Attention Belly Dance Teachers and Studio Owners. Are Your Students Buying DVDS?

"Become a Dealer & Make Money Selling DVDS To Your Students"

Your Students are Buying DVDS Anyway But Are You Making Any Money?

Date: August 25, 2010

From: Leylas Husband, Dan (The Belly Dance Husband)

Attn: Belly Dance Teachers

Recently I was hit by a lightening bolt of an idea that is just great because it is a win-win-win situation. What is  funny is that the idea came to me on one of those "duh" moments. You know one of those kind of moments when you realize that you had been overlooking an opportunity so obvious that it would have bit you had it had teeth! Anyway.............here's the little story behind this flash of obvious non-brilliance.

Leyla recently taught a workshop in Abilene TX and as is often the case, when I'm not behind the camera, I act in a supporting role helping out where I can. In this instance I was actually hanging out around the door.

While hanging out I noticed a table with hip scarves and music for sale (Leyla's DVDS were on a different table). Well come to find out that what was on the table was the owners 'standard fare' she makes available to her students.

The obvious omission (in my mind) of course were not the just the absence of DVDS but the absence of Leyla's DVDS.  So, I sat there an thought about it. I mean why wouldn't a studio owner not want to make DVDS available as well as hip scarves and music.  Here's what I came up with....

Why Studio Owners, Teachers Don't Sell DVDS To Their Students

• Maybe they haven't thought about it. 

• Maybe they can't find DVDS at wholesale pricing. (though I have to believe the larger supply houses do this)

• Maybe they have found a source but the minimum orders are prohibitive. 

All of these reasons seemed to be valid, but regardless this deserved additional thought. Would this idea make sense for teachers and studio owners? So I wondered?

Should Studios Make DVDS Available To Students?

It seems to make sense.

• Additional revenue. "Anyone in the room not interested in additional income, raise your hand". 

• Quality control. If you're not exercising professional influence over what your students put in their Belly Dance brain then they may be learning something that goes against your curriculum.  

• Less Work: Anyone ever hear of a text book? Is it not legitimate to think of a DVD you approve of in the same way a teacher considers a text book? You only have a limited time with your students so this is a way to leverage your time.

Your beginning students are likely to be somewhat infatuated with Belly Dancing and hungry for more. So, why not augment their instruction with content you control, that you profit from?   So it does seem to make sense.

But the question is............