Sometimes as studio owners we get so caught up in the moment with each day rushing by, that we slowly start to become more and more disorganized without even realizing it. The end result of this is that everyone is running around in a panic trying to find the things that you need and spending twice as much on them because you need them immediately! Sound familiar? Trust me—we have all been there at one time or another.
I have found that by using two tools I have been able to overcome a lot of these problems, which in turn has definitely helped me have far less stress in my day to day life. The key is not to constantly be reinventing the wheel. What I do now is buy a big calendar for the upcoming year and I mark every event or special day when I am going to need something that I don’t have in house. For example, every September we have an ice cream social. For this event I need people to work it (I make this part of the company schedule), I need ice cream supplies and coolers to keep the ice cream in. We do arts and crafts and face painting for the little ones and bun making for students and mothers. It is always a great event for the children and the parents like it, too. I know I need all of these supplies for that day so I have a complete list in full view.
On my calendar I put the ordering deadline for the items needed, usually at least one month ahead of time, and I designate who is doing what for each event. For the ice cream social I need bun makers, arts and crafts people and reliable sensible people to serve the ice cream. Because I order everything in plenty of time I am very often able to take advantage of special discounts and sale events, which all helps our bottom line.
Here are some suggestions to help you become better organized for all your events:
1) Buy a large calendar.
2) Make a list of every event that you have at your studio for the entire season.
3) Write on the calendar both the date of the event and the date by which everything must be ordered.
4) Make a detailed list for each event showing not only the items that you will need, but also who is going to be in charge of each task. This is especially helpful with staff members because you are able to give them plenty of notice regarding additional hours on those certain dates.
5) Find a space where, from year to year, you can store any items not used for each event. Then, before you order each year, you can check to see what you have and what you will need.
6) Investigate online companies that provide discounts or specials if you buy in bulk. Oriental Trading Company is one that provides some terrific novelty items at low cost, but there are other companies that, depending upon your needs, are worth contacting.
Another way that I have found to help the parents be more organized and to make a little extra money is to sell tights that are required, in particular for shows, at the studio. Parents were always complaining to me that they raced all over town and sometimes more than one town to find dance stores selling tights very often only to get there and discover that they were out of what they needed. I decided to call the local dancewear stores and see what they could do to help this situation.
The first couple of stores that I called told me that I could buy the tights in bulk at a discount but I explained to them that I really didn’t want to front the money for them and that I was looking to get them at a discount on consignment. They laughed at me and said 'Good Luck finding that deal!!!' The third store I called was happy to order them for me and give them to me at a discounted rate on consignment, which was exactly what I was looking for. It was a great deal for everyone. The parents were happy because they just had to stop by the studio, which they would have done anyway. The store was happy because even with the discount they were still going to make money plus have a better relationship with our studio for future business. Last but not least we were happy because we knew all the students would have the right tights and we no longer had discontented parents calling us up or talking to us at the studio in a very frustrated way. We simply made it more convenient for our customers.
Really, that is what organization is all about. Making everything more convenient, less stressful and more successful for everyone concerned. Over the summer when you have a little more time to actually sit down to plan next year, try this method–I’m sure it will work as well for you as it has for us.
