In episode 56, we talk about the structure of our weekly schedule, who is responsible for what and and how we get things done! This episode we break down Mondays and Tuesdays! 

 Our schedules are constantly changing, but we do try to start with a plan and adjust as needed. We have to divide and conquer in order to really check things off the long list of to-do’s.

Monday is our most consistent day of the week as far as a schedule goes. 

• 10 a.m. - Meet with just the two of us to prepare for our executive leadership team meeting and plan  the rest of the week
• 12:30 p.m. -  ELT meeting in person at studio 
• 2:30 p.m.  - check things off our lists, eat lunch
• 3:30-9:30 teach classes 
• We do have a couple breaks between classes, so we are always using that time to get back to the to-do list. Get emails sent, work on costuming, whatever can get done in a short amount of time while we are there and in full-out work mode.

Dani's list: 

• Event logistics  
• Communications (usually via email) with all our performing company families. 
• Proofing email drafts  
• Crafting
• Guest artist coordination

Becca's list: 

• Unpredictable creative tasks 
• Social media
• Marketing graphics, images, concepting, design 
• Creative visionary for all things 

Tuesday: Our "first day of the week" to get things done.  

9:30 a.m. - meet with each other via Zoom to map out our day. 
10:00 a.m. -  2:30p.m.- Other meetings like our meetings with our Google Ad company, production company meetings, financial advisor,  Studio Manager Krista,  marketing team meetings, Performing Company Directors, costume planning (meetings, fabric shopping, design), check ins with Ellie and Shelley. 

After these meetings are done and classes begin, there are several scenarios that could happen on Tuesdays:

1. After meetings, Dani and I usually switch gears and head into our office or home and work on individual to-dos. 
2. We may have a crafting project or meeting for Rhythm or Confetti that we would stay and work on in the staff room at annex
3. We sometimes schedule rehearsals that we run at Annex as there are open studios there - so those would usually start around 6:00 and we will just work in our office until then.
4. Head back to Rhythm - if we have a Guest Artist in town or if there is a Company rehearsal that we may need to be present for at Rhythm! 

So, as you can see Tuesdays are all over the place but it is the first day of the week that we can really “MAKE THINGS HAPPEN” and they are ever changing but usually very productive days! 

No matter how much we plan, it is usually derailed. Our number one job is problem solving and believe we are really good at this. As a leader, it is the thing you have to be AMAZING at! Like all studio owners, we deal with lots of crazy and dilemmas and  do creative problem solving EVERY SINGLE DAY. 

We hope you enjoyed getting a little insight into our work days. Stay tuned for Part 2 on a future episode! 

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In Episode 55, we're sharing ideas & links to our fave promo items!

1. Slinkies - Super popular with kids! 
2. Reusable Grocery Bags - You get lots of eyes on these at your local grocery stores! We also use them for costume bags when handing out our company costumes!
3. Pop Its - Kids are obsessed!! 
4. Acrylic Key Chains - Add your logo and attach a Pop It (see #3) for a great promo item! Call it a bag tag since most kids don't use key chains and they can put them on their dance bags! 
5. Tattoos - These are a go-to staple for us for goodie bags, open house, summer launch week - fun & super cheap! 
6. Beach Balls - Use these for registration or summer camp promos and/or as give aways at community events!
7. Large Magnets - So many options!
8. Buttons, Stickers and Magnets - StickerMule is a go to for us for all things! 
9. “MOOD” Stadium Cups  - These color-changing cups are so fun, kids & parents alike love them.  
10. Make Dance Fun Confetti Fun Tags - Vintage style key chains in our Confetti shop! Special Sale Price! Great for staff gifts, giveaways, ornaments and more!  

We hope one of these promo items is something you can add into the mix of your giveaways! What are your faves?

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In episode 54, we're talking about all the things we are doing this fall to get ready for our year-end show! Our show is our ultimate marketing tool and this time of year is packed full of prep to get started on the right foot and get our dancers and families on board with the theme! We love to make the show super exciting for our dancers and we love making our theme a really big deal and tying it into all aspects of the studio all season! 

1. Decorating Halloweek with our Theme 
2. Costume and Show Communication Prep
   • At Rhythm we have about 1200 students who take 3600 classes, so, we are planning for eight shows this season. This is a beast of a job to figure out!
   • We meet with Shelley and Krista to make this task happen
3. Measuring for costumes 
4. Brainstorm with the Staff
5. Meetings with Production Company and Theater - solidifying things like lobby space, dressing space, lighting possibilities, making sure the contract is secure and there are no surprises! 
6. Graphics/Logos - We make sure these are ready to go for all our upcoming communications! 
   • We use Canva teams to get backgrounds and logos all set up so our staff can access them easily
7. Planning for the recital retreat: booking the house, logistics, food, travel, spreadsheets, costume books, how we are decorating, etc. We don't wing it, we plan for everything!
8. Creative Planning for Show - watching movies, discussing themes, reading books, looking at books, etc. 

NEW! Your Fun Big Show Update:  We are in the process of adding a written course notes section into Your Fun Big Show course. Anyone who has already purchased it will automatically receive these notes, and of course, all new purchases as well! We will announce soon when they are complete and available! Check out this complete recital planning course!

We hope you are able to take away something from these details that will help you in your show planning this Fall! 

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In episode 53, we're talking all about HALLOWEEK ON THE DANCE FLOOR -  a Confetti tradition since our very first year!! 

Halloweek on the Dance Floor is a fun Halloween combo that we share with you for free to use in your classes during Halloweek! We encourage you to teach it, film it and share it! This year, we are changing it up a little and creating a reel (or tik tok) with specific audio for you to use! We encourage you to create a festive space or background to film your dancers a few at a time doing the combo.

More Halloweek ideas from #rhythmhalloweek

• Podcast Episode #32 Festive Fall Faculty Fun - deep dive on our Pumpkin Pizzazz Party for our Staff
• Podcast Episode #34 where we share tons of fun Halloween ideas and games and such! 
• Studio Decor - we're doing a spooky take of Alice in Wonderland (our year-end show theme). We now have 9 studios to decorate, so are trying our best to streamline some things to make it a little easier to put up and also take down. We will, of course, go more full out on a main wall in our lobby (at both locations) so everyone has a fun place to take all the photos they want.
• Fall Faculty Fun - we're hosting a fun meeting for our Recital Brainstorming session where we'll serve lunch, decorate pumpkins and take a Halloween staff photo where everyone will dress as characters from our show
• Halloween Heels & Spooky Feels - This is something new this year that should be fun! Our adult program is really growing, so we are holding a special event for them one evening where they’ll dress up, have a fun heels class and we’ll provide a few snacks & drinks. This is a great way to promote your adult program! We are getting ready to start a new class for adults in November called DanceMix, a combo of jazz and hip hop, so this will be a fun and festive promo! 
• Rhythm Halloweek - we encourage our dancers to dress up as a character from Alice in Wonderland during Halloweek and if they do, they get a Wonder in Rhythmland sticker.  This is a simple and fun way to promote the show! 
• Performing Company Halloween Party - we host this fun event annually at a local park. Their "families" dress up in their family costume and we play games. It's always a hit! 

We hope you find these fun ideas to be helpful with your Halloween and fall planning.  Share with us what you’re doing at your studios! 

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In Episode 52, we're sharing 5 fun things we've done this season that have been well received by our customers this season!

We created a Calendar Magnet for Performing Company that we handed out during our themed company parent meetings. These are convenient for them to put on their fridge to always have access to the many dates their dancer is committed to throughout the season. We gave it to them during our disco-themed company parent meeting where we also treated them to a coffee bar, goody bags and fun photo ops and prizes for people who dressed up in the theme. 

Class Hosts - You may have heard us talk about this position we started during covid, but we have learned just how valuable these ladies are, and have hired them again this season. We have 1-2 at each location and they hang out at the front door, and one other area in the studio to help kids and parents navigate the studio, get to their cars, help us craft when we are in crunch time and so much more.

New staff photos and headshots, plus new fun headshots for the company dancers. We held a photo shoot that was more fun and on brand for us and the pics look great! And, if you go to our faculty page, it is a fun + fresh update to our old headshots! 

We also did headshots for all our company dancers during their intensive week and it worked great - they were already scheduled to be here, so it was so much easier to schedule and make happen! These will be going on colorful, fun posters in to hang in the lobby very soon, and we are so excited about having this fresh update for the walls! 

Monthly Performing Company Update: This is a simple, but colorful and cute, easy to read “newsletter” of sorts. But, it’s just the information they need to know with a date or dates attached to it. Dani designs these and she is self-proclaimed to not be a pro in Canva, but she made the template and alters it each month with updated info and sends it out.  

We have been creating QR codes for multiple things. For example, we have a QR code for the make-up google form that company members have to fill out when they come in to do a make-up class. Also, if you come in for trial class, there is a QR code that you scan to sign up. On the magnet we did for company, there is a QR code on the magnet that they can use to get to their Company Landing Page - this landing page holds ALL the things they need for company, from their absence tracker and form to their schedules and more! 

 We hope you find some of these few things we’ve been doing to also be helpful at your studio!

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In Episode 51, we are sharing the basic outline of Your Fun Big Show - our complete recital planning course! This comprehensive course is broken into sections so it’s easier to digest, and today is sort of like the table of contents to give you a sneak peek of what all is included! If you don't have the course, it's a great outline to use for planning your own show!

We also recap our favorite parts Rhythm Story, our show from last season in a Q&A style and tell you all about our favorite concepts/themes in the show and what parts we loved most in our production number and what processes we think are most important to the success of our show (master spreadsheet and recital retreat!).

Here's an outline of what is included in the course: 

SECTION 1: First Steps - this includes theater bookings, determining and announcing dates and theme. choosing characters and beginning the brainstorming process.  

SECTION 2: Creating your show brand, logo, hashtag and all the  graphic design. Then how to use that to brand your whole year. 

SECTION 3: Fall planning and the recital retreat, determining how many shows and which classes are in each show,  themes/concepts for each class, prepping for the retreat, finalizing concepts, creating the master spreadsheet, selecting/editing music, determining props and sets, choosing costumes/backdrops, building schedules, and assigning theme directors. 

SECTION 4: Ordering costumes, creating a lookbook, status updates, starting choreography and building stage sets & props

SECTION 5: Part 1 of Spring Planning Logistics like ensuring all classes are entered into your software, running order of show, naming the routines to match your theme, populating the recital packet, lobby decor, plan crafting, finalizing logos, goody bags, ticket sales logistics, check-in process, dressing rooms, and recital program prep. 

SECTION 6: Spring Planning Part 2: Logistics, flowers, ribbon, tissue, ordering T-shirts, planning truck load and unload, organizing volunteers, staff meals, tech, prop and set sheets, character rehearsals and call sheets, organizing music by show. 

SECTION 7: Tech Week and Dress Rehearsal and all the logistics!

SECTION 8: Communications: website, social media, newsletters, emails, show detail packet, parent meetings, flower sales and staff meetings

SECTION 9: Adding Wow Factors: Recital decor in your studio, characters: costume details, photo shoots, voice overs and meet and greets, craft & props for show., theater lobby set up, posters, banners & step & repeat, photo ops, goody bags, programs, stage lighting and backdrops

SECTION 10: Closing

Click here to read about even more detail of what is included with your purchase. 

We hope this episode helps you understand all that we put into our planning of our show and all the things that we share in YOUR FUN BIG SHOW. If you have not gotten this course yet, purchase it now! 

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In Episode 50, we're sharing FIVE ways to WOW your customers. The wow factor time frame really never goes away, but during the beginning of the season, you want to make sure you are setting a tone for the season and paying attention to serving your customers well!

1. Overall Customer Experience: What does customer experience mean for you and your studio? What do they see and experience when they walk in the door, when they call/email the studio, visit your website, register and what happens after registration (welcome letter/packet). These are all ways to show that you value them, want to welcome them into your dance home. Remember that a great experience usually results in a positive word of mouth advertising for your studio!
   
   
2. Social Media:  Take advantage of increased engagement at the beginning of the season by posting lots of different aspects of your studio from faculty to preschool, teen classes, advanced dancers. A story will SELL, a fact will TELL:  Tell a story on social media vs. just providing the facts. Make sure everyone knows where to find you on your platform of choice. Communicate hashtags and encourage sharing. Engage with your followers! REELS ARE THE THING. Remember to do Studio Tours, Weekly Recaps, Announcement videos!
   
   
3. Open House and/or being present in your lobby during the first couple weeks of classes. If you teach a lot of classes, maybe have an ambassador do this for you. Someone cheerful to greet all your dancers and parents. Someone who genuinely enjoys talking with people and shares your love for the studio.
   
   
4. Create a fun wall so every dancer & mom or dad has a reason to take a photo and share it on social media. This is building your community and another way to help them feel a part of it. See episode 49! 
   
   
5. WOW Cards - From big milestones to small victories, who doesn't love to celebrate a WOW moment in dance class?! Hand out these tiny compliments to your dancers when they achieve their goals and make their day! We have three different versions - Sweet Celebrations, High Fives and Oh Yeahs,  Goal Getters that each include 500 business card sized WOW Cards, 25 each of 20 different fun + fancy designs! Each card has a small area for you to write a short message, sign your name or write the dancer's name on it! 

Keep them by the sound system in each studio and encourage our teachers to use them as often as it makes sense, whether that's once per week or a few times per year! Occasionally you may want to give the entire class a WOW card for working as a team, or everyone executing a certain step, or remembering choreography or just having a great attitude in class! Check out #wowcarded on Instagram to see how so many studios are WOWing their students! 

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In Episode 49, we are sharing how we created our #rhythmfunwall for our Open House and Welcome Back Party! We share all our crafty ways and walk through all the steps! We also suggest checking out Episode 9 Five Ways to Up Your Crafting Game as we share many of the ways that we create and craft our fun! 

We also share tips on how you can create a fun wall in your studio to build engagement and a fun energy throughout your studio!  Add some fun and color to your walls with a FUN wall!

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In episode 48, we're telling you all about our Staff Kick-Off event! This is something we do every year and sometimes it's a few hours with a fun dinner and sometimes it lasts 2 days! 

We are celebrating our 30th season this year, so we wanted to do something extra special. Plus, our staff expanded quite a bit, so we needed to do more!

We started with our theme: Rhythm BLOOM Symposyium and went full out from there! We rented a venue, had it catered, held a fun + fancy photo shoot and decorated it super cute! The set up was a little hectic even though we did so much pre-planning and pre-crafting, but it ended up looking super cute! 

We did a 30-year celebration staff photo shoot where everyone got new headshots and also some fun shots, lots of group shots and of course, confetti shots! We helped the staff style their outfits beforehand with things from our personal closets and our confetti closet! 

We had various stations around the rooms including an apothecary where they could build their own bags with fun items, drinks/coffee station, vision boards, eating tables, round tables for meeting, creative books, and a seminar room set up classroom style with a large TV for showing our presentations. 

We had assigned seating with cute tent cards and fun, colorful tablecloths. Everyone received folders, notebooks, snacks and a few other fun items at their place setting. 

On day 1, after the photo shoot, we covered our mission, vision and values, discussed goals for the season, had guest speakers Zoom into the meeting and reviewed our staff expectations.  That evening, we had a fun catered dinner and stayed at a nearby hotel to come back early the next morning.  

On day 2, we held roundtables where teachers who teach the same style discuss curriculum, goals, and share ideas. There is a designated leader of each group who maintains a Google doc to capture the discussions. We also held an Admin roundtable to discuss new systems we want to implement this season.  Then, we continued our seminar and finished our staff expectations. After a catered lunch, we finished with a wrap-up with everyone contributing their thoughts on how to make the year best it can be!

It was such a cohesive event, and our best staff kick off to date! Check out our Reel on Instagram from the event! And, go to our Highlights to see all the Insta Stories from this super fun + fancy event!

We hope you found some inspiration in this episode! Also, if you would like us to speak to your studio at a staff event, we are open to that! We really enjoyed having that opportunity for our team at our kick off! It made it interesting and was helpful to get other professional perspectives!

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Hello friends! We are back! In this episode, we are doing a quick recap of all that has happened over the past 4 months! We are excited to be back! Here are the basics of what went on over the summer and where we are now...

Fall Registration 

Expanded - Two Locations 

Dress Rehearsals 

Company Concert

Company Party

Year-End Shows

We took a long break...

The Dance Awards

Lots of Camp Confettis & Company Intensives

Member Rally with MTJGD

Staff Kick-Off

Prepping Studios (2 locations) 

Open House - both locations

Back to Dance - Week One - Check!

Gearing up for our year-end shows! 

Things are moving quickly!! 

If you heard something we just mentioned that you want to hear more about, let us know and we will dive in deeper on that topic in an upcoming episode!

Thanks for listening! 

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