We were lucky to catch up with Diana Gregor recently and have shared our conversation below.
Diana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.
I bought my dance studio in 2006 with only 60 students. I could see that the business was falling apart and needed structure, organization and systems in place. By committing myself fully to building my business, I worked on creating personal relationships with customers, finding a reliable and talented staff, and being as organized and communicative as possible. All of these factors helped the studio grow to 200 students, to 500, and right before Covid we hit 800 students. Growing didn’t happen over night and it was gradual. Continuous hard work and never giving up helped me as a business owner to constantly better myself, push to the next level and stay on top of trends. For many years I kept growing physically by taking on more square footage in our complex, and in 2018 I added a second location. In 2019, we outgrew our first location and I was forced to find a bigger place to house our growing studio. Building a studio from the ground up was the most challenging thing I ever did. Getting permits, going through building plans, getting rejections, the bills….it was a lot. We were given the green light to open the new facility in March of 2020, the same week the shutdowns were ordered. I thought building the new facility was the hardest thing I ever did, little did I know I was about to endure even more.
Our clientele fell 50% and I was staring at loans from the buildout and growing debt from not being able to pay our bills. I was determined to to let my staff down. I stopped paying myself instantly but kept my entire staff employed the entire time. I worked 24/7 to come up with ideas to stay relevant and keep our business afloat.
I followed guidelines, tried to figure out what our next steps were and was challenged more than I could ever have imagined.
I am happy to say that now in December 2023 we are at 700 students. We are still not at the 800 we were before Covid but I have learned so much about myself and the business that I think we have a healthier business model now than before.
Owning your own business is not for the weary. It takes grit, drive, hard work and a lot of sacrifice. My family sees it first hand and the toll it takes on everyone is not always sunshine and rainbows.
I am a better boss and owner post Covid and truly take time for my family because at the end of the day, although I love my business, my family is the reason for why I work so hard and I will not sacrifice them.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Hart Academy of Dance is a dance studio that provides dance classes and competitive teams for dancers ages 2-adult. We offer a variety of styles and levels of dance depending on your needs. Our competitive team is top notch and the winner of several national championship awards. Our staff has a common goal, to serve the customer, and does an incredible job with communication and keeping the customer happy. Dancers learn more than just dance steps and technique, we want them to have a sense of community, family and learn life lessons that will serve them long past being at our studio. Every dancer is special and we strive to help them grow and give them opportunities to be a well rounded dancer and person.
Can you talk to us about your experience with buying businesses?
I bought my business in 2006 from the previous owner who started it in 1988. I grew up dancing at Hart Academy and wanted to continue on the legacy in a new chapter. We had an attorney and drew up the paperwork. I decided to incorporate so I was setting that up while the acquisition was going on. It was a 4 month process of going through the old financials and systems. We agreed upon a price and when the deal was done, the business was mine.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
This was scary. I took out a loan on my mother’s house and also a close family friend lent me money. I was young and wouldn’t be approved for anything else, so I was fortunate that my mother and our friend both believed in me (and trusted me) to lend me the money.
I paid back both loans within 3 years
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hartacademy.org
- Instagram: @hartacademy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hartacademyofdance