No Money, No Mission

Practical ways to approach profit

What motivated you to open a dance studio? On your website, or in your business plan, you likely have your mission statement. That’s your ‘why’. And it is the greatest motivation of your studio owner journey. But, purpose isn’t enough if you don’t have a profitable business model.

Because the big picture can be overwhelming, many studio owners ignore their financials and simply focus all of their energy on gaining more students, thinking that growing the size of their studio is the solution. But there are other ways to fund the mission.

For example, let’s say you plan to move into a larger space and your rent will increase by $1500 per month. Before you raise your tuition consider the following:

Sell more. $1500 per month is $18,000 per year. You currently have 150 students. If you divide the $18,000 by your current number of students, it’s $120 per student, per year, or $10 per student, per month. What can you sell to your current students to meet that need?

Sell new. What kind of new workshops, dancewear, programs, or events can you sell to cover that cost?

Save more. Consider your expenses, utilities, subscriptions, and the like. Is there anywhere that you can cut costs? Be proactive. Call your providers, switch plans, look for discounts.

There is nothing to say that you can’t implement all of these strategies at once, or several combinations of others; Be creative! After all, that’s not a challenge for you! But, whatever you do, do it with a good plan. And remember, a good plan always includes knowing your numbers.