We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarah Steffen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sarah, appreciate you joining us today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

Yes! I take multiple vacations per year. They are essential for my mental health – I would not be able to run my business in a healthy way without taking time away to recharge. I celebrate these vacations and share them with my audience, both before and after my time off. This humanizes my business and shows that I am prioritizing my wellbeing, which hopefully also communicates that I prioritize my business’s wellbeing.
My annual reset is a trip to the Boundary Waters before Labor Day. I take a full week off and have no access to internet or cell service during this time. I notify my clients and partners in advance over email, social media, and in conversation. I also share my photos and reflections from the trip when I return.

Sarah, 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 have been planning social gatherings for as long as I can remember. It’s important to me that people have the opportunity to come together and connect, whether that be around a specific cause or simply doing something that they enjoy together. In 2023, I started DancingFish Events to leverage my love of networking and community building to make a difference in the Minneapolis community and beyond. Since then, we have worked with more than 20 local artists and 11 local venues to create memorable music experiences for musicians and community members alike.

In a nutshell, DancingFish Events brings local music to new audiences through innovative event design. This October and November are busy months for us with D.C. Leonhardt’s album release, and three spooky Halloween related shows. If you live in the Twin Cities, please consider joining us for one of our upcoming events! All events are open to the public, and cost between $0 and $20.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

We utilize a monthly e-newsletter to stay in touch with our clients and more formally invite them to our events. Our newsletter has 150 subscribers, with an open rate of 66% and a click rate of 7%. We recently transitioned to Wix for our newsletter, because we use Wix for our website and it is an easy integration.

We also like to use printed materials such as thank you notes for artists who perform with us and postcards to invite specific people to our shows. We have stickers to hand out at shows and use our brand strategically on our Instagram and other social media accounts as well.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I am a familiar face at many local music events and have built relationships with countless musicians in the Twin Cities by attending their shows. I also often contribute to the community by offering free access to the photos that I take at many shows.

The Twin Cities music community runs on Instagram, so I am a frequent contributor. DancingFish also reshares many other local events and band-related milestones such as album releases, so people view us as a trusted source for local music-related news.

We have also built our reputation by partnering with other small businesses and finding synergies between us. For example, we are hosting two events this October with our friend Alek at Coffee Break Entertainment. This arrangement works well for us, because each of us is taking charge of one event (and a supporting role in the other event), which allows us to get in front of a larger audience without the stress of spearheading two large events within a week of each other. This is also an easy win because it gives both of our businesses more credibility and allows us to partner with two venues rather than just one.

We are also partnering with Caroline at The Mess Records for a show in November. This collaboration exposed us to new musicians while we were putting together the lineup and will also increase our reach as we share event announcements in tandem.

We also bring other local businesses into our events through event sponsorships. Our upcoming event at Green Room has 8 local sponsors who are helping to promote the event. They are all well known in the community, and their support lends credibility to the event and to our business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dancingfishevents.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dancingfishevents/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmsteffen/

Image Credits

Personal photo by Sammie Jean Cohen
Other photos 1-5 by David King
Other photos 6-8 by Sarah Steffen