Troy Miller has owned his martial arts school since 1987. He started in his garage, moved into a building a year later, and quickly reached 100 students without making much money from them. Over the years he studied with mentors and coaching groups. Today his Colorado school has about 387 students and brings in $60,000–$70,000 a month, with a staff of 14. In stronger years it has topped $80,000 a month. Miller is rarely there. He teaches on Monday and Wednesday days and trains his staff every other Thursday. He also works in film stunts, and one recent movie took him away for four months while the school kept running.
His conversation with Red Belt Podcast host Brian "Barn Cat" Debes is full of specific, repeatable tactics, mostly on the two areas that decide whether a school grows: keeping students and getting referrals.
The 2-4-6 Retention System
Miller calls retention the most important number in a school. "Retention is a profit center," he says, "and you can't forget that." If you lose students as fast as you sign them up, you are only replacing your school. He says to get monthly loss below 5%. His martial arts program runs around 3%, and his adult program is higher at about 8–9%.
Most quitting happens in the first 90 to 100 days, so new students get what Miller calls 2-4-6 calls: check-ins at two, four, and six weeks.
- ✓Week 2: How are classes going? Are you enjoying it?
- ✓Week 4: You're doing great in class. Did you get your equipment package? Miller notes that students who buy gear tend to stay.
- ✓Week 6: You're getting close to your first stripe test. Do you feel ready?
His manager schedules each check-in as an appointment in the CRM as soon as someone joins. A check-in can be a call, a text, or a conversation in person, depending on how the student said they like to be contacted. These days most people choose text. Miller wants the student's own instructor to make the contact, not the front desk. To keep it manageable, one person makes at least five contacts a day, six days a week, which takes about 15 minutes. Students past the first 100 days get a rotation of email, postcard, and phone call.
He also sets a growth target borrowed from Alan Belcher: finish each month at least $500 ahead in billing. Work out what you lost to cancellations, then enroll enough students to cover it plus $500. Doing that every month adds about $12,000 a year in recurring revenue.
The Referral Ask Most Schools Get Wrong
Miller says a school should get five or six referrals a month, and that only happens if you have a system for asking. His best moment to ask is right after enrollment, when a new member is most excited and hasn't yet told every friend about it.
Here is how he does it. The normal referral bonus is $50. Once the contract is signed, the staff member offers to double it to $100 if the new member lists five friends. Then the staff member steps away, for example to go get the student's gloves or gi. "You've got to leave them alone or you don't get none," Miller says. If you stand over them, you get nothing. Staff don't call those names until the member has told their friends to expect the call, and the call begins by saying the friend has been given two free weeks.
Monthly contests, such as a smokeless fire pit raffle with entries for every friend brought to class, keep referrals coming.
Events That Bring In Friends
Events are where Miller stands out. A few formats he uses:
- ✓Kids carnivals: A short, fun martial arts class first. Kids get a hand stamp for doing the class, then move on to a rented bounce house, face painting, or a dunk tank where kids with referral entries get to try dunking their instructor. A local ice cream shop provides free ice cream. Regular classes are canceled that day so the event feels like a big deal. Miller rents equipment instead of buying it, because storage and upkeep become the rental company's problem.
- ✓Safety fairs: Police and fire departments bring their vehicles. Miller's advice: you teach the class, not them.
- ✓Quarterly adult events: Themed self-defense sessions, held at the same time as kids' events so a parent can train while the kids play.
- ✓Monthly buddy days: Themed classes, such as a James Bond day, held on non-curriculum nights in the third week of the month. One version hides scratch-off lottery tickets under bags for members who brought a friend.- Birthday parties: New kids get one free party in their first year, since parties usually produce two to five signups. Every guest gets two free weeks. Miller's trick for getting guests to show up is to promise each one they'll get to break a board. When time runs out, staff call the parents to book a class so the child can do it.
Community booths are another strong source. Visitors punch a BOB training dummy against a timer to win two free weeks, and staff book the appointment on the spot. Because show rates have dropped, staff confirm the day before and mention a free t-shirt waiting in the visitor's size. Miller also rotates yard signs so people keep noticing them and places rack cards in local businesses.
The Other Profit Centers
Miller lists five profit centers: new students, upgrades, retail, events, and retention.
His Legacy membership costs $10,000 for five years and then $99 a year after that. He offers it starting in April, a usually slow month around tax season, and caps sales at 2% of his active student count. He separately runs 25%-off two-year paid-in-full promotions in July and November. For retail, he runs yearly preorder-only shirt drops themed on the Chinese zodiac, like the Year of the Dragon. One year he sold 160. Shirts that cost him about $6 sell for $30–$36.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Treat retention as revenue. Schedule 2-4-6 check-ins for every new student and have their instructor make the contact.
- ✓Ask for referrals at enrollment, then walk away. Doubling the bonus and leaving the student alone gets far more names.
- ✓Run events often and make them fun. Carnivals, buddy days, and parties bring in friends and strengthen loyalty.
- ✓Rent, don't buy. Event equipment rentals save storage and maintenance headaches.
- ✓Break goals into numbers. Aim to finish every month $500 ahead in billing and know where each signup will come from.
- ✓Use all five profit centers: new students, upgrades, retail, events, and retention.
Listen to the Full Episode
Miller shares many more event ideas and scripts in the full conversation. Listen on Spotify or watch on YouTube.
Systems like 2-4-6 calls only work if they happen every time. Red Belt Software helps martial arts school owners automate staff reminders, follow-ups, and student communication so retention and growth don't depend on memory.