Be Inspired

Reconstruct Your Studio Time

As the business owner, you naturally get pulled in many directions when you are at the studio. Trying to get proactive work done in a reactive environment can feel impossible. Sometimes it can feel like the hours of day disappear right before your eyes!

Is it possible to take control of your time and still feel productive at the studio? Yes! But it requires planning for specific time intervals with specific objectives.

Here’s how to get more strategic about your studio presence:

20-minute solutions

• One-on-one teacher check-ins. Use these planned yet informal conversations to personally catch up with your staff and ask how things are going. Unlike a performance review, this casual meeting focuses on their goals and dreams—and how working at the studio will help their achievement.
• “Dance Pathways” meetings. Different from a standard parent/student conference, a Dance Pathways meeting is a mentorship session for discussing dance goals and opportunities. It’s also a chance to plant seeds about class progress and placement.

30-minute solutions

• “Meet the Owner” events. Once a month (or every other month) set up a coffee station in the lobby and invite parents to sit in on a Q&A with you. Prepare to share things like how the studio was founded, your vision for the future, and alumni happenings.
• Lobby loops. Walking the lobby offers you the chance to hear the hallway buzz while peeking into classes and offering encouragement to the dancers. These are short bursts of time where you can immerse yourself in the daily experiences of clients.

40-minute solutions

• Teacher training sessions. In just one or two short sessions a month, highlight a key dance class concept or classroom management strategy to boost your teachers’ confidence. Remind them that you have been in their shoes!
• Class visits. Rotate in to observe classes periodically, and take notes on the teachers’ performance as well as the students’ engagement and behavior. Use what you learn to share feedback with your team (and prepare for those teacher training sessions!).