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Whether you're just learning how to start a dance studio or you've been in business for years,one of the biggest obstacles for a studio owner is finding ways to bring in summer income. This is always a challenge, as students are more interested in playing outside, teenagers have jobs and parents are planning vacations. Motivating students to keep dancing all summer long may seem like a daunting task, but it is very possible.
Run classes according to students' new summer schedules
The 5-week program:
Deciding how to run classes over the summer can be difficult. It is extremely important to find a summer schedule that works. Consider offering students a five week summer program from mid July to mid August that allows students to take any or all the classes, with discounts for the full five weeks.
Take their schedules into account:
It's important to consider how your students will want to spend their summer days when planning class times. Offer daytime classes for preschoolers and youth, and late afternoon to evening classes for teens and adults.
Day camps provide a welcome relief from the summer heat
Many studios offer a summer day camp for interested students. This can work for you, but it must be done right.
Comfort is key:
It is a big help if your studio is air conditioned.
Plan accordingly:
A summer day camp should be about two days a week, which gives parents the opportunity to plan family vacations around the dance schedule. The camp could be offered daily, if the student base would support it. It should run for about 6 hours each day, say from 8:45 am to 2:30pm.
Accomodate parents:
For parents who work all day, offering day care from the end of camp until the parents are done at about 5 o'clock may be an option for you, and you may have older students interested in babysitting.
How to arrange it:
Split the camp up by ages, teaching 6-8 year olds and 9-11 year olds separately. The camp should not focus on one specific type of dance, but rotate, giving students the opportunity to try multiple types of dance including ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, modern and hip hop. Students bring their own lunch and snack. A craft and dance video time at varying intervals allows for a break and should be once per day for approximately 20 minutes.
Allow for some flexibility:
Campers should be welcome to attend camp only one day a week for any and all of the weeks. Camps work as long as they accommodate summer schedules, which is key. This flexibility affords people the ability to participate and have their vacation plans work as well.
End of summer intensives get students back into the swing of things
Summer dance intensive camps are also a great idea. Opening your studio to guest teachers and to the surrounding dance community can be both profitable and great for public relations and public image. Many metropolitan dance schools, and of course colleges and universities, offer intensives.
Will it work for you?
You must consider whether or not your demographic can support the cost of guest teachers and whether enrollment would be sufficient to meet expenses and run in the black. Depending upon your geographic location, the resources for guest teachers are many and a studio usually must pay travel, boarding and the professional fees. If your studio can accommodate all of that, intensives can be very profitable.
Current faculty intensives:
If it is not affordable for you to bring in guest teachers, you can also run intensives with current faculty. This can function like the children's day camp. On alternate days, you can run intensives for older, more serious students and even add a full week or two before or after your regular summer classes. Normally, it is better to run an intensive close to when fall classes resume to get your students back 'into the groove' and help the students going back, or off, to college be well prepared.
Although the summer months can be rough on dance studios, the ways of generating income are endless:
Make sure to accommodate summer schedules when planning classes. Consider that parents want to plan vacations and kids can get lazy.
A day camp offers young students the opportunity to spend the day away from home and gives parents a break, as well as allowing the time for family vacations.
Intensives are great, particularly for older kids, as they give students the chance to get back into the swing of things and prepare for college.
Those summer days can be long and hot, but with the right plan they can also be fun and profitable!