Graham: In this video, we're going to share with you how to make meetings fun. And to be honest with you, meetings can be rather drab and boring, but they have to happen to get your team motivated, to keep them on track, to know where you're at, make sure they're accountable. But you don't want to sit there and have them checking out. I know that we've been in meetings ourselves where you're just there watching the clock, you think come on. Phil: Hurry up. Graham: Hurry up. And you actually miss some of the most important things. Yeah, you may be there in body, but not necessarily there present mentally. So, what is a meeting and how do you run it? I guess really, they're the things you've got to identify. At our school we have a couple of power meetings, and they're really only about a five minute meeting before class. We have a rule, it's a saying Phil created, "D by three." And what that means is, our classes started at Dojo at 3:30. So, half an hour beforehand, we're all in our...

https://soundcloud.com/tima-38/tima-podcasts-episode-35

Alex: They can talk to me today about a day in the life of being a multiple school owner. It sounds absolutely terrifying. Graham, what's the answer, how on earth do you? Graham: Goodness, you know, just looking across at Phil now, there's one word that you say multiple times, manage, manage, manage. You've got to manage people, that's something that as you grow in schools, you don't necessarily get as much time to teach frontline, you're more in human resources and managing people and putting out spot fires or inspiring others so they can take that material down to their subordinates, to their staff. Because really when you look at it, you're increasing your staff base, they need to make sure there's a consistent message across however many locations that you may have, so you've got that brand integrity, so you really do need to make sure that you're there to assess if everything is smooth sailing. You're the captain on the...

Phil: In this video, we're going to be talking about performance reviews. Well, what is a performance review? It's a chance for school owners, branch managers, to review their staff's performance and reset, realign the next goals for the following 3 or 6 or 12 months. It's a chance for the employee also to review the employer, and that's what we do. I think it's really important that it shouldn't be a one-way street, this performance review. I really want to know if I'm performing to the best of my ability for my staff and vice versa as well. So I don't just think it's a one-way thing. I'm sitting at the top of my ivory tower shooting down the barrel telling them what they've done wrong and how they can do better. It really should be a positive thing where we set out the goal, set out the expectations and also double ended. So I want them to tell me how I'm going as a boss. I want them to tell me if I'm providing a good enough service training, learning outcomes, experience, all...

https://soundcloud.com/tima-38/tima-podcasts-episode-34

Alex: Today we're talking about setting up a business plan for your organization. So Phil, first up, why's the business plan so important? Phil: Well, if you didn't have a plan or a map of where you wanted to go you wouldn't get anywhere. Alex: And that goes across the board with any business really, doesn't it? Phil: It goes across the board with starting a business, it goes across the board when you're traveling. Where you want to go, anywhere in life you've got to know where you're going, you have a plan. Because if something goes wrong, you gotta be able to know where to get back on track or we all get lost in the busy world, it's noisy out there and we get weighed down with all the goings on. So a plan is a way to get back on track. First thing you've got to do is, like always, and maybe I'm the king of quotes lately is, "Begin with the end in mind," Stephen Covey. Which we've all probably heard before as martial artists....

https://soundcloud.com/tima-38/tima-podcasts-episode-33

Alex: Now today we're going to be looking into martial arts class ideas. Graham, easier said than done, I guess. I mean, because you're juggling lots of different ages and stages, and so where do you start? Graham: You know, Alex, it really is a challenge when you put everybody all in the same group, so to give you an idea, to have beginners in with advanced students is a real challenge. So identifying quickly what you're dealing with, and then being able to structure the class around that is key. But some fine ideas is to have that great blend between that serious aspect, that self-defense, obviously making sure the students are progressing and learning correctly, and you've got to have that fun in there as well. So otherwise, you know, you got to have those two or three die-hard students that love their seriousness, but you've also with plenty of others. Alex: Sure, absolutely. So it is finding that mix and also...

Graham: This is our final video in the short series on our TIMA road map. And these are five videos that really we've identified for us, the magic matrix on stats and figures that you should be identifying and continually reviewing to make sure that you're hitting the goals and having your business hit all those dreams and successes that you really want. In this video here though, we're going to talk about over-the-counter sales and upgrades, which is really quite a, I guess, vital part of your business, but sometimes overlooked by the business owner. Phil: Well, I'm going to kick-off with upgrades. Most martial arts school should have some sort of upgrade process. The thing is, if you're not upgrading your students to a higher level, well you're missing out on a ton of cash. Now, it's not all about making money, it's about giving the students an elite level of training. You know, you have so much knowledge within you, why wouldn't you segregate it from sort of the everyday...

Alex: Today, particularly if you're a co-owner. How to run a business not being the sole owner. How do you work with others, how do you make that relationship work, etc., etc., etc. Big topic. So Phil, kick us off here. What does it take for a successful co-ownership, knowing that your co-owner is in the building? Phil: Hm, what can I say here? No look, in all seriousness, it's one of those things that, a business partnership, people warn about. And I have been in bad business partnerships before. And there are things that you both have to do. You just have to do it. And we put it down into eight points. So for the viewers out there and the listeners, what I suggest you do if you get a chance...if you're driving, don't do this...but if you get a chance, write the word "powerful" down vertically. P, and then under that, O, powerful down there, because we're going to have a point on each one of those which we believe have been the crucial success of our co-partnership. Alex: Okay....

There have been particular steps within the process, the magic metrics that we like to follow and hold ourselves accountable to. It's these areas in your business that if they are always check, your check points, then I guarantee you a success with your business. In this particular video, we are going to be talking about retention. I do not know about you, but in our business there are certain drop zones that we know about. If you're checking statistics correctly and regularly, then you're going to know these areas are quite common areas. I don't know what the industries standard is these days but I've heard it was around 11 months, that the average student will stick with you. Well, we have drop zones at about six-month mark yeah probably around the 12-month mark and then later on about a year and a half and sort of brown belt level as well. Now, if we know that students are dropping off at these areas, we're going to find out what the issue is? Is it that the classes get too...

Alex: So today's issue that we're dealing with is whether or not to take the plunge and get yourself a website up and running. Now, Graham, it's gotta be a must doesn't it? Graham: It is definitely a must if...for the listeners out there that have just neglected to take a website, create one, or they've got one from the, I don't wanna say the stone ages because they never existed, the early days, you really do need to put some time and effort. No, in this industry, in this modern era, your website is your shop front. It's where people will browse and knowing personally ourselves the way that people buy, their buying habits nowadays, there's a lot of people that are very interested in doing a lot of research about you well before they ever call you or engage in your services. So having a great website is a good way that they can compare you to what else is out there. And you have...honestly, you've got less than 10 seconds to make a good impression. So if you've got too much text or...

Good day guys, Graham McDonnell here from TIMA. In this video, I really want to touch on a really... I guess sometimes can be a sensitive topic and that is your average student fee. Having traveled the world and talked to lots of different business owners, I hear all the time how many student numbers they have. Now that's a great number, that's really great confidence booster but what you got to look at is, well, how is the business tracking? We're talking about P and L's - profit and loss. And for a lot of business owners listening and I'm sure you guys are really sitting up with your ears forward. It's all about making sure that really at the end of the day we're here to serve our students, give them the best possible product, but we also need to make sure we've got a viable business. So when we look at the students that we have at WAIMA, our main schools, we not only look at, yes, student enrollments, we also look at how our marketing dollars, but now I'm looking at...