On starting her own business

 

Photo by Eric Olson

Mongan Dance Academy opened in June of 2013. It was a long time coming. As beautiful as the studio is, it first started as just a thought.

My mom and I have worked together before. We had several conversations about how awesome it would be to bring our two passions together and create our own business. I am a lifelong dancer with a passion for teaching, and my mother is a brilliant business woman with a love for the youth. An opportunity arose and we took it, knowing that we were risking a lot. However, it was a risk we were more than willing to take.

The easy part was our creative collaborations. Finding a space on the southwest side of Chicago seemed logical. Deciding on a name for our business was a thoughtful process, but we soon agreed to use the name of the street my sisters and I grew up on. It was a place where the whole family grew together. Soon enough, we found a quaint space that would most definitely serve wonderfully as Mongan Dance Academy. My mother put her extraordinary talent of crafting, woodwork, and designing to work. Soon the space was a beautiful dance studio, complete with mirrors, hand-crafted ballet barres, and dance floors.

The biggest challenge wasn't putting our minds together, it was pulling in clientele. We were off to a slow start. Our student body was minimal and our means of marketing were reliant on the two of us. We were interviewed for news articles, posted flyers, and even walked door to door throughout Evergreen Park, IL. We decided to have a five week summer camp promotion instead of just normal classes. We developed a Facebook page, joined a text marketing program, had booths at local vendor fairs, and walked up and down the lined streets at the Fourth of July parade. Somewhere between the Facebook setup and the parade, we hit a boom. Calls flooded our phone lines and soon we had to open another day of camp just to accommodate our pre-school kids. The program went wonderfully and soon we started our Fall Program.

Of all the marketing we tried, our clients reported that Facebook posts and re-posts caught their eye and prompted them to call. Word of mouth tipped and soon friends and family were joining. As the students consistently trickle in, we are excitedly waiting for our next boom.

Dance students have showed eager interest in the program. Yet, somehow, adults are still unwilling to join in with our incredible fitness classes. It seems that the workout world on the southwest side of Chicago stays popular in gyms. We have a small group of devoted attendees, but our newest challenge is bringing in an even larger adult student body.

Mongan Dance Academy has truly been a dream come true thus far. It is so great (contrary to popular belief) to be working so closely with my mother. Challenges are super common in this journey. However, I believe these challenges only exist to better our program in the long run. I have learned so much about myself, my dancing, my teaching ethics, and team building. Ultimately, Mongan Dance is worth every bit of the hard work it has taken.

Submitted by TDC dancer Shannon Edwards on November 12, 2013.