5 Important Steps All Dancers & Dance Teachers Should Take This Month To Position Yourself For Success

The sad truth: the dance industry is set up for you to lose.

The lack of financial stability, and the overwhelming numbers of dancers there are, vs. full-time, paid job opportunities, is quite disheartening.

According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics:

"Overall employment of dancers and choreographers is projected to grow 4 percent from 2016 to 2026, slower than the average for all occupations. A continued interest in dance and in pop culture may provide opportunities in dance schools and in venues outside of dance companies. However, dancers and choreographers face intense competition, and the number of applicants is expected to vastly exceed the number of job openings."

Here are some other scary numbers:

According to Payscale.com,

"The median hourly wage for choreographers was $22.98 in May 2018. The median hourly wage for dancers was $16.31 in May 2018."

So what does this tell us?

Building a successful, and financially stable career as a dancer does not happen by accident, especially in this day and age. Here are some ways that you can begin to position yourself for success this month.

5 Important Steps All Dancers & Dance Teachers Should Take This Month To Position Yourself For Success

1. Stop only hanging around other dancers, and dance teachers. It’s great to have the moral support of those who understand what you’re going through, I get it. But if you want to level up, you have to expose yourself to new people, places, and things. There are opportunities and mindsets that you haven’t been introduced to, strictly because everyone around you thinks like you, and has a similar situation. It’s time to change that.

2. Take some time for reflection. Don’t wait until things start going wrong to make time to be alone with God, listen to Him, and grab hold of HIS vision for your life. Don’t just keep doing what you’ve always done, or been doing for years, just because you’re comfortable in your routine. God has greater plans in store for you, but you have to create time and space for Him to reveal to you what they are.

3. Take a long, hard look at your finances. I know this can be tough. But a reality check can be the motivation you need to create some new habits, and adopt a new mindset about your money. Look at your income (how many streams of income do you have?), go over your budget (are you exceeding your budget every month, or are you intentionally living below your means?). Review your debt, credit score, and financial goals, and create an aggressive plan to create the type of financial life you truly desire.

4. Stop doing any and all of the following: working for free, working for really low pay, doing work that you really don’t want to do, doing work that you’re unqualified to do. Operate in your area(s) of genius, with intention, excellence, and an awareness of, and confidence in the value that you bring to the table. When you value yourself, other people will too!

5. START doing any and all of the following: getting rid of any dead weight, toxic energy, negative people, or unnecessary distractions in your life, start planning for your future (financially and otherwise), and figure out how you can create one additional stream of income, within the next 60 days, that doesn’t require you to trade time for money, to get paid.

If you need help with that last part, I’ve got you covered!

Join my new, Small Group Coaching Program called, “The Income Accelerator For Dancers”, and I will show you how to create an additional stream of income (outside of your traditional dance jobs/gigs), in 6 weeks!

Are you ready to get to work?

Click here to learn more, and to reserve your spot today.

We start on September 15th, which means that BEFORE the holidays, you will have an additional income stream in place, and that is definitely a beautiful thing!

Which one of these steps do you need to focus on this month? What did you think when you read the stats at the beginning of this article? Tell me in the comments below!