Halloween costumes get creative, sell supplies

It's nearly time for the little goblins to come out and guess what? If you are a dance teacher you likely have a lot of supplies that people could use hiding in your closet, attic or back storage room. You know the place where you dump all the things you don't know what to do with at the end of the year... well, those extra sequin belts, fishnet tights and mis-fit costumes and hair pieces can come in handy to the do-it-yourself costume maker this Halloween.

People are reportedly cutting back on their Halloween spending this year, so the hand-made costume must be coming back into high fashion! I put out a grab box at our studio last week and it's been fun seeing the parents dig through it and mess it up each night. Really. (And they complain their kids don't clean up after themselves!) But it's been well received and appreciated by the parents and kids. So, have some fun yourself- clean up your back room and earn a little cash.

3,500 calories to gain a pound of fat

Now, I'm probably like most of you who have been athletes and dancers for your whole life, but somehow still managed to pack on some unwanted pounds. Dance Teachers often struggle with weight as they juggle busy jobs, teach classes (but actually get little exercise) and are just real people like everyone else with stress, menopause, and families to feed.

I thought I knew how to lose weight, but I didn't really. For instance, I thought losing weight to look good for the recital was a perfectly acceptable reason to lose weight. Turns out its not. Lowering your cholesterol to stave off heart disease is a better reason. (but I'm still secretly hoping to look great for the recital, don't tell my Dr.)

Today, I'm sharing something that I learned - It takes deleting or burning 3,500 calories (on top of those you need just to live) from your diet to lose 1 lb. Or it takes 3,500 calories to GAIN a pound too. Gosh, one home-cooked family dinner at Thanksgiving plus leftovers surely must be 3,500 calories. No wonder we often gain 5 lbs. during the holidays. And that megabag of M&M's you keep for emergency fuel? Watchout! That's why it's not possible to lose 5 real pounds of fat in a week- despite what the ads tell you. One or two lbs a week is a safe, yet tough goal if you do it right.

Teaching an average dance class for 30 minutes for me only burns, according to the calorie burn charts, about 60 calories - a good night of teaching may be over 350 cal. And one full out, full steam ahead ballet class for an hour can burn nearly 450 calories (if you aren't the teacher.)

So, the next time you want to reward yourself for a hard nights work at the studio remember you may not have gotten as much exercise as you think... fuel your body for nutrition not to relieve the the stress from the day.

After class, get some exercise for yourself. Go for a run or a walk, jump rope, or do yoga. You deserve it. You all give so much to others, give a little back to yourself.

Google Sidewiki for your website

Thought I'd share this cool new application just launched by Google. If your dance school has a website ask your web guy or gal to look into this. Just be careful because you'll need to monitor it and respond to any negative posts. But on the flip side this Sidewiki could help promote your business (or should I say let your customers promote your business.)

Google Sidewiki- info from MarketingProfs site below:

Sidewiki is a just-launched add-on for the Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers that lets you comment on or leave information associated with any Web page. Basically, it makes every website social. Even your website. If people don't like the customer service you provided when you shipped them their Dell laptop, they can leave a comment directly on your homepage stating so. Likewise, if you gave them excellent customer service, they can say that as well. And after you add your comment, you can then share it via link, email, Twitter, or Facebook.
Since this tool just launched, there will no doubt be many tools and applications created shortly that play off of the functionality of Sidewiki. But, needless to say, this add-on holds powerful implications for any company that creates online content, and you need to make yourself aware of the tool now.

Why you should care: Every webpage now can be commented on. Every. Single. One. Potentially, your competitor could comment on your company's website criticizing your products and services. So can your customers. Did you launch a blog and turn off comments? Now your readers can still comment "on" your blog.
What you should do NOW: Go add Google Sidewiki to your browser. Then check out your website, your blog, and social sites that you have a profile page on to see whether anyone has commented on any of those pages.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), you will have to start thinking about how to respond to customers online, because this tool will likely be a popular one. And that will lead to competitors' offering similar tools.

Remember when you heard that "you can't control the conversation"? That's now become reality with tools like Sidewiki. You need to familiarize your company with what this tool can do, so that you can react to feedback left for your company and, hopefully, become proactive in using Sidewiki to connect with current and potential customers.