How to make a profit with after-school classes

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Forum -> Working Women

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amother

OP ↓

Tue, Aug 06 2024, 1:07 am

I am hoping someone out there has some advice for me.

Here is the scenario.

For the sake of this thread, I am a dance teacher. I have groups of girls who come to my studio and I teach them to dance. I have several groups, different ages and skill levels.
At the end of each session, each group does a large performance for an audience.

I have been doing this for several years. I charge up front for about 8 weeks. We start at the beginning with very easy steps and it gets harder and more sophisticated as the weeks go on. Ideally, after 8 weeks, the same girls will enroll for another 8 weeks, and so on until the performance. (Lets say the performance is at the end of 24 weeks).
From the beginning, we are working towards the performance. Each session brings up their level and they become more advanced.

Here's the problem. I don't feel I can have people commit to, say 24 weeks upfront. It's expensive and what if they don't like it? 8 weeks is a smaller commitment.

At the same time, I need a minimum number of girls per class to make it worth my time.

But after 8 weeks, some people drop out. The problem is that I'm still committed to the girls who stayed. And at the same time, I can't easily incorporate new girls into the group because they will be far behind the more advanced students.

So, asking people to commit to 24 classes upfront is not so realistic. But if I do less classes, after one 8 week session, I may not be able to continue with the group if there are fewer than the minimum needed.

This has been a source of frustration for me, especially since many times I feel locked in to continue with my current students, even if it's very few kids, and that stops me from being able to start a new group. I haven't been able to figure out a solution to this.

I hope that was clear. Anyone have any advice for me, how to run my classes so that I can be both profitable and still take students to the more advanced levels?

amother

Cinnamon

Tue, Aug 06 2024, 1:11 am

Can you write in the contract that it's for 8 weeks and provided that there is a minimum (whatever amount will make it worth it for you) of girls that continue to enroll, it will go up to 24 weeks. (So if it's less then that, you can end it and start a new group)

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Aug 06 2024, 1:17 am

amother Cinnamon wrote:

Yes I can, but I feel it's a chaval.
The goal is to get the students to a certain level- to the performance.
It's not the only goal. Obviously they gain a lot even from the initial 8 week set. Thats when they learn all the fundamentals.
And yet, they can go so much further.
I am seeking committed students who are ready to stay for the whole thing.
But those who do want to continue end up losing out if not enough people in the class want to go on as well.

amother

Quince

Tue, Aug 06 2024, 1:21 am

She wants to work.tje girls up to performance standard, and the performance is part of her publicity, so it has to be good.

How about offering a two week trial, then anyone who wants to stay has to commit for the year?

You could run separate short term groups, like in the summer.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Aug 06 2024, 6:52 am

Thanks. This is an interesting idea.
I can try something like that but I'm not sure how practical it is. It's mainly about coughing up the money.
Most people can afford to pay 150 or so up front , every 2 months or so. But if I ask ppl to commit to a year's full of classes, it only works if they are asked to pay and it's a lot of money to shell out.

teachkids

Tue, Aug 06 2024, 7:09 am

amother OP wrote:

What if you did 2 sets of 12 weeks?

singleagain

Tue, Aug 06 2024, 7:09 am

amother OP wrote:

Can you work with a payment plan? Instead of the whole things being due upfront give them a month to get the amount in?

You'd still get all the money before the end but your know they are committed

mushkamothers

Tue, Aug 06 2024, 7:12 am

Smaller easier performance at 12 weeks

Then at end of year, anyone whos done the 12 weeks can come back for another 8 weeks to finalize for the grand performance?

Ie groups a b and c from 3 different cohorts all join together to become the big performance cohort

honey36

Tue, Aug 06 2024, 7:14 am

I don't think the performance has to be amazing. The most parents really want from these classes are for the girls to be active and have fun. The performance is just a bonus.

I would advertise spots opened up and just add new girls into the existing group. You will have to review the basics with the original group again, but I think that's fine. Extra practice never hurt anyone

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Aug 06 2024, 7:43 am

honey36 wrote:

Regarding the performance being amazing-heres the thing. Some students come to me because they really want to learn at an advanced level. Other come just for the fun or to pass the time. So for those serious students , they want to go far with the classes. The performance being on a high level is part of it.

(For the sake of clarity, I am using dance as an example because I don't want to identify the real skill I teach. The point is that some students want to go far and advance in this skill. And I feel a responsibility to continue working with them. But it just becomes hard for me to devote my time to fewer students, making less per class, than my time is worth. )

2429

Tue, Aug 06 2024, 8:27 am

Can you have different levels?
So people can sign up for correct level

seeker

Tue, Aug 06 2024, 9:43 am

Maybe market two separate classes, one 8 week program for the just for fun kids and one longer for those who want to aim for advanced.

I don't know what your maximum capacity is for how many kids you can teach at once, but maybe start off with a larger minimum with the intention of still having enough left after the predictable dropouts.

farm

Tue, Aug 06 2024, 9:11 pm

Take a look how gymnastics classes work. Somehow they manage to cater to multiple levels (each night of the week is a different skill level) and do 12 week sessions at a time. That’s what I’ve seen. If you end up with a lot of beginners and a lot of advanced but no middles, you adapt for your next 12 week session with 2 nights advanced and 2 beginner, etc?

amother

Bluebell

Tue, Aug 06 2024, 11:55 pm

Re payment: best to set it up with automatic payments, monthly, on a card. CC fees are about 3%. It's worth it.

If you offer 8 weeks, they think 8 weeks. If you present it as a yearly program, they'll view it as a yearly program. Be upfront of the timing and costs.

Also, you can alter the class time based on the number of people in the group. So if there's 10 girls, it's X long, but if it drops to 6 girls, it's Y long.

Also, you can anticipate some girls dropping. So don't start a group with a minimum number. Start when you have a minimum + a few more.

Raisin

Wed, Aug 07 2024, 4:47 am

Can you have a beginners and advanced class?

amother

Sunflower

Sun, Aug 11 2024, 1:18 am

How about keeping the classes and adding a bonus- presentation prep- at the end of each class- only for girls who are sure they'd like to stay the whole time.

amother

↑ OP

Sun, Aug 11 2024, 1:23 am

amother Sunflower wrote:

How about keeping the classes and adding a bonus- presentation prep- at the end of each class- only for girls who are sure they'd like to stay the whole time.

That won't really work for me. Classes are an hour long, and I usually can't devote more time per class.

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