Ask most martial arts experts, instructors or black belts, who want to make a living out of teaching their passion, you will probably hear things like "I teach educational martial arts classes", or "I help people to defend themselves". And although I don't disagree with any of that and respect the fact that for many martial arts has helped to find themselves in some way, there is a huge difference between just teaching martial arts and running a professional club, school or academy.

Like in any profession most people start out their own business venture because they are bloody good at what they are doing. Their knowledge and unrivaled passion for their subject is of course what impresses potential and existing clients and what gets them paid. Its their biggest strength and at the same time their biggest weakness. They are great at doing the "bizzo" being blissfully unaware that that is only a relatively small part of running a business. Most of the top earners in any industry are where they are because they understand that running a business is all about constantly attracting new customers, clients or students and to keep them happy, so they wont run off to the competition.

As an entrepreneur, being able to communicate the value of what you are offering is ten times more vital than being able to do produce the product or service. You can always hire someone to serve a customer or to teach a class for relatively little money, but it is your responsibility to ensure that this is in fact what your students want and enjoy. It is therefore your job to constantly improve your communication (marketing) skills so that you will be able to have an increasing effect, or return of investment (ROI) with less effort than before. This is reflected in the martial arts as well. A novice will attempt to produce a certain result, like a punch or a throw and in the process expand a great deal of energy to do so, only to find that it doesnt necessarily have the same effect with plenty of room for improvement. As he/she advances the input will start to equal the output, i.e. a good effort will consistently produce a good result. A master however will create a surprising amount of effect with seemingly very little effort.

So, like your continued journey through the martial arts, which requires constant practice to achieve more with less, your ability to attract and convert more business to your school requires you to become the eternal student in other disciplines. It truly is a balancing act, if your neglect one aspect the ripple effects will be felt throughout all other aspects. Remember that the martial arts are not the be-all and end-all, they are a means to end, it is up to you to determine what your desired end result will be.