Discovering Your Character Strengths as a Studio Owner—and Using Them to Show Up Authentically

As a dance studio owner, you wear countless hats: teacher, leader, mentor, marketer, business strategist, and so much more. With so many responsibilities, it’s easy to lose sight of who you are at your core. But here's the truth, your greatest asset isn’t your curriculum, your branding, or your class schedule. It’s you.

More specifically, it’s your character strengths—the unique, positive traits that come most naturally to you. When you know and embrace them, they become powerful tools that help you lead with confidence, connect with your community, and show up authentically in everything you do.

What Are Character Strengths?

Character strengths are the positive parts of your personality that influence how you think, feel, and behave. Based on research in positive psychology, the VIA Institute on Character identifies 24 universal strengths—like creativity, leadership, perseverance, kindness, and humor—that each of us express in varying degrees.

As a studio owner, you likely use these strengths every day—whether you’re calming a nervous toddler before class, guiding your team through recital season, or launching a new program with bold creativity.

Discovering Your Top Strengths

The first step is self-discovery. The VIA Character Strengths Survey is a free, science-backed assessment that ranks your 24 strengths in order. Your top five—your “signature strengths”—are the ones that come most naturally to you and energize you when used.

Take the assessment with curiosity, not judgment. There’s no “ideal” set of strengths for a studio owner. A leader with high humor and zest might create a studio culture that’s joyful and lighthearted. Another with strengths in prudence and perseverance may run a tight, efficient ship that thrives on consistency and long-term vision.

Using Your Strengths to Your Advantage

Once you’ve identified your top strengths, the magic lies in intentionally applying them in your daily work. Here’s how:

1. Lead with Authenticity

When you operate from your strengths, your leadership feels more natural and confident. If kindness is a top strength, use it to create a nurturing environment for your staff and students. If creativity ranks high, lean into innovative programming or imaginative recital themes. You’ll feel more aligned—and others will feel more connected to the real you.

2. Make Better Decisions

Your strengths can guide you through tough choices. For example, if you’re high in fairness, you may naturally seek equity when resolving staff conflicts. If bravery is a strength, you may be more willing to take bold business leaps others might shy away from.

3. Strengthen Relationships

Your character strengths aren’t just about how you lead—they shape how you relate. Recognizing your own strengths helps you appreciate and identify strengths in others. This builds mutual respect, deepens team trust, and creates a culture where everyone feels seen and valued.

4. Prevent Burnout

You’re most energized when using your signature strengths. If you feel drained, it might be a sign you’re spending too much time outside of them. For example, if social intelligence is a top strength but you’re isolated behind your desk all day, consider shifting tasks or schedules to allow more time for connection.

Showing Up Authentically

Authenticity isn’t about being perfect—it’s about being real. When you know your strengths and lead from them, you naturally exude confidence, consistency, and trust. Parents notice. Dancers feel it. Your team rallies behind it.

You don’t have to copy the studio owner down the road. You just need to lean into what already makes you you.

Your character strengths are a compass, not a script. They won’t solve every challenge, but they’ll help you approach them with clarity and confidence. They remind you that your uniqueness is your power—and that by embracing your strengths, you can build a studio that’s not just successful, but soulfully aligned.

So go ahead—take the assessment, reflect on your results, and start showing up as the most authentic version of yourself. Your dancers—and your business—will thank you for it.

Connect at Pinnacle Dance Conference and Retreat

Learn more about living your signature strengths at Tiffany Henderson’s Pinnacle Dance Conference and Retreat July 18-20, 2025 at the Omni Royal Orleans in New Orleans, LA. Immerse yourself in three days of dance movement classes, business seminars from leaders in the industry, plus preview the all new Dance Positive courses within a like-minded community of dance educators. 

TACKLING Financial Instability

Welcome to mid-season in your dance studio—a time when you’re simultaneously creating for this season and planning for the next.

Through my connections with studio owners in the Twinkle Star Dance community, my Diamond Circle coaching clients, and Dance the Dream parade events, I’ve learned that many of us share the same five major challenges:

1. Work/Life Balance

2. Financial Instability

3. Hiring and Management

4. Gaining a Competitive Edge in Saturated Markets

5. Keeping Up with Trends

Last week, we explored strategies to improve Work/Life Balance. Today, let’s dive into Financial Instability, a challenge that often leaves us feeling like our business is running us instead of the other way around.

Whether your business isn’t yet profitable, you’re not categorizing revenue correctly, or you’re rebuilding after losing a performing company group or key teacher, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Trust me, I’ve been there.

In my early days as a studio owner, I expanded my one-room studio to a three-room location, taking on an additional lease with the plan to sublet my original space. How hard could it be? Then the real estate market crashed. For three years, I drove home every night after teaching, waving goodbye to my $3,000 monthly salary just to stay afloat.

It’s safe to say I’ve made my fair share of mistakes. However, those experiences have equipped me with the knowledge to offer practical solutions for tackling financial instability.

Financial Instability

It’s easy to get caught up in adding extra community events or outside performance opportunities to your calendar. This season, I challenge you to focus on maximizing your two primary revenue streams: Class Tuition Revenue and Recital Revenue. 

1. Class Tuition Revenue

Your dance classes are the foundation of your business. Focus on making them exceptional by creating or implementing a proven curriculum that balances structure and fun.

For example, the Twinkle Star Dance program introduces young dancers to ballet, tap, jazz, and creative movement. Students learn basic steps while developing their ability to follow directions and imitate movement in a positive environment. Engaging music and props like Twinkle bears help inspire creativity and imagination, ensuring young dancers have fun while learning.

2. Recital Revenue

I’m a strong advocate for hosting two recitals per year—one during the holiday season and another in the spring. Dancers pay a recital participation fee that includes the performance, costume, tights, action photos, wide-angle video, and a dancer ribbon or medal.

Notice I didn’t mention tickets. When it comes to recital tickets, implement tiered pricing and reserved seating, and avoid selling out by organizing smaller, shorter shows if necessary. Based on our data, we plan for every dancer to sell an average of five tickets. This strategy ensures your recitals are both profitable and enjoyable for your audience.

Join Me for More Insights

If you’re seeking actionable advice and time to recharge, I invite you to join me at the Pinnacle Dance Conference and Retreat this summer. Pinnacle is July 18-20, 2025 at the stunning Omni Royal Orleans, in the heart of the French Quarter. This weekend getaway is designed to help dance studio owners reconnect, learn, and grow their businesses.

Check back next week as I share my tips and tricks for overcoming Hiring and Management challenges.

Meet Tiffany Henderson

Tiffany Henderson is a leader in the dance industry and a seasoned business expert. She owns and operates multiple Tiffany’s Dance Academy locations in Northern California. Her video-based teacher training system and curriculum, Twinkle Star Dance, is currently implemented in over 300 dance studios worldwide.

Beat the Summer Cash Flow Blues

I am here to say offering a year-round dance season changed my studio (and my life). 

We all know the summer struggles of owning a dance studio: decreased monthly revenue, using recital profits to “float” through summer, and unexpected financial hardships leading to stress at the start of the new season. 

I want to let you in on a little something I call “the un-summer summer.” Here are six of my tried and true tips to beat the summer cash flow blues:

1. Recital Profit - Think Beyond Recital Tickets
   When you have audience members at your shows they want to buy things. Offer flowers, trophies, t-shirts, and concessions for them to buy during the performance or even send out a “buy by reply” email to order ahead of time.

2. New Season Registration - Be the First Activity on the Family Calendar
   Start your new season enrollment early while your dancers are still currently enrolled. We run our new season registration in April for classes that begin in July. Offer the best promotion on your registration day (ie “The Kitchen Sink”) and start generating a buzz 2-3 weeks prior.

3. Spring Sessions - Never Stop Taking Enrollment
   We don’t turn away business at any time of the year. Notice trends in your studio and add new classes to your schedule that run March - June. You can offer them a chance to participate in the recital by using in-stock costumes or have them wear their dress code with accessories.

4. Don’t Take a Traditional Summer - Offer a Year-Round Dance Season
   Your business cannot survive on revenue from summer dance camps alone! Parents actually prefer to register for the class, day, time, and teacher that they will have all season and pay $90 monthly dance class tuition versus $125 for one week of dance camp.

5. Additional Revenue Sources - Add to your Bottom Line
   By offering dress code and costumes I aim to make commissions that equates to one month of tuition revenue. Check out Revolution Dancewear for my recommended dress code.

6. Summer Camps and Intensives - Keep Hours Conservative and Pricing Competitive
   We run Summer Camps and Intensives in conjunction with our year-round season in June, July, and August. We max out our camps at between 2-3 hours per day and offer flexible times as well as weekly/daily rates.

Want to know more best business practices to help your studio stay cash positive in the summer? Join me for Spark Virtual January 13, 2024. 

Meet Tiffany Henderson 

Tiffany Henderson is an industry leader and dance business expert. Tiffany owns and operates multiple Tiffany's Dance Academy locations in Northern California. Her video-based teacher training system and curriculum, Twinkle Star Dance, is currently implemented in 300+ dance studios worldwide.

Model Musical Connection

Connecting to music and moving your body is how we fall in love with dance. Music is pleasurable and plays an essential role in our wellbeing. Many researchers also believe that music strengthens social bonds and connections. 

Dancing to music increases coordination and cooperation with others; gives us an oxytocin boost; and strengthens our ”theory of mind” and empathy for others. 

Music works a lot like language does—except instead of words and ideas, emotions and intent are communicated. In this way, similar to language, music and dance can be passed from generation to generation. 

Here are some tips to model musical connection in your dance classes:  

Discuss How to Listen to Music 

Talk about the set of 8, beat, and tempo with your preschool and recreational dancers. Practice counting the 8-count and clapping the beat with them. Discuss how the speed of the beat is the tempo. 

When choreographing for preschool and recreational dancers try to keep phrases in 4’s and 8’s with a repetitive chorus. Use musical cues in - they can hear them and it makes the dance interesting. 

Use themes that are appropriate for the dancer's age and stage. For example, Twinkle Babies 2-3 dancing to “Cuddle Bug Boogie” with imagery of ladybugs, gardens, etc. 

Sing the Song

When teaching them, talk through the dance until you see their attention start to fade. At that point do the dance with the music and continue past the section that you taught them. They should be able to follow along with you and do that dance. 

Sing the song with them with arms while seated before you stand up to teach the dance. Sometimes when they are standing and facing the mirror they become distracted and miss the choreography. They can only learn if they are focused. When standing they are also thinking about what their feet are doing. Learning the words with arms first is best.

Perfect Practice Makes Progress

Preschool and recreational dancers will give half of what you give them so when you teach babies you have to give 200% energy and enthusiasm for the movement as well as exaggerate your arms and steps.

Only work on the recital dance for 10 minutes max in each class. This should be a part of what they are learning and running the dance 2-3 times in each class will keep them excited and eager to come back to class the next week. Give them as much time as you possibly can to learn the dance.

Face them away from the mirror and/or cover mirrors one month prior to your show. Sit down with your hands behind your back and watch the class do the dance one month before the recital. This will give you a true assessment of what they know without your help and what you need to work on. You will automatically want to help them, so that is why you need to put your hands behind your back. 

Rediscover your light at Spark Mini-Conference Series.

https://www.twinklestardance.com/spark-chicago

https://www.twinklestardance.com/spark-new-jersey

Meet Tiffany Henderson 

Tiffany Henderson is an industry leader and dance business expert. Tiffany owns and operates multiple Tiffany's Dance Academy locations in Northern California. Her video-based teacher training system and curriculum, Twinkle Star Dance, is currently implemented in 300+ dance studios worldwide.

Preschool Dance Teaching Tip

 “If you can say it, you can do it!”  Young dancers need to connect brain to body, and using a “dancing sentence” can help them learn. 

Turn your exercise or combination into a melody that matches the rhythm and cadence of the movement.  Model the “dancing sentence” for the dancers while encouraging them to say it with you, and watch for magic! 

Here is a great way to say and do SKIP:

“March Hop, Step Passe, March Hop, We’re Skipping Today”

Want More? Did you know that our Twinkle Star Dance Program comes complete with exclusive voice-activated Ballet and Jazz skills for your preschool dancers. 

Meet Tiffany Henderson 

Tiffany Henderson is an industry leader and dance business expert. Tiffany owns and operates multiple Tiffany's Dance Academy locations in Northern California. Her video-based teacher training system and curriculum, Twinkle Star Dance, is currently implemented in 300+ dance studios worldwide.