[AlexdeLarge]

My sister in law has been the owner/instructor of a dance school in a medium size town for the past ten years. All things considered, she has been a success. The business has always been barely profitable, but it paid her an income and gave her the joy of teaching what she loves.

However, now we are in the new economy and she is not sure how many students will be back in the fall and is debating closing. (Husband has a good income so revenue loss is not life changing.)

I was curious if any of you operated a similar business ( Dance, Martial Arts, Gymnastics etc.) or had children attending such a school and how the "New Normal" is affecting your business or wallets.

Perhaps you know of a blog that deals with such a business that I could point her to for advice.

Thanks

[pup55]

The spouse does have a similar kid-related business, and she finds that business is just as strong as ever. People will pay extra on activities like this if they perceive that the class will somehow result in their kids getting a bit of an extra edge in some aspect of life.....Reading, computer, certain sports

What you are forgetting is that for every set of struggling parents, there are some grandparents that are perfectly willing to fork over a few dollars.... even more so if the grandparents are frustrated pushful boomers that do not want their kids stuck in the rut that they are.

Perhaps your sister in law should go to the landlord, and lean on him to give her some concessions on the rent...From what I understand, right now, some tenants in these shopping centers are pushing back against the previous exploitative rents that some people are charging....so there is an opportunity for a bit of cost savings.

By all means, she should count her blessings.... being able to do what you love, and actually make a bit of an income out of it is priceless...

[threadbear]

"On a rainy morning in April, Lisa Feuer took the subway to the Brooklyn Dojo, a martial-arts studio where she was scheduled to teach a mommy-baby yoga class. Outside, streams of water poured from awnings into the collars of passers-by. When she got to the studio, Feuer shook out her umbrella and picked out music from her iPhone to play for the class. But in the next 20 minutes, no one else showed up."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/magaz ... yed-t.html

[Novus]

Mommy-baby yoga seems overly frivolous. But dance for kids 6 and up is more worthwhile. It teaches discipline and gets children on a healthier more active lifestyle away from TV and video games.