Random Thoughts During Office Hours

REGISTRATION!!! It's been haunting me for weeks...I keep thinking about how to get the word out, how to encourage people to sign up, etc. I find myself alternately elated and on tenterhooks with anticipation for how this semester will go.

I had two people register today, and fielded several phone calls. It's very exciting to sign a new student up for class! As I see my class lists start to fill, I get more and more excited about the first full year of teaching and working for myself. It seems monumental.

It's very interesting to see which classes are filling and which are not (yet!). When I made my schedule, I had no framework for what would work, and so it was anyone's guess what classes would fill. We'll see how this fall pans out!

Mostly, though, I'm thinking about classes starting, and all the new students I'll be teaching, and I am just very excited about seeing everything I've been working towards coming together!

Publicity

I am off to hang posters today advertising fall classes. This is the third round of poster hanging I've done for the studio: the first was for the open house, and was wildly successful, the second was for sumemr camps, and now the beginning of the school year. I have to admit I'm a little burned out on poster hanging.

One of the issues is that Greene County's business are all spread out, so it takes a lot of driving and in/out of the car to accomplish the task, where in another area I could park and walk in a few locations. Another is that it takes a big chunk of time that I would rather spend choreographing or putting the finishing touches on the studio or being at the farm. Also, if I take my kids they get over being in the car pretty quick, but if I don't take them then I miss out on hanging out with them.

From talking to other studio owners, they feel like visibilty and word-of-mouth are the number one things that build a student base. Most say posters and flyers are the way to go. And everyone says that newspaper advertising isn't worth the cost (which is pretty pricey) for the number of students who respond. But I would like another method besides hanging posters myself to get the word out.

As a consumer, what attracts you to a small business? Are there any advertising techniques that you've seen that have absolutely sucked you in? Do you think it's a matter of one really great method, or just constant visibility (like branding)? Tell me your thoughts!

Two Week Countdown! (and major update)

Hi world! It's been way too long since I posted here, but summer has had me swamped! Although we didn't fill every single class, I taught summer camp classes every day in July, and man, was I tired by the end. It was a good warm-up for fall, though, since we have a 20-class schedule to offer! Classes start September 3rd, which is only TWO WEEKS AWAY!!! I can't believe it!

This is a photo from ballet camp, taken in mid-July. It's hard to get lots of photos and also teach!

Registration is going on now, and I will be in the studio this week and next, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 3-7pm. I will also be there Saturday the 30th from 9-3. Anyone who wants a registration packet mailed to them should either call or e-mail with their name and address and I will send it right away.

Last week, we had a booth at the Greene County Fair. I love the fair, and look forward to it every year (on a side note, my butter cake has won a blue ribbon two years in a row!). Having the booth was a lot of work though. We were there every night for 6 or 7 hours! I loved having the opportunity to talk to people about the studio. Lots of people had already heard of us, but some hadn't, and everyone was enthusiastic about us being here, and wishing us luck.

One of the projects I'm most excited about for fall is our December production of The Nutcracker. For those of you unfamiliar with this holiday classic, The Nutcracker is a ballet about a little girl who recieves a gift of a toy nutcracker doll at a party. After the party, she falls asleep with her doll and dreams a fantastic dream, including a fight between toy mice and toy soldiers and her nutcracker doll becoming a prince and taking her to the Land of Sweets where the Suagr Plum Fairy and all her friends perform for them. We will be producing a shortened version of the ballet this year. Auditions for placement (everyone will be cast) are being held September 13th!

And of course, our Social Dance Night is held every Thursday night from 7-10 pm! This month Tom is teaching waltz and cha cha, and next month we continue the waltz and starting salsa! This drop-in class requires no registration and costs $15 per person.

So as the dance school year approaches, I will try to be more regular about posting. If you live in the area, stop by and see the studio! We've worked hard on it and are so excited about the coming year!