We recently connected with Meoka McBride and have shared our conversation below.

Meoka, appreciate you joining us today. Talk to us about building your team? What was it like? What were some of the key challenges and what was your process like?

Before my company had a name or brand, it was just a fun, sexy, heels dance class to celebrate my birthday. At the time, I didn’t have any plans of expansion, nor did I know that it would become the company that it is today. I spent the first year building the brand and teaching all of the classes in Houston, Texas. By year two, I knew that I was ready to take it a step further and hire instructors. Initially, I was very nervous to hire more instructors because I was afraid that they would not be able to duplicate what I had been doing for an entire year. However, I onboarded my very first instructor and in that moment of her first class, I knew that I was onto something that was going to be amazing! She nailed it and was able to duplicate the same amazing experience that I had been doing for the previous year. I consider my business model- in terms of dance, to be unconventional. My instructors must audition and if selected, attend training, mock classes and receive a certification upon completion of onboarding criteria. It has always been my goal to make sure that the #HEELSOUT® experience is always fulfilling, professional and fun no matter which instructor you experience the class with. To date, I have a team of over 40 women which includes directors, instructors, ambassadors, coordinators and support staff.

Meoka, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I received a BFA in dance from Sam Houston State University in 2007. After graduation, I joined a Modern dance company in Houston,Texas where I performed and trained for four years before resigning. During that time and after I taught concert ensemble dance at two high schools in HISD, where I also served on the Fine Arts dance board. It is safe to say that I truly dedicated my life to dance. My company came further down the road. If you would’ve asked me years ago if I would be doing what I’m doing today, I would’ve shouted, NO! I experienced a pole dance class over 10 years ago that peaked my interest for sensual movement. I remember feeling very confident and empowered after taking that class and I believe that moment planted a seed. However, I had no intentions of teaching sensual movement and especially not in heels. It wasn’t until the age of 34 when I attended a trip with friends that I begin to plan a heels dance class to celebrate my birthday. I knew I wanted to do something sexy and I was going to hire someone to teach the class for me. I decided to expose the sexy moves that I had been doing in the mirror and couple that with my many years of dance and fitness instruction, to host my very first class. What started as an intimate class turned quickly into my very first event with over 30 Women! In 2019, the night of my first heels dance class, #HEELSOUT was birthed.

I wanted to create an alternative experience for women to enjoy a night out where they could let loose, have fun and dance in a judgment free zone. I’ve had a chance to speak to women who attend my classes and through those discussions, I’ve learned that most women don’t connect with feeling sexy. My class allows women to feel sexy, which I believe translates into confidence in many other areas of their lives. #HEELSOUT gives women an opportunity to find themselves again, and to have fun. Sometimes we undervalue the importance of social and human connection with like-minded people. We provide that and we love it!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

My superpower is that I have an action-oriented, go-getter personality and drive. When I first begin my journey with my company, I would always put the cart before the horse. I was always excited to do the next thing and make the next move and I would do so without properly planning before executing. This caused me to have more setbacks than I could accommodate. I realized that I had to keep a team around me that had the skills that I did not have and I had to develop in those areas. Now, I pride myself on being very efficient at planning and executing, and putting the cart behind a horse. I finally hired a virtual assistant and a coordinator to help manage parts of the company where I kept dropping the ball. To date, those are the best investments that I could’ve made for myself and the company. As the saying goes, “scared money don’t make money.”

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

In order to manage a team and maintain high morale, I had to look within myself first. It is impossible to run a company without working on yourself first. In the run of a day, you will have so many people who need your time, who have questions or need to consult with you in regards to the business. I attribute a big part of my success to learning about emotional intelligence. Learning how to work with people and how to react to people or situations is very important, I advise any business owner who is thinking about building a team or already has a team to invest in resources such as self-help books, therapy and workshops. When your team feels valued, enjoys what they and they feel that it is important and valuable, they will challenge themselves to show up and to do a great job. I require my leadership team to read a book that I’ve designated on emotional intelligence because that is something that I value and I know that it is important. It is always important to expressed gratitude and to always let your team know when they are doing a great job. It is also important to keep communications open and clear and to provide constructive criticism as needed. Creating an environment where these things are expected and expressing this upfront is very helpful.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.heelsoutmovement.com
• Instagram: @heelsoutdanceparty
• Other: Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/heelsout-events-944739

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