I'm a fan of Josh's podcast, so naturally I was stoked to have him on as a guest. We covered a range of topics in this episode but there were a few that stood out as significant. The first being to keep things simple in your business, and the second is understanding what makes your academy special and being able to put it into words as a valuable differentiator?

Josh has great insight and answers to both of these questions and I hope you'll take something away from this episode. Being that I'm a fan of Josh's show I'll leave links to it down below along with his socials.

IG: @thejoshmckinney

FB: Josh Mickinney

Web: https://headnodhq.com/

Podcast: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/isuckatjiujitsushow

Lastly Josh's dad Steve Mckinney recently released a book called the Gospel of fitness which I've read and recommend especially to your parents or family who are getting older and need to maintain health and fitness.

Buy the book on Amazon

Ever wonder why someone takes a free trials class, seems to enjoy it but then doesn't join?

I can say from personal experience it's pretty frustrating when this or some variation of this happens. This can happen for a variety of reasons but if you create a good process around your free trials it will happen less and less often.

The net result of having a better free trial process is consistent growth, more students to share the art of Jiu Jitsu with, and a more successful business.

If you want to take an even deeper dive into growing your Jiu Jitsu Academy you can follow me on socials, or head over to www.Growjitsu.com/book to download a free copy of my book - The Unstuck Academy.

If the pet rock was a million dollar idea, I think this one is even better. As a BJJ practicioner Ollie once missed out on a phenomal seminar he wanted to attend, being held right in his city. The problem was he had no idea there was a seminar being held in the first place.

Out of frustration he decided to solve a problem he sees in the BJJ community. Not being able to easily find good seminars to attend or good talent to host local seminars.

One of the best things about the BJJ community is how top level athletes and coaches can and will share their knowledge to average Joes like myself. That level of access is undheard of in other sports and what Ollie is doing with the Matador app will only help promote that within the BJJ community.

If you want to check out Ollie and the Matador app here are the links below:

IG: @matadorappWebsite: https://matadorapp.io/Youtube: @MatadorAppLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-kelly-07865982/

This episode is a full reading of my book "The Unstuck Academy". There is some additional color commentary, rabbit holing, and ad libbing in the audio version.

The goal of this book is really simple, help Jiu Jitsu Academy owners get Unstuck in their business. In my own personal experience from running my gym the first step in running a successful business was realizing it was much more than just teaching classes.

After that realization I learned to see the holes in my business and prioritize higher value roles and tasks. Long story short I'm stubborn and once upon a time I was given a friendly slap in the face to see my business in a new light.

I hope this book can provide a similar experience for you.

If you want to get a PDF copy of the book had on over to www.Growjitsu.com/book where you can download it.

If you liked the book and want help implementing it's content or growing your Jiu Jitsu academy you can head on over to https://growjitsu.com/request-a-demo and book a one-on-one demo with me to take a look at your business and make a game plan to start adding students and seeing consistent growth.

Revoy and I are old training partners and though he was always significantly better than me at jiu jitsu, he was always kind about it. On this episode he reminded me that we were both promoted to blue belt the same day, and while I am still a blue belt, he's gone on to earn his black belt and open his own academy.

We have a great conversation about his take on running a Jiu Jitsu academy which is taught me two things I did not know. The first being that Revoy is wickeldly smart, and second that his academy will do well because from day one he understands what is required to be successful long term.

He's also got a really interesting take on developing coaches from within that has a lot of promise.

If you liked what you heard and want to learn more about Revoy or reach out check out the links below:

Email: theoldwayjiujitsu@gmail.com

Web: https://www.theoldwayjiujitsu.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/theoldwayjiujitsu/

As the saying goes, you don't know what you don't know. On this episode I talked about my journey through understanding my business, its various parts and functions, and ultimately how to run it better.

In these caffinated ramblings there were three big sections I stumbled upon which were:

1. Gaining general awareness of what your entire business needs.

2. Learning how the "machinery" of your business works and starting to operate some of those basic machines.

3. Amplifying growth and production with marketing.

I think that most Jiu Jitsu academy owners follow this trajectory. Some owners will come with an understanding already from other industries, mentorship, or experience.

But most have to figure it out as they go and my hope is by providing a framework for how I did that others may see success faster.

If you're looking for resources on how to grow your academy head on over to www.Growjistu.com/guides and grab my latest freebie!

I have to appologize the audio in this episode does change pitch a few times but it clear without static.

I don't want that to take away any attention from today's guest as Nico is one of the most hard working and determined people I've ever met. I had never heard of door to door karate or martial arts sales before this episode, but what a way to cut your teeth and learn sales. Aside from that Nico worked multiple jobs, trained and taught Jiu Jitsu and MMA as he was coming up and eventually found success in his current academy BMA MMA.

Hats off to Nico for his perseverence and he shares a ton of great wisdom about his journey on the show.

If you want to learn more about Nico you can check him out here:

Web: https://bma-mma.com/

Web: https://www.coachnicobajerski.com/

IG: @bma_halifax/

I've made just about all the mistakes you can in gym ownership. In the early days of gym ownership I was so wrapped up in teaching classes that was all I focused on.

So much so that outside of class times I didn't do much else. It was partly because I was unaware of what it actually took to run my gym like a real business and partly because I was so wrapped up in the role of technician. "No one can do it as well as I can" being my core mantra at the time.

As time went on I finally figured out that there were other hats in my business worth wearing. And that those other hats were best worn in the gym. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes and use your time wisely especially if growth is your goal.

Speaking of growth if you don't have a system to generate leads, start conversations, and get new students on a regular basis head on over to www.Growjitsu.com and download my free guide.