DI_SOresolutions_MAINBy Paul Henderson, via Dance Informa

1. Admit that you are a business owner.  When money and children are used in the same sentence, we become conflicted.  We tend to make the same face we make when we smell putrid broccoli that rotted in our fridge.  Why do we do this?  McDonald’s doesn’t feel conflicted about selling Happy Meals to busy mothers to feed their children, do they?  Private schools don’t feel conflicted about outrageous tuition, nor do they feel weird about badgering their student’s families with fundraiser after fundraiser to raise even more money.  Wal-mart doesn’t feel conflicted about anything at all.  Here’s why.  Businesses exist only if they earn a profit.  Otherwise, they fail to exist at all.  It’s that simple.

2. Vow to run your business like a business.  Once you’ve come to grips with #1, it’s your responsibility to actually stay in business.  Charge the correct amount of tuition based on the quality of education you are providing to your dancers.  If you’re providing a very high level of dance education, you should be charging more tuition than a nearby studio providing a lower level.  Calculating your tuition is not simply a matter of finding out what your competitors are charging.  It’s equally important to consider the overall value of the training you are providing.

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