With there being so many "Help me open a studio" Posts on here, I thought it would be awesome if we could all pitch in and just offer advice in one big thread, and then refer people to it when they ask!

So Here's my (start of) a checklist

~Insurance
(Need this because of injuries. It will help you out majorly)

~Space to do it in

~Great advertising technique
(check out vistaprint.com)

~ Mirrors, Floor, Barres



Anyone have anything they would like to add, or any advice?

Number one: MONEY! And lots of it.

Also business sense. Take a business class or two, or three, or four! After all it is a business you're trying to run.

Ample parking for your clients.

tutuforu wrote:

Ample parking for your clients.

that is so hard to find!

A NICE LAWYER. You may need their advice several times in the beginning; from reviewing and signing your lease to difficult customers.

A large stockpile of cleanning supplies
A million Sticky notes
A decent computer
a backup stereo or sound system (incase something happens unexpectedly to your usual system)
An effective website

business cards

brochures

a logo

staff

not too big of a waiting room-you don't want to entice people to stay! lol

a big sign for your building

policies from the get-go
-dress code
-tuition policies
-attendence
-discipline structure

Studio logo and solidify image to public.

Land line or cell phone for the studio line?

Studio email? Will it be connected to the website?

Small stock of tights, shoes, shoelaces, last minute things your students might need.

Communication system between SO, students, and parents. (Ex: crate with hanging folders for each family to place newsletter and drop off payments.)

Contact with each local media outlet (newspaper, tv, radio) for quick contact, advertising, and freebies. Treat these contacts very well and you will reap the benefits of freebies!

Chamber membership? Weigh the benefits with the cost. What will you get out of it? Does that even matter? Will they pass along community contacts?

Involvement in local organizations?

Get listed in the yellow and white pages ASAP. Ask for a confirmation call before the book is printed. This might help prevent a typo.

List your studio in any and all online directories. Start with Yahoo! Local and go from there. A studio MySpace is popular, too. People are gong online to find you these days.

Keep an "in case I die" folder with all important papers and class details. If something happens and you're temporarily unavailable, or God forbid death, there needs to be a plan in place for someone to step in. Keep it updated regularly. What would someone need to keep things running until summer break when there can be a full assessment made?

Organize storage space to work efficiently. This is will change over time, but you always need easy access to storage. Don't let yourself get cluttered from day one.

Stock your desk with office supplies, sewing kit, bottled water and snacks, and spare clothes for yourself.

If you have a computer in the office, keep a password protected screensaver that pops on quickly.

Keep costume catalogs out of sight from parents.

Keep hard copies of all important information in a locked filing cabinet.

Buy TP in bulk.

A subscription to a dance magazine or two for the lobby is nice for waiting parents.

Bulletin/dry erase boards for the office and lobby.

Spend time thinking about paint choices for your studio. You don't want to be too girly, ovestimulating, boring, etc. Keep within your image.

A small stack of studio logo t-shirts for students to purchase is a great little money maker and great advertising when your students wear them around town.

Contact all of the schools in your area and see which ones will do handouts for you. Make the effort to get numbers of students and bring enough handouts.

oh SimonSaysClog you are too good! Maybe you need to write a book and sell it! Great Post!

The one thing I did when I opened my studio was adervtise a free gift at the open house when you registered for classes. I gave everyone a free t-shirt with my logo on it. Let me tell you, everyone is all about a free shirt, and even though it cost some money (almost $400.00) it was well worth it. I had around 65 kids running around with my logo on their chest.

good luck to you!

Don't sell yourself, your talent, your time or your business short.

Charge what you need to charge in order to stay in business and make money (but know you probably won't make (much) money in the beginning.

Have money saved before you open to be used to pay your mortgage, rent, bills. Make sure you are fully insured. Sometimes you have to insure your landlord to protect him. Your landlord will either require or not require this and will tell you or it will be in your lease. READ YOUR LEASE before signing. Have a lawyer read it, too, don't just sign.

Take business classes.

Know what your school's philosophy is, have a mission statement. Stick with it. Follow your own rules.

Don't be afraid to send someone to another studio if you feel that person/mom/dad/family is causing drama, trouble, badmouthing you, etc. It's like poison and it spreads. There is the "eternal wait list", too.

Have a receptionist or office manager.

Don't make your waiting area so nice and comfortable that people want to stay. Gossip is like cancer to a dance studio.

Forget 1 way mirrors and get a closed circuit TV and don't put the sound on.

Don't be a baby sitting service. Many will pick up late or drop their kids off really early, too. Charge for that time, you determine how late is too late. Ask the parent not to drop their kid off an hour early, that you can't be responsible for them.

Under NO circumstances give your SSN or your business ID # to a parent who says they need it for taxes. You are not a childcare agency, a babysitter, or a pre-school or daycare. They can't claim you as such and will say their accountant said they could. They can't. You are a dance studio and if they do claim you and the IRS does an audit then YOU could be in trouble for misrepresenting yourself.

Don't get too close to your students or parents. We may care but remember, it's a business. There is no such thing as loyalty from customers anymore, loyalty has its limits in other words.

Keep taking classes, attend conventions and keep yourself current dance education wise.

Don't hire anyone under 18 to teach. If you have a male teacher make sure that monitor is always on and in fact, you can record each class. Have in your brochure that you do hands-on corrections and if they don't want that make them sign that they don't. There are people who accuse male teachers of inappropriate behavior/touching when nothing happened. There are also a few times that something has happened, better to be protected by that monitor on.

Make parents sign off for costumes, that they approve the measurements and size ordered. Some will insist you order a smaller size. Always measure with room to grow and girth measurement is most important. Be sure to include return or stocking fees in your costume fee notice so they no that they will have to pay the company these fees if a costume is returned. That can be part of the form they sign off on.

Wait to have a dance team, if you decide you want one. Get experience first.

Sometimes the younger students wet their pants and all of a sudden you have to clean and disinfect and keep the class going. Be prepared!

Make sure all your cleaning supplies are out of reach of the younger students.

Get involved with your community. Get known.

Know your community, the demographics. Don't be too close to another studio. Know the other studios in your area, too, but never badmouth another studio publicly.

Make sure you stay on time with deadlines - tuition in on time or there's a late fee (and charge it!); get your costume measuring/ordering done so there's no or limited anxiety as the show date gets closer;

Have reserved seating at your show, it encourages people to buy tickets early. Check around this spring and see what studios charge for tickets, don't make yours the cheapest. (Don't make your tuition the cheapest, too.) The expenses of the show are not covered by tuition, remember that. Some charge a performing fee and include or don't include a certain number of tickets. Some charge that fee and have tickets free. Also, it's widely known there is a 100% markup in retail clothing and you SHOULD make money on your costumes. It's extremely time consuming and a lot of work!

People value what they pay for more than what they don't pay for. If you want to "help" someone, they can do work/study work for you in exchange for classes.

You are entitled to make money!! Repeat that as necessary.

Good luck!

"Under NO circumstances give your SSN or your business ID # to a parent who says they need it for taxes. You are not a childcare agency, a babysitter, or a pre-school or daycare. They can't claim you as such and will say their accountant said they could. They can't. You are a dance studio and if they do claim you and the IRS does an audit then YOU could be in trouble for misrepresenting yourself."

Now, in Canada, parents can claim fitness expenses for kids. Does dance studio mean fitness for kids?

Some Great advice here! If you are thinking of opening a studio, try to think of all the things you would NEVER THINK OF: Parents punching, shoving and slapping you, teen-agers telling their parents lies about you (or other teachers at your studio), parents suing you for almost anything, your BEST student quitting or leaving for another studio, a former student opening a studio down the street from you in 5 years (yes it happens), having to cancel classes for wierd reasons like chicken-pox outbreak, think of what to do when the plumbing backs up in the bathroom with urine & fecal matter coming out of the toilets and sinks, etc. Can you handle it? That's just some food for thought! And thinking of all that, why DOES anyone want to own their own studio???

ADVERTISING! You really need to get going with it early. You have to make your studio a brand...what is it that makes your studio unique? Awesome teachers? Unique classes? Great location? You get the idea...every business has to have some thing that sets them apart in order to succeed. THAT is your hook and THAT is what will bring in the students! You might also want to read this article for a little more on the topic: www.dancestudioowner.com . . .

One thing I have learned the hard way is to set your studio policies and then stick to them for everyone. It is so much easier to say 'because it's our policy' than 'because I said so'.

STUDENTS!!!

I appreciate all the advice given here. I have been in business for 4 months now...and I have learned so many of these lessons the hard way. I am looking forward to next season, putting my new found wisdom to use! One thing I am doing to increase my student #'s for next season, is working with the local high school cheer team. Their coach and I have decided to work together to help her team increase their skills, and they are going to allow us to perform at their half time shows!

ADVERTISING!yes that is big. Learn about all your area events, We have kidfest here. It is free and we set up a table and offer a free summer class to one lucky winner. I had over 100 NAMES and address.I sent them all thank you letter for stopping at my table and flyer on my studio. We do parades and park events. The local libary is always looking for someone to come in and do a summer class. Give one hour and and you and tell about 100 family about your studio for free. Door hangers they are cheep and make great way to get your name out. It is hard work and a lot of time but it works.

Great teachers, applications, handbooks, studio literature, receptionist if budget allows.

I think a really important item to have is a detailed registration form. Of course you want all of the contact info, etc. I also include a liability waiver, photo release, and there's even a section to list student allergies AND disabilities. Sometimes parents don't think of us as teachers...just because it's not an academic classroom does not mean that a child diagnosed with auditory processing or ADHD won't be helpful to us. Knowing and understanding your students at these levels can really help you manage your classroom and plan your teaching to be most effective.

Lots of money for taxes, federal state and local. Licensing fees, sign fees - EVERYBODY wants a chunk!

Thank you all so much for all of this information. I want to open my own studio and I have worked at a few different ones since I was in highs school so I have seen it all and have heard it all in 10 years. I want to go out on my own which I know it hard especially now. But I feel I can offer a lot more then what the studios do in my area.