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I sometimes get asked for advice by friends or colleagues for suggestions on how their sibling, child,nephew, niece, or grandchild can establish a career as a professionaldancer, and also, if it’s a career that will offer stability andlongevity at some point.

For details on how to pursue a career in dance, check out my article, “TheProfessional Dancer’s Survival Kit”.

To learn about wages and salaries for dance instructors, check out the article, “WindowInto Wages“, highlighting our Kiner Enterprises Inc. Dance IndustryReport.

In the meantime, check out why professional dancers make great business people!

Qualities of a Professional Dancer:

-Passion
-Vision
-Strength
-Tenacity
-Determination
-Discipline
-Know-How/Talent

Qualities of a Successful Business Person:

-Passion
-Vision
-Strength
-Tenacity
-Determination
-Discipline
-Know-How/Talent

It’s no wonder that so many professional dancers are able to transition into, or compliment theirpassion for dance with a successful business career!

Whether it’s opening a dance studio, starting your own dance company or clothing line, publishing adance magazine or website, or founding the 1st and only national danceteacher staffing agency in the U.S. (Kiner Enterprises Inc.),dancers are more business savvy than you think!

The main key, in my opinion, that separates the dancer, from the dancer/business person is the desire tocreate your own “Big Break”. Many dancers dream of getting their “BigBreak” in their dance career, that one job, show, or gig that takestheir career to the next level, and opens the doors of opportunity. Theyhope and dream, and wait around for someone to recognize their talent,and pave the way to success for them.

However, it is the dancer who is interested in creating their own “Big Break” that experiences therewards of a successful business career. The journey of entrepreneurshipis a complicated one, and the path to success is very bumpy,unpredictable, and doesn’t have the straightforward equation of“audition equals job”. But, it’s well worth the tumultuous journey!

My advice to any dancer interested in launching a career in business, whether it is dance-related or not,is, go for it! You already embody the innate qualities of a successfulbusiness person! The only thing holding you back is you! Good luck!

Have you ever done a particular task or activity while you were distracted, then again when you were focused? Could you see/feel adifference? Were the results different?

I’m from the school of thought that, in order to do something well, and get it done in a timely manner, you need to focus on that oneparticular thing, preferably without interruption, if possible. I don’tsay that because it’s easy to do, but because, based on experience, it’sthe way you get the best results, and get things done within areasonable time frame. However, if you think that by simply “focusing”,your phone will stop ringing, e-mails will stop coming through, orpeople will refrain from disturbing you, I would say that you’re a bitdelusional! That’s not going to happen. Mastering the power of focusrefers to being able to block out that which is around you (or evenwithin at times), or anything outside of what you’re focusing on, inorder to complete a task or activity, fulfill a purpose, or reach agoal.

Ever wonder why parents say to their children, “no tv until your homework is done”? Because they want their child to focus on the task athand, and get it done.

How do you think gold-medalists, professional athletes, performing artists, public speakers, etc. are able to excel under very stressfuland high-pressure circumstances? They have mastered the power of focus.

Now I must warn you, some people may not appreciate your new-found “power of focus” attitude, because it means that they may not have thesame access to you that they once had. You may take a little longer toget back to someone, or you may have to say ‘no’ on occasion, becausewhile you’re focusing on one thing, other people/things will have towait. People, in general, tend to have a lack of patience, especiallynowadays with the speed of technology that we’ve all grown so accustomto. So be prepared for some opposition.

If you start to feel guilty, or wonder if it’s all worth it or not, just think about your doctor. Would you want him/her to examine you, andtwo other patients at the same time? Would you mind if he/she wastexting while doing surgery on you? Or would you prefer that his/hertotal and complete focus be on you, until the task is complete? Ialready know the answer to that question.

Please note that while writing this blog post I did not check my e-mail, BBM, text, answer calls, or check voice msgs once. :)

Stay tuned for “Mastering the Power of Focus” Part 2, where I’ll discuss how mastering the power of focus can improve your health andwellness. If you have questions, or a specific topic you’d like me tocover in this series, please feel free to leave a comment.

This blog post from Kiner Enterprises Inc. Dancer's Blog, http://danceprosusa.wordpress.com.

To say that there’s a “learning curve” when starting your own business is a true understatement. And sometimes, no matter how manybooks you’ve read, seminars you’ve attended, or coaching you’vereceived, there are still many lessons that you will simply have tolearn along the way.

Since starting my business back in 2007, I have learned many tough, yet important lessons that can only truly be learned through experience.These lessons learned have helped me to become much wiser and moresuccessful today, and I’d like to share them with you. This is part 1 ofa 3-Part series that will discuss the “hard knock life” of anentrepeneur/business owner, and share some useful insight and advicejust for you.

Here are the top 3 lessons I’ve learned as a business owner:

1) Don’t Chase Money, Build Relationships.
This may sound like a no-brainer, but in fact, when you’re starting out,you’re spending a lot of money on advertising, operational expenses,etc. So you have business expenses that have to be covered, and if yourclients aren’t covering them, that leaves you to handle it on your own,on top of your own personal expenses. This reality is one of the majorreasons why most businesses fail within the first 3-5 years. That beingsaid, no one wants to do business with someone that they don’t trust, orwhom they feel is simply after their money, and not interested insolving whatever problem they have, or providing them with greatservice. Additionally, by building a relationship with your clients,they turn from one-time clients, to long-term clients (which of courseleads to increased income for your business over time). Not to mention,happy clients tell their friends, family, and colleagues about yourbusiness, which helps to build a successful and reputable business foryou in the long run.

2) Don’t Chase Money, but Don’t Give Your Services Away either- Although it’s great to offer promotions, specialdiscounts, etc. for your services or products from time to time, it isalso important to keep things in perspective. Sometimes when you’restarting out you think that by lowering your prices you will ultimatelywin, because this will make your customers happy. But this poses twoproblems. One is that, if you don’t have a financial model in place foryour business that will allow it to survive and thrive over time, youare doing your clients a disservice, because your business won’t bearound long enough to help them. Secondly, people tend to place value onthings based on how much they cost. So, if you provide a specializedproduct or service, then your rates should reflect that. When youprovide superb service/products for your clients, they will be happy topay your rate, and appreciate it all the more. Do keep in mind that yourrates/prices should be within reason according to the type ofproduct/service you provide. However, you should never undervalue yourproduct/services in hopes of satisfying your customers, at your expense.This leads me to lesson #3…

3) You can’t please all of the people all of the time. The reality of business is this, there are two types ofclients/customers; a) the ones you can please, and b) the ones youcan’t. Your focus should be on doing your best to provide usefulresources to your clients, offer excellent customer service, conflictresolution, and a pleasant attitude. Give your best to your clients, andthat’s the end of it. Don’t waste energy on those who feel that yourbest isn’t good enough, because chances are, no matter what you do, youwon’t be able to please them. So, do your best, handle your businesswith honesty and integrity, treat your clients with respect andconsideration, and the rest is out of your hands.

Stay tuned for the next installment of this series…Also let me know if there are any specific topics you’d like to see me write about withinthis series. I look forward to your suggestions and comments.

This article added from my blog on Wordpress, http://danceprosusa.wordpress.com.

I believe that when it comes to your life, your career, or your business, you can not afford to be passive, or a bystander, and expectothers to recognize your talents and create the blueprint for you thatlead to success and prosperity. Only You can do this.

Here are 5 Deadly Thoughts on the Road to Success:

1) There just aren’t any opportunities out there.
2) I don’t have the money.
3) What if I fail?
4) No one’s ever done it before.
5) I don’t even know where to start.

Here are my responses to these statements:

1) “There just aren’t any opportunities out there.” – Yes, there are. If you feelthis way, you probably need to do more research, and even enlist theassistance of someone else to help you. If the opportunity isn’t there,then that’s even better! That means that you can be an innovator, andcreate something completely new!

2) “I don’t have the money.” – With the internet, do-it-yourself websites, and the explosion socialmedia, which is totally free, you don’t necessarily need a ton of moneyto get started. Now granted, I don’t recommend starting a business withno capital, but, don’t let that minor obstacle stop you. Save up, getcreative, start small, and go from there.

3) “What if I fail?” - There’s a good chance that you will. Let me rephrase that. There’s somethingcalled a “learning curve” in business, which is basically a fancy way ofsaying, “I failed a bunch of times along the way, and learned from mymistakes.” Remember, failure is not permanent. It is part of a learningprocess. There’s ALWAYS a way to bounce back from failure, and the mainway is, get up and try it again (a little differently).

4) “No one’s ever done it before.” – This is a no-brainer! Obviously, that means that there’s a greatopportunity for you to do something really special. And guess what,since you have no competition, you have a really great advantage! Whatare you waiting for? Do a little market research to find out if peoplewould be interested in your idea, and discover if it’s a viable conceptor not.

5) “I don’t even know where to start.” Ok, this is a tough one (Not!), so let me help you…grab a piece ofpaper, and a pen, or better yet, go to your computer, and put on paperwhat your ideas are. That’s how you start! After that, ask yourself theWho, What, Where, Why, and How about your idea; Who would be interestedin this product/service? What will it be used for? Where will people goto access this product/service? Why would potential clients beinterested in this product/service? How will I market it to my target audience?

See, how easy that was? Now you’re on your way! I would also recommend doing some soul-searching to determine themotivation behind your particular idea. Is it something that you’repassionate about? Are you good at it? Do you have a lot of knowledgeabout that particular industry? Do you think it’s a way to make somefast cash? Are you willing sacrifice and deal with the stress,instability, and pressure that you may have to face along the way?

Answer these questions, and don’t be afraid! Step out on faith, and walk in your purpose. Anything less would notonly be sad, but boring!

This article added from my blog on Wordpress, http://danceprosusa.wordpress.com.