Today we’d like to introduce you to Stefan & Stephanie Stein
Hi Stefan & Stephanie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Stephanie is from Minnesota and was in the US Army Reserves and got the opportunity to travel to Salzburg, Austria in 1996 for a German language immersion training along with other members from her unit. It was that summer that we met and fell in love, and after a year or so of long distance, we decided to give our relationship a real chance, so Stephanie moved to Salzburg for us to be together. We got married not long after, and then Stefan was offered an assignment at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. We decided to accept and moved to Brussels in 1998 where we lived for altogether six years and had our first two children. In 2004, the assignment was done, and at this fork in the road we decided to move to America. Stephanie missed her family and wanted to be closer, so we settled in Duluth. We both got started working at Stephanie’s father’s insurance agency and our children started classes at the karate school next door to the office. Soon the parents (we) joined in and the whole family was hooked. After a few years of training, our teachers decided to move away and pursue a different path. They needed someone to take over the school and thought of us as a potential. They ran the school as a couple and probably thought we would be a good fit. When they asked us, it was a bit of an unexpected shock. We were losing our beloved teachers and, frankly, felt unprepared and unready for such a big undertaking! We had a mortgage and bills to pay and were working with family with the expectation that we would someday take over the business. We had also just had our third child and he was only a few months old. But inwardly we were both searching for a more meaningful and fulfilling path, so despite these complications and the uncertainty of a weak economy, we decided to take the leap. We somehow managed to find a bank to give us a loan and we were off to the races! Now, fifteen years later, despite some difficulties along the way, we do not regret making that decision.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
A smooth road it was not. After making the decision to move forward the real work began, and failure was not an option! Running a karate school and teaching karate classes (to rooms full of kids!) is a whole different world from being karate students. Needless to say, it was a big and challenging transition. The students and families were very devoted to the Mattevi’s and were rightfully apprehensive about the new owners who were just barely first-degree black belts. So, with little experience or training, we plowed forward, determined to make it work. Looking back, our military backgrounds definitely helped with our comfort level as leaders and with maintaining the structure we had been given. Our teaching abilities improved and our martial arts abilities grew. We were given a lot of support from our family and from our karate families. Over time we became comfortable in our new career and felt like we were making a difference in our student’s lives in a very empowering way. Our older children were part of it all, teaching and training alongside us. Our youngest, now almost fifteen, still teaches for us and continues to train. The support of our martial arts community was a huge step in making it possible for us to succeed.
In 2019 we decided to open a second location in Duluth, and not long after that our most recent challenge, the COVID shutdowns, surprised us and threw us for a loop. As most people know, during hard times the fun things are the first to disappear from the budget, and in our case in particular, fun things involve close contact with others. For about a week in March of 2020 we had no idea what we were going to do, and it was scary. But after the initial shock and fear wore off a bit, we took action. We changed our business model to a fully online karate school and, Wow, wasn’t that an interesting learning curve again. We didn’t know how long we would have to teach that way, but many families expressed their appreciation for our efforts and for the sense of normalcy it provided for their children, and they continued to support us financially and in every way they could. This allowed us to hold on to enough students to survive and we were very grateful to make it to the other side. Many martial arts schools were not so fortunate.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
People may not know that karate is a very individual sport and a personal journey. Training is done with others, but the focus is on yourself and your own development. A focus on personal growth for our students and ourselves is very important to us. We are quite proud of the positive, supportive environment we have created. Friendships are developed over a long period of time and people are accepted for who they are. The structure is disciplined but loving and respectful. Karate is enjoyable and beneficial for all ages, and we teach kids starting at four years old as well as adults. We have managed to build a successful and stable business almost entirely on word-of-mouth and recommendations from current families, and this reputation in our community is something we are very proud of.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Neither of us ever expected to do what we are doing now. When we first moved to America and were working in insurance, we both knew that it wasn’t the right place for us. Figuring this out for ourselves happened to coincide with our previous instructors looking to move in a different direction as well. The timing of this was extremely lucky, although not the only contributing factor. We feel lucky every day that we get to do something we love as a career. Our family and the community that surrounds us, our students and their families, as well as our fellow martial arts friends have made it possible for us to grow and thrive as martial artists, teachers, business owners and as a family. We are so grateful for that.
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Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stonehousemartialarts.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StoneHouseMartialArts
