Goals are a powerful way to fulfill the desire that made you go start your business in the first place. Without setting goals for ourselves we are like a river meandering along going somewhere without any time constraint and arriving at some point to some destination! Dance studio owners are usually artistic people and artistic people are usually dreamers. The key is to set goals that will make our dreams a reality. It is important to not only set our goals for our studio at the beginning of the year but also to revisit them during the year so that we are constantly staying focused on those dreams.
If you haven’t already done so, take a moment and fill out a description of your goals. List your goals for this year, next year and then five years from now. Use your imagination and visualize where you want to see yourself by this time next year and in five years. Our goals are always a work in progress and that is why it is so important to revisit them frequently.
A successful business is the result of a successful person. Your business is truly an extension of who you are and what you stand for as a person. It is important to assess your strengths in business and also to recognize your weaknesses. One way that you can take to help put all of this in perspective is to look back at your life and make a list of your achievements both in business and personally. An achievement is not always something public and may not be an award or trophy. It may be something that only you know about that made a huge difference to how you moved forward in your life.
I suggest making a list of your achievements. Go back to high school and then take it forward. You will be amazed at what pops into your head and I guarantee that you will be surprised at the moments that come to mind. Pay special attention to anything on this list that relates in any way to your business or to any of the skills that you feel would be helpful in propelling your business forward.
The next step is to make a list of your personal strengths and any ability that you feel is outstanding. For instance, are you friendly? Do you have a good sense of humor? Are you honest and compassionate? Are you an optimist no matter what? One of the most important strengths is to be adaptable because in our type of business no two days are the same and there is invariably something that we have to change gears with. Being adaptable is a life saver and eliminates a lot of stress. Write all of your strengths down and then acknowledge them and by doing so you will be able to unleash your full power.
Identifying our weaknesses is just as important as knowing our strengths. Acknowledging the areas that we have trouble with, makes it possible for us to understand where to go for help. Many studio owners started their business because of their love of dance and it was because of their love of dance that they were able to become dance teachers. A large percentage of studio owners never had any business training and so there are very possibly areas where you need practical assistance. You can always work to strengthen your weaknesses but very often you are better off strengthening the assets that are already strong and letting others who are capable in other areas help you out. You definitely need a very different set of skills to run all areas of a dance studio. One of the secrets to achieving your goals is realizing that it is perfectly acceptable to ask for help from those individuals who have the skills that you do not possess. Build your business around your assets and make it your goal to share your very special gifts with the people in your life.
