Thread: Attention Studio Owners!

I am looking into opening a belly dance, well a creative arts studio. It woulnt just be belly dance. I was just wondering how many studio owners are here at the bhuz and how are things going with your studios. Do you have a lot of interest,business etc. ARe you making a profit. This wouldnt be happening for a few years and it would be in the upstate NY area. Any ideas, suggestions. This has been my dream and I really want to see it though. I am tired of giving up so easily on things. I want to see it though from infancy to maturity. Anything would help.

I'm doing it -- www.lotus-arts.net

I've only been open for 6 months, though, so it's too early to tell whether it'll be profitable or successful!

I'm doing it. Been open 3 years. All my classes have been sold out with a waitling list for the last 3 years. It's been bliss!

Nilaja

Are you located in very large communities. Do you offer anything else besides belly dance and how was it getting started. I went to a start your own business course last night and it was very informative. It was at a womens business center. I just like to hear how other people in this field are doing and how they got there. Did you just start teaching classes locally and then take those people with you once you built up enough clientele? How did you market your business to get your classes sold out Theesfield. Thank you. I think we need more creative or alternative dance studios so that people can appreciate belly dance and so many others that are not given enough credit.

Mine is in a small city (about 40,000 people, but I draw from several other small cities and towns in the area). I offer belly dance, yoga, swing dance, and tai chi. I'd love to offer African dance, Flamenco, Bollywood, etc. but haven't found instructors yet.

I taught classes locally for about 6 years first and yes, I brought that student base with me. I was already teaching about 9 weekly classes (belly dance and yoga) before I moved into the studio.

I only offer Bellydance classes and bellydance workshops in my Studio. My studio is located in a small community about 1 hour outside Chicago. I was teaching locally before my studio opened, but I can't say that those students followed me to my studio. I used the 4th of July parades in the community to generate more interest than I can handle. The local paper has written about my classes, I am active in the communtity and volunteer at the schools my children go to. For the last 3 years, the school has put on a International Dinner, I have been teaching the 2nd and 5th graders a bellydance choreography. It's 2 months of my time, but I get free advertisment in the programs and we've sold over 800 seats each show. Also, word of mouth has been a blessing. I have taught over 900 dancers in my teaching area thus far.

I should mention that I have no overhead in my studio. I own it forthright. However, if I would have to pay a rent or mortgage on it, I could manage with the income the studio and bellydance accessories that I sell out of the studio, generate.

Best of luck to you and congratulations on following your dream!
Nilaja

That is really great and really exciting for you. I am glad to hear that things are going well for you with you studio. Great ideas for advertising.

Id definitly start teaching locally so you can move your students with you, then with the revenue they bring in, you can at least pay your bills, if you dont make a profit.

Where are all the rest of you studio owners. I know there has to be more of you out there.

Originally Posted by sumayasaahir

Id definitly start teaching locally so you can move your students with you, then with the revenue they bring in, you can at least pay your bills, if you dont make a profit.

But in aiming to bring your students with you, please be ethical. Don't sacrifice your integrity (and I'm in no way implying that you would, just want to bring up important issues that sometimes people don't think about)- unfortunately I've seen that done a few times, causing some places to start to have non-compete clauses in their contracts.

A local ME studio started with much success. Here's how they did it: They got into the top local dance studio (a biggie, with big names)- a place with 5 locations through the city. The two of them started teaching ALL the beginner classes, *at least* a couple hundred students. *During* their classes they were *heavily* advertising the new place they were opening for at least two semesters. Then they held their grand opening *right in the middle of a semester*- and offered all their students from the original place free classes. Bam! Instant studio with lots of students that they got due to the success, hard work for years by other instructors building a respected program and advertising of the first place.... so, yes, you, too can open a successful ME dance studio before you have any performance experience and with less than two years training. However if you do it that way you might have a difficult time regaining the trust and respect of the local dance community in the know.
Another place- this time Pilates. The instructor told the owner she couldn't teach anymore because she just lived too far. She at least finished out the semester... but then opened her own studio less than 1 mile away, and, yes she had been advertising it heavily in her classes and she took the email list without permission. I think they lost about 2/3 of their pilates students.

It's not bad to share your enthusiasm for your new venture with students you are teaching. But there is a line that can be crossed- and it's important to respect the place where you ARE teaching and respect that THEY have done the advertising (as they were in the above cases).

Mmmm, ouch!

I brought my students with me from classes I was teaching at parks & rec and health clubs. BUT those students always came originally from my advertising, I personally built those classes from scratch, by myself.

AND I still teach for the other locations. I consider it 'outreach' and those students can come to my studio when they're ready for intermediate levels.

I also teach several yoga 'outreach' classes, but those students don't come from my advertising, they're health club members, etc. So I don't bring brochures or business cards to class or talk about what's available at my studio, unless a student asks me a specific question.

Lauren, you obviously manage your business in an ethical way. :) I just wanted to clarify what was OK and what was not.

that's what I was thinking. i would never go into studios, teach and then take those students. I was thinking say I taught at the local YMCA, or other recreation center that I advertised for. Like Lauren did. I dont plan to do this for a few years. Heck I havent even moved yet. I am just at the dreaming stage now. Who knows if there is even any interest there, but it is something that I have always wanted to do. We will see. I was just looking to other studio owners for advice on how they got there, how business is going? Things like that.

Originally Posted by SamiraShuruk

Lauren, you obviously manage your business in an ethical way. :) I just wanted to clarify what was OK and what was not.

..g.: Funny how often you find yourself feeling defensive on the 'net! ..l;,

From my inexperienced student point of view... wherever my teacher goes, I go, end of story. Ethical or not (for me, as the paying student), if I click with my teacher the way I do now, I dont feel the loyalty to the studio, but rather directly to my teacher. The point I want to make here is this: Advertising to the students or not, if they like their teacher and the teacher goes somewhere else, chances are, they'll follow and they'll find out on their own where she went!

I completely understand reputation is important (especially around here, it seems the bellydance world is very small and everybody knows everybody). But if you are a good teacher, you wont have to do sneaky advertisements. Your students will follow no matter what. Just the same, if you are unethical or unqualified, your students wont follow you, but your reputation will, and in the end it will bite you in the bum!

That's just a general rule of karma in my opinion!

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Mine is in a small city (about 40,000 people, but I draw from several other small cities and towns in the area). I offer belly dance, yoga, swing dance, and tai chi. I'd love to offer African dance, Flamenco, Bollywood, etc. but haven't found instructors yet.

I taught classes locally for about 6 years first and yes, I brought that student base with me. I was already teaching about 9 weekly classes (belly dance and yoga) before I moved into the studio.

Lauren, slightly OT, how do you handle insurance liability concerns? Do you have students sign a waiver when they register for classes and does that apply even to a single drop in class? I've seen these "hold harmeless" waivers mostly at gyms that rent out space to other instructors and I'm just curious; the yoga studio doesn't even take names and phone/emergency contact numbers "just in case", which always seemed a trifle odd to me.

Nisima, I do have them sign a waiver, though I've been told repeatedly that the waivers aren't much good in court.

I also carry liability insurance (though the insurance company just made it prohibitively expensive for me to cover part-timers, so now I may have to ask them to carry their own insurance).

And I do everything in my power to show 'due diligence' in keeping my students safe. I have CPR & first aid training, ACE certification, Yoga Alliance certification. I bought special flooring, designed for dance, that offers the right kind of traction and padding (I'm sure you'll appreciate that!).

Hmmm, reminds me, I need to get my part-time teachers CPR certified...

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Nisima, I do have them sign a waiver, though I've been told repeatedly that the waivers aren't much good in court.

I also carry liability insurance (though the insurance company just made it prohibitively expensive for me to cover part-timers, so now I may have to ask them to carry their own insurance).

And I do everything in my power to show 'due diligence' in keeping my students safe. I have CPR & first aid training, ACE certification, Yoga Alliance certification. I bought special flooring, designed for dance, that offers the right kind of traction and padding (I'm sure you'll appreciate that!).

Hmmm, reminds me, I need to get my part-time teachers CPR certified...

Lauren, you bet I appreciate the "flooring" you are describing, I'm now in my 5th week of ankle brace (although it's a lighter brace now) and I'm "afeared" of doing anything on a hard floor, anywhere! I'm thinking of renting studio space because a friend wants private veil instruction; another wants cane and my home studio at 400 sq. ft, just isn't big enough or ceiling high enough for either of those props (without taking out the ceiling lighting fixtures. Add to that my floor, while a comfy thickly padded oriental carpet, isn't a proper dance floor but good for video parties and that's why I'm asking questions. Even though waivers are not total protection, I think it is a good idea to have students sign them. I'm CPR/First aid certified because and will also carry the first aid kit that I have in dance bag (has come in very useful on troupe gigs - it's amazing how often bare feet get a splinter or bugle bead bead).
Okay, back to regular topic and thanks!

I just opened my studio in March. And while I know it will take a bit of time before I recoup my investment (the largest of which was installing a sprung dance floor) and begin seeing profits - I have at least made enough to pay all of my instructors and cover this month's overhead.

Touting ourselves as Alternative Dance & Exercise. Primarily bellydance (diff styles/traditions) but also Hawaiian/Polynesian, African Dance, Mat Pilates, Yoga, Hooping, Zumba, and more...
I've no doubt that (even in this sluggish economy) that will "make it", as I haven't even begun to market really. Just word of mouth so far.

Hey, Katina--I don't teach or run a studio, just wanted to say Welcome to Upstate (when you finally arrive)! It's always exciting when a new teacher comes to the area.

When I was a student, my instructor taught classes at a studio owned by a couple of performing modern and ballet dancers.

The whole premise of the studio, was to provide dance and exercise classes that were not the mainstream "tap, jazz, kids ballet".

They hired my instructor, who taught belly dancing, they had adult modern, ADULT ballet, a yoga instructor, a Pilates instructor, and African dance teacher, and they also had a teacher who taught children's creative movement.

I loved it...

There is another studio that I am familiar with, that also has teachers for Classical Indian dance, and poi classes.