I remember when I first decided that I was going to open a studio how I was an optimistic idealist. I was convinced that I was smart enough to make it all work, that I’d be able to quickly make it my primary income, and find ways to secure my family’s financial future.
Boy, was I wrong.
I still see this in many of the fresh faced new studio owners that I talk to.
Just last week I spoke with a young duo of recent college grads that had teamed up to open a studio in their home town. That had actually done a pretty good job of enrolling students in the first two months of their first season.
But, they missed their goal (their goal happened to be their break-even point) by 50%. They now had a lease to pay, a payroll to meet every two weeks, and a small loan to repay that was costing them a pretty good chunk of change every month. They realized that if they didn’t enroll more students quickly it meant rethinking how they were going to make this work, and maybe getting jobs (gasp!) to help subsidize the studio income.
So they reached out to me asking for some advice.
“Today it’s a completely different story. I have the marketing tools in place to drive new students to enroll as often and quickly as I want, all year round.”
Man, I remember that feeling. That feeling when things kind of worked, but fell short of where they needed to be. . . or where I expected them to be.
It all sort of rushed back to me as their story unfolded over the phone. I could remember being there myself, unsure of what to do next, but willing and eager to try just about anything that would work. If only I knew then what I know now.
Today it’s a completely different story. I have the marketing tools in place to drive new students to enroll as often and quickly as I want, all year round.
And, you know what? It’s not because I stayed an optimist. It’s not because I stayed an idealist. As a matter of fact, I did the opposite.
I realized that things weren’t just going to get better on their own. I HAD TO DO SOMETHING. I had to take responsibility and invest in the future of my studio.
So here’s my question:
Would it help you to grow your own studio if you could take a peak behind the curtain of what’s working in successful studios today? Then, you could simply copy what’s working and apply it to your own business.
This cuts years off the learning curve and will save you tens of thousands of dollars.
Take a moment and fill out this simple form that will let me know a little bit more about your studio and your goals.
Then, you’ll be rerouted to my personal calendar where you can choose a time for us to spend about 30 minutes on a call talking specifically about your situation, your studio, your goals, and whether or not it makes sense for us to work together.
Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I think being optimistic is awesome, but it needs to be tempered with being realistic as well. And, if you don’t DO something your studio will simple slide along laterally and never grow.
It’s still important to remain optimistic, but if we stay too idealistically blind to the reality of our situation, we’ll never get anywhere. And staying optimistic and motivated while also remaining realistic is a hard balance to keep by yourself. We’d love to help!
Good luck in all you do.