Focus on the joy, forget about the junk

It would be easy to make an entire website full of posts about the problems that arise in a martial arts academy (or any small business for that matter), but that wouldn't give a true picture of how we owner/operator types spend our time.  I've compiled some mostly-accurate, fully-unsubstantiated statistics about how things really are.  Understand that these are ratios only, and can be extrapolated to encompass larger, multi-site operations.  Enjoy:

-For every grumpy-butt who complains, there are 22 people who want you to keep doing exactly what you do, 9 who absolutely adore you as a person, 17 would wish they had your life, and 3 who think you're hot.

Risk is good. Stability is ... meh

As much as I have been influenced by my parents over the years (duh), there is one major difference in our approach to careers.  I love risk, my parents love stability.  Now, these past months of economic struggle have certainly made me appreciate more the benefits of stability, but even still, I wouldn't trade my type of career freedom for a "normal" job.

Running a martial arts academy challenges every skill set I have, and has caused me to grow some new ones.  That alone makes my day interesting.  But when I look at the financial side, I am addicted to