You Deserve it!
In 2006, there was a 37-year-old dance teacher and studio owner who loved her job deeply. She believed that the more of herself she gave to her students, the better their experience would be. This often meant working many hours for free to give as much as she could to her students. Studio work was unpaid because there just wasn’t enough money to cover those expenses. She frequently held rehearsals for free, convinced that parents wouldn’t pay more even if they had the money. Preparations for recitals were always unpaid due to the sheer number of hours required, making it financially impossible for the business to cover those costs.
In addition to her studio work, she also had a “real” day job that provided the income needed to support her passion. Her young daughter, fortunately, loved to dance. The daughter often arrived at the studio early with her mom because of her mom's work and stayed late to wait for her to finish teaching, office work, or meetings. Her husband was very understanding and supportive, but he rarely saw his wife before 10 p.m. on weeknights and 5 p.m. on weekends. Despite these challenges, she continued to pursue what she loved with dedication and passion.
This dance teacher and studio owner was me. My yearly income was dismal. To say I was overworked and underpaid doesn’t even sum it up—I became very adept at borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.
In 2006, while pregnant with my second child, the studio came into a small windfall due to a theater rental mix-up. My two business partners and I decided to attend Project Motivate. It was there, in 2006, that I had a lightbulb moment—the biggest "AHA" I have ever experienced. An epiphany, if you will. Rhee Gold was giving one of his great talks, and at one point, he said:
“you deserved to get paid”.
He said five simple words that changed everything for me. I turned to my partners and said, "We are never working for free again." At the time, I didn't know how we would achieve it, but that became my mission.
Every parent who brings their child to dance has a job, and they get paid for that job. We should be paid for ours too. Every contractor we do business with in our lives gets paid. Who the hell works for free!? This change meant we had to let go of emotional decision-making, especially when it came to families with overdue accounts. It's always the same families every year. We put on our big girl pants and found the courage to deal with that recurring issue.
What helped me change was realizing that I couldn't afford to take my family on a vacation, while those families never seemed to have a problem going on vacation. Not anymore. We were going to get paid just like their travel agent.
There was a mindset that needed to change, and change it did.Part of our mentality was inherited from our dance teacher, from whom we bought the studio. She did so much work on her own and had her mom help with the books. It was a different time. This was what many smaller dance studio owners did back in the day. There was typically one owner, so any profit was theirs, whether large or small. They would run the studio from September to June, close for the summer, and start all over again. She only had one or two other teachers and a couple of class helpers when I started dancing. Over time, we became her teachers and class helpers. We helped with everything from sorting costumes, painting recital props, helping backstage, and going door to door with brochures. Most of this was unpaid time, although there would be little bonuses here and there and a costume or two for free.
It wasn't that our dance teacher was cheap; this was just how it was then. We did it because we loved being at the studio and we loved her. We would never have dreamed of asking for a paycheck for that sort of work.
Those five simple words changed how we moved forward as business owners. Until then, we were running the studio as dance teachers—great teachers who ran a business on the side. This was not a great way to build a profitable company. Thinking like a dance teacher has its place, but not when it comes to business decisions, fee increases, program changes, and policies. Those responsibilities are for business owners.
No more guilt or fear about charging for work done, whether it be teaching, rehearsing, meetings, traveling to competitions, or administrative work. This was definitely not an overnight achievement. It was a goal we set that took years to come to fruition, but we did it, and I am so proud of us. It took a lot of soul searching and absorbing advice from mentors and other successful studio owners. It took guts too. There is always that little voice within that says, “What if?”
What if we raise our prices and no one comes? What if we raise recital ticket prices and everyone complains? I am sure there were complaints, but they do not stand out in my memory. Maybe I just didn’t allow those complaints to take up space in my memory.Rhee said something else that day in 2006 and it was this.
“Just because you love what you do doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get paid for it.”
Boom. Truer words could not have hit me more than those.
We all love what we do, and I am so grateful I get to do what I love for a living. There are many people in this world who cannot make that statement. I don’t just mean teaching, although I still love it despite having drastically cut back my hours since 2006. I love working on the business too—watching it grow and providing a place for other people to do what they love.
It can be magical.
Post dance classes circa 2015
It took some time to ensure the three owners were paid for the work we do. Once we reached that summit, we moved on to our staff. We wanted to have a business where staff don’t feel obligated to work for us but rather want to work and know they will get paid for that work. Knowing they are valued and appreciated is paramount. We believe that this sense of belonging and appreciation filters into their students and everything they do.
By 2023, we pay everyone for any work done. We have close to 30 people on our staff, including teachers, guest choreographers, directors, administrative personnel, cleaning staff, props handlers, photographers, alterations specialists, and more. We have three levels of pay rates fixed to specific jobs. Our top level is each individual teacher’s pay rate. The second level is for staff doing a job that utilizes their skills and knowledge as a teacher but doesn’t involve teaching, such as attending dress rehearsals. Their skills and knowledge about what goes into a show and how backstage functions warrant a level 2 pay rate. Our lowest level, which is above minimum wage, is for tasks that "anyone can do." These tasks do not require a teacher's skills, such as attending school events to promote our studio or working the merchandise table at performances.
Occasionally, a staff member will say, “You don’t have to pay me for that; it’s fine. I like doing it.” We then take a minute to explain to them: “Just because you love what you do doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get paid for it.”