In 2024, over 27 million Americans over the age of six participated in some sort of dance class. While there’s certainly interest in dance classes, your studio needs to go beyond its typical offerings to maximize its earning potential. This guide will cover unique revenue streams that boost dance studio revenue so you can increase funds outside of tuition fees and feel confident about the future of your business.
Selling merchandise is a tried-and-true method of boosting dance studio revenue while also helping your marketing efforts. Every time your dancers wear branded apparel or use your merchandise in public, you benefit from free marketing throughout the community.
To make the most of this opportunity, think about what your dancers want beyond traditional apparel, like t-shirts. Do they want to carry their shoes in a tote bag with their studio or team’s logo? Do their parents want to drink their coffee out of mugs branded to the studio where their kids spend all their time? Determine what products will garner the most interest, and then partner with a platform designed for small businesses like yours.
Select an apparel fundraising company that offers:
The best part? Once you record a class, you can keep and sell it for as long as you want! There are no more class caps for awesome opportunities here.
Managing your studio’s schedule can be difficult, but embrace unconventionality in the name of your community. In return, you’ll secure some extra funds while making participation convenient for all your dancers.
You might even find that people who attend these events get hooked and become official students of your studio afterward. To maximize participation, encourage the organizations to send out email reminders about the event in the days leading up to it.
Designate a Friday evening as “date night” or “present shopping night” around the holidays, and have parents drop off their children for a night of fun to raise money for your studio.
Besides dance, offer other fun activities to appeal to many interests, like crafts or a “fashion show” with old recital costumes. Charge parents an appropriate amount for the time you’ll be watching them, and then start letting people know!
This strategy is great for specific team fundraising needs because it’s one that the team itself can participate in. Older dancers can be great babysitters, and they’ll feel empowered that they’re helping to pay for competition fees, costumes, or whatever they need to be successful.
Additionally, a parents’ night out can introduce families to your studio. Incorporate a short dance lesson or game so kids can test out their dance skills and see if they’d enjoy taking real classes at your studio.
This revenue stream idea has several benefits. First, it prevents waste. Sometimes, a dancer wants to try something new, such as tap classes, buys new tap shoes, and then decides that tap isn’t for them. Rather than sitting unused in a box forever or getting thrown out during spring cleaning, another dancer can give those shoes new life.
Second, selling dance items at a reduced rate can help families with lower disposable income levels get involved in dance. Because brand new gear can be prohibitively expensive, buying things secondhand removes some of that burden and allows individuals of all backgrounds to participate.
Third, your studio gets to keep 100% of the profits from this revenue stream since the items were donated to you in the first place. It’s a win-win-win!
It’s inevitable that students graduate and move away. Just because they’re no longer enrolled in your classes doesn’t mean that you have to lose contact with them completely, though!
Maintaining these relationships and keeping them up to date on what’s happening at your studio makes them more likely to support your studio financially. After all, many of them likely have fond memories dancing at your studio, and this emotional connection makes them valuable prospects.
Keep a segmented list in your organization’s dance studio software of dancers who have aged out or otherwise moved on, and then email them every so often with your best wishes and invitations to alumni events.
These events could be anything from dinners to dance classes. Invite them early enough so they can plan to attend, and charge a registration fee to cover the cost of the event. Dinner and drinks are great for adults, whereas college students might be more interested in a dance class to move their bodies over winter break.
While they’re there, remember to show off your new merchandise to them and ask if they want any gear of their own.
Running a dance studio isn’t easy, but generating revenue doesn’t have to be stressful. With these ideas for engaging with your community and expanding the value you provide, you can increase dance studio revenue and dance your way into a bright future.