? Get insights from the top 1% of martial arts biz owners that you can use to get more students, keep more students, and grow your team to create your dream business. 3 days a week, 3 min read, no fluff, all strategy.
How Much Money Should Martial Arts Schools Make? 💰
I know it can feel taboo to talk about numbers when it comes to martial arts schools,
and I know there is going to be a bunch of “McDojo” comments, but this is important. If you want to teach martial arts solely for the love of it, without making a cereer out of it, you can stop reading here. Thi...
Mar 21, 2025
money
revenue
team building
Why treating your employees "like family" can hurt your business
Success leaves clues, and one of the most successful companies today is Netflix, worth an estimated $400B.
I don’t know about you, but my martial arts schools aren’t worth that. So I look for people who are WAY ahead of me to see what I can learn from them.
If you’ve ever read No Rules Rules...
Mar 21, 2025
culture
netflix
team building
How to stop students from quitting using peer pressure (the good kind)
Ever had a student vanish overnight?
One week, they’re training hard. The next… crickets. Their class card is collecting dust, and they stop responding to your texts.
What happened?
They didn’t quit because they stopped liking martial arts. They quit because they didn’t feel needed.
See, peop...
Mar 19, 2025
The “Surprise + Delight” Strategy To Create Raving Fans That Become Loyal Students
Ever get a package in the mail you weren't expecting? Getting a surprise gift is a great feeling.
Remember that little rush of excitement?
Joey Coleman, author of Never Lose a Customer Again, calls this the "Surprise & Delight" method, and it's exactly what martial arts schools need to keep s...
Mar 12, 2025
Use This Dumb Text Message Template To Get Old Leads To Reply
Tired of Leads Ghosting You? Try This Instead...
Not all leads are going to respond, no matter how clever your text is or how perfectly you deliver your phone script.
But here’s the truth: plenty of leads WILL respond if you use the right strategy and follow-up approach.
There’s more meat on...
Mar 10, 2025
leads
marketing
text
I stopped trying to be a "content creator" and started doing this instead
The best martial arts school owners aren’t just great instructors.They’re great storytellers.
Not content creators.
Not random fuzzy picture takers.Not just people who post “Congrats to Johnny for earning his yellow belt!”
Storytellers.
Because stories are what stick.
People don’t remember s...
Mar 05, 2025
The "F Word" That’s Killing Your School Talks (Stop Saying It!)
“They don’t allow any outside businesses.”“They won’t let us hand out marketing materials.”
I hear these objections all the time from martial arts school owners.
They’re stuck between a rock and a hard place.
They want to do school talks…They know organic marketing is becoming even more importa...
Mar 03, 2025
marketing
school talks
How One DM Turned Into 108K Views + 47 Adult Student Leads
Ever heard of the Law of the Lid?
It’s a simple but powerful concept from leadership expert John Maxwell.
The idea? Your team will never grow past your own level of leadership.
If you’re a level 7 leader, your team will cap out at a 7. If you raise your leadership to a 9, suddenly, your team h...
Feb 28, 2025
news
stephan
strategicpartnership
team building
𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝟒𝐗𝟔 𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞
It is way easier (and more profitable) to keep your current students than to keep fighting for new ones._Duh, I know.But these days, parents are doing MORE ACTIVITIES with their kids than ever before._They are not JUST doing soccer and martial arts. They are also doing the school play, music les...
Feb 26, 2025
postcards
retention
How I Turned One Cold DM Into 63K Views And Tons Of Hot Leads
Did you see the news story about how our instructor Stephan chased down a thief, recovered a woman’s stolen purse, and then casually went back to teaching class like nothing happened?
The woman who got her purse back said it felt like she had “an angel on her shoulder” and that the experience “...
Feb 24, 2025
marketing
news story
trianglecodex
The Silent Killer of Martial Arts Schools 💀
If you don’t want your school to die a slow, painful death, listen up.
Six months ago, I was on the phone with a school owner who was struggling financially. She was venting:
📌 “The leads are so flaky these days.”📌 “Parents let their kids quit too easily.”📌 “My instructors just can’t do it lik...
Feb 21, 2025
energy
silent killer
team building
Share This Terrible Stat With Your Students
I know that sounds insane, but hear me out.
Do you know what percentage of people who start training actually earn their Black Belt?
The numbers vary, but here’s what ChatGPT spit out:
🥋 Karate / Taekwondo: 5%🥋 Jiu Jitsu: 2%
That means at least 95% of students will NOT reach Black Belt.
For sc...
Feb 19, 2025
black belt
retention