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STEPHEN OLIVER'S EXTRAORDINARY MARKETING

"All the Things I Wish I Knew When I Was 22" Part 1

When I was young something was planted firmly in my mind - I didn't even recognize it - are you ready? Bigger equals Richer - More Sophisticated equals More Substantive - More Students equals More Profits -More Staff equals More Results - and, More Revenue equals More Profits.

You know what happened ? I added more and more locations - more and more staff - focused constantly on Getting the Gross Up.

You know what happened? The bigger I got - the harder I worked. I started finding out that you can gross $200,000 in a month - and, guess what - still not make any money after all the staff, landlords, advertisers, and insurance bills are paid. It's really a bummer to sign that many checks - and, really not have that much left over.

You know what I've figured out since? If you have a school running nicely with two full-time people and you add another full time - with no other changes - everyone just does 1/3 less!. If you have a high profit operation running in 3,000 square feet - and you add 3,000 square feet (to keep up with the "big boys") - with no other changes - you know what happens? That's right - you just run the same number of students through a LOT MORE EXPENSIVE facility - and, now this is the kicker - everyone assumes that you are A LOT less successful - because the school just doesn't look very busy anymore!. Sure, everything else being the same - a HIGH gross is way better than a LOW gross - it's just that revenue doesn't equal profits and, size does NOT equal success.

Anytime you make a decision to increase your square footage, add a staff member, or upgrade your facilities - make sure you have all the steps in place to make sure that these changes effect not only the "top line" - ie. Revenue but also the "bottom-line" - what's left over. In fact, if you figure that bigger facility, larger staff, or facilities upgrade will just add enough to your gross to pay for the extra expenses - DON'T DO IT!. Bigger is almost by definition - more complicated, risky, and difficult to manage.

Our industry is replete with well intentioned school owners who - when they had a nice thing going - screwed it up by:

1. Adding a second location;
2. Turning their nice little school into the "Taj Mahal" of karate schools;
3. Hiring everyone who asked for a job;
4. Taking up golf, tennis, or jujutsu - and, leaving the school in the hands of the "employees" expecting the results to stay the same.

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Extraordinary Marketing Newsletter go to http://www.ExtraordinaryMarketing.com
Email Stephen at
StephenOliver@ExtraordinaryMarketing.com

Before Putting up a Web Site

What's a Great Advertisement?

"All the Things I Wish I Knew When I Was 22": Part 2
Everything is Negotiable

"All the Things I Wish I Knew When I Was 22": Part 3
Wealth vs. Lifestyle

How Much Can You Spend to Generate Enrollment?

Tournaments and other Diversions

Hiring From Within