Dance Studio Owner Life Coaching

In Part 1 of this special two-part conversation, I'm joined by Hannah Olmo, a former teacher at my dance studio who has gone on to become New Jersey State Teacher of the Year! Hannah shares her journey as a dance educator and why she's passionate about making dance education available to more students. We talk about the powerful role dance plays in helping students find a sense of belonging, the importance of advocating for arts education, and how private dance studios and K–12 school programs can work together to support the students we share. It's an inspiring conversation about the value of dance education and the opportunities we can create when we work together. ------------- Hannah Olmo received a bachelor's degree in dance from Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts and a master's degree in dance education from Rutgers Graduate School of Education. Inspired by her own experience as a high school dancer without access to free public dance education, she is committed to ensuring that all students can experience dance and the arts regardless of background or financial circumstances. Hannah has spent eight years at Dover High School in the Dover Public Schools district, where she built a four-year, scaffolded dance program centered on equity, creativity, and community. The program serves approximately one hundred students in academic dance courses and more than eighty students through extracurricular opportunities. Hannah founded the Dance Club, Heritage Dance Ensemble, and the school's first chapter of the National Honor Society for Dance Arts, and revitalized the Latin Mix Club as a culturally focused dance group. Under her leadership, students have received recognition at the Morris County Teen Arts Festival and the State Teen Arts Festival, and several have continued their dance education at the college level and beyond. Hannah also produces the district's annual Spring Dance Concert, one of its largest events, featuring more than one hundred student performers and welcoming over five hundred audience members each year. Hannah is defined by her passion for creating spaces where students feel seen, valued, and empowered. Through dance, she helps young people develop artistic skill, confidence, discipline, cultural pride, and a lasting sense of community. Learn more about Hannah: https://www.njea.org/hannah-olmo-named-2026-27-new-jersey-state-teacher-of-the-year/

Your staff handbook might cover job responsibilities, but what about the everyday situations that can create safety concerns or misunderstandings? In this episode, Ginger shares several staff policies she's added or clarified at her own dance studio, including personal belongings, medications, pets, visitors, alcohol, and food. She explains the real-life situations that prompted these updates and why even well-intentioned staff members need clear expectations. You'll also hear why putting a policy in writing is only the beginning. Consistent communication and reinforcement are essential to making those policies effective. It's a good time to revisit your staff manual and consider what might need a little more clarification.   Get the Book! Studio Staffing Success: A Guide to Hiring, Training, and Retaining Amazing Dance Studio Staff By Ginger Haithcox Running a dance studio shouldn't mean doing everything yourself. Yet many owners struggle with unreliable teachers, unclear expectations, and constant turnover. In Studio Staffing Success, certified life coach and veteran studio owner Ginger Haithcox shares practical systems and real-world strategies to help you hire, train, and retain the right people—so your business can thrive with less stress and more confidence. Purchase Studio Staffing Success on Amazon

How much of what you believe about running your dance studio actually comes from your own experience, and how much was passed down to you? In this episode, I'm talking about the messages we inherit from our families, former teachers, mentors, and previous studio owners. From believing we'll never make enough money to retire or pay our staff well, to assuming certain families will never choose our studio, these beliefs can quietly influence how we run our businesses. I share some of my own early experiences with entrepreneurship and the studio owners who shaped my thinking. We'll explore how to recognize the assumptions that may be holding us back, question whether they're actually true, and take greater control of our financial decisions and the future of our studios. Are you carrying tradition or trauma?

How many times have you explained the same process to your staff? Sometimes the simplest systems can make the biggest difference in how smoothly your dance studio operates. In this episode, I'm sharing a recent experience from my photography business that reminded me how valuable it is to document the things we do repeatedly. Creating standard operating procedures (SOPs) doesn't have to be complicated. A simple set of written instructions can save time, reduce confusion, and help your team work more independently. I'm challenging you to identify just one recurring process in your studio this week and write it down. Over time, these small efforts can help you build a more organized, professional, and sustainable business. I also share a reminder about my Studio Owner Life Coach Weekly Planner, available now on Amazon at a new lower price to help you organize your business and personal life.

Fall can bring plenty of reasons for dance studio owners to panic. Enrollment may be lower than expected, competition teams may have changed, new competitors or demographic shifts may be affecting your programs, or an unexpected problem may completely disrupt your plans. In this episode, Ginger shares a reminder that dance studio owners are already creative and complex problem solvers. You build schedules around levels, ages, teachers, and genres. You create choreography, rework dances when something goes wrong, plan productions, and find ways to bring out the best in your students. Those same skills belong in your business. Ginger also talks about how the thoughts you repeat can affect the way you respond to a problem. Using her own unexpected search for a new recital venue, she explores what changes when you move away from "I don't know what we're going to do" and deliberately start looking for possibilities. Whether you're dealing with declining enrollment, unexpected growth, staffing challenges, marketing frustration, or plans that suddenly have to change, this episode is an invitation to remember what you've already proven: you're a creative, complex problem solver, and you've solved hard problems before.