We were lucky to catch up with Jamie Hoelscher recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jamie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

Once my business was ready for operation it was time to build a team right away. It was a balancing act because I was focused on selling our program to schools and knew that the process could go really fast or really slow. I had to get some teachers hired and trained so we could start doing booking demos and teaching classes.

It’s an odd way to hire when you are trying to employ someone but can’t give them any guarantees on how many hours they would be getting or even an idea on what days/times we would hold our classes. I was really asking people to take a leap of faith with me.

I learned quickly that as an owner you need to wear all the hats. I hired teachers who were not prepared or unreliable. I had to be at every class our first season and taught many of the classes myself. When I purchased my business it was never my intention to be a tacher, I was always going to hire the instructors and manage the team. It was a humbling experience to become an instructor, but it gave me perspective on the qualities to look for in a dance teacher and empthay for the challenges my teachers face.

Looking back I wish I would have planned to do all the demos and teach classes myself until I reached at least six classes. That way I could interview candidates with a solid schedule and hours available to offer them out of the gate. This would have allowed me to get one or two teachers trained and start handing over the classes, allowing me more time to layer on additonal classes.

Hiring continues to be a process that I’m still finessing. For me it’s always what comes first, the chicken or the egg. We want to grow and have more classes to teach but I can’t do that without teachers to instruct the classes. On the flip side it’s hard to have teachers waiting in the wings while we work to onboard new clients. If they are not teaching they are not engaged and we need a high level of engagement.

I know better now what I’m looking for when hiring and being really up front with people in the beginning of the interview process. If they are wanting this job to pay all their bills or replace a full-time position we are not going to be a good fit. Setting those expectations early helps alleviate issues in the future.

I’ve also started asking candidates to perform a song for us, it’s like a mini audition that helps me understand their energy level and accountability. I have found my best teachers by adding this into our interview process.

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.

My name is Jamie Hoelscher and I am a merchant at heart. I spent five years as a retail buyer and 10+ years as a merchandising director and vendor management professional. At this point in my carerr I was burnt out and feeling stuck. Having two young kids at home my heart was pulling me to figure out a way to create my own destiny and be more present for my children while they are still young.

I felt like I was having a mid-career crisis and desperate for a change. During this time when I was contemplating what my next step would be I was contacted by a franchise business consultant. I ignored him for months when I finally decided I had nothing to lose by having a conversation. Todd introduced me to the world of franchising and took the time to learn about me, my background and skill set. He then presented me with six ideas on franchise businesses that were attainable for me. I narrowed it down to three and started the discovery process. At this point I still thought this was just going to be an exploration.

The more I sat on discovery calls and started looking at finance options I started to think I could really do this. It was scary and exciting all at the same time.

When I started talking to the corporate team at Tippi Toes their mission just really resonated with me. Tippi Toes offers recreational dance classes to young children. The biggest difference between us and other dance studios is, we don’t have a studio! We are a mobile and travel to local daycare centers, preschools, afterschool programs and community centers to teach dance right on site. We bring dance to you!

Our program is very wholesome, Tippi Toes writes all of their own music so you can be confident everything is age appropriate. It truly is an experience you cannot get anywhere else.

This is a huge benefit for families with young children, they can enroll their kids in a dance class and not have to drive them to a studio in the evenings or on weekends. They participate during their daytime program. In addition we also offer families the option to participate in a professional recital twice a year.

Dance is extremely beneficial for children in the early childhood years, it is our goal to get them moving, gain confidence, have fun and use their imagination.

Our school partners love us because they can offer their families an enrichment program for their kids, giving themselves an advantage over their competitors. We also help keep them in ratio and give their teachers a little break during the day.

At the end of the day we have three customers that we serve. Children, Parents and our School Partners.

We are so confident in our program that we offer everyone a FREE demonstration class so they can try us out before signing up.

I love hearing from parents that their kids are at home singing and dancing to our songs. Or seeing a shy dancer get up on stage and dancing their little heart out. It’s such a feel-good business you can’t help but smile. 

Tippi Toes has allowed me to be a better mom to Easton (7) and Remi (4), giving me the flexiblity I need to not miss out on their important moments in life.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

As a new business with a fair amount of compeition I knew we would need to go above and behind to start building our name. I beleive that by the power of connection and customer service we have done just that. Because we work with kids, the way we conduct ourselves is super important. It is my goal that we make genuine connections with the kids, the parents and our school partners.

Since we cannot do what we do without our school partners we make it a point to check in with them frequently, ask what we can do better to serve them and we also like to bring them gifts and treats to make sure they know how much we apprecaite them. It truly is a partnership in my mind and we want them to feel invested in Tippi Toes as well. They are the ones who help promote our brand to their families.

It is my goal that we make every child feel special and cared for. We have gifted kids merchandise when they have to miss our recital or send them a get better card when they are sick and just treat them with respect and kindness at each and every class. We have served kids with disabilities and made sure their families felt comfortable and supported.

We will make concessions for parents if they missed a deadline to make payment or missed an email with important information. We always respond in less than 24 hours and communicate clearly.

I found that over time all the little things we do add up and we are now getting referrals from families who have had such a positive expereience. Word of mouth is a key component to growing over time. Our goal is that other schools will start calling us once they start hearing about what we offer.

I also make a point to attend as many community and business networking events as possible to get our name out there and show that we are a part of building better communites.

Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?

Our core business is enrolling kids in year long dance classes where they pay tuition each month. In addition to that we also have additonal revenue streams.

We sell merchandise such as our recital costumes, ballet slippers, dance apparel, recital gifts/flowers, stuffed dolls, event tickets, and other accessories.

Special events are another big revnue driver for us, this includes birthday parties, tea parties, daddy/daughter dances, guest appearances at libraries or play cafes. We also offer a varitey of summer camp options.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tippitoesdance.com/location/tippi-toes-st-cloud/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tippitoesstcloud/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Tippi-Toes-St-Cloud/61555290458593/