Managing your Dance Studio - 5 Simple Steps

Art is a form of expression and administration is a science. Run a dance studio and you need to do both at once (the double trouble scenario) and you’ll start losing sleep, hair and your sanity. And if you own the studio space, you have no choice but to wear all the hats yourself.Additionally, if you are a control freak, like myself, you would lean towards DIY options rather than hiring a third party to handle management. That’s where planning comes in. An action plan not only cuts the effort you’re putting in, it’ll also help managing your resources and finances more efficiently.We’ve put together a step by step checklist to function gracefully(like your dancing) 💃

Start with your space.

Dance studio by day, performing arts venue by night. List your space on a directory, you will be surprised at how much people are willing to invest for an hour at a professional studio. Utilize it to its maximum capacity and rent it out when you’re not using it. This will make for a hefty sum of side income which can then be focused to maintaining your space.

Fix a schedule for you, and for others.

Start scheduling events for your studio. Don’t limit scheduling to your own classes, feel free to fix slots for renting your space to other people. This way you’re not compromising on your time and space, you’re in control, and there is no chance for confusion or mix ups. Scheduling gives you a clear picture of what your day, month or week looks like and that is never a bad idea.

Keep your staff updated.

If you have a full fledged performing arts studio, there is a fat chance you have other people teaching classes for you. Keeping your teachers in the dark will compromise on efficiency, hence hampering your plan of action. Keep them updated on what’s when, and who will be attending. With your teachers in the loop, consider half the job done! Consider sending out reminders on the day of the event, this helps in minimizing absenteeism.

Your students are the building block.

The lack of proper student management can put your academy in harm's way. Absence is a major issue for most performing arts classes, have your students motivated to attend at all times.You know you want your attendees to actually take back something useful from your sessions, and how is that going to happen without them actually showing up? Send out event reminders, give them performance reports. Also try your best to keep them engaged, this will help your academy to stand out from the crowd.Also make sure you’re marking attendance to determine how individual sessions are performing, with the crowd, so you know what needs to stay and what can go.

Keep track of the kaching. 💸💸

Avoid maintaining verbal communication in terms of invoicing. Money matters are best maintained digitally. Fix your base rate and build (taxes) or cut (discounts) on it. Having an invoicing system will save you from the cumbersome calculations and fatal errors.TL;DR✔️ Start with your space.✔️ Fix a schedule for you, and for others.✔️ Keep your staff updated.✔️ Your students are the building block.✔️ Keep track of the kaching.All in all, the key is to find the perfect balance and create a synergy with the tutors and attendees. It all comes from being hands on and involved in the performance of your studio and before you know it, it might just snowball into a magnanimous institution.Here at Classcard, we’re trying to bundle a fully functional administration team into one awesome software. Scheduling and marking attendance for events is super easy, running parallel to a total database of the staff, clients and the subjects you offer. We also generate your bills and do the dirty work for you by sending out gentle reminders for overdue invoices.Additionally, you can upload your pool of teaching tools to the resources section and the lead management module helps you avoid leads from slipping through the cracks, while generating overall performance reports on the side.Sign up for free, at www.classcardapp.com and download the app for total remote access.