Year Two:
A year and a half ago, my mom and I co-opened a dance studio in Evergreen Park, IL. Our vision was to develop an artful and educational dance program. We never dreamed that in year two our enrollment would sky rocket and collaborations with the area school district would be in full swing. We, as a duo, could not be more proud.
Over the summer we successfully ran a dance program at the Evergreen Park Elementary summer program. This led to further interest in a continuing collaboration throughout the school year. On top of our in studio summer class and camp program, we collaborated with A Fairytale Ballet for an extra special and exclusive one day camp that the students were ecstatic about. Overall, the growth of Mongan Dance Academy has exceeded our expectations and has been so fulfilling.
From here our dreams only get bigger. We are excited to start working more with the Evergreen Park School District. My vision of creating a performance group with our older students seems more of a reality now than ever. We have dedicated and committed students who are eager to grow as dancers and artists at our studio. We are looking forward to fully realizing our vision and really molding our program into what has been a longtime dream.
Submitted by TDC dancer Shannon Edwards, Thursday, September 25, 2014.
Where will I be in five years? It seems a popular question to ask. But for me, the opposite question gives me more opportunity to assess my current state. Five years ago, where did I think I would be today?
Allow me to start at the beginning. After graduating with a BFA in Dance, Performance & Choreography, I moved to Chicago to pursue dancing with The Dance COLEctive. Four years later, I am now the Manager of a small children's dance studio here in Chicago, the owner of which lives out of state. Like most people, whatever I thought I would be doing five years ago is not what has happened or even will eventually happen. I had never dreamed of owning a dance studio, and I certainly never thought I would find myself running one for someone else. So here I am, making a career out of my passion (and the degree that I will be working to pay off for the next 15 years) and taking every opportunity I can to squeeze the juice out of this life in order to make a living.
Ups and downs come with any job and just because I am working in a career field that also happens to be my passion does not eliminate those struggles. It DOES force me to evaluate my life and my "passion" on a daily basis. I often ask myself " Do I really know what I am doing?" or " Is this going to work?" When it comes to studio business decisions, I go with my gut; to be honest, most of what I have done is completely trial and error. Luckily, it has worked out so far and I have helped to grow the business through what I would call 'Personal Force'. Being the only Manager, teaching most of the classes, and being responsible for all the administration and housekeeping, I am literally doing it ALL. However, at the same time I am responsible for it ALL. Do we want to increase enrollment numbers by adding classes in the morning? Sure! Olivia will teach those. Do we want to encourage community togetherness with Friday night dance parties? Yes! Olivia will teach those. More dancers equals more phone calls, of which Olivia will answer. Should we make a shift to being paperless in our communication? Of course! That means more emails for Olivia to answer. I have found that with growth comes more "opportunity", but when you are the all-in-one manager/teacher/maid/administrator that means more work for YOU.
Quite literally, I have opened the door for this growth and then accepted the consequences by taking on more responsibilities. Of course it is rewarding to see that what I am doing is working, but I often wonder if this work I am doing (for someone else's business) is the best path for me. Should I reevaluate what part of the dance world my passion lies? Where do I think I will be in 5 years? I really don't know, so be sure to check back in with me in 2019, and I will let you know how these next five years pan out.
Submitted by TDC dancer Olivia May, on Tuesday, March 13, 2014.
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| 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.
