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

Kate , appreciate you joining us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

Yes, I truly am happy as a business owner. I remember when I was living in the Philadelphia area after college and worked at a few studios thinking to myself, “if they can do this, so can I (and maybe better!).” I have always loved dance and teaching, and always did really well in school. So owning my own business if the perfect marriage of the artistic aspect of dance and the academic side as well. It truly fills my soul (and brain) in multiple ways.

Of course, there are times when I wish I could “turn off” work mode, not think about it all day/everyday and not be the one who makes all the decisions, etc. But I can honestly say, those thoughts don’t last long. Even during the craziness of Covid, when I had to turn my in-person dance lesson business into an online business in a matter of days…it was a fun challenge (super stressful, but fun).

I feel so lucky to be able to do what I do. I can still remember teaching one of my first classes back in 2008, with just a few littles ones in the class. We were sitting in butterfly position and I remember thinking “I feel like I’m playing pretend right now.” It was so surreal that my dream had actually come true. I think when you follow your passion, your why really helps you through those hard times. And now, I have learned that if I want to “turn off work mode”, I just need to leave the state and travel! That way I am disconnected electronically and physically and can really rest and recharge. In fact, I leave to go to Oregon in 2 days!

Kate , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Kate Moody and I have loved dancing since I was little. My parents put me into dance lessons since I was always dancing, especially down the aisles at the grocery store.

As a quiet kid, dance was my outlet, my way to express myself. I danced all through high school, both at a local dance studio and on my high school’s dance team. I had the support of my parents to continue to dance in college, earning my BA degree in dance at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA. During my time there, I came to realize that going the performing route wasn’t for me. I wanted to share my passion for dancing via teaching the next generation.

After living out east with my now husband, Jim, and teaching at local dance studios, we moved back to WI before we got married in 2005. I continued to teach, but still had the urge to open my own studio. I wanted to create a dance community where everyone was welcome, was well run and organized and left my students and their families feeling better about themselves.

I have always said that I know that 99% of our students at Liberty Dance Center won’t dance after they graduate if they even make it that long. But, the lessons and life skills they will learn and gain through dance will last a lifetime. So that’s what our goal is at Liberty Dance Center. As my mentor Misty Lown says, “we don’t teach kids to make great dancers. We teach dance to make great kids.”

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Good ol’ fashioned word of mouth. With the exception of one direct mailing that we did our first year (because my dad worked at the advertising company), we have relied solely on word of mouth. Now, we do help local schools with community events, good luck “ads” in play programs, etc. But we view that more as a donation to the school. Otherwise we don’t spend any money on advertising.

I think that is a huge reason for our growth and our strong community that we have created over the past 15 years. We started with about 40 students in 2,400 sf leased space our first summer in 2008 and now have close to 600 weekly students in an 11,000sf space we built and own.

When our students and their parents tell their friends about Liberty Dance Center, it’s from the heart and better than any Facebook ad we could create. And more importantly, it attracts the right type of people. People with the same goals of what they want out of their dance lessons and time at the studio. We feel very lucky to have the community that we do.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Back in 2016, I was gifted a “golden ticket” by one of my college roommates to attend Studio Owners University. This conference is put on annually by More Than Just Great Dancing. It was the organization I didn’t know I needed. To find a group of like minded studio owners of all sizes, experience, goals…but with the same mission, was amazing. Seeing as though I hadn’t taken a single business class and had no formal business training, MTJGD, perfectly combines the artistic/passion side of owning a dance studio with the business side. My husband and I signed up during lunch that first day and haven’t looked back!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.libertydancecenter.com
• Instagram: LibertyDanceCenterllc
• Facebook: Liberty Dance Center