| When you are riding the wave of your martial arts | | | | them, "a family school." Mind you, this was more the |
| career, know who you are, and why you are doing | | | | influence of EFC clients than EFC itself. |
| this. When I became a billing client of EFC, I attended | | | | My income increased. I paid off my house and |
| one of their seminars in Atlanta. I was doing pretty | | | | socked the money away, but I hated it. I didn't want |
| good, but nothing like some of the EFC stars of the | | | | to be at the school anymore. It was no fun explaining |
| day. Still, it seemed the guys in Atlanta knew my | | | | to a mom why her Miss Perfect daughter who gets |
| name as a fighter, which was nice. As usual at these | | | | straight As in school failed her blue belt exam. I had |
| events, we shared information about student counts | | | | strayed big time from who I was as a martial artist |
| and, when I mentioned I had 245 students, they | | | | and as a teacher. |
| seemed impressed. They were even more impressed | | | | Quality of life is a big issue with me and, for the first |
| that my student body was mostly adults. | | | | time in my martial arts career I had a job I didn't like. |
| I didn't know there had been a huge boom in the | | | | Most of the kids were fine, and many were great. |
| children's market at the time due to The Karate Kid. | | | | But some kids just drove me nuts mostly because of |
| The guys in Atlanta implied that I was missing half | | | | the control factor. Controlling kids and their parents is |
| the market because I didn't have a lot of child | | | | not a fun way for a control freak to spend time. A |
| students. I listened, thought about it, and then made | | | | lot of instructors like to teach kids, but I don't. |
| one of my worse decisions as a school owner. I | | | | I had lost my way because I subscribed to someone |
| started doing the things they did to attract and keep | | | | else's voice. But I learned something important. Since |
| kids. I started the student creed, message of the | | | | then, I've tried to make it clear that you need to |
| week, and had kids screaming, "Yes, Sir!" on cue. In | | | | know yourself and what you want to do. This is |
| time, my school had totally changed from an adult | | | | especially true today, when so many programs are |
| school to a school full of kids or, as some like to call | | | | available. |