6 Recommendations I Give My Coaching Clients (That You Can Use Today)

I want to share several of the recommendations I make to my private coaching clients — because they almost certainly apply to your situation too. These are the recommendations I give my coaching clients that you can put to work today.

1. Use a Billing Company

Too many owners use too many manual methods to chase pennies while ignoring dollars. If you’re not using a professional billing company, start — choose one that integrates billing software with genuine value-added services (membership cards, birthday cards, refer-a-friend programs, and the like). The specific vendor matters less than this: use a real billing partner that manages the entire process, not a bare software tool that leaves the work to you.

2. Pricing, Programs, and Contracts

A useful rule of thumb is that you should be grossing a healthy multiple of your active-student count each month — which only happens with proper pricing and agreements. A few essentials:

• Use membership agreements with a minimum six-month (preferably 12-month) initial commitment. If contracts make you uncomfortable, take a breath and remember you’re running a business, not a club.
• Enrollment pricing: my recommended minimum for new enrollments is around $397 per month, on a 12-month agreement, with a meaningful down payment.
• Upgrade pricing: your first upgrade should occur two weeks to two months after enrollment, priced at least 50% above the enrollment tuition. That higher tier is your Leadership Program — typically tied to a longer commitment and enhanced services.

3. Raise Your Expectations

Many of my clients arrive aspiring to $25,000–$30,000 a month. The current standard among serious operators is $50,000-plus per month in revenue. If you’re fighting for small increases — or fighting the basic system itself — it’s time to adopt a bigger target.

4. Drop the Mythology of Martial Arts

Forget how impressive you think your style or your school’s name is. Your business won’t pay the bills on the belief that the market cares about your rank or résumé, that 10 or 20 years as a struggling school has prepared you for the future, or that going it alone is wise. As two quotes I love put it: “Winners remember results; losers remember reasons,” and “most people would rather have a good excuse than good results.” And remember W.H. Murray’s great insight on commitment — that the moment you truly commit, a whole stream of unforeseen help and opportunity begins to flow your way that never would have otherwise.

5. Know Your Business Statistics

You must gather and know your operational numbers every single week: intros, conversion rates, upgrades, new monthly payments, contract amounts, retention rate, daily break-even, and daily profit goal. If I asked for your month-to-date totals and you had to dig through a ledger or ask someone, that’s a problem. Know your numbers cold and know whether you’re on pace for your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals.

6. You Can’t Do Anything Without New Students

Your target must always be 20 or more new students every month — 240-plus a year, forever. (For perspective, my personal record is 35 enrollments with signed agreements and collected down payments in a single day.) I once had an owner join my program intending to earn $60,000–$90,000 a year, then immediately announce he wouldn’t do contracts and didn’t believe in upgrade or renewal systems. That’s essentially choosing a vow of poverty — deciding up front to ignore the very systems that make a school viable. Don’t do that to yourself.

Remember the two things every successful martial arts business owner knows: student service and retention are essential for long-term success, and aggressive renewal and upgrade systems account for 60–75% of a strong school’s revenue. Most owners join my program grossing $15,000–$17,000 a month and, within eight to twelve months, average $45,000–$50,000. That tripling isn’t magic — it requires the willingness to “empty the cup” and apply proven systems to an already-quality program.

Related Reading

• The Four Keys to Rapid Income Growth for a Martial Arts School
• The Four-System Game Plan: Fix Retention, Renewals, Staff & Enrollment
• From Struggling to Thriving: How Martial Arts Schools Hit $1M
• How to Use KPIs to Run Your Martial Arts School by the Numbers
• Case study: How Riley Fife grew Grimsby Karate from $6K to $50K a month

Frequently Asked Questions

What should a martial arts school charge?

A practical minimum is around $397 a month for new enrollments on a 12-month agreement, with upgrade programs priced at least 50% higher. Always use membership agreements rather than month-to-month “club” arrangements.

How many new students do I need each month?

Aim for at least 20 per month — 240-plus a year, indefinitely. New enrollments are the lifeblood of the school; without them, no other system can save you.

Where does most of a successful school’s revenue come from?

Roughly 60–75% comes from aggressive renewal and upgrade systems, built on a foundation of excellent student service and retention. New enrollments matter, but keeping and advancing students is where the money is.

Ready to Add 100 Students to Your School?

Put these recommendations into a step-by-step plan: get your free copy of Six Simple Steps to Add 100 New Students to Your School at SimpleSteps.com.

And to power the retention and upgrades that drive most of your revenue, study Extraordinary Teaching at ExtraordinaryTeaching.com.

About the Author

Grand Master Stephen Oliver, MBA, is a 10th Degree Black Belt and the Founder and CEO of Mile High Karate and Martial Arts Wealth Mastery, one of the martial arts industry’s leading coaching and consulting organizations for professional martial arts school owners, BJJ academies, and MMA gyms. A martial arts school owner since 1975 and business coach since 1985, Oliver has spent more than five decades building, operating, and advising successful martial arts schools. He also serves as CEO and Chairman of NAPMA (the National Association of Professional Martial Artists) and Publisher of Martial Arts Professional magazine. A Georgetown University cum laude graduate, he earned his Executive MBA through the Executive Program at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. He was promoted to 10th Degree Black Belt in April 2026 and inducted into the Official Taekwondo Hall of Fame in August 2026. Learn more at MartialArtsWealth.com and StephenCOliver.com.