TIPS FOR STARTING AND ADVANCING A DANCE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS

Jessica Teaona, New England Tahitian/Polynesian Dancer, Belly Dancer.

I don’t have much formal business training. I was a business major in college for about a year, but I quickly went back to science. Because of that, I ended up figuring out how to start and run a business with whatever information I could find online. I will share some of the steps I took. Note: My experience is from running a business in the USA. With that said, state laws may vary. No one sponsored this post. These tips are purely based on my own experience as a dance entertainment business owner.




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​Where to Start

1. Create a business plan.
   As many may tell you, the first step is creating some kind of business plan. Simply outline how you want your business to look at different points in time—after six months, one year, five years, and so on. Make reachable goals. Take all the time you need, but don’t procrastinate too much!
2. Register your business.
   Once you’ve got a plan and are sure of what you want your business to be, the next step would be registering your business with your state. This does cost money, so do keep that in mind. Your state may have instructions and paperwork online (Rhode Island does via the RI Secretary of State website). Be sure to read all the rules thoroughly! You may opt to use a legal liaison service (such as Zen Business or Legal Zoom; there are websites with lists of the best ones for different situations), but keep in mind it will likely incur an additional cost. The benefit is that you will have some guidance, and you’ll be less likely to make some trivial blunder that causes a big problem later.
3. Gather photos and videos.
   Compile photos and videos, preferably professional. You’ll want good photos of you in costume and videos of your dancing. It’s also preferable that at least some videos are of you dancing in front of an audience. If you can’t get professional photos and videos at first, that’s fine. Use what you have. Take some with a smartphone (or have a friend or family member do so for you). Most popular smart phones have great cameras these days, so while not professional, they will be passable for the time being. These can be used on flyers, your website, gigging platforms, etc.
4. Consider gigging platforms.
   Consider setting up an account with an online gigging platform. For example, I use GigSalad. There is also The Bash (formerly called GigMasters). These services do cost a fee, but with GigSalad, at least, you can let the membership lapse and just keep a free account thereafter if desired. Setting up on a gigging platform can get you noticed a lot faster than you would be otherwise! It will help get your name out there for when people search for your genre of entertainment.
5. Set up a website.
   If you can, set up a website as early as you can. The photos and videos will come in handy here, too. You don’t have to be good at computer programming at all; you can use a service such as Wix or Squarespace.
6. Don’t neglect social media!
   It will benefit you to have a profile set up on some kind of social media, e.g. Instagram or a Facebook business page. Try posting at least once a week. It will benefit you more to post more often, but you don’t have to post every day. You can post videos and photos of your performances there as well. It only compounds your online presence! Don’t forget to use relevant hashtags on your posts.
7. Register your business with Google.
   This helps when locals are looking for your genre of entertainment via Google search.
8. Get reviews!
   Reviews will be useful both on Google and on the gigging platforms. You can get reviews from past clients (for example, clients you danced for when you were in a troupe) or local fans if you participated in local dance showcases (like haflas for belly dancers). Some people get reviews from friends, but I would caution not to do that too much unless your friends saw you dance in a show of some kind. That’s just from a moral standpoint for me, but others may think it doesn’t make a difference. I happened to have some reviews from when I was in a troupe and the reviewer mentioned me by name. I only had two, but they came in handy! When people search for entertainment, it really helps if they can see reviews. If there are none, they may be a little skeptical. That doesn’t mean you absolutely won’t get hired; the videos should help too!
9. Prioritize customer service.
   Another way to help yourself get the gig is to be great at customer service. Be reasonable; don’t let people take advantage of you. However, you should also show genuine care and respect for potential clients as well as booked clients.
10. Set your price.
    Find out what other dancers in your area charge (it helps to be friendly with and supportive of your local dance community for this and a plethora of other reasons). You don’t want to undercut! When you undercut, you make things worse for yourself as well as the rest of the working dance community. Everyone will eventually have to lower their prices. That is no good for anyone trying to make a living!
11. Invest in a good speaker.
    A lot of people hiring you for a party won’t have any reliable sound system. Sometimes there’s a DJ, but in my experience, that is not often the case. You’ll want to get a speaker with great volume in case you have an outdoor gig in a wide open space. See if you can find one with a microphone so you can easily speak to the audience when needed.
12. Invest in at least one or two good, professional costumes.
    You may have one if you’ve been a hobbyist or student for a long time or if you’ve been in a troupe before; just make sure it’s not a student costume and that it’s in good repair (in other words, for belly dance, not something like a coin hip scarf and basic crop top with an old skirt).
13. Get good at makeup.
    Make sure you can do your own makeup relatively well. Watch tutorials on YouTube and Instagram if needed. I did that a lot! It does help.
14. Draft a contract for your gigs, and make sure your clients understand the terms and conditions.
    This is very important! There are examples of gig contracts online. When you use a service like GigSalad, there may be a built-in contract that you can add to and tweak however you need to.

How to Continue

1. Continue gathering videos and photos at your gigs.
   Use these photos and videos on your social media, website, and gigging platform profile to show potential clients what to expect. Take an assistant to your gigs to help with this. It can be a friend or family member. I often take my husband along to help me with carrying all of my things (speaker, props, and costume pieces) and as some added security. He is great at taking photos and videos of me working!
2. Keep up with the maintenance of your costumes.
   Make sure your costumes always look great! Ensure that any embellishments are still intact, that any blemishes are cleaned, and that the costume as a whole is clean. Make sure, as well, that your closures are secure as time goes on. That way, you won’t have to worry about wardrobe malfunctions due to wear and tear.
3. Keep gathering reviews.
   Ask after every gig. Services like GigSalad remind customers to leave reviews for you as well.

Experienced dancers, do you have anything to add? Those considering starting a new business, let me know if you have any questions!

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