Beat the Summer Cash Flow Blues

I am here to say offering a year-round dance season changed my studio (and my life). 

We all know the summer struggles of owning a dance studio: decreased monthly revenue, using recital profits to “float” through summer, and unexpected financial hardships leading to stress at the start of the new season. 

I want to let you in on a little something I call “the un-summer summer.” Here are six of my tried and true tips to beat the summer cash flow blues:

1. Recital Profit - Think Beyond Recital Tickets
   When you have audience members at your shows they want to buy things. Offer flowers, trophies, t-shirts, and concessions for them to buy during the performance or even send out a “buy by reply” email to order ahead of time.

2. New Season Registration - Be the First Activity on the Family Calendar
   Start your new season enrollment early while your dancers are still currently enrolled. We run our new season registration in April for classes that begin in July. Offer the best promotion on your registration day (ie “The Kitchen Sink”) and start generating a buzz 2-3 weeks prior.

3. Spring Sessions - Never Stop Taking Enrollment
   We don’t turn away business at any time of the year. Notice trends in your studio and add new classes to your schedule that run March - June. You can offer them a chance to participate in the recital by using in-stock costumes or have them wear their dress code with accessories.

4. Don’t Take a Traditional Summer - Offer a Year-Round Dance Season
   Your business cannot survive on revenue from summer dance camps alone! Parents actually prefer to register for the class, day, time, and teacher that they will have all season and pay $90 monthly dance class tuition versus $125 for one week of dance camp.

5. Additional Revenue Sources - Add to your Bottom Line
   By offering dress code and costumes I aim to make commissions that equates to one month of tuition revenue. Check out Revolution Dancewear for my recommended dress code.

6. Summer Camps and Intensives - Keep Hours Conservative and Pricing Competitive
   We run Summer Camps and Intensives in conjunction with our year-round season in June, July, and August. We max out our camps at between 2-3 hours per day and offer flexible times as well as weekly/daily rates.

Want to know more best business practices to help your studio stay cash positive in the summer? Join me for Spark Virtual January 13, 2024. 

Meet Tiffany Henderson 

Tiffany Henderson is an industry leader and dance business expert. Tiffany owns and operates multiple Tiffany's Dance Academy locations in Northern California. Her video-based teacher training system and curriculum, Twinkle Star Dance, is currently implemented in 300+ dance studios worldwide.