Why I Closed the Place I Loved

Back in 1980, I founded a Centre in North Sydney with another AT teacher.

About the same time of the Sony Walkman debut. Yeah, THAT long ago.

SATA -- > Sydney Alexander Teaching Associates, named after Don Burton's ATA in Old Street, London. I am some readers remember.

By 1984 we had six teachers offering individual lessons, a training school and evening groups. There was a full-time secretary – Denise - a view of Sydney Harbour, and a lot of good press.

It was a buzzing, happening place.

Until it died.

It was my fault – I called their bluff. A group of teachers who had no idea how marketing worked. I regret the shadow part of me got the upper hand before my better half could prevail.

I starved it to death.

And the place that I loved and worked so hard to create closed down.

This is the story of how that happened…

What kept the place buzzing was a massive print media advertising budget. Out of my pocket. I paid for the ads to sell a residential program of workshops – by this time I was doing eight a year. The phone number I used to handle enquiries was the Sydney Centre: SATA.

The teachers at SATA did not have to contribute a penny: their phone kept ringing.

Great deal right?

They didn't think so.

From their side, they paid the secretary who answered the phone, who handled enquiries from my advertisements. One day, they confronted me about it…

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You have to contribute something to the secretary's wage.

ME: "Wait. Does that mean you will contribute to paying for my ads?" I asked.

No. Why should we? Your ads are for your residential workshops, not us.

ME: "You benefit. People call here. People decide to come to SATA for lessons instead."

We don't think so.

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Was this a Mexican standoff?

If it was, I fired first.

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ME: "I am closing down my residential program."

We don't care.

And I rode off into the sunset, starting a science degree at the University of NSW instead.

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6 MONTHS LATER, it all dried up.

No more calls, no more lessons, no more work. Denise left, other teachers got part-time jobs and the training school started to shrink. I can't say I was proud of being right – I just helped to end the thing I had spent so many years to create.

Ignorance is everywhere when it comes to marketing.

Most of it is innocent - people do not understand how it works. That's why I call it Markeaching = marketing + teaching. And it's why I am on a mission to help teachers revive and revitalise their practices. It's a hard time for teachers these days - you need markeaching intelligence.

Markeaching intelligence is available at my workshop in London this March. It's an investment that will pay off. There are already a lot of successful and happy graduates from my programs.

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My practice has totally changed and become viable thanks to what I have learned with Jeremy.

Mari Hodges, AmSAT

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https://bodychance.mykajabi.com/p/london1803workshop

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