Identify your particular passion and level of expertise. If, for example, you're a former actor and love everything theatrical, you may want to open a small studio and groom future actors on the same techniques and styles you learned over the course of your career. On the other hand, maybe you have always enjoyed the ballet but are the kind of person who can't walk across a room without tripping; if you're flawless, though, when it comes to successfully managing a business, your performing arts platform might be to hire the best-qualified ballet instructors to work for you.
Identify what the core objective of your school will be. For instance, perhaps the model will be a multi-facted program that offers beginning classes and workshops in all aspects of the performing arts so that students can get a general sense of what each one has to offer. Perhaps your goal will be to work with performers who have already achieved a high degree of expertise and act in the capacity of a referral agent to get them paying assignments in film, theater, concerts, and cabarets. Yet another reason for opening a performing arts school could be in conjunction with a hospital wellness program or play therapy modalities to assist individuals who are physically or mentally challenged in gaining self-confidence.
Research what the competition is doing. If you live in a large metropolitan area such as New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles, there are probably a number of performing arts schools already in existence. What you will need to find out is what they are offering in terms of a curriculum, what they are charging and what their core objectives are. Schools that are expensive and have prestigious reputations, for instance, often have an impressive track record of students and graduates who have gone on to perform in major theaters, become movie stars or sing arias at The Met. If you live in a smaller community, your research will involve seeing what the local schools and colleges are offering prospective students as well as whether there are community outreach classes being taught that cover the very same ground you're interested in. Armed with all of this information, you can then try to find a niche that isn't being filled.
Determine whether you are going to be teaching the classes yourself or hiring experts. If you opt for the latter, the pay needs to be attractive enough for them to come on board but still reasonable enough that you can make some money to pay the bills. The pay that you offer your instuctors should be contingent on their level of professional expertise and their availability.
Decide on the age range of the students you want to teach. Keep in mind that the younger they are, the shorter their attention spans are going to be. Accordingly, classes for first-graders are going to be 30 minutes at the most; intensive acting sessions for adults could last up to 4 hours. You'll also need to decide whether you want to do one-on-one instruction (i.e., piano lessons) or work with small groups (i.e., introduction to tap dancing).
Determine how much physical space you will need for your school. Unless the home you currently live in has a large spare room and you are legally zoned to have an in-house business, you will likely need to lease space at an existing facility such as a school, community center, or church. Shop around to determine who will give you the best deal and what hours the facility will be available for your use. At such time that you have the resources to build your own school from scratch or renovate a business-zoned building, you will have acquired on-the-job insights regarding how much space you need for classrooms, rehearsals and performances.
Acquire a business license and adequate insurance. An excellent resource to check out is the Small Business Administration website (see URL at end of article). This website can also walk you through the steps of giving your performing arts school an official name and a taxpayer ID number. (Yes, even though your school is all about fun and good times, you'll still need to keep accurate records and pay income taxes every year like everyone else.)
Develop a professional website that identifies the type of performing arts instruction offered, the fees, the age ranges you accept and bio pages of you and your staff. If you enjoy blogging, blogs are a chance for prospective students to get to hear your opinions, comment about recent performances you've seen and invite questions.
Set up a business checking account to process payments. You also will need to find an attorney who can draft boilerplate language for the contracts you use when students (or their parents) enroll for classes and workshops.
Develop (and continue to modify) your curriculum so that students will know what to expect from participating in each class.