What you do right now will decide how you start off next season. I know we have competition season in full swing, recitals and showcases just around the corner. We're enrolling for summer in camps that we have to fill, and we have a list of things that need to get done. So it can be easy for us to set ...

I had a discussion with Casey Royer from DSO Connect this week about how important it is to find your tribe. Trying to do it all alone can make you feel lonely, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Collaboration over Competition Casey is working hard through her podcast and DSO Connect ...

As a studio owner, the list of things to get done can be totally overwhelming. Then add the roles of mother, wife, caregiver, etc. and the weight of all the responsibilities can really feel like a ton of bricks. Below I share the planning system that I use to take back control of my life by taking control ...

Spring may seem like a challenging time to add new students to your business but, if we're being really honest, most of us wouldn't mind adding another $7,500 or more in revenue this time of year. We all have so many expenses this time of year that a cash injection would make it so much easier for ...

How do you get it all done? You have multiple businesses.You have a family.You have young kids.You have lots of things going on.How do you get it all done?
As studio owners or educators here in our industry, we have a lot on our plate. Our to-do list is neverending...

Sometimes we can feel like our gas tank is empty. Summer is a great time to reignite and reenergize your passion. Steve Siricio, who produces the Dance Teacher Web Conference every summer, and I had a great conversation about things you can do to bring your love back into your work with new ...

I joined a high level coaching program because I knew I was ready for the next level and I needed the path to get there. Every successful person has a team to help them succeed and push them up the ladder. I chose my coach for a few things. First, her systems and strategies were exactly what I needed ...

How frustrating! Another person came in for a tour, loved it, and did not sign up for a class. You might be thinking what am I doing wrong? One of the things that might have caused this is you weren’t speaking to the way that person buys. There are three distinctive types of buyers and you need to align with ...

One of the first questions I get asked is “What do you mean by mobile program? What is that?” This is when you offer classes but don’t want to do this inside a studio space. This includes preschools, daycares, after school programs, retirement communities. This business model pertains to taking your ...

We have all been there. The parent signs their child up for dance class and then the child will not come into the room - or the parent comes in with them. We often chalk it up to separation anxiety or helicopter parenting. My friend, Jessica Strong, and I had a great conversation around these topics.

We rely increasingly on text and email to communicate. Through these measures it’s hard to know the tone. But it’s easy for us to react without being objective. Knowing this, we need to make sure our message comes through with the right tones. Today I’m sharing with you Five Tips To Help You Have More..

Social proof is important. Part of our everyday life is going to Google or Yelp and finding out if we want to check out that new restaurant, new store, or studio for our kiddos. 

It feels so awkward asking for reviews. Sometimes you’ve asked before and no one responded. Let’s talk about the why...

When boundaries are crossed, we are often quick to react defensively and we point fingers. We jump into the blame game. Blaming doesn’t fix the situation. It leads to resentment and anger that sabotages your business.
It’s time to stop the cycle of the blame game..

You have a lot on your plate and it’s easy to feel stuck when a mistake happens or you’re feeling overwhelmed. As a dance studio owner, you help your students move past their mistakes in their lessons, but often we forget to apply those same concepts to how we run our business and how we correct ourself ...

There’s a shift happening. You've been working so hard over the past 22 months. You learned all the things. You taught those things to your students and parents. You took your ENTIRE business online in the span of a week. You went back and forth between online, hybrid, and in-person ...

Let’s dive right into the 7 Things Successful Dance Studio Owners Do to set themselves up for a good day, month, and year.

Give Yourself Office Hours

Set aside office hours and protect them as your time. Do not let anyone or anything invade this set time...

Studio owners often feel they aren’t being seen. They see other studios around them getting more visibility - and students - than them.  It is often very disappointing.
As Joie Gharrity often says, There’s plenty of spotlight to go around.

There are many goals you can have going into 2022. It’s crucial, though, to get clear on two main things: (1) your overall strategy to achieve that goal and (2) the tactics you’ll use to support that strategy....

Does looking at your dance studio bank account make you want to cry? I’ve been there! If you’re trying to add more students or more programs but not seeing the results, it’s time to do something different.

Personal taxes can be complicated. Business taxes can be even more difficult. If you own a small business, tax time can be challenging. The livelihood of any company is at least partially dependent on its ability to minimize its tax liability, while meeting the requirements of the IRS....

When you ask some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world the secret ingredient to success, many state it was the habits or rituals they created for themselves...

The New Year is the perfect time to start fresh. If there's any aspect of your life that you'd like to improve, set some clear and attainable goals for yourself that will help you get there...

Whether you realize it or not, every day brings you closer to your goals and dreams. You may feel like you have a long way to go, but you're closer than you think. Avoid giving up or getting...

Much like any great movie, music plays a vital role in your pursuit of success. When you set a goal for yourself, music can help you achieve it. Whether you listen while you work...

Do you find yourself struggling to achieve your goals? Perhaps your difficulties lie in the way you're setting your goals in the first place. Rather than setting yourself up for success, you may be setting yourself up for failure in your first step!

Everyone wants to have a beach body, but no one wants to diet or workout. Being successful isn’t automatic. It requires concentrated effort and action.  Many of us have a series of excuses that we can pull out of a hat at a moment's notice....

What is your version of personal success? Some may define success as having a lot of money, others feel successful if they are loved by many. Others define success as being healthy and giving back to the community, while other...

Have you ever wondered why Starbucks can charge up to $5 (or more, depending on the size) for a coffee drink?  You might say they’re charging for the convenience, or for the quality, or for the experience (when we were allowed to sit with ....

As a dance studio owner, you probably are familiar with the concept of enrolling students into classes instead of selling them classes. It’s a subtle, yet powerful, mindset shift.  It’s just as powerful — or even more so — when you apply the concept to yourself...

This question of whether the stories we tell ourselves about money are true or false is a tricky one. It all depends on what stories are in your narrative.   We dance studio owners — like every other business owner, and every other person on the planet...

Money. We need to talk about it. We need to have systems in place to joyfully manage it. Because managing your dance studio money will lead you to have more of it.  I know what you’re thinking … We dance studio owners are creatives. We’re not the numbers type. 

If this pandemic has taught us anything as studio owners, it’s that multiple revenue streams are essential.  When something happens to shut down one thing that makes us money (in-person, in-studio classes, for example), we need other thing ...

This global situation with COVID-19 has taught us all, studio owners and everyone else, some important lessons about ourselves.  It’s given us the opportunity to see what was working in our studios … and what wasn’t.  What was important in our...

It’s been said that “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” I believe something similar is true when it comes to making decisions about your dance studio … When the questions are asked, the direction becomes clear. ...

As we start to reopen from COVID-19, studio owners need their community of support more than ever before. How and when we reopen our studios may be an individual decision, and yet it helps knowing others are in our...

Parents celebrate a baby’s single first step. Some people celebrate 10,000 steps walked in a single day. Marathoners celebrate completing 26.2 miles (by the way, that’s anywhere from 55,000 to 63,000 ...

What do you stand for? What do you believe in? What are your non-negotiables?   Knowing your values — and communicating them to your team — simplifies the decision-making process in your business. It makes it easier for you to make ...

Do you dream of a bustling studio, full classes, perhaps even a waiting list of students eager to sign up for your programs?  Are you ready for the satisfaction and FREEDOM of having a life and a business you love? What if I told you that you could have all of ...

“We are not in the coffee business serving people, but in the people business serving coffee.” — Howard Schultz, Founder and CEO of Starbucks.  We dance studios, too, are in the people business. Instead of serving coffee, however, we deliver....

Making people happy sounds like a good thing, and it is. But sometimes what makes someone happy isn’t really the best thing for them.  Imagine a parent whose only goal is pleasing their child … Cookies for breakfast? Sure! ...

If you’re like most entrepreneurs I know, you’re strong. You take care of business. You get things done. You rise to the challenge that a crisis presents. You’re there to lead and support your team, your students...

What you do to keep your studio’s business going amid a situation like we’re currently experiencing is crisis management … creative “making do” until things go back to normal.    Students IN our studios and classes...