“I feel like I’m drowning”
“I’m ready to give up and walk away”
“It’s just not worth it anymore”
“I’m so tired
If you’re a dance studio owner, you’ve probably said at least one of these things over the past couple years. And even though our world seems to be taking steps to get back to “normal”, not much is feeling better, which only adds to our disappointment. The truth is, most business owners are burned out AF right now.
If you clicked on this blog post, you must be feeling that way, and you’re probably looking for some solutions to bring you some relief.
They say “you can’t pour from an empty cup”, and that’s true. ☕️
But what do you do if you don’t even have a cup? What if your cup is cracked, broken, and leaky, so that everytime you even try to pour something in it, you’re left with a puddle, and you think to yourself, “great, one more thing for me to clean up”?
And sure, some of your coping skills have been coffee, wine, and Netflix (I mean, who doesn’t love a good pinot and some Gilmore Girls?!), but endless cups of coffee and digital valium on TV aren’t sustainable, and aren’t the tools that are going to make your life feel the way you want it to feel.
So what’s a studio owner to do? Today we’re going to reveal not only why studio owners are so burned out, but we’ll give you one, simple action step you can take today to bring you some immediate relief.
Let’s start with the why.
Why is it so hard to get the simplest task done?
Why does your brain feel like it’s full of jello? Why is focusing so difficult, and why the heck are you so tired all the time (especially when you’re chugging coffee like a champ)?
All of these are symptoms of overwhelm, and when you’re overwhelmed, it’s your body’s way of saying: SLOW DOWN AND HOLD UP FOR A MINUTE PLEASE!!
But most of us simply feel like we can’t do that.
We push on and power through, because we have so much to get done, and there’s so many people depending on us. So we carry on.
And we keep going for all the right reasons, but our brain, body, and nervous system doesn’t understand that, so the symptoms just get worse.
(THIS is a really interesting article and perspective, but please know, we’re no doctors, and this isn’t a substitute for a professional diagnosis, so please reach out to a medical professional to get the help you need.)
Harvard researchers have even coined a new phrase called “pandemic brain” – a phenomenon observed in some people in the first part of the pandemic, where stress-induced neuroinflammation causes fatigue, loss of concentration and other mood changes. Add to that the fact that the average person makes 35,000 decisions a day, and that to make even one decision, your brain needs about 20% of your body’s energy, and it’s no wonder that we’re feeling epic amounts of strain and drain.
But let’s be honest – studio owner burnout happened long before the pandemic hit.
Sure, life has gotten much more difficult in the past two years, but never in the history of studio ownership has the job been easy. When you’re a studio owner, by default you become a Whack-A-Mole Master. You’re constantly putting out fires, and anticipating what’s next, all while trying to gracefully keep it together for the sake of your students and your deep devotion of passing on a love of dance to the next generation. We made it a habit to burn the candle at both ends, and hustle mode was our go-to state of being.
If we’re honest, we were teetering on burnout long before covid.
Now, two years later, we might feel like we’re finally able to come up for air, but are disappointed we don’t feel the relief we’d hoped for, and it’s because we were already on shaky ground before 2020.
So how do we find the relief and reassurance we’re craving? How can we build a more solid foundation for ourselves and break up with burnout once and for all, so we can feel confident, energetic, and excited about being a studio owner?
Here’s two steps you can take today to instantly increase your peace and lighten your load:
1) Get To The Root Of It
I know it sounds cliche but acknowledging that you’re feeling burned out is the first step, followed closely by getting curious about what’s at the root of your burnout.
Work to stay away from judging yourself as you reflect on this; that won’t help. Instead, bring a sense of curiosity to your findings – what you learn will be key in helping you feel better!
Are you feeling overwhelmed and over it because you feel alone and don’t have the support of a business partner, staff, family, or spouse? Or maybe because you’ve set some really high expectations of yourself? Perhaps it’s because your own health has been neglected and you’re not getting the sleep or proper nutrition you need?
The next step is to create small changes to solve the root problem. For example, if you identify your biggest source of burnout as being a lack of support, ask yourself what you can do to bring more support into your life. Hire another teacher? Offer a scholarship to a student in return for admin work? Subscribe to a box meal service so you don’t have to worry about cooking dinner? Making a phone date or coffee date with a trusted friend once a week?
Write down a few possible solutions, then choose one to follow through with. Boom. You’ve not only gotten to the root of one source of your overwhelm, you’ve also come up with a solution to it and are a step closer to repairing your burnout.
2) Surround Yourself With People Who ‘Get It’
The second solution to beating burnout is to surround yourself with the support of people who get you, and can encourage you as you work towards your goals and visions. While your BFF from 2nd grade might be full of love and appreciation for you, she probably doesn’t understand at all what it’s like to be a studio owner, and the challenges you face everyday. Your partner would likely do anything for you, but doesn’t have a clue what it’s like to organize, plan, and execute a recital for 100 kids.
That’s one reason we created the Dance Studio Growth Summit. DSGS is a 3-day virtual business intensive for Dance Studio Owners & Administrators that’s part TedTalk and part Beyonce concert. We have solutions for all the challenges studio owners face; from getting more kids enrolled in classes, to hassle free follow up communication that don’t require you to spend hours in front of a computer. You can find the kind of support, encouragement, and relief you’ve been searching for with us at Dance Studio Growth Summit!
Which makes it a perfect time to tell you that tickets are going on pre-sale SOON!
SAVE $350 when you register TODAY!
You’ll not only save beaucoup bucks, but also be bringing yourself closer to feeling freer than you have in years, and taking the first step towards beating your burnout and rising above the challenges that have weighed you down for far too long.
We couldn’t be more excited for you to join us at DSGS this year! We have an amazing lineup of guest experts and speakers, life-changing strategy sessions with tools to make studio life easier, and all the support you need to level up in a big way! Click above to check it out – we hope to see you there!
And stay tuned for next week’s blog; we’ll be talking about the 6 letter word to breaking out of the burnout cycle!