[anngiern]

We have classes just for beginners.. My instructors will not give advanced students a harder trick if you are in a class specifically for beginners.. We informed all of our students of this policy..
But we also have intermediate classes for advanced students and advise beginner students that it is for experienced polers.. So if you struggle to keep up its on you

[anngiern]

I love Entangle and Sway..They are in the heart of San Francisco.! Their class sign up is a little confusing but once you get the hang of it you will be good to go! Their customer service was amazing! Such an encouraging studio. And the decor is so cute 🙂
Check them out!
http://www.entangleandsway.com/

[anngiern]

We do online lessons that focus on routines and fluidity for the beginner to basic advanced student. Please check us out
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/polelateazondemand

We have a free floorwork routine lesson you can try out! We demo the routine, then break it down, and then put it all together..just like we do in class. PoleLaTeaz is known for kick ass choreography and where we excel at the best. We have more videos to come. Enjoy!

[anngiern]

yes sex on the ceiling by sevynn is a crowd favorite at the studio 🙂 great song

[anngiern]

Nicole Scherzinger “Bang”

[anngiern]

Earned it by the weeknd.. Off of 50 shades of grey soundtrack 🙂

[anngiern]

Pole Dance is just that…dance! When people say something to me about it…I always say don’t you like the Tango? That dance is based on sensuality and sexual innuendos between a man and a woman..any dance form can be sexual, sensual, or not at all. But there is nothing wrong with expressing your sexuality in a safe space which many studios provide.
I just feel as long as God knows what is in your heart that is all that matters.

Happy Poling!

[anngiern]

I feel the price is MORE THAN reasonable for the what you are getting. I am an instructor so I use it to supplement my teaching but even if I was not this is still a steal. I would say you need to up your prices vs. lower them any more.

This frustrates me a little b/c people will pay 150.00+ for a private lesson with a pole star who might not teach you a darn thing but you can’t spend 99/year for good quality lessons? That is .27 cents per day! and 8.95 per month! You are getting lessons that are actually put together in an orderly fashion…Business owners who are actively involved and getting back to you about issues you are having with the site… Owners that are constantly asking you for feedback about how they can improve things… The list goes on…
That is called good customer service and you can’t always put a price tag on that..
Sorry but cheaper is not always better…You get what you pay for…When you look at the whole package of what your getting it is a steal!!!
I understand if you have to move on in case you want to learn really advanced stuff and your learning curve moves faster than the pace of the lessons.

The 3 day intro is fine. You can still see all the lessons that are offered before you buy and how they are organized. You can tell after watching 3-5 videos if someone’s teaching style is for you. 6 months is way too long and not good business practice.

The way I look at it is sometimes everyone is not in your target market….if that is the case they can go to YouTube.

Keep up the good work 🙂 Don’t sell yourself short….

My studio is one of the higher priced studios in Atlanta and my students gladly pay the money. B/c they are paying for the experience….clean studio…someone who answers the phone, good instruction, we answer emails promptly,etc…All of these customer service things matter and adds value to your product.

I would suggest highlighting on your website all of these “extras” that you do (answering emails, constantly getting customer feedback, how this can help instructors supplement their teaching, what makes you different than YouTube, etc…)

Also maybe do a student request “Move of the Month”…where a member can submit a move they would like to see broken down in a lesson…that might help with retaining some of the advanced girls

Good Luck 🙂

[anngiern]

I know that is frustrating 🙁 I just love teaching choreo classes…Its so interesting to see how studios in different areas teach different things.
I would suggest talking to the owner about adding a flow class…or if she doesn’t want to use a peak class time during the week maybe suggesting 1 or 2 workshops a month on the weekend. Definitely talk to your classmates to see if they feel the same way..You might be surprised that others feel the same way and have them email the owner.

Hope that helps 🙂

[anngiern]

Veena, I hear what your are saying…it seems like pole related companies sometimes do kind of show just more the trickster side of pole vs. maybe someone just doing a simple pole sit or fireman spin.
I know when I demo (and my instructors) for an intro we try to keep the WOW tricks to a minimum. We try to incorporate more floorwork(the average woman LOVES floorwork), wall work, chair dance, and pole fillers. They are already overwhelmed as it is so we really work the stage presence/persona, walking, sensual movement and connecting with the audience. That seems to work pretty well 🙂
I like to watch videos. I dont really get too discouraged from others progress. I know what I excel at and what type of artists that do the movements that I like (olga koda, eva bembo, etc..) I just learn tricks as I see fit. But I definitely find videos and clips extremely helpful…especially when you teach and you need some new material 😉 There truly is something to learn from everyone. Its cool to see all the different styles out there from around the world. I am just in awe at times b/c when I started my studio 9 years ago it was like one chick on youtube that wore white that pole tricked out of her garage ( i think her name was elena or something like that) and there was one dvd called pole kats. That was it…so to see how this has evolved still blows me away sometimes.

[anngiern]

Yes catepillars are mostly hamstring strength. You eventually should be able to do a one arm caterpillar…that is how much hamstring strength you need.

I used the “paper plate” exercise method to train my hamstrings. They hurt like heck but they got my hamstring strength where I needed it to be in a short period of time. Here is a link to a shot video on youtube showing this method.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_NrjVWCS58

[anngiern]

Work on hamstring strength…that helps to pull the heels toward your butt. The top leg pulls toward your butt and the bottom leg (front of your quad muscle) pushes into the pole so its kind of opposing actions.(like the Jasmine) Cleo the hurricane had me cross at the ankles and that helped. I hope that helps..If you need a video reference let me know.

Yes I can not pull on my ankle either. It hurts like hell.

[anngiern]

Awwww…So many things to take into consideration…. I have to say I got into this business EARLY ON so my experience will be different from yours in some ways. We were the 3rd studio in the United States to open as a full time pole/sensual dance facility so competitors were at a minimum and in Atlanta I had no competitors for quite some time. So I am going to try to take this from a current day perspective

LOCATION…This is a big one. Are you in a big city or a small town? Conservative or liberal? This comes into play when you are talking about how many potential customers you might have. If you live in a small town then it might be harder to get the revenue you want simply just based on numbers. Also have to take into consideration the salaries and median incomes of potential clients and how much disposable income they have for your services.

TARGET MARKET…This is also something that you would have looked at when doing your business plan. Are you targeting everyday women housewives, single ladies, strippers,etc… or someone else? For example Choreography House targets women who want to compete and perform. I am not saying she doesn’t pull some everyday women but Kelly Yvonne is known for her choreography skills in regards to competitions. Same thing for Body and Pole in NYC. Once you identified your target market then you can adjust your marketing plan accordingly.

CURRENT COMPETITORS…How many current competitors do you have? How far are you away from them?
The more competitors you have the more you have to stand out. Location is very important.

CLASS STRUCTURE…Are you doing drop ins only, series, memberships, etc??? This affects your money. I personally teach pole in a series format and we have 7 levels. (my background is in dance so I strongly believe that any dance form is learned best in a series..this is my own personal opinion…drop ins should supplement your base practice)This style has worked for me but I have the potential to keep students for 2+ years which I have successfully done with a good percentage of clients. Our clients can pay a la carte or do a membership and get it all! I would ask various owners the pros and cons to each structure.

TEACHERS AND STUDIO DANCE STYLE…The one no one likes to really talk about….Your pole dance style is also a selling point…Is it sexy and fierce? Or a more gymanstics/pole fitness style? Not saying that one is better than the other but your style needs to stand out and be the authentic you. Our studio is known for sexy pole dancing. That’s what myself and many of my instructors like. Do we offer contemporary pole or a gymnastics style pole? Absolutely 🙂 But its not our core style. So make sure you know what your core style is. If you do parties and market at a bridal shows, most brides want a sexy style of pole. So if you dont excel at sexy pole then that might not be a good market for you.
And your instructors need to have a good style as well. I only hire women who are absolute HAMS!!! LOL (and I hire from within only..meaning I pull from my students base; this has worked well for me)… meaning they must like performing and being in front of crowds and they MUST have a fluid dance style. When you bring on new staff this is important. Some people are honestly not good dancers…you can have all the certifications in the world but if you can’t present it in a cohesive package people aren’t going to buy it. I know that sounds harsh but its the truth. But there are many ways for people to get better at the dance component but it takes effort..especially if they dont come from a performing arts background. I have seen women transform into beautiful dancers…but someone also has to tell them that they need to work on it 😉

WEBSITE…Some peoples websites are awful..This is the brochure to your business…Make sure its nice and user friendly…I can’t even begin to tell you how many new clients I get simply because some of my competitors websites are crappy looking. This is the first impression of your business. Don’t skip out on this.

HOW MANY ROOMS… I started with a one room studio and then grew to 2 studio space. This definitely increased my income a lot.At one point and time I had a 3rd studio space but I did have to close it down because the economy took a turn for the worst. Just make sure before you expand you have a plan in place for instructors and where you are going to get them from.

BOUTIQUE…Are you doing product sales at your studio? It might only bring in 1000.00 a month but over a year’s time that is 12,000. That is a lot of money…Selling shoes and shirts is great additional income. Don’t downplay it.

Yes I am able to draw a salary with my business and live off of it comfortably (except for my first year I did not; I put all the money back into the business).I know quite a few studio owners who do. It is very possible but a lot of factors go into it to making that happen. Now I do not have kids (I want them just haven’t found that special someone yet) but even if I did have a child I still feel I would be fine. And I would hope my future husband will have a job 🙂 I do keep my personal expenses as low as possible.

Make sure you surround yourself with successful people (even non pole businesses such as yoga, cross fit, hair salon owners, etc…).They have advice that they can share with you because owning a business, no matter what it is, has common denominators. There is also a show called “The Profit” on CNBC which is an excellent show for business owners.

I hope this helps. I have been doing this for 9 years and LOVE IT! I have a staff of 40+ women now and opened a second location in North Atlanta a few months ago. Just focus on your vision and try to make smart savvy business decisions.

All the best,
Angela

[anngiern]

I can see how that can be frustrating… But she is an instructor now so the relationship must evolve and change… That’s just how it goes sometimes… You want to make sure the lines of business and friendship don’t get blurred. It’s not fair in others students eyes if she is getting free pole time that others are not given.. Maybe they can practice at their personal houses…
I think many people in the pole world forget that we are businesses and must govern ourselves accordingly…

[anngiern]

I also heard that Body and Pole online streaming videos are very good…so I will try that soon as well…

[anngiern]

My 2 cents:
You really have to assess what type of clients you market to in your area and what style of pole dance you teach. For example California has quite a few studios that cater to people who want to compete. Other studios cater to the everyday woman who wants to have fun, get some exercise and go home to her family. There is a vast difference between the two different markets in my opinion.

I got the “Strengths and Tricks For Everyone” lesson plan.
First and foremost when she says beginner that is very relative…LOL. For example she was talking about a basic invert and what beginner students would do for that…I think what she meant was these are ways for students who are already inverting and how to progress it from there. So just be mindful that its not really beginner in the sense that she will be breaking down how to do a basic invert to a stay at home that lives next door to you who has never touched the pole. So you definitely already need to know how to teach pole dance.

I really didn’t get what the flow was supposed to be between lesson to lesson or how they were supposed to connect. That was baffling to me and just random. For example maybe if she was teaching a back hook spin for beginners and then how to progress that move to a more advanced level for your more experienced students. I was also looking for a more detailed warm up that would help with the upcoming moves she was about to teach, strengthening exercises for the particular move/moves being taught, etc…Basically how a live class would go. I wasn’t expecting a full live class… but a little more than what was given.

Instruction/breakdown was very limited. This is definitely a “monkey see monkey do” type of instruction. So if your looking for very specific breakdowns you will not get it (at least with the lesson plan I purchased). There was this cool advanced move that she demonstrated from a lifted back hook spin but she just showed it. No breakdown whatsoever. Now I can rewind it a few times and probably figure it out myself but I can go on youtube and do that. I just would have preferred a little more breakdown if I am paying extra money for it.

She did have some good pointers on the shoulderstands…and I did pick up a few things I liked from the barefoot pole moves. I also like the creativity exercise she suggested for when you are trying to find unique transitions between moves.

I probably wont get another lesson plan for now. To me this was not really a curriculum planner. I think that is the wrong verbage. It was more just “move ideas” to me.

I love our core curriculum that we teach at my studio (which is done in a series, 7 levels). It has been super successful for 8 years and we definitely cater to the everyday woman who wants to have fun, be challenged, and go home. ( I do have some students who want to compete but not nearly as many as other studios such as Be Spun, Body and Pole,Choreography House, etc…). Our curriculum is pretty detailed week by week, with appropriate progressions and modifications, creativity exercises and each level has a finished product so the students can see what they accomplished at each level and that they met the objectives of the course.

I personally purchased this to add spice to my drop in classes and workshops that I teach. I am always looking for ways to make my classes better, fun and creative. Knowledge is power…LOL

But for me personally dont think its worth the extra $30 a month. I just didnt see how it was any different than the other teachers on poleandaerial.com. I find Veena’s lessons much more helpful, and Rhiannan Nicole’s lessons as well. (just love her style and combos, sexy flow lessons, etc..)

Again this is just my opinion…but I always encourage people to try things for themselves and come up with their own conclusion.

[anngiern]

Also check out foxy fitness, s factor,stripxpertease (for something more risqué)

[anngiern]

Exotic dance central does a lot of parties.. I would check out their reviews…

[anngiern]

WTH (feat Ab. Soul) by Jhene Aiko
Inside My Love by Delilah
Wait For A Minute by Tyga and Justin Bieber
Overcome by Tricky
Sex for Breakfast by Christina Aguillera
Lessons for the lovers by Usher
DotCom by Usher
Pussy by The Dream
So Long by Sissy
Luxurious by Gwen Stefani
Splash Waterfalls by Ludacris
Wicked Games by The Weeknd

I have over 3000 songs but this is a just a few….

[anngiern]

@honeybrown

thanks for your wonderful feedback 🙂 it always makes my heart sing to see another woman’s journey at polelateaz and how it has impacted them.

p.s. yes i am a stickler about there being a lesson plan for every class….thanks for noticing that. when i train all the instructors they must adhere to this b/c it just makes the class flow better and the students leave feeling more accomplished.

luv yah and thanks for your business!

[anngiern]

Hello@jadorebree,

I am the owner of PoleLaTeaz. Definitely come check us out 🙂 We offer free teazers and a $20 intro every month that way you can see how we teach, what our studio looks like, parking, our setup, etc….before investing anymore money into us.
But I do suggest that you take intros at various studios to see what suits your fancy. Everyone is different and has their own way of doing things.

Happy Dancing 🙂 and welcome to the ATL!

[anngiern]

So funny to me … Pour it up was our #1 requested song for classes and parties this past year. I guess it really depends on where you live and your market. We throw the fake money and everything. Rihanna has great music and you can dance to it. Sometimes I think people just need to relax, have fun,go with the flow and shake your ass a little. Lighten up!!!

But it does suck that she was wasted and they had to reshoot 🙁 I hope her fame does not lead her down a crappy path of drugs and alcohol.

[anngiern]

hey sparrow,

i agree with kobajo84. this was a great book. now it did get a little deep into physiology and anatomy and someone might get a little overwhelmed/lost with that small part of the book ( i am a RN  and it was a bit much for me; but i thought she did a great job of writing it).

Overall, it was an easy read and very helpful. I have been teaching for 8 years but I always like to deepen my knowledge on how to be a better teacher.

[anngiern]

We have been doing 2 to a pole for over 8 years. It works. I highly reinforce to students that we share poles to decrease injury. Pole dancing you are essentially weight lifting your body. People don't typically go to the gym and lift weights for a straight hour with no breaks in between. 

There was a young woman at the pole expo who wrote a book on how to properly train for pole dancing…and that was the top reason for injury…too much time on the pole and not enough breaks….especially for beginners. I would definitely include a warm up, floorwork, and strengthening/ab work portions of class where everyone can participate together.

We teach pole in levels as well..but the debate on mixed drop ins vs. levels is a whole different discussion….LOL

Happy Dancing

[anngiern]

I LOVE when a woman comes into her own…when she embraces everything about herself, her curves, and is comfortable in her own skin. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing a woman walk into my class unsure of herself and then 2-8 months later its like BOOM!!! She is just in love with herself. You can see it thru something easy as a fireman spin, something advanced or even a hair flip. Knowing that I helped increase someone's confidence level and they leave my classes walking a little taller fills my heart with joy. I never get tired of it 🙂