Beat the Summer Cash Flow Blues

I am here to say offering a year-round dance season changed my studio (and my life). 

We all know the summer struggles of owning a dance studio: decreased monthly revenue, using recital profits to “float” through summer, and unexpected financial hardships leading to stress at the start of the new season. 

I want to let you in on a little something I call “the un-summer summer.” Here are six of my tried and true tips to beat the summer cash flow blues:

1. Recital Profit - Think Beyond Recital Tickets
   When you have audience members at your shows they want to buy things. Offer flowers, trophies, t-shirts, and concessions for them to buy during the performance or even send out a “buy by reply” email to order ahead of time.

2. New Season Registration - Be the First Activity on the Family Calendar
   Start your new season enrollment early while your dancers are still currently enrolled. We run our new season registration in April for classes that begin in July. Offer the best promotion on your registration day (ie “The Kitchen Sink”) and start generating a buzz 2-3 weeks prior.

3. Spring Sessions - Never Stop Taking Enrollment
   We don’t turn away business at any time of the year. Notice trends in your studio and add new classes to your schedule that run March - June. You can offer them a chance to participate in the recital by using in-stock costumes or have them wear their dress code with accessories.

4. Don’t Take a Traditional Summer - Offer a Year-Round Dance Season
   Your business cannot survive on revenue from summer dance camps alone! Parents actually prefer to register for the class, day, time, and teacher that they will have all season and pay $90 monthly dance class tuition versus $125 for one week of dance camp.

5. Additional Revenue Sources - Add to your Bottom Line
   By offering dress code and costumes I aim to make commissions that equates to one month of tuition revenue. Check out Revolution Dancewear for my recommended dress code.

6. Summer Camps and Intensives - Keep Hours Conservative and Pricing Competitive
   We run Summer Camps and Intensives in conjunction with our year-round season in June, July, and August. We max out our camps at between 2-3 hours per day and offer flexible times as well as weekly/daily rates.

Want to know more best business practices to help your studio stay cash positive in the summer? Join me for Spark Virtual January 13, 2024. 

Meet Tiffany Henderson 

Tiffany Henderson is an industry leader and dance business expert. Tiffany owns and operates multiple Tiffany's Dance Academy locations in Northern California. Her video-based teacher training system and curriculum, Twinkle Star Dance, is currently implemented in 300+ dance studios worldwide.

Recital on my Mind

Producing recitals is one of my favorite things to do as a studio owner. After all, dance is a performance art and getting dancers on stage is an opportunity for them to feel successful after working hard in class each week. 

Recitals are an important, tangible goal for dancers and teachers to work towards. This is why I am a big advocate for having multiple performance opportunities each season. When planning performances consider offering: 

• Dancing Holiday Magic - Nov/Dec

• The Nutcracker - Nov/Dec

• Performing Company Showcase - Feb 

• Spring Fling - March

• Storybook Twinkle Stars Showcase - May/June

• The Big Show - May/June

Recitals are also an important and crucial revenue stream for our businesses. In the last few years, we created a recital participation fee that is inclusive of the performance, costume, tights, action photos, video, and participation ribbon/medal. Recital tickets are purchased separately with reserved seating and tiered pricing. We also offer dance studio swag like tshirts, Twinkle Bears, trophies as well as concessions during the event. 

This season I’m challenging myself to really focus on engaging the “once a week dancer” with additional performance opportunities. I’m offering a Daddy Daughter Dance for dancers to perform with a father-figure. I’m creating a Mom’s Dance for mothers and caretakers to participate in. I’m inviting all dancers to participate in the Finale by learning a few eight counts of a “camp dance” they can perform together as a cast at the end of the show.

Free Webinar

On top of offering the Twinkle Stars and Showstars Curriculum and Choreography subscriptions, Tiffany strives to provide real-time business insights from her experience of owning and managing multiple dance studio locations. Each month she holds free webinars. Learn more: https://www.twinklestardance.com/webinars

Meet Tiffany Henderson 

Tiffany Henderson is an industry leader and dance business expert. Tiffany owns and operates multiple Tiffany's Dance Academy locations in Northern California. Her video-based teacher training system and curriculum, Twinkle Star Dance, is currently implemented in 300+ dance studios worldwide.

Festive Fun in Your Studio

‘Tis the season for adding extra Holiday Events in your studio. Hosting a Holiday Mini Camp or Nutcracker Tea Party markets your dance classes, increases revenue in short/slow months,  fosters community and customer loyalty, as well as shares the magic of the Holiday season.  

Some Holiday Events to consider hosting: Spooktacular in October, Nutcracker Tea Party in November, plus Holiday Mini Camps in December and January. 

Don’t make it too hard to participate! Keep your Holiday Events open to current, past, and future students. You can charge a fee or make the event FREE if you bring a friend that’s not currently enrolled at the studio.  

Plan on marketing Holidays Events 2-3 weeks prior to your date with email and text message blasts to your mailing list, boosting a Facebook event, and studio announcements/newsletters.    

The day of the event, welcome dancers by decorating the studio in the theme, having music playing, and gifting goody bags. Be sure to offer a promotion for new students to try or register for a dance class. 

Free Webinar

On top of offering the Twinkle Stars and Showstars Curriculum and Choreography subscriptions, Tiffany strives to provide real-time business insights from her experience of owning and managing multiple dance studio locations. Each month she holds free webinars. Learn more: https://www.twinklestardance.com/webinars

Meet Tiffany Henderson 

Tiffany Henderson is an industry leader and dance business expert. Tiffany owns and operates multiple Tiffany's Dance Academy locations in Northern California. Her video-based teacher training system and curriculum, Twinkle Star Dance, is currently implemented in 300+ dance studios worldwide.

Teaching Holiday Recital Dances

Recitals are an important tangible goal for our dancers. They are also crucial to our business success. 

This week, we are busy preparing for our upcoming Dancin’ Holiday Magic and Nutcracker shows. I make it my goal to get as many of my dancers to participate in two shows per season - holiday show and spring recital. 

Here are some teaching tips to prepare your preschool and school-aged dancers for the stage: 

Spatial awareness is as important as teaching the steps in the recital dance and will continue to be crucial in their dance training as they grow up. I recommend using the following:

• Single line marley tape in the studio

• Glow tape line onstage

• Have dancers hold hands and pull apart until their arms are extended

• Imagine a “Pretend dancer” in between each “real dancer”

• Dancers practice in the same space each week in class

• Practice entering and exiting stage in class

Sing the song with them with arms while seated before you stand up to teach the dance. Sometimes when they are standing and facing the mirror they become distracted and miss the choreography. They can only learn if they are focused. When standing they are also thinking about what their feet are doing. Learning the words with arms first is best.

When teaching them, talk through the dance until you see their attention start to fade. At that point do the dance with the music and continue past the section that you taught them. They should be able to follow along with you and do that dance. 

They will give half of what you give them. When you teach babies you have to give 200% energy and enthusiasm for the movement as well as exaggerate your arms and steps.

Only work on the recital dance for 10 minutes max in each class. This should be a part of what they are learning and running the dance 2-3 times in each class will keep them excited and eager to come back to class the next week. 

Free Webinar

On top of offering the Twinkle Stars and Showstars Curriculum and Choreography subscriptions, Tiffany strives to provide real-time business insights from her experience of owning and managing multiple dance studio locations. Each month she holds free webinars. Learn more: https://www.twinklestardance.com/webinars

Meet Tiffany Henderson 

Tiffany Henderson is an industry leader and dance business expert. Tiffany owns and operates multiple Tiffany's Dance Academy locations in Northern California. Her video-based teacher training system and curriculum, Twinkle Star Dance, is currently implemented in 300+ dance studios worldwide.

Adding Magic to Preschool Dance Classes

Bring a fresh, exciting look to your preschool and school-aged dance classes in the New Year! Curated class materials like Passports and Dance Journals as well as the Adventures of Twinkle Bear Book Series increase student enrollment, engagement, and retention. 

PASSPORTS AND DANCE JOURNALS 

Add fun to your classes each month and track dancer progress with the Twinkle Stars Passport Books and Showstars Dance Journals! The Passports and Dance Journals are used with the Twinkle Stars and Showstars curriculum as your guide. We provide an outline each month for each age level and class. Coordinating stickers accompany each Passport and Dance Journal.

Passports and Dance Journals help preschool and school-aged dance teachers organize lesson plans with a focus on specific Skill Building each month. Center Movements keep the class fresh and introduce dancers to new and challenging material throughout the year. The Just For Fun section provides videos that follow the holidays and seasons.

The Passport and Dance Journal also serves as a monthly scrapbook for the dancers, with a place for a photo or writing prompt. Concluding with a Certificate of Completion for the class The Twinkle Star Dance Passports and Dance Journals are the perfect companion to your Twinkle Star Dance classes.

ADVENTURES OF TWINKLE BEAR BOOK SERIES 

The Adventures of Twinkle Bear Book Series are dance-along adventures that introduce monthly themes and narratives into your Twinkle Stars dance class. 

Instructor books are printed on high quality, thick, 11 x 17 paper. They are colorful and delightful! There are 4-6 dance exercises in each of the books and they come with an audio version too that is perfect to use in your dance class. Purchase individually or purchase the entire series. Series includes:

• Twinkle Bear Goes to Ballet

• Twinkle Bear Goes to Tap Class

• Adventures of Twinkle Bear: Twinkle Bear Goes on a Picnic

• Adventures of Twinkle Bear: Twinkle Bear Hosts a Tea Party

• Adventures of Twinkle Bear: Twinkle Bear Goes to the Zoo

• Adventures of Twinkle Bear: Share the Love

• Adventures of Twinkle Bear: Pumpkin Party

• Adventures of Twinkle Bear: Nutcracker

Learn more about Twinkle Star Dance and our live teacher certifications: https://www.twinklestardance.com/how-it-works

Free Webinar

On top of offering the Twinkle Stars and Showstars Curriculum and Choreography subscriptions, Tiffany strives to provide real-time business insights from her experience of owning and managing multiple dance studio locations. Each month she holds free webinars. Learn more: https://www.twinklestardance.com/webinars

Meet Tiffany Henderson 

Tiffany Henderson is an industry leader and dance business expert. Tiffany owns and operates multiple Tiffany's Dance Academy locations in Northern California. Her video-based teacher training system and curriculum, Twinkle Star Dance, is currently implemented in 300+ dance studios worldwide.