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Dancing has always been part of people's lives, it is a historical tradition. Ballroom dancing has been alive at social functions for centuries, in many parts of the world, such as countries in Europe and Asia. In recent years, Ballroom and Social dance has proved its long lasting presence in our lives, especially now since in today's media with shows like Dancing With The Stars and S.Y.T.Y.C.D. Also with Ballroom Dancing being considered as a medal sport in the next Olympics, more people will be exposed to Social and Ballroom dance.
PASSION Dance is dedicated to bringing quality and affordable dance instruction to Sacramento. There is a very active and dedicated ballroom dance community already located in Sacramento. However, there has never been an actual dance studio, where these people can expand their knowledge of dance and enjoy being with other people of like interests. It is our plan to incorporate the existing dance community into our studio to begin with a strong base of supporters. From there we will be able to spread the word that dancing is a fun and exciting way to spend time. There are many benefits to dancing that will attract people from many backgrounds and interests.
PASSION Dance, soon to be located in Sacramento, California, will provide the community with a comfortable, friendly environment in which to learn the art of partnership dancing. PASSION Dance will offer private dance instruction, group classes, social dance parties and rental facilities for local events.
Ballroom dance, as a sport, as well as an art, has become increasingly popular worldwide. As a result, the studio can expect to attract a wide cross section of customers from Sacramento to other local areas. Passion Dance will appeal to people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds, looking for creative self-expression, exercise and/or social opportunities through dance.

SWOT Analysis We are in a highly lucrative market in a rapidly growing economy. We foresee our strengths as the ability to respond quickly to what the market dictates and to provide quality Dance and Social outlet in a growing market. In addition, through aggressive marketing and quality management we intend to become a well-respected and known entity in our respective industry. I have a wide and thorough knowledge of the Dance and Sales market and expertise, which will go towards penetrating the industry. However we acknowledge our weakness of a small-sized company without a lot of experience, and the threat of new competition taking aim at our niche. Our Target market is mostly couples and People who are 25 and up, but we at Passion Dance are targeting people of all ages. To grow in this industry, it is all about numbers, the more people we attract the more revenue will be brought in. Below are the summarized strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

strengths * Right products, quality and reliability. * Dance knowledge * Great Customer Service * Low Prices * Location has a great Reputation * Management is committed and confident. * Experience in the Dance World. * High Population. | weaknesses * Hiring people with Dance Experience/ Social Skills * Small Marketing Budget * No direct marketing experience. * Need more sales people. * Staff would need training on Procedure. * Adapting to the California State of mind. | opportunities * Not Many Competitors * Target all age groups. * Teach International and American Dances. * Can surprise competitors. * Could expand to local towns. * Grow into a Competition school * Taxes are lower. | threats * Hiring the wrong people for the job. * Local competitors have good products. * Being new to the area. * Market demand is seasonal. * Making enough revenue to maintain studio. |

Target Market Ballroom Dancing is a multi-billion dollar industry that will only continue to grow, especially now that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded provisional recognition to Ballroom Dancing and DanceSport. The timeless popularity of social dancing, combined with the growing interest in the trendy dances, has proven to be a winning combination around the world. We are confident it will produce the same results in Sacramento. According to the information published by the US Census, Sacramento had a total population of 1,475,216 for the year 2013. Sacramento is surrounded by the smaller towns of Folsom, Davis, Woodland, and Rancho Cordova.
PASSION Dance feels that the population of Sacramento, as well as these smaller towns, are all potential customers. We have divided these potential customers into the following groups: * Children/Teens (19 yrs. and under): Ratio of children and teens in Sacramento is 24.9%, according to the 2012 census information. Our plan is to have special classes designed specifically for the younger people. * College Students/Young Adults (20-24 yrs): Ratio of College students and young adults is 17 %, according to the 2000 census information. * Single and Married Adults (25-55 yrs): Ratio of Single and married Adults from the age of 25-55 is 38%, according to the 2012 census information. * Seniors/Retired (56+ yrs): Ratio of seniors and people who are retired is 20%.The people in this group will be a combination of retired and working people.

As indicated in the previous table and illustration, our market is limitless. Everyone who has the ability to walk can learn to dance. It is our job to present dance to these people and introduce and develop interest in the community for ballroom and social dance. For children and teens it is important to show the fun in dance. We can introduce Ballroom Dance through Junior and Senior High School dance and drill teams. The United States Amateur Ballroom Dance Association (USABDA) has made generous efforts across the country to develop dance in younger generations. There is a USABDA chapter in Sacramento, which will assist in getting dance introduced to this age group. We will also look to affiliate our studio with the local Jazz and Ballet studios for mutual advertising benefits. Colleges across the country have been adding Ballroom dance classes to their curriculum and have been closely involved in Dancesport competitions whose sell-out crowds rival those of football and basketball games. Sacramento University does not currently have a Ballroom Dance curriculum, however, there is a swing club, Sacramento University Swing Kids. We would like to start by including the swing kids in our studio events and assisting their efforts to spread the popularity of swing. We hope to work with the University to offer classes to their students for credit. Single and married adults between the ages of 25 and 55 have traditionally been the biggest supporters of the ballroom dance studio community. This group is generally looking for new things to try and do. For singles we offer another way to meet people, and date. We will also have special wedding packages, which offer the new couple options for learning their first dance. For married couples dance is something new to learn together and provides a great social outlet. By working with the local clubs, we can be sure there are places for people to use the dance they are learning and in turn spread dance further into the community. Retired people and seniors (ages 55 and up) represent a small section of our market. However these people usually turn into long-term dancers. Dance is a wonderful hobby, and low impact exercise that benefits the mind, the body, and social aspects of life. For this age group learning to dance is done for reasons such as something they have always wanted to do, something they used to do and would like to do again, for use on vacations, or an exercise to keep their bodies healthy. We plan to offer our services to local nursing homes, as well as to those who come in to the studio for lessons.
Competition Market There are two major competitors that we will need to be aware of, Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire. Since both these companies have been around for a century, they been recognized as the top Ballroom Schools in the world. They both work in similar ways; they offer private, group, and practice lessons just the way we do. However, one of the biggest things we differ from the them is we sell the lessons individually also and strictly units like them. The market share of both of them is very similar, since they been around for so long, it is only obvious that they control most of the market share. In Gross Sales, Arthur Murray takes the lead, since they have over 250 studios worldwide, while Fred Astaire has only over 100. Arthur Murray total gross sales was about 80 million for the year of 2013, while Fred Astaire has only 50 million. Their Strengths are of course being a known brand, and establishing a great name over the years that has been used in movies and in songs. Their weaknesses are not being able to sell the lessons individually, so if one wants to purchase a private lesson, it would not be possible because they sell in units. The unit that I am referring to includes a private, group, and practice. In the advertising department, all Ballroom studios advertise by satisfying our customers, so they can come back and spread the word to their friends creating word of mouth. Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire also attends to local schools and fundraisers to perform for them, hoping to attract clientele. Their Brand Personality is to be perceived as fun and easy going, to let the people know that it s not hard to dance nor should it be difficult. Phrases are also very crucial in their success, in Arthur Murray their phrase is " come to Arthur Murray, we teach you to dance in a hurry" and for Fred Astaire is " we specialized in two left feet." These phrases and slogans seem to make an impact on the world for it has been in used in movies by Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando. Their visual code is Class, meaning as one walks in the studios it gives off an artistic and classy feel. In both studios, they have elegant pictures and specialized hardwood floors. Also, giving off the class look is the staff members, because they must all wear suit and ties; as for the students there isn't dress code attire, students could choose to dress up or wear casual clothing.
Concept and Reference PASSION Dance will target people who wish to get more for their investment in dancing. A large variety of dance lesson packages and programs will be offered in an effort to make dancing affordable to any budget. Teachers will be highly skilled and professional, keeping with the image of the studio. The ballroom will be an elegant place to come, where customer service is number one. Marketing venues will include placement advertisement, direct mail, Internet Web page and include partnerships with community businesses. PASSION Dance sales strategy will be based on a consultative style where the customers and teachers work together to identify and plan a course of action to satisfy the customer. Teachers will participate in continuous consultative sales training and receive regular sales coaching where the identification of customer buying criteria will be paramount. Sales closes will be based on demonstration of satisfying the customer criteria.
Mission Statement PASSION Dance offers a place where people can learn to dance, meet new people, have fun and feel comfortable. We offer a variety of dance programs with price options for all levels of interest, with greater emphasis on group classes and small package sessions to reach dance skill objectives.
Pricing
At Passion Dance we work in supplying lessons in packages or individually, of course our main objective is to sell packages because of profit. 1 private lesson or 1 Group lesson or 1 Practice lesson: 45 Dollars Bronze I: is priced at $1,200, and is based on the assumption that students would buy this package with 19 privates and 25 groups. We offer a 20% discount to people who pay cash for their lesson, and show this in our forecast by making this package show at $1,000. Bronze II: is priced at $1,440, and based on the assumption that students would buy a package containing 24 privates and 24 groups. We offer a 20% discount for paying in cash, and show this in our forecast by showing this package price at $1,200. Bronze III: is priced at $1,620. These are both based on the assumption that the student buys a package of 27 privates and 27 groups. We offer a 20% discount for students who pay in cash, and have shown this in our forecast with our package being $1,350.
Media Plan Passion Dance will be using our Web page, www.Passiondance.com, as our media plan; that is designed to provide a convenient way for people to discover our studio. For marketing purposes the Web page will be linked to other dance Web sites and, since it has dance in the title, it will show up on different search engines. Our students will be able to use the Web site to look up group class schedules, upcoming events, studio news, and lesson prices. Students and prospective students will also be able to contact teachers via e-mail. Teachers will have the Web site on their business cards, and it will appear on our ads to offer people a chance to look at the space, meet the teachers and check prices, and ask questions before they enter the studio.
We plan to link our Web site with some prominent Sacramento area dance Web sites as well as the city Web sites, and local recreational sites. We will also link with some national Web sites in order to increase the possibility of people reaching us on the Web. By having the word dance in our title we should show up easily on different search engines, which will increase our potential to be seen by our own market. Our Web site has been designed to offer looks into our prices, lesson outlines and definitions, our staff and pictures of the studio. We will provide pages that explore upcoming events at the studio as well as community dance events. We will keep people posted on the national news of dance as well as local. We will always have a current calendar of events for the convenience of our students. We will also have a show board to show off different pictures of events from our studio.
Sales Promotion One of our marketing strategies is to advertise discount specials or introductory offers. These are designed to introduce people to the different dances our studio offers, and the dances our customers want to learn. Our instructors will work with the customer on these specials to discover what it is they are looking for in dance, and to outline a course that suits the customer's wants and needs. When a course outline is agreed upon by customer and instructor they will meet with a manager for a brief consultation to make sure the customer is satisfied with the lesson outline and that the course will meet the expectations of the customer. The customer will then sign up for the lessons by contract and commit to a series of appointments; the studio also commits to these appointments.
We will offer a variety of courses, all mixed with combinations of private lessons, group lessons, and practice parties. Our course outlines will follow industry standards of recognized progression in dance, referred to as program dancing. The different levels of dance are recognized as Social Foundation, Bronze, Silver, and Gold, which is consistent with the dance industry. Although our instructors will be designing course outlines according to the specific needs of our customers, there are basic packages that we can offer in these different levels. Also, because of the size and amount of time required for those levels after Social Foundation, we have divided them into Bronze I, and Bronze II, Silver I, and Silver II, and Gold or our Showcase Level. Passion Dance also offers the ability for customers to take group class packages. These may be more affordable, and although take longer for advancement, might be more preferable to some of our customers.
There are three different memberships offered: 1. The Basic, which allows unlimited admission to dance parties as well as discounts to special events. 2. The Gold, which allows limited access to group classes, unlimited admission to dance parties, five party guest passes, and discounts on special events. 3. The Platinum, which allows unlimited access to group classes, unlimited admission to parties, ten party guest passes, and discounts to special events. These memberships will last one year. Passion Dance will offer discounts for larger dance packages. All payments for dance lessons will be collected at time of purchase. Customers may be given 30 days to pay with a down payment of 50%. We will accept payment in the form of cash, check, or credit card.