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Igor's story
How igor went From Survival Mode to a Thriving Academy in less than a year
IGOR'S JOURNEY SNAPSHOT
BEFORE
Within a few months of opening his Academy Igor launched his already overwhelmed. He’d got about 40 students, but his growth had slowed to a crawl.
- New School Jitters: No clue what I was doing and no idea how to run the business side of an academy.
- No Systems, No Strategy: Marketing, retention, even simple enrollment processes — all missing.
- Overworked & Unsure: Coming from personal training, Igor wasn’t used to wearing both hats: coach and business owner.
- Unclear Direction: Passion on the mats but no roadmap to growth.
Sound familiar? That’s the exact spot man school owners get stuck — caught between love of teaching and the stress of figuring out the business alone.
AFTER
Once Igor joined the Bullpen group, everything shifted. He rapidly grew his academy and could generate new members on demand.
- Full Mat Energy: His classes filled up and the buzz inside the academy grew.
- Predictable Growth: Proven marketing systems meant he wasn’t guessing anymore and he consistently enrolled 20+ members per month.
- Confidence in Control: No more scrambling. He had clarity and structure.
- Big Vision Unlocked: Igor went from “just teaching” to building a real business that could grow for years.
How IGOR DID It
Stage #1. From Instructor to Owner
At first, Igor saw himself as just the guy teaching classes. That mindset was holding him back.
The breakthrough came when he began to see himself as the leader of a business. Once he stepped into that role, decisions became easier, and growth felt possible.
“I realised I wasn’t just running classes. I was running an academy. That meant stepping up and owning the business side, too.” (04:10)
Igor got clear on the direction he wanted his school to go and we built a plan of how to get there. That started with Stage #2.
Dynamics Of Academy Ownership: Building an academy you love comes down to three key areas – Creativity, Income, and Freedom.
Finding that sweet spot ensures your school never becomes something you hate. This can only happen if you make the decision to take control of your business.
Balancing these three factors is critical for long-term sustainability.
Stage #2. Installing Marketing Systems
Joining the Bullpen Igor relied solely on word of mouth and random walk-ins to get new members. It was stressful and inconsistent — there was no way to know if he’d get five new students or none.
“Every Wednesday we’d talk about marketing campaigns, emails, and building lists — and it was just amazing. I started getting stable leads coming through, and everything began to click.” (10:08)
By installing simple, repeatable campaigns, he created predictable student flow.
In just the first campaign Igor ran using our systems he gained 40 new members. of the first campaigns Igor ran.
Once Igor added some simple follow up automations each month new leads came in consistently. Those leads turned into sign-ups, and the stress of “where will the next student come from?” disappeared.
The ACE Model: Marketing your school can seem like incredible complex process.
Finding that sweet spot ensures your school never becomes something you hate. This can only happen if you make the decision to take control of your business.
Balancing these three factors is critical for long-term sustainability.
Stage #3. Retention That Fuels Growth
While getting new members is important, what really grows an academy is keeping them.
Igor learned how to build retention into his culture: structured onboarding, celebrating milestones, and creating community.
“We’re already looking for a bigger place because we just keep growing. The systems helped us keep students longer — now they stay, they refer, and it just builds.” (04:58)
Not only did his students stay longer — they started referring friends. Retention turned into referrals, and growth became exponential.
The Leaky Bucket: The first thing we do when someone joins the Bullpen is take them through a “gym audit”.
This is a deep dive into every aspect of their academy and highlights the good, the back, and the ugly of their school.
It’s often a shockingly eye-opening experience for the instructors
Just like Igor, the first area most schools need to fix is “get more people asking about their classes” AKA “get more leads”.
Once we’ve got that consistent flow of people asking about classes we can start focusing fixing the leaks in their bucket AKA improving their retention and onboarding systems.
Fixing these leaks is critical during the driving stage as the larger you get the more problematic they become.
This often the point many schools get stuck at and why they struggle to scale.
Stage #4. Leadership & Long-Term Vision
The biggest shift wasn’t just tactical — it was internal. When Igor started, he was in survival mode. Rent, bills, and the fear of failure weighed heavy.
By plugging into the group, he realised he could think bigger: a six-figure academy, stable income, and more time for family and training.
“I know I wouldn’t be here without the group. I’ve grown so much — the knowledge, the support — and I know I’m just going to keep growing from here.” (15:12)
That clarity gave him the drive to lead with confidence. He got the advice then executed. The results became just a matter of following the process.
Key The Takeaways for School Owners
If you’re a BJJ school owner who feels stuck — too many hats, no systems, and no clear roadmap — Igor’s story should hit home.
Here are some of the key things you should take from Igor’s journey:
- No need to “sell out.” – Igor teaches the classes the way he wants. He didn’t water down his style and his students are having great success on the competition scene.
- Igor didn’t need to become someone else – Igor is authentically Igor. He understands that attitude is important, but not will gel with his style of teaching. He focuses on the people who are a good fit for his school.
- Systems and support get your their faster – Igor didn’t try to reinvent the wheel, he followed our proven systems and got support along the way.
- Embrace the process – Igor didn’t just learn what to do, he showed up and did it. With each step came success. And with each success the confidence to step into the role of thriving academy owner.
Igor is not just teaching jiu jitsu. He’s running a thriving academy.
WANT MY HELP TO BUILD A YOUR ACADEMY?
If you’d like to see how we can grow your school click below to apply to work with me
UPDATE
Since recording this call with Igor has grown even further. Here’s where Igor was after being open for 18 months.
- Maxed Out Capacity – Igor’s currently has around 250 active members and classes are at capacity. He has introduced a one in one out policy and waiting lists.
- New premises – Igor in the process of securing a new premises that will give him nearly 200 sqm of mat space. Making him the largest BJJ academy in his area.
- Employing his partner – Igor now needs help managing his academy. So he’s brought his wife on board to take care of administrative side of the business.
- Saving Money – Igor’s academy is incredibly profitable. He’s saving money consistently in preparation for his new academy. It’s highly likely he won’t need a loan to get set up.
If you’d like to see how we can grow your school click below to apply to work with me
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