On this episode of the 7 Figure CEO podcast, I speak with Master Tran, owner of Tran’s Martial Arts and Fitness Center in Longmont, Colorado.Master Tran began training in martial arts with his siblings under the supervision of their father at home at the age of 7. His formal training in Tae Kwon Do began at age 13 when he and his siblings cleaned the local school in exchange for lessons. He received his 1st Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do at the age of 19. Combining his passion and knowledge of Muay Thai with his experience as a successful martial arts school owner, Master Tran was inspired to integrate the art of Muay Thai into his school curriculum.These early experiences taught Master Tran the importance of giving back to the community and helping others. It shaped him to impact and help his community the way he and his family were when they needed it.Master Tran has created the Tran's Muay Thai Association to support school owners interested in integrating modern Muay Thai into their schools and leading the evolution of this wonderful art to a worldwide audience.

On this episode of the 7 Figure CEO podcast, I have a conversation with Trevor and Jessica McClung, who are the owners of the Championship Martial Arts TRIBE located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.Trevor discusses his on-the-mat obligations, which entail teaching, training instructors, and developing curriculums.Jessica, on the other hand, delves into her off-the-mat duties, which involve overseeing the business operations of their school. As the manager, she is in charge of managing staff and finances and ensuring that the business runs seamlessly.From downgrading during Covid to becoming the successful school they dreamed of, this is an episode you don’t want to miss! 

Mark Preader is a child development specialist and founder of the Enterprise Academy of Martial Arts. He opened the school in 2006, but in 2014 he wanted to rebrand his school to become the go-to place for martial arts in the Hollister area.To adapt to the pandemic's challenges, Mark began recording classes with his daughter and later followed the virtual school content of Melody Johnson's SKILLZ program. Despite facing temporary closures in March and again shortly after reopening, Mark refused to stop and instead moved his classes outside to keep his students active.Mark's dedication to his students paid off, as he did not have a single Covid breakout at his school. His refusal to stop was appreciated by parents, who were happy that their children could continue to stay active and healthy during the pandemic. Through his hard work and dedication to his students, Mark has become a respected figure in the martial arts community and a successful business owner. He continues to provide high-quality instruction at his school and remains committed to helping children develop their skills and reach their full potential.

On this episode of the 7 Figure CEO Podcast, I sit down with Mr. Randy Chung of Kodokan Jiu Jitsu Club of Calgary (Canada) to discuss how he went from accountant to academy owner. Mr. Chung is a first-degree blackbelt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a father, and a Grow Pro Client.At the age of 9, he began training in Karate and later transitioned to Chinese martial arts. He went on to open his own academy: Kodokan Jiu Jitsu Club, which grew from a small room to an academy three times the size. Kodokan Jiu Jitsu Club focuses on technical proficiency, proper body mechanics, and integrated movements to promote self-defense, and mind-body fitness.Mr. Chung has big plans for his academy moving forward and I'm so glad we got to sit down to discuss his journey and vision for the future. Check out the latest episode!

On this episode of the 7 Figure CEO Podcast, I speak with Akil Acevedo of Cho’s Legacy Taekwondo (Morristown, NJ). He is a brand new father, Grow Pro client, and holds 5th degree blackbelts in Taekwondo, Kukkiwon, & Chung Do Kwan. He has been training for over 30 years and in 2014 he took over the academy that was opened by his Grandmaster in 1973.Mr. Acevedo has an engineering degree and after 6 years in the corporate world, his Grandmaster was looking to retire and approached him to take over the school. The work ethic he cultivated during his time as an engineer, helped prepare him for when he took over the academy and had to wear multiple hats.This was a super fun episode that you don’t want to miss!Watch - https://youtu.be/RI8WFljfWYo

This week's guest on the 7 Figure CEO Podcast is Mr. Josh Smith - 5th degree Black Belt in Goju, Shotokan (and other various styles), Grow Pro client, and the owner of 4 premier Martial Arts locations.Mr. Smith's father was also a school owner, and from the age of 5, he has been passionate about Martial Arts. He opened his own school and built his way from 40 to 150 students. From there he quit his day job and went all in on his school, but was lacking structure. He needed to implement systems and processes that would allow his business to grow. That's when he got a call from a friend who owned a Premier Martial Arts franchise - Aaron Hensley, who encouraged Mr. Smith to go to Knoxville to participate in the Premier Martial Arts convention. Two weeks later he signed up.In this episode, Mr. Smith discusses the necessity of solid systems and processes or  "The formula for scaling" in order to scale to multiple locations. He also shares his experiences going the Franchise route and how that impacted his entrepreneurial journey. Having personally applied the formula to scale to 4 thriving locations - Mr. Smith has some really powerful insights about the dos and don'ts of being a multi-school owner. It was a pleasure to hear his story, and I know you'll love it too. Listen to the latest episode now!

Zachariah Cloonan of Zachary Martial Arts (Zachary, LA) has been in business for 7 years, is a 3rd-degree black belt in Taekwondo and blue belt in BJJ.Mr. Cloonan grew up taking classes in the Martial Arts school he now owns. Having earned his black belt under the previous instructor, he was offered to buy the school when it started to go under.Starting with 20 students, he grew the program to 180 students and facilitated the transition of his academy from Taekwondo school to Mixed Martial Arts school.Mr. Cloonan was a great guest and I'm so glad he was able to come on the podcast and share stories of his journey from student to school owner. Have a listen!

Fellow action-taker - Nicholas Gregoriades joins me on this episode of the 7 Figure CEO Podcast. Nic is a BJJ Black Belt, Roger Gracie’s first awarded Black Belt, competitor, host of the Nicholas Gregoriades Show, creator of the Subconscious Jiu Jitsu Association, and author of Aligned - The Modern Man’s Guide to Health, Wealth and Freedom. Nic started taking Judo at the age of 7, and at the age of 19 he started boxing. Then he went on to submission grappling in his hometown of Cape Town South Africa. From there he moved to London where he began training at Roger Gracie’s original Academy and received his black belt. After spending many years teaching, his focus began to shift to his coaching business for men. He has a passion for helping to lead men live lives of more passion, adventure and success through personal development and spiritual growth. In his podcast, he speaks with distinguished guests on topics that are affecting the path men take through the modern world.Nic shares a lot of wisdom and we discuss everything from the importance of routines, to mental health and his entrepreneurial path - have a listen! Coaching - https://coachnicg.com/about-nic-gregoriades/Book - https://coachnicg.com/book/The Nicholas Gregoriades Show - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nicholas-gregoriades-show/id1251272146

You’re in for a real treat! On this episode of the 7 Figure CEO Podcast, I sit down with Fellow 7 Figure CEO, speaker, mentor, friend, 5th-degree Black Belt in ATA System, former owner of On The Mat, & founder of Skillz Worldwide (serving 1,500+ Martial Arts schools) - Mrs. Melody Johnson.In her twenties, she started writing children's Martial Arts curriculum, as she had a passion for helping kids become the best version of themselves. Not only was her curriculum inclusive of children in Pre-K and up, but it was created with the childhood development stages in mind. She made the difficult decision to leave her 4 schools and went all in on her journey of redefining the standards for children’s Martial Arts.Mrs. Johnson then went on to do some consulting/speaking at seminars and opened up On The Mat in 2005. On the mat allowed her to hone in on systems and processes needed to help school owners grow their academies. She sold On The Mat so she could have more time to spend with her young son and wife. Skillz Worldwide allowed her to pursue her mission on a global scale. Have a listen to this episode to hear about Melody’s journey to 7 Figure CEO!

On this episode of the 7 Figure CEO Podcast, I had the great honor of speaking with Danny Alvarez of Alvarez Jiu Jitsu (Arlington, TX). Mr. Alvarez is a 4th-degree Black Belt in BJJ, has won Master Worlds 3 times in Gi, 5 times in No-Gi, was the #1 ranked Black Belt for the 2017-2018 season, earned over 50 Championship Titles, is one of my A-Team clients and is also a Grow Pro client! Mr. Alvarez started training while working full-time at General Motors, where he was making a great living but was ultimately dissatisfied with his job. He’d spend his lunch breaks watching BJJ videos on tape and taking notes in a journal so he could apply what he learned during his training in the evening. He was doing private lessons out of his garage and at the same time started studying the way his instructor ran business operations so he could be prepared when he found the right moment to open his own academy. And that moment did come when GM offered employees that had been with the company 10 years a buyout. He took that money and used a portion to open his own gym. Alvarez BJJ has undergone a series of facility changes throughout the course of its inception as the academy continues growing - starting in a small mat space in a gymnastics facility, then moving to a 4500 sq ft warehouse space with no A/C. At a crossroads, his suite neighbor offered to buy him out of his lease which lead him to take the leap and move into the 15000 sq ft facility he currently runs his academy out of. Alvarez BJJ has programs for kids, teens and adults. Mr. Alvarez is not only an accomplished Martial Artist, he’s also a great coach and is constantly learning and pushing himself in the pursuit of continuous growth on and off the mat.  In this episode, Mr. Alvarez explains the “secret” to getting Google reviews, how he balances working with family and building a community from the ground up. He takes pride in his academy and puts everything he can behind it, in order to build it to the success it is today. As a coach and instructor, he’s a strong advocate for "leading by example" and knows the value of consistency in order to accomplish your goals. You’re going to want to tune into this episode!