Introducing the Martial Arts Business Framework

The last 11 years of my life have been completely dedicated to the martial arts and fitness communities. Prior to my time at Zen Planner, I spent years pursuing a career as a professional mixed martial artist, spending hours on the mat training. That time period gave me the most memorable experiences of my life, friends I consider family and also lead me to my career with Zen Planner.

This project started outside of my responsibilities at Zen Planner, when one of those friends told me she would be opening her own martial arts and fitness gym. As a martial artist, her skills are truly world class. But at the time, she lacked the business knowledge and skills required to run a truly thriving business. Knowing I’ve spent the last 4 years working at Zen Planner supporting school owners around the world, she asked me to to teach her what I know about business operations.

After I got to work on her initial operations outline, I realized the tools and knowledge I planned to give her needed to be detailed enough to provide insight into the major aspects of the business, but also simple enough to understand. This realization led me to create several easy-to-use tools paired with written explanations on the value of diligently tracking metrics in each area of the business.

Over the next few weeks we will be releasing these tools, free of charge, for anybody to use. Each tool will be available to download as an Excel template and will be paired with a blog and instructions for use. Over the next few weeks you will find tools and workbooks that will help you:

• Calculate student retention
• Monitor revenue
• Track business expenses
• Analyze marketing metrics
• Track sales activity

As I worked on these tools, I gave several of my customers and friends early versions of my work to help them understand their business a little better. Soon after, I was given feedback that the content I gave them changed the way they looked at and operated their business. At that point, I realized this content had the potential to make a huge impact on the gyms that I work with and the community I’ve been part of.

The martial arts and fitness communities gifted me with more than I could have ever asked for. My personal mission will always be to give back to those communities. My hope is these tools and information will do that by improving the businesses who use them.

Chris Mierzwiak
Zen Planner
Partnership Manager