More Than a Dance Studio
For eight years, I stared out the windows of my previous studio space at an empty piece of land across the street. I saw something there. Like I could actually see it in my mind’s eye.
Sometimes, I would walk around that land and pray about what I saw. I would draw it. I would dream about it.
What I visualized on that land was something much MORE than a dance studio. I saw an asset for our local families and the larger dance community. I saw a vision for Misty’s Dance Unlimited to become a gathering place—a learning hub, an international training facility—for anyone, any age, dancer or not. I saw a way for our impact to grow beyond anything I could do alone.
When I started talking about what I saw, I was told it would be foolish to build again at this point in my career. I heard, “You have a successful business, why not just ride it out?”
I was told it would be too much, that it couldn’t be done. In all candor, sometimes I said it to myself. There were times, even once my vision for that land was underway and construction on our new facility had started, that I wondered if it was the right thing to do. These were the voices of fear and doubt.
The last three years—the years of building and reopening and growing—have been a constant work in progress to lower the volume of those voices and lean into the still, small voice of God saying, “Keep going.”
I realized that there comes a time in one’s career as an entrepreneur where your vision trumps any naysayers or discouragement or self-doubt. It becomes true that what you believe in is SO strong that you can’t NOT follow your dream. When you see the vision, rally the crowd, and do the work, it’s like a compulsion …. you MUST follow through.
I understand this even more deeply now, as we wrap up 2019 and prepare to enter a new decade.
In the past six months alone, I’ve seen our facility filled with resources to strengthen our community, the dance industry, and the arts. I’ve seen our space wall-to-wall with parents learning how to manage their children’s anxiety from a Mayo Clinic expert, free of charge. I’ve seen it packed with dance students from all over Wisconsin, participating in the 3-D Dance Convention and leveling up their education. I’ve seen it bustling with other studio owners, teachers, and managers who are learning from More Than Just Great Dancing®. I’ve seen it lit up with the amazing artwork of local elementary students, as we showcase their talent on our gallery wall for all to see and celebrate.
The vision I first had all those years ago has become more than I could have imagined.
I am so full of gratitude for all who believed.
I am so grateful for faith in a God who is bigger than my fears.
More Than Just Great Dancing® isn’t just our tagline … it’s our purpose. And it is my prayer that we can continue to serve the community with opportunity, potential, and grace: all the ingredients of a dance studio and MORE.
I wish you a joyous holiday season, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! I hope that whatever YOUR vision is for 2020, that you go after it headstrong and with a full heart.
Love, Misty
