Simple Profit with Tu Le

How Encourage Martial Arts Sells Out Summer Camp: Early Presales, Pricing Tiers & Operations That Drive Word-of-MouthIn a webinar, the host interviews Min Wilson, CEO and co-owner of Encourage Martial Arts, a five-location Northern Virginia group (with a sixth opening) that did $5.5M in 2025 sales at 30% net while spending about $13–14K on ads, relying mainly on word-of-mouth driven by strong operations. They outline their summer camp sales and operations strategy: begin presales in late July, release limited discounted spots to create scarcity, then roll out weekly themes in October and a largely finalized field-trip calendar in January to drive additional registrations. For Summer 2026 they have sold 1,745 weeks (55% of goal) and collected $563K toward an estimated ~$1.1M in camp revenue. They emphasize data (surveys of parents, campers, and staff), dynamic pricing by location/capacity, frictionless online registration, automated communications, themed décor/crafts/mat chats, and safe field-trip logistics including buses.00:00 The Big Marketing Bet00:21 Meet Min Wilson02:23 Encourage Studios Snapshot04:19 Affiliate Partner Model06:03 Summer Camp Sales Focus07:17 Why Sell in July09:38 Camp as Core Revenue13:58 MyStudio Camp Setup15:02 Landing Page That Sells18:25 Themes and Field Trips20:20 Payment Plans and Deposits23:04 Refund Policy Roleplay26:22 Dynamic Pricing Strategy30:45 Frictionless Web Signups33:30 Operations Over Scripts36:59 Done For You Camp Systems40:29 Strategic Camp Upsells40:47 Encourage Operating System43:23 Discounts and Scarcity46:14 Webinar Reset and Results50:48 Survey Data and Safety53:01 Themes and Field Trips58:58 Decor and Craft Execution01:01:58 Mat Chats and Curriculum01:07:39 Parent Comms and Value01:15:59 Q&A Marketing Staffing Wrap

In this episode, Tu is joined by extraordinary operator Josh Arson from Hero Martial Arts to share insights on building and sustaining a successful martial arts business. Josh opens up about his journey, including the pivotal moment after his ACL surgery when he realized the potential of his team. They discuss the importance of the right mindset, essential skills for expanding to a second location, and the significance of emotional intelligence.

Timestamps:

06:12 Emotional Intelligence and Leadership

08:11 The Value of Self-Education

13:59 The Journey of Hero Martial Arts

23:56 Expanding to a Second Location

24:52 Providing Opportunities for Top Employees

27:39 Building a Prototype Location

29:09 Achieving Rapid Growth: Reaching 200 Students in One Year

34:05 Balancing Passion and Talent: The Key to Success

42:11 Empowering Your Team: Stepping Back to Let Others Shine

43:41 The Importance of Mentorship and Coaching

Want to streamline and optimize your business? Visit us and schedule a free demo of MyStudio to see how our tools can help you achieve similar results at www.mystudio.io

Join Tu and our returning guest Zach Resnik as they discuss the importance of capturing and converting leads, and how MyStudio's Amplify's AI tool automates the process.

Tu explains the importance of key metrics like student lifetime value, and calculating customer acquisition costs in order to optimize marketing efforts. Join the conversation to learn valuable tips on scaling your business!

Timestamps

04:49 Student Retention and Growth Analysis

08:45 Marketing Strategies and Lead Conversion

10:04 Automation and Amplify System

15:30 Personalized Follow-Up and Best Practices

18:22 The Importance of Lead Follow-Up

18:50 Pricing Strategies and Membership Value

21:30 Understanding Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC)

23:54 Effective Marketing and Lead Conversion

29:21 Handling Objections and Increasing Event Participation

Want to streamline and optimize your business? Visit us and schedule a free demo of MyStudio to see how our tools can help you achieve similar results at www.mystudio.io

In this episode of the Simple Profit Podcast, Tu sits down with Navin Gurnaney, CEO of Code Ninjas. They explore the importance of having the right systems, people, and a commitment to excellence that allows their organization to operate 350 locations. Navin also shares his wealth of experience leading major companies like Starbucks in India and Domino's and offers valuable advice for business owners. Tune in for practical tips on how to build a million-dollar grossing business and ensure sustainable success.

Contact Navin at  [email protected]

Want to streamline and optimize your business? Visit us and schedule a free demo of MyStudio to see how our tools can help you achieve similar results at www.mystudio.io

Join Tu live at the Harvard Business School campus as he deep dives in the case study of CEO Jan Carlson's remarkable turnaround of Scandinavian Airlines in the 1980s: from losing $17M a year to netting $600M in just 5 short years.

Want to streamline and optimize your business? Visit us and schedule a free demo of MyStudio to see how our tools can help you achieve similar results at www.mystudio.io

Join Tu live from the Harvard Business School campus as he embarks on the Owner President's Management Program. In this episode of the Simple Profit Podcast, Tu shares insights from a captivating case study of the tragic 1994 friendly fire incident involving US military aircraft and explore its parallels with communication and leadership in business. Key takeaways revolve around setting clear expectations, communication protocols, and establishing core processes within an organization. Tune in to learn how these lessons can help you build and manage a successful business.

Want to streamline and optimize your business? Visit us and schedule a free demo of MyStudio to see how our tools can help you achieve similar results at www.mystudio.io

In Part 2 of this series CEO Zac Reznik briefs Tu on his latest progress since their last episode, and shares how he implemented Tu's strategy to increase Tenacity Martial Arts' revenue by 50% in just 6 weeks.

Learn about event-based marketing, leveraging local PTAs, and other ways to generate leads and trials for your business.

Timestamps:

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Can Tu help a new business owner grow from 20 to 100 martial art students in 12 months? Follow the journey of Zac Reznik, owner of Tenacity Martial Arts as he navigates the challenges of a new business with the help of Tu's expertise.

Timestamps:

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In this episode of the Simple Profit, Tu welcomes Mike Moh, a movie star known for portraying Bruce Lee in Quentin Tarantino's 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. and founder of LVLUP Martial Arts. Mike shares his journey from starting martial arts at 12 years old, to operating three successful martial arts schools in Wisconsin, and balancing a film career. Learn about Mike's business insights, and his strategic approach to expanding his business while maintaining a dual career.

Timestamps:

01:38 Mike Mo's Martial Arts Journey

03:22 From Martial Arts to Hollywood

07:22 Landing the Role of Bruce Lee

09:53 Behind the Scenes with Quentin Tarantino

15:08 Balancing Acting and Martial Arts School

17:03 Starting a New Journey in Madison

17:41 Balancing Martial Arts and Acting

18:07 Growing the Martial Arts School

18:36 Negotiating and Expanding

19:48 Moving to a Larger Space

24:28 Rebranding and Opening New Locations

27:49 Building a Strong Team

33:00 Future Goals and Reflections

Want to streamline and optimize your business? Visit us and schedule a free demo of MyStudio to see how our tools can help you achieve similar results at www.mystudio.io

In this episode of The Simple Profit Podcast, Tu reveals the transformative business decision that catapulted InCourage Martial Arts' revenue from $1.8 million to an impressive $5.4 million.