Case Study: How Colby Winkler Doubled His Mankato Martial Arts School to $57K a Month

Colby Winkler will tell you the most expensive decision he ever made was the one he didn’t make for years. He runs a martial arts school in Mankato, Minnesota, and he’d followed Stephen Oliver from a distance for over a decade while assuming Oliver was “just a money guy” who didn’t care about the martial arts. That assumption, he estimates, cost him a quarter-million dollars in the short run and millions over the long run. When he finally joined Martial Arts Wealth Mastery, his school doubled from about $28,000 a month to $56,000–$57,000 a month — and posted a record December with over $90,000 in cash and more than $200,000 in receivables in a single month.

Watch Colby Winkler’s story

From $28,000 to $57,000 a month

Colby had been in business a long time and was hunting for the next level. He’d tried several consulting groups and “all kinds of things” to take his school, his students, and his curriculum a step further. What he’d never found, until Martial Arts Wealth Mastery, was help that wasn’t just generalized information — people who actually knew, step by step, how to take a school to the next level.

The results followed. When he started, his school was grossing about $28,000 a month. It now runs around $56,000 to $57,000 a month — roughly double. In his words, the benefit he’s gotten has been “enormous… hands-down, top-notch, second to none,” touching his business, his personal life, and his students’ lives alike.

The record December: $90K cash, $200K in receivables

Beyond the steady doubling of his monthly gross, Colby had some genuinely eye-opening record months. The standout was a December in which his school did over $90,000 in cash and more than $200,000 in receivables in that single month. He’s clear about what made it possible: “That was something we had never done before… we wouldn’t have done that without the help of Martial Arts Wealth Mastery.” That kind of month is exactly what the renewal, upgrade, and enrollment systems are built to produce — not by accident, but on purpose.

“I didn’t want to be a sellout”

Colby’s biggest hesitation before joining is one a lot of serious martial artists share. Having been part of a few groups and talked to plenty of self-described consultants, he was worried about becoming a “sellout” — about being bought, and about pushing his curriculum and his students out of the forefront in the name of money. He believed deeply that if you take care of the martial arts, the money can follow.

What he found inside the group was the opposite of what he feared. “It’s actually totally the opposite,” he says. The focus is on how to teach better martial arts, how to run a better grading, how to implement things in a better way — and then, as the school owner, the money follows. The money isn’t the number-one focus. You take care of the other things, and the revenue tends to take care of itself. For an owner who was afraid quality would be sacrificed, that was the reassurance that mattered most.

The $250,000 first impression

Here’s the most honest and most valuable part of Colby’s story. He’d been aware of Stephen Oliver for 10 to 15 years — and for most of that time he’d written him off. His first impression was that Oliver was “just a money guy,” all about the business and not about the martial arts. He wasn’t impressed, and that judgment kept him on the sidelines for years.

When he finally decided to just try it, he realized how wrong that first impression had been — and how much it had cost him. “I cost myself a quarter-million dollars by waiting around and not trying this thing out,” he says, and figures he “probably missed millions of dollars in income and revenue” by not implementing the strategies sooner. His advice to other owners is pointed: don’t let a first reaction or a first meeting keep you from something that could improve your school, your life, and your students’ lives.

What Colby’s story should teach you

• Waiting has a price tag. Colby put a number on it: a quarter-million dollars in the short run, and by his estimate millions over the years he stayed on the sidelines.
• Quality first is not the opposite of profit. The fear of “selling out” is backwards — better martial arts, better grading, and better systems are exactly what make the money follow.
• Record months are built, not lucky. A $90,000-cash, $200,000-receivables December comes from renewal, upgrade, and enrollment systems run on purpose.
• Don’t let a first impression cost you. Colby misjudged the coaching for over a decade. When he finally committed, his school doubled.

Related Reading

• The Martial Arts Cash Flow Turnaround: How to Generate $200,000 in Four Months With the Renewal Blitz Formula
• The Implementation Filter: How Top School Owners Turn Coaching Into Growth
• Case Study: How Delfino Candia Tripled America’s Best Karate Center in El Paso
• Case Study: How Jason Purcell Took Family Black Belt Academy From 50 Students to $86K/Month

Frequently asked questions

Who is Colby Winkler?

Colby Winkler owns a martial arts school in Mankato, Minnesota, and has been a member of Stephen Oliver’s Martial Arts Wealth Mastery program for about three and a half to four years.

How much did his school grow?

His monthly gross roughly doubled, from about $28,000 a month when he started to around $56,000–$57,000 a month — with a record December of over $90,000 in cash and more than $200,000 in receivables in a single month.

Wasn’t he worried the coaching was all about money?

Yes — for years. Colby had followed Stephen Oliver for over a decade and assumed he was “just a money guy.” He found the opposite: the focus is on teaching better martial arts, better grading, and better systems, with the revenue following. He estimates his early skepticism cost him a quarter-million dollars in the short term and millions over time.

Stop leaving money — and better martial arts — on the table

If you’ve been on the sidelines wondering whether coaching is worth it, Colby’s quarter-million-dollar lesson is worth taking to heart. The fastest way to find out what’s possible for your school is a free, no-obligation Personal Evaluation with our team. Call or text our National Director Bob Dunne at +1 (720) 256-0208, or book online below.

About the Author

Stephen Oliver, MBA and 10th Degree Black Belt, is the Founder and CEO of Mile High Karate and Martial Arts Wealth Mastery, CEO of NAPMA (National Association of Professional Martial Artists), and Publisher of Martial Arts Professional magazine. A martial arts school owner since 1975, he and his coaching team — including World Champion Grandmaster Jeff Smith and Dr. Greg Moody — have helped owners across the country build stronger, more profitable schools and $1M+ businesses.