It's mid-November. We're in the home stretch of 2010 and heading at a break-neck pace toward the end of the year. For me, Thanksgiving usually marks the time of the year when I look back at the annual goals that I set for myself and the dojo, to check in and see how I/we have done.
Last December, I posted this blog and video, stating publicly that it was my bold intention to make Emerald Necklace Martial Arts the most well-known, well-respected, most influential community-service-oriented dojo in the city of Boston. No easy task to be sure, but I was determined and energized, and I was confident that with just a little help, I'd make the goal a reality.
So here we are, 11 months later, and I've got a mixed bag of a progress report. How to measure success here?
First, I ask, how strongly did I/we serve? In the past 11 months, our dojo has done a lot for others in need: We successfully raised more than $5,000 for the victims of the Haiti earthquake; We cleaned up the neighborhood around the dojo and planted flowers in the local green space; We launched a free community safety, self-defense, and bullying prevention resource website; We created a peace garden for the community with stones that were decorated by our members and local school children; We helped raise funds to fight blindness; And as the year comes to a close, we're making and collecting knitted gloves hats and scarves for Boston-area children in need, collecting toys for kids for the holidays, and we have a blood marrow donor registration drive in the works. Phew!
Second, I ask, how hard did I/we train? Well, I've gotten myself in outstanding shape over the past year. Gotta lead by example, right? This year, I took and passed my examination for 4th dan (fourth degree black belt), and five of my students passed their shodan (first degree back belt) tests, too. We train hard, and we are improving every day. We are a tough (but tastefully refined!) group of souls.
Third, whom did I/we influence? Well, I like to think that I'm having a significant positive influence on the students who train at the dojo. You'll have to ask them how I'm doing in that regard. As for teaching outside of the regular classes at the dojo, I personally taught character-based martial arts classes and anti-bullying classes in local elementary schools, led classes for blind and visually-impaired children at the Carroll Center for the Blind, and I served as the karate instructor at the Boston Martial Arts Academy.
Third: Who did I/we meet and connect with? This year, I chronicled my diet, shared my thoughts on healthy eating with the entire community, and featured my visits to the local farmers market; We met, trained with, and interviewed notable instructor and author, Rory Miller, and I've also interacted with authors Azby Brown (environmentalism) and Paul Chappel (peace education); We studied meditation with meditation instructor and martial artist, Richard Hubbard.
Fourth: Who noticed me/us? In the past year, the dojo has been featured in the Boston Globe, the Allston-Brighton Tab, and the Boston Bulletin. Video clips of the dojo have been featured on television. More exposure before the end of the year is on-tap through Boston Community Cable, and even possibly in the Improper Bostonian. We are in the public eye.
At least I think we are.
Yet for all the good that we've done, all the things we have accomplished, all the wonderful people we've met, and all the press we have gotten, I have to say today, November 18, that the year 2010 has been a HORRIFIC FAILURE. Because in my blog last December, I said that I would measure my/our success not only by our accomplishments as a dojo, but by our growth in membership and headcount.
So here we are. Year over year, we have NOT grown as a dojo. Many of the faces have changed, but we have not really added to our numbers in a meaningful way. We've done a lot, yes, but we have not gotten any bigger. And because we have not grown, every month it is a struggle to pay the rent and keep the lights on. The sad-but-true fact is that I've renegotiated our lease TWICE with our super-generous landlord.
And so today I check the FAIL box.
I can honestly say I'm doing everything that I can, but it's not enough. We may indeed be the most well-known, well-respected, most influential community-service-oriented dojo in the city of Boston, but if we can't pay the rent, we can't continue the MISSION — to increase the quality of life of our members and clients by teaching personal safety skills, mind/body awareness, and the self-defense mindset that generates self-confidence and a greater sense of personal empowerment, well-being, and security.
The responsibility for this tremendous failure lies with me.
Perhaps 2011 will be a better year.
It really, really needs to be.
1 comment:
It sounds like it was an excellent year to me, with many accomplishments to be proud of.
I appreciate that you take ownership of the fact that the dojo headcount has remained steady, rather than grown, but I'd like to suggest that in this economic climate simply holding steady is really a success! The reality is that training is a discretionary expense for most people and without a lot of extra money floating around for such things, I can see the difficulty in growing the membership. There may be potential students around just waiting for the day when they have the time and money to start training. Keep up your efforts and when things turn around for everyone, they'll turn around for the dojo too.
There is NO QUESTION that training in your dojo is a valuable experience.
Sometimes surviving to fight another day is the same as winning.
That said, if checking the "fail" box motivates you to do something differently and try new things with your business model, then go for it.
I'm sure you're already thinking ahead to next year, so here are two focusing questions you may have already thought of:
1) Who can AFFORD the service you offer?
2) Who is WILLING to pay for it?
What's the most effective way to let them know about it?
(The first thought that popped in my head just now is...are there any Boston-based movie stars that need martial arts training for upcoming roles, or just to stay in shape? What's your rate for private sessions? Also, there are a couple of postings on CL for martial arts instructors right now. Search for "martial" and a Nov. 11 posting comes up. Maybe you could go where the kids are instead of having them come to you.)
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