Episode Details

You're watching talented instructors slip through your fingers, and you can't figure out why. They interview well, seem excited about the opportunity, then suddenly accept offers from studios that don't even have your reputation or facilities. Meanwhile, the teachers you do hire rarely last more than a season before moving on, leaving you trapped in an endless cycle of recruitment that's bleeding your energy and your bank account dry. Here's the uncomfortable truth: your hiring process is broken, and the best teachers can see it from a mile away. They're not choosing other studios because those owners got lucky. They're choosing them because those studios treat hiring like the business-critical decision it actually is, while you're still winging it and hoping for the best. Let's start with how you're presenting opportunities to potential hires. When your job posting reads like a two-line afterthought, qualified instructors keep scrolling. They need to know what styles you're looking for, what age groups they'd be teaching, how many classes per week, and what your studio actually stands for. Without these details, you're essentially asking strangers to commit to something completely undefined. The professionals worth hiring won't waste their time applying when they can't even tell if their skills match what you need. You end up drowning in applications from people who have no business teaching in your studio, while the perfect candidate never even saw your post as a real opportunity. Then there's the vetting process, or rather, the lack of one. When you're desperate to fill a spot, it's tempting to fast-track someone who seems decent enough. Maybe they come recommended by a friend, or they have an impressive performance background, so you skip the hard parts. But here's what happens next: you hand over a classroom full of children to someone you haven't properly screened, and you're essentially gambling with your studio's entire future. One problematic hire doesn't just create headaches. It can expose you to liability that ends your business and harms kids in ways you'll never forgive yourself for. Taking the time to verify previous employment, confirm credentials directly with issuing organizations, and run comprehensive background checks isn't paranoia. It's the bare minimum when you're responsible for children's safety. Even when you do find someone with legitimate credentials, you might be making another critical mistake. You see an impressive performance resume and assume teaching ability comes automatically. It doesn't. The most technically brilliant dancer can be absolutely terrible at breaking down a simple chassé for a confused seven-year-old. Teaching requires patience, communication skills, and the ability to read a room full of kids with completely different learning styles. If you're not watching candidates actually teach during the interview process, you're hiring blind. A trial class reveals everything a resume hides. You'll see immediately whether someone can manage classroom energy, explain concepts clearly, give feedback that builds confidence instead of crushing it, and actually connect with students. Skip this step and you'll discover their shortcomings three weeks into the semester when parents start complaining. Here's another place studios lose great teachers before they even make an offer: cultural mismatch. You might be running a recreational studio focused on joy and self-expression, but you hire an instructor who only cares about competition placements and winning streaks. Or maybe you're building a serious pre-professional program, and you bring on someone who wants every class to be free-from creative exploration. Either way, you've just created confusion for families and frustration for everyone involved. Before you interview anyone, get crystal clear on what your studio actually values. Then be direct about it during conversations instead of saying whatever you think candidates want to hear. Li