So, how to assess the potential market and demand? Market experts say that the demand for dance training is always present, but with the crisis the audience began to exercise caution, therefore, one should emphasize that dancing is not just a sport, it is also a favorite hobby, as well as an excellent way to deal with stress (which is especially important in unstable times). Competition in the dance can not be afraid, according to market players: better demand than his absence.
To choose a niche, you need to analyze not only the demand, but also your sympathy for certain types of dance. And in order to properly work out the detuning from competitors, it is necessary to take into account the areas of location of strong players (networks or recognized brands) and traffic in these places, their pricing policy, dance destinations, the presence of strong teachers, their pros and cons.
The easiest way to open a dance school is to buy a Tequila Dance Studio franchise .
But if you still want to do it yourself – we offer you step-by-step instructions from the expert of Tequila Dance Studio Artur Kondrakova .
Personal experience
I opened up when none of the players in the city (Petersburg) were yet. Now I have a great advantage – we are a network. We have a budget for promotion, we occupy good positions on the Internet. If I open a new school, more people will notice me, since our brand is known to those who are interested in dancing, and on the Internet in search engines we will also see a greater number of potential customers. Now we have 20 of our halls and 3 franchises across Russia and we will expand. In general, our niche can be called a competitive, but strong players, there are few networks in the city. Studying competitors, I’m looking specifically at the big players in the market, the networkers.
To become more competitive in the dance market, you need to carefully approach the issue of promotion. A rational solution is to spend the budget on contextual advertising, as well as on partner projects with players of other markets – with institutions, mobile operators, digital retailers and so on. On barter it is convenient to place on TV and radio – on the one hand, you do not have to pay «live money»; on the other hand, a large number of radio listeners and spectators will recognize you. In addition, barter can be advertised in print and electronic media, but you need to carefully consider the choice of specific media channels to «fall» into its target audience. One of the most effective marketing tools is holding open, that is, free, master classes for all comers. At the same time, potential customers,
Dance business is quite specific, market players themselves note. For example, dance directions are often not so important, because people go «to the teacher.» The direction can be very popular, and can be narrow and new. All directions are beneficial, where a good teacher works. In this case, it is not only about the teacher’s skill, but also his ability to communicate with clients, as people come not only for dance techniques, but also for the atmosphere of «hangouts», entertainment after work. If they get positive emotions thanks to the teacher, they continue to go to the dances and bring their friends. A good teacher creates a team with the students.
As for the definition of the target audience, there are at least two ways in the dance business: independently determine it at the start (and later adjust) or empirically understand which audience is interested in specific dance trends. With the expansion of business, you can cover more and more different categories.
We cover almost all age categories. We have children from 1 year old with mothers, from the age of 3 they are already studying without mothers, teenagers, students, adults, pensioners (they dance for free under the municipal program). We conducted classes even for pregnant women. All these groups need their own approach. Young people are interested in parties. For older people – the opportunity to find your soul mate or new friends.
To open a dance school, it is advisable to understand choreography or be a «practicing leader», that is, to dance and teach. In the dance environment, it is important to create a strong personal brand. As a rule, clients come to work with certain teachers, and if valuable employees leave for competitors (taking their disciples away), the owner will have a chance to keep customers with a personal «brand» – provided that he maintains positive relations with the audience. Contact with the audience can also be supported at dance parties and events.
Of course, besides the interest in the dance sphere, experience in business is also desirable. Otherwise, you can buy a template for a successful franchise business, having previously studied the market.
Personal experience
I do not have a choreographic education, but I started dancing as a hobby about 20 years ago, and it was interest in dancing that prompted me to create this business. I am a practicing leader, and this gives me a great advantage over those school owners who do not understand the dances. Optimally, if you are not just interested in dancing, but are doing them yourself, education does not matter. It happens that the franchise is bought, but the school can not be heard, because the head does not rotate in the dance circles and does not live his business, does not introduce new trends. We have almost 100 staff members and we react very quickly to changes in business, customer requests, questions with personnel.
If you open a small school of dancing with 2-3 rooms to start, then renting a room, then, according to average estimates, you can earn 100-500 thousand per month, depending on the city and area, traffic, demand and so on – the factors that determine the success of business , a lot. If at your point three halls are a small complex that allows you to reach more clients at the same time. Basically people go to dance in the evening – after work, school, university. To attract customers during the day, you need to make discounts for the daytime hours, but you, most likely, in any case, will recruit small groups. Eventually, when your halls are overloaded in the evening and you recruit middle-sized groups in the evening, your business will grow, and there will be a need to open a second school.
Investment size
How to determine how much to invest in the opening of the dance school and what will the initial costs go to? First you need to decide whether you buy a room or rent it. Buy a room is more profitable if you make calculations for the future. However, if you make trial steps in this business, then at the initial stage you can rent a room or even offer to conduct dance classes in an institution, for example, an early development school – then you can not pay for rent. If the rented premises have already made a good repair, you will have to hang mirrors and buy a music center, this is about 50 thousand rubles. Rent an average of 20-50 thousand rubles, prices differ both in different regions of Russia, and in the areas of a separate city. Staff and advertising costs, as well as taxes, are current expenses, not included in the amount of seed capital. In general, in the first month you need to be ready to spend 100-200 thousand rubles. In addition, we need a certain financial cushion for the next months, ideally – about 300 thousand rubles.
Where can I find funds for launching? There are several options – own savings, credit in the bank, a loan in the support fund of entrepreneurs – in such funds can conduct free calculations and issue a loan with a low rate, and in some cases, attach to you a business mentor. You can also try to raise funds using crowd-hosting – on certain sites you can tell about your project, and those who wish to donate money for its implementation.
There are costs that can be optimized. For example, you can optimize advertising costs – do not contact online advertising agencies, but hire a freelance internet marketer (contextologist), which will reduce the number of search requests and reduce your costs for contextual advertising (the most important type of advertising for the dance school). In addition, barter advertising and partnership with other companies will also be a good substitute for commercial advertising. But on the salary of teachers and sales managers, you should not save.
Step-by-step instruction
So, how to start attracting customers and promoting a dance school?
Sale of school services is handled by the sales department. They are looking for potential customers in open sources, at events, while all contacts are entered into the database. In addition, managers work with incoming calls.
To search for personnel, it is better to use open sources (sites, social networks, announcements), as well as recommendations. It’s good if you work in this field and know personally professional teachers. If you have an interesting project and you are working to promote the brand, the teachers will start to contact you. Perhaps, some employees you can «entice» from other schools. In addition, after a while you will be able to «grow» professionals from their students. Teachers can be regular and freelance, depending on their load. Accordingly, they can conclude an employment contract or a contract agreement. If funds allow, you can not search for personnel on your own, but find an agency as a contractor.
Personal experience
In business, there are many different processes, and we strive to simplify them as much as possible by the principle of «one-two-three» (as in dances). At the opening of the school, you can distribute flyers and, as I said earlier, contextual advertising works well for the future. We organize open master classes.
A place
Where is it better to open a dance school and what should be the room? It is more profitable to buy a premise with a rough finish and to repair it, buy furniture at the reception (reception desk) and a sofa for guests in the lobby. It is necessary to coordinate the redevelopment, if you will carry it out. You can take a premise in a long-term lease, this is a reliable option for those who can not afford to purchase real estate.
If you count on a minimum, then for the first time for a comfortable classroom, you need a hall of about 50-60 meters and locker rooms, as well as a bathroom. As a result, the total area will be about 100 square meters. Shower cabin installation is uneconomic, as they will occupy a large enough area and will cost you dearly. Convenient if you choose a room near a shopping or entertainment center – there is a lot of traffic, students can eat or relax before and after classes. Do not forget that customers do not want to go far – they choose a dance school next to their place of work, home or school child. This trend should be taken into account in Internet advertising, using services with geolocation in social networks.
If you are limited to a small area, you can not organize a reception and a lounge for guests. The minimum that the client needs is to change and work out in the hall with your favorite teacher, so the main elements of your school are a comfortable room with mirrors and audio equipment and locker rooms. The presence of a bathroom is desirable. If the area allows, you can make a «recreation zone» for communicating clients or open another hall.
Documentation
It is more convenient to create an IP and choose a simplified form of taxation. If there are two founders in business, you need to create an LLC that provides for income tax and income tax.
Activities of dance schools are not yet licensed, as it has not been determined to which type of services this business belongs to educational, recreational activities or, for example, health improvement. If you are renting a room, then most likely the standard requirements should be taken into account by the landlord or management company. If you are building a room from scratch, you need to consider the requirements of fire safety. To work with children you need health records. It is also necessary to coordinate with the city executive committee a sign.
Personal experience
We are faced with the fact that even in different districts of the city officials are setting different demands. Therefore, you will need legal advice in your city. By the way, in our business we do not see a lot of checks.
Check-list of opening
- Analysis of the market and competitors (range of services, prices, programs, personnel, etc.),
- Choice of assortment of services,
- Search for a room,
- Evaluation of the rental location, the choice of the best option,
- Conclusion of the lease agreement,
- Registration of IP or LLC, registration with the tax inspection,
- Search for teachers,
- Interviewing, selection of candidates,
- Scheduling shifts,
- Making a loan (if necessary),
- Ordering furniture and interior items,
- Repair work (if necessary),
- Development of an advertising campaign for the opening,
- Development and coordination of the signboard, its installation,
- Development of shares, discounts and other marketing activities,
- Search for an accountant on outsourcing,
- Festive opening.
Is it profitable to open
If you decide to open a dance school, weigh the pros and cons again. As market players note, dance schools as a micro business with a competent approach and dense work bring a good income, but if you are striving to get big profits in a short time and you do not have interest in dancing, then it’s better to consider other types of business. The dance school is not only a small business, but also a philosophy of life that combines physical activity, «hangout» and communication, the creation of a cohesive team, which includes the founders of the school, teachers and students themselves, as well as guests of dance events.
On average, in the first months you need to be ready to invest about 200-500 thousand rubles (without taking into account the purchase of premises), such investments can pay off on average for six months or a year. However, you can start with renting a room in an institution, attracting the students of this institution to classes, thus reducing costs to a minimum. The main costs are advertising, rent, personnel. Risks in this business are minimal. On average, a mini-complex of 2-3 rooms can be recouped for a year. In a month, a dance school can bring 100-500 thousand rubles a month net profit, depending on your costs and traffic, the effectiveness of sales managers and effective advertising campaigns.
Do not forget about the factor of seasonality in this business. In this regard, you need to work hard in the season and gain the maximum client mass. Before the New Year and after the New Year holidays, there is a noticeable decline, in summer, most of the clients also prefer to go on a «vacation». To reduce the influence of the seasonal factor, you can plan various marketing activities, for example, organize dance camps for children and adolescents, students outside the city or on the seaside.
