Five Steps to Opening Your Own Dance Studio

Opening your own dance studio is an exciting process, but there are certain steps that need to take place to insure success. Sharing your love of dance will take you a long way, but a dance studio is a business, and like any other business, you will need to plan and design diligently, get the word out, and keep things running smoothly once you have opened the doors and are living your dream. The following steps will help you strategize your way to a profitable new dance business venture:

1. Prepare your plan. First, you will need to pick the right location. Naturally, you will want to find a place that is in the commercial center of town, with ample parking. If your studio is located on a busy street in the center of town, you can capitalize on foot traffic, because people will see it when they walk or drive by, especially if you have an eye-catching sign and a nice-looking studio. Consider how much space you will need for dancing, and make sure your studio has good natural light, a restroom, and enough space to create a dressing room and waiting area.

Decide what type of classes you will want to offer, to which age group(s), and how often, which will help you begin to sketch out a class schedule. Another option is a dance studio franchise, because they can save lots of time and energy by offering their valuable expertise in choosing a location, marketing, and name brand recognition. TiMi Studio Group

2. Design your studio. What sort of look and feel do you want for the dance studio? If you have decided to specialize in teaching ballet classes to young girls, you might paint the studio in feminine pastel colors that young girls adore, like pink or lilac, and decorate with murals, ballet costumes, or inspiring, beautiful dance posters. Whatever your theme, the end goal is to make the studio a place where people will feel comfortable and want to return over and over.

The physical layout of the studio is also important. Most studios have a reception area, where students check in and pay for classes, a changing area, a restroom, and a waiting area for friends and family members to sit and watch class, if they desire. Many studio owners create an area for a boutique that sells dance apparel, dance videos and music, dance equipment and supplies, and dance-related gift items.

A well-planned dance studio requires the proper dance equipment, such as sprung wood flooring, mirrors, and a sound system. If the studio is not already fitted with a dance floor, you will want a spring wood floor. This is a special type of floor that has cushioning to protect dancer’s joints, and can be purchased as a kit or professionally installed. Most studios also have floor to ceiling mirrors installed along the front wall of the studio. If you need ballet barres, you can either attach them to the walls or purchase freestanding ballet barres. Your sound system needs to have enough power to fill the space. It should also have a port for instructors to hook in mp3 players or computers that contain playlists for class.

3. Marketing and promotion. Getting the word out is a vital part of getting students. You will need an appealing logo to put on all of your print marketing materials, including business cards, letterhead, brochures and flyers. Be sure to offer new student incentives on all of your marketing materials. New students are much more likely to come to your studio if you offer the first class for free, or give them special discounts.

Be sure to promote online, too. Your studio should definitely have a website with class schedules, pricing, your bio and photos. Consider listing your business with local business directories, schools, and in dance-related directories.