Defining success for any martial arts school can be difficult. 

This is because success for a martial arts academy can mean a lot of different things depending on who the primary stakeholders (owners, operators, and staff) are. 

Depending on the vision for the school, some form of success can be attained by simply achieving the vision. 

Even using this very loose standard, the truth is most martial arts schools never achieve success on any level. 

Because most schools don't having a clear, attainable, vision. It can also be attributed to the fact that many of us never define what success for our school would look like.

The first and most important step is to recognize that no matter what the vision for the academy is, the school is still a business. 

From rent to utilities to insurance, there are bills that need to be paid. And that’s not to mention making sure the owner and staff are compensated for their work as well.

Because the school is a business, some of the indicators of success must be rooted in the financial health of the school. 

There are levels to how successful a school is financially, and some of it depends on how much money the owner needs to make to keep the school open. 

Ignoring the vision for the school for a moment, which is an important factor of determining if the school is successful or not, let’s break down financial success into 4 tiers. 

Tier 4: School pays its own bills

This one is simple.

If your academy isn’t making enough money to pay its bills, that means you’re paying your own money to keep the school open. 

At this point, why not just pay a monthly membership fee somewhere else? It’ll probably be cheaper. 

The most basic level of success for any school is that it can cover its own costs. 

It’s not always possible to do this on day one, but if your academy is not covering its costs within 90 days of the doors opening, you need to find help fast. 

Tier 3: School pays your bills + its own bills

For some owners, tier 4 success is all they want from the school financially. Free training and more training partners, plus you get to dictate the curriculum and schedule. 

A lot of these owners have good careers already or some other form or personal wealth which makes money less of a factor.

But for many of us, we need more from our schools. 

The next tier of success for your martial arts academy is that it makes enough money to cover its own costs as well as your basic needs (food, rent, medical insurance, and any other monthly bills you have to pay). 

This is the minimum level of success that most academy owners need their school to achieve for the school to be viable. 

If you can’t get your school to at least tier 3, you will struggle to fully commit to making the school as great as it can be due to splitting your time between other jobs and running the school. 

Unfortunately, many martial arts academies never reach tier 3 success.  

Tier 2: School supports your lifestyle

If you’re a strong martial arts teacher and you have some business savvy, you can cross over into tier 2 success. 

At this tier you’re not only covering your school basic costs as well as your own, but you’re also supporting the lifestyle that you want to live.

This usually means owning your house, driving the car you want, travelling when you’d like, and supporting your hobbies outside of martial arts. 

For most owners this is a pipe dream, but it doesn’t have to be. 

Part of reaching this level of success is building a strong staff, from front desk to coaches, that keep the academy running smoothly when you’re not around.

It also means that you’re not on the mats teaching every class like you were in tiers 3 and 4. 

With added staff comes added expenses in the form of payroll and employee benefits, which means that the basic costs of running your school will be higher than the previous tiers. 

Ultimately, tier 2 is when you can start considering your school to be truly financially successful. 

Tier 1: School pays staff’s bills 

Schools that achieve tier 1 success are not only covering their own basic costs as well as supporting the owner’s lifestyle, but are doing the same for their staff as well.

This means that at least a few staff members are able to work at the school full time as their sole source of income. 

These folks are the staff that make the school “go.” From operating the front desk to ensuring that classes run smoothly, these are the people you rely on so that you can zoom out and focus on the bigger picture for the school. 

Alongside full time staff, a tier 1 academy is also paying a bevy of part time staff a livable wage and preparing those folks to take on larger roles as the academy grows and expands.

Many tier 1 academies are ready to open a second or third location as well. Which means you’ll need people ready to take over operations at those schools without the primary school taking too much of a hit. 

Tier 1 schools are the 1% of the 1%. Not only are they generally teaching great martial arts, but they also have a great culture, solid business strategy, and many happy members. 

Even though it’s very rare for martial arts academies to achieve this level of success, it should be the goal for most schools. 

You should want to create opportunities for your best students and staff.

You should want to build your school to the point that it supports the lifestyle you want while lifting up those who have helped you get there. 

Tier 1 and 2 success requires a strong foundation of business knowledge and martial arts acumen. 

If you’ve started a martial arts school, you probably have the martial arts side of things handled.

Running the school as a business is often the hard part.

Most of us go the direction of opening a school because martial arts are our passion.

It’s a solid reason to get started, but it’s not enough to get you to any true level of success.

You have to understand the business side of things and how to make your school financially successful without sacrificing on your values or the level of martial arts you teach.

It’s okay to ask for help.

You may be a black belt now, but you started out as a white belt. You needed the guidance of people who’ve trained for years to help get to where you are today.

Running your school as a business is the same way.

Just because you’re a business white belt right now doesn’t mean you have to stay that way. 

Sure, you can and should progress on your own as you learn to run your school.

But you can also skip the line and cut out years of pain and mistakes if you can find the right people to help you out today.

Check out our Academy Accelerator Program to start learning everything you need to know to get your school from tier 4 all the way to tier 1 success in way less time than if you go at this by yourself.

Try it free for a week to see what we have for you by signing up today.