How to create your dance studio’s plan

Your dance studio’s plan will be your guiding vision over the coming years. A good way to start is by thinking about the following ideas:

•  Your goals for the studio a year ahead
•  Your mission and vision statements
•  The actions you’ll need to take
•  The people you’ll need to make it happen

Beyond the logistics of your plan, there are some more overarching ideas you’ll want to keep in mind. Thinking about what you want to be known for, why you’re opening a studio, and your purpose will help you make the right decisions as you develop.

For example, you might be opening your studio to:

•  Spread the joy of dance to all ages
•  Train students to excel with an art form
•  Use dance as a form of exercise

Now, these aren’t mutually exclusive. But having an idea of what your studio stands for will help you with the more day-in, day-out decisions of running it.

How to program your dance studio’s classes

There are many goals that you can have as a dance studio. Ideally, your programming should help you get closer to each of those goals.

For example, if part of your studio’s plan is to grow, you can focus your programming on:

•  Increased student enrollment - You can try this by offering more Open Houses, partnering with local schools to offer programming, or offering discounted workshops
•  Increasing word-of-mouth - You might achieve this with programming where students can bring friends for free or have more regular showcases
•  Improve customer loyalty - With programming that’s only accessible to members or opportunities that are unlocked from regular attendance, you can reward those most active students

If your focus is more on offering the highest quality dance education in you area, you might instead choose to focus your programming in one of these ways:

•  Student development - Offering beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes would show you are interested in working with students for an extended period of time
•  Workshop intensives - Paying attention to the local school holidays allows you to plan week-long intensives, giving students a concentrate time to level up their skills
•  Varied programming - This is a chance to show your commitment to new styles. Bringing in guest teachers who are trained in these areas can be a way to enhance your programming, while also letting you focus on other areas of your studio’s development.

By putting together your plan and committing to regular programming, we have no doubt your new dance studio will soon be a success!

If you have any questions about either area, don’t hesitate to reach out to our Little Groovers Team  - we’re always happy to share our experience!