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Giving private lessons
I posted an ad on my school's classified board for private pole lessons. I am not a certified instructor but I believe I am capable enough to teach beginners to intermediate. I'm wondering if any of you ladies have done this? Is it better to teach out of your home, or should I rent a dance room from a studio? What should I charge? Are there confidentiality issues? What hourly rates would be reasonable?
I'm not trying to make this an official business or anything, but I thought I could bring in some pocket money by giving lessons here and there. I got my first prospective client email today. Any advice is welcome.
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30 Replies
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I would highly recommend NOT teaching out of your home, for liability reasons. You will need instructor insurance–make SURE it's specific to pole. You'll also need a waiver for students to sign. Can you find a place to teach in that won't cost so much (ie-in hourly rent of the space) as to make you just barely break even when said and done?
As far as what to charge…what will the market bear? IE-what market are you targeting? Personally, I charge $45 +. If I have to go somewhere and set up a pole, I have to factor that in.
I'll see if I can think of more.
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Edit: I mean, if I was teaching private lessons outside of the studio, I'd charge $45+, but I only teach them in the studio.
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Thanks, Krista. Is that insurance absolutely necessary? How expensive would it be? There is a dance studio I can rent for $7/hour, so that's reasonable. There is no one else around teaching pole so I guess I can charge what I want, but I'm aiming at college girls so cheaper is better. I was thinking $25-30/hr but that was before considering the possible expense of insurance.
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I would say…yes..it's necessary. Others can chime in. I believe the cost is just under $300 (for one year). I would think studios would require you to have it? Their insurance would not cover you in case of an incident.
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$25-$30 an hour is incredibly low for private sessions. I charge twice that. You can find ways to make it more affordable for people, without devaluing your services. Offer buddy sessions, where two people can split the cost (ie, $60 an hour for a private, $80 an hour for a shared private, then each student only pays $40). Or offer 30 min sessions, that way you can keep it in the $20-$30 range. Insurance and waivers are a must. A lawsuit can ruin your life, and pole is a very strenuous, high risk activity.
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Also, pole is an athletic activity. Get some basic knowledge of health and fitness before teaching. Learn about proper warmup/cool down technique, learn about biomechanics, and basic exercise science. Simply being good at pole, really isn’t enough to teach (IMHO). I get a little irritated with the lack of fitness/exercise knowledge a lot of instructors seem to have. AFFA and ACE have books you can study. (This isn’t meant to come across harshly, I just think that in general the community of pole instructors needs to take this a little more seriously). I do wish you all the best!
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Pokeyd– My inexperience with athletic training is exactly why I'm not trying to promote this as a real business, but more along the lines of babysitting service in terms of officialness or what have you. I don't know body mechanics but all my friends I've taught have said I am a great teacher, so I thought why not bring the joy of pole to more girls by teaching a few spins and climbs. I doubt I would ever teach any advanced moves.
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If you're not ready to do it for real, and the right way, I wouldn't do it at all. The simple act of accepting money in exchange for services, is by definition taking it to another level, regardless of how low the price is. And if someone gets hurt, they will have a case against you. think of it like the person who starts an at home "daycare". it doesn't matter if there are only 2-3 kids there, and they are charging super low prices. if one of those kids gets hurt, there will be hell to pay.
this is all just my opinion, YMMV!! happy poling, whatever you decide to do!
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Well, I definitely don't want to half-ass it. My thinking was, I don't have the time, business ability, or money to promote this as a full-fledged business. If I could promote myself as a legitimate instructor who just lacked a home studio, I would love to do that. I will look into the insurance because that seems to be the greatest barrier and legal encumbrance.
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Being an instructor is a huge undertaking. I know it sounds like fun and you're not planning on teaching advanced moves, however what many people fail to realize is that even the basic beginner moves can cause serious injuries. More specifically shoulder injuries which can last a lifetime. It's really important like pokeyd said, that the pole industry start taking education more seriously. This is crucial to the growth and continued success of the community. Instructors need to be knowledgeable about what they are teaching. This isn't something that happens overnight. Instructors need to constantly learn and seek out educational opportunities from as many resources as possible. This is very time consuming and requires a lot of dedication both personally and financially. I encourage pole instructors to obtain their Discoveries Dance pole fitness instructor certification. It is an amazing program that sets an instructor up in the mindset for teaching safely and organizing their curriculum. I took things a step further and obtained my AFAA Primary Group Fitness Certification and AFAA Yoga Instructor Training. I also have a back ground in the medical field with 12 years of experience in nursing. I'm constantly learning and finding opportunities to learn more. To start, if you're really wanting to start teaching, you should visit as many studios as possible to learn from other instructors and how they all teach. I did this before I started teaching. In my situation, there weren't any studios around either and I paid a lot of money to do this as I traveled all over the U.S. to make this possible. As far as it being a business, if you are charging for services in regards to fitness activities that have liabilities, you are a business. Being an instructor has a lot of responsibilities and obtaining appropriate insurance coverage, licensing, and education are just the tip of the iceberg. It's very involved and a very serious responsibility that if you're not willing to fully commit, then don't bother going down that road to begin with. Not trying to sound harsh either, just trying to prepare you for the seriousness of the role of a pole dancing instructor. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
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There are numerous threads on here about becoming an instructor and teaching out of your house. First I will start that even simple spins are NOT in any way shape or form simple and you can do damage to your hands, shoulders and wrists if not taught properly. If you are not warmed up properly you can do even more damage. If you are doing anything that involves transfer of money from your home your home is open to being taken in a lawsuit. And I can guarantee you that your home owners insurance will not cover anyone getting hurt from you conducting what by all definitions is a business.
This is a good thread:
https://www.studioveena.com/forums/view/2136
And quite honestly being in the MidWest you have one of the best sources of information which is Mary Ellyn Weissman from Empowerment Through Exotic Dance. https://www.studioveena.com/users/view/bc950dd0-d89d-11df-ab19-12313b090e12
If anyone can give you advice on all of the legalities of teaching she would be the person to talk to.
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Thanks, Chem!
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For reference, I have a partially separated shoulder thanks to being improperly taught spins in a level 1 class at a studio. That is a life-long injury. The only way to fix it is surgery. I wouldn't skimp on insurance.
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Ouch. Did you sue, kasanya?
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I think the biggest lesson to learn from Kansanya’s story, is not the necessity of insurance, but to get properly educated on exercise and fitness before teaching. Your students are trusting you with their bodies, and their health. Do your due diligence and learn more about general exercise and fitness guidelines and proper body mechanics before teaching. If you’re not ready to do that, than you’re not ready to teach. No matter how informally you are looking at it, you could inadvertently hurt someone. No one wants that, I’m sure least of all you! Knowing how to pole isn’t enough, or even how to break down moves, just isn’t enough. Even beginner level moves are quite intense, especially for the general, sedentary, population.
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