Dance Studio Owner Life Coaching

How many times have you explained the same process to your staff? Sometimes the simplest systems can make the biggest difference in how smoothly your dance studio operates.

In this episode, I'm sharing a recent experience from my photography business that reminded me how valuable it is to document the things we do repeatedly. Creating standard operating procedures (SOPs) doesn't have to be complicated. A simple set of written instructions can save time, reduce confusion, and help your team work more independently.

I'm challenging you to identify just one recurring process in your studio this week and write it down. Over time, these small efforts can help you build a more organized, professional, and sustainable business.

I also share a reminder about my Studio Owner Life Coach Weekly Planner, available now on Amazon at a new lower price to help you organize your business and personal life.

Fall can bring plenty of reasons for dance studio owners to panic. Enrollment may be lower than expected, competition teams may have changed, new competitors or demographic shifts may be affecting your programs, or an unexpected problem may completely disrupt your plans.

In this episode, Ginger shares a reminder that dance studio owners are already creative and complex problem solvers. You build schedules around levels, ages, teachers, and genres. You create choreography, rework dances when something goes wrong, plan productions, and find ways to bring out the best in your students. Those same skills belong in your business.

Ginger also talks about how the thoughts you repeat can affect the way you respond to a problem. Using her own unexpected search for a new recital venue, she explores what changes when you move away from "I don't know what we're going to do" and deliberately start looking for possibilities.

Whether you're dealing with declining enrollment, unexpected growth, staffing challenges, marketing frustration, or plans that suddenly have to change, this episode is an invitation to remember what you've already proven: you're a creative, complex problem solver, and you've solved hard problems before.

For years, dance studio owners have been told that leaving their "day job" is the ultimate sign of success. But having a job outside your studio can be a smart financial decision, a fulfilling personal choice, or simply what makes sense for this season of life.

In this episode, Ginger challenges the idea that studio ownership has to look one specific way. She talks about working outside the studio by necessity—whether you're filling an income gap, paying off debt, building toward a financial goal, or creating greater personal security—as well as choosing outside work because you enjoy it, want a new challenge, or simply have the capacity and desire to do more.

Your studio does not have to be the only thing you do for your business ownership to count as a success. You get to decide what work, income, and fulfillment look like for you.

What happens when you replace some of your scrolling time with puzzles, gardening, cooking, baking, or simply spending more time outside?

In this episode of Dance Studio Owner Life Coaching, Ginger shares how an old word-search book sparked an unexpected shift in how she and her family spent their downtime this summer. What started as something simple during a family vacation turned into spending less time checking news, social media, and weather apps and more time doing things that felt relaxing, satisfying, and restorative.

Ginger talks about why going analog doesn't mean abandoning technology. Instead, it can mean becoming more intentional about what you choose to do during your leisure time.

She shares some of the analog activities she has added back into her life, including puzzles, gardening, cooking challenging recipes, baking, tackling projects around the house, and spending more time outdoors.

For studio owners who spend so much of their time giving to their businesses, staff, students, and families, this episode is an invitation to look at what you're doing during your downtime and consider whether it's actually giving something back to you.

What could you replace 15 or 20 minutes of scrolling with this week?

As your dance studio grows, the decisions that save money today may end up costing you more down the road. Sometimes the better financial decision means looking beyond the initial price tag and considering your time, staff labor, maintenance, storage, and whether the solution can actually grow with your business.

In this episode, I'm sharing five real-world examples of how I've learned to make more sustainable decisions in my own studio—from investing in commercial equipment instead of repeatedly replacing household products, to recognizing when DIY projects have grown into an entire production department.

I also talk about the true value of automation, why processing fees shouldn't be evaluated in isolation, and how outsourcing jobs like cleaning can actually make financial sense when you account for your own time and your staff's labor.

Finally, we'll look at the traditions, gifts, and special touches we create for our students. Something that's easy to do for 75 dancers can look very different when you're serving 400.

In this milestone 150th episode of Dance Studio Owner Life Coaching, Ginger sits down with Rebecca Brettingham-Filice, founder of Dance Extreme and co-founder of Mindful Dancers, for an honest conversation about one of the most difficult situations a studio owner can face: a faculty member leaving to open a competing studio and actively recruiting students to follow.

Rebecca shares her own experience of losing staff and approximately 35 students, what she wishes she had addressed sooner, and how she kept her focus on moving the business forward. Together, Ginger and Rebecca discuss the difference between supporting a teacher's dream of studio ownership and navigating unethical business practices like student poaching.

They also explore the role of core values, transparent communication, staff leadership, and why studio owners need to address problems rather than allowing them to continue until the end of the season. Rebecca offers practical perspective for protecting customer confidence during a staff transition while processing the emotional side privately.

This episode covers:

• Why a staff member opening a studio does not automatically have to become a negative situation
• The impact of student poaching and secrecy during a staff departure
• How core-value misalignment can show up long before someone leaves
• Why delaying difficult staff decisions can create bigger problems
• How to provide stability and reassurance for families during a transition
• The importance of honest conversations between studio owners and employees
• How studio owners can examine their own leadership and treatment of staff
• Moving forward without allowing a painful departure to define the business

Rebecca also shares more about Mindful Dancers, which provides mindfulness and life-skills resources for dancers, parents, teachers, and studio owners.

Learn more at www.mindfuldancers.com.

Rebecca Brettingham-Filice is the owner and artistic director of Dance Extreme Inc. located in London, Ontario, Canada. Founding and managing the studio since its inception in 1997, Rebecca and her team have taught over 30,000 students. In 2023, Rebecca began Mindful Dancers (mindfuldancers.com) as a co-founder and co-owner. Building strong dancers through Mind, Body and Spirit. In 2024, Rebecca wrote her first book Mindful Dancers Journey: Supporting Your Child's Growth Through Dance, available on Amazon orwww.mindfuldancers.com.

She is a certified instructor with Dance Educators of America and Dance Masters of Canada, Chapter #38, where she sits on the board of directors. Rebecca has served as chairperson of social media and as a delegate for Dance Masters of America. She is currently the chairperson for the sponsorship and vendor committee. Rebecca graduated from Dance Masters of America's Teacher's Training School at Kent State University and the State University of New York in Buffalo. Rebecca adjudicates for a number of dance organizations, competitions and has taught at various workshops throughout Canada and the United States. A number of Rebecca's students have attended professional schools for dance and theatre and worked professionally in theatre, television, movies and professional dance companies. In 2012, Dance Extreme was honoured to perform at the Summer Olympics in London, UK and returned with her studio to perform at the Summer Olympics in Paris, France in 2024.

Check out the book Mindful Dancers Journey: Supporting Your Child's Growth Through Dance, available on Amazon.

In this episode of Dance Studio Owner Life Coaching, Ginger shares lessons from recent Leadership Roundtable conversations about setting expectations, creating policies, and building a studio culture that reflects your values.

She discusses how one studio owner approached creating a dance company agreement, why having dancers and parents sign expectations can increase clarity and accountability, and how a company kickoff can give families the opportunity to ask questions before the season begins. Ginger also shares how her own dancers helped create a company promise centered around kindness, responsibility, encouragement, and representing the studio well.

The episode then explores a bigger leadership principle: manage for the majority, rather than creating rules around the exception. When one customer, parent, or student causes frustration, it can be tempting to add another policy, restriction, or sign. Ginger encourages studio owners to consider whether those decisions actually support the culture and experience they want to create.

Before adding another rule or procedure, ask yourself whether it reflects your studio's values and serves the majority of the people you work with. Your values can become the barometer you use to make decisions about policies, expectations, and studio culture.

In this episode of Dance Studio Owner Life Coaching, Ginger talks with Melody Hubert, founder of Melodic Movements Performing Arts Program, a nonprofit dance organization with two locations in Delaware.

Melody shares what it has looked like to grow her studio while raising her four-year-old son, including opening her second location when he was just one. She talks candidly about mom guilt, making room for self-care, adjusting her studio schedule as her son gets older, and creating a business that allows her to be present for the parts of motherhood that matter to her.

The conversation also digs into the practical side of operating two studio locations. Melody explains how hiring an operations manager changed her ability to lead both locations, why strong systems and policies are essential before expanding, and how her team helps maintain the culture and mission across both studios.

Ginger and Melody also talk about separating your identity from your business, hiring people who truly align with your mission, and the role faith has played in Melody's journey. Melody shares how what began as an idea for a praise dance intensive eventually became a studio that she views as mission work—something bigger than herself.

In this episode:

• Growing from one dance studio location to two
• Running a business while raising a young child
• Managing mom guilt and protecting time for yourself
• Adjusting your role as your family enters different seasons
• Hiring an operations manager to support multiple locations
• Strengthening systems before expanding
• Separating your personal identity from your studio
• Building a team around your mission and values
• How faith has influenced Melody's leadership and business

Melody is the CEO and founder of Melodic Movements Performing Arts Program, a multi-location dance studio in Delaware, and the first African American dance studio owner in the state to own multiple locations. She is known for her honest and intentional approach to educating dance parents on what it truly takes to build confident, disciplined dancers. With a background in special education, Melody is passionate about creating a safe and supportive space where every dancer is challenged to grow. She believes her work goes beyond training dancers—she is committed to developing strong, confident young people both on and off the stage.

Learn more about Melody and Melodic Movements at MelodicMovements.org.

Instagram: @MelodicMovements__ Facebook: Melodic MovementsDE

In this episode, Ginger explores what it means to be an introverted entrepreneur in a highly visible, people-centered industry. She shares how introversion has shaped her experience as a dance studio owner, from recital days and networking events to leadership, marketing, and managing her schedule.

Ginger explains that successful business owners do not have to be outgoing, highly charismatic, or constantly in the spotlight. Drawing briefly from Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, she discusses research showing that charismatic leadership is not a prerequisite for building a successful, enduring company.

She also emphasizes that introversion is not a reason to avoid leadership responsibilities. Difficult conversations, marketing, communication, and visibility are still part of business ownership, but introverted leaders can approach them through preparation, thoughtful follow-up, selective networking, and communication methods that fit their strengths.

The episode closes with practical ways introverted studio owners can protect their energy, including leaving space between meetings, avoiding overscheduled weekends, creating office hours, protecting recovery time after major events, and delegating responsibilities that are especially draining.

Book Recommendation: Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies is a book written by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras.

As a dance studio owner, you are constantly making decisions about programs, coaching, marketing, staffing, and where to invest your money. Some opportunities may be genuinely useful. Others can create pressure, urgency, or self-doubt that makes it harder to trust your own judgment.

In this updated version of Episode 14, Ginger revisits the importance of trusting your gut when something feels off. She shares why persuasive sales tactics, pushy staff, unclear policies, and financial pressure are all reasons to slow down and take a closer look before committing.

She also explains that trusting yourself goes beyond knowing what to avoid. It includes paying attention to the ideas you keep returning to, implementing more of your own plans, and allowing yourself to learn through action.