From Dancer to CEO
Join Claire O'Shea on her journey from young dancer to Dance Energy Studios founder, podcast producer, and business mentor. At just 19 she started her first dance studio and in this interview she shares insights on scaling her studio, building the right team, and navigating leadership in the arts. Learn about her transition from dance teacher (the person with the technical skill) to the CEO, leading a number of businesses, being the strategic manager, mastering delegation and balancing motherhood with entrepreneurship.
We loved learning about how Claire's leadership style shapes her studio's culture, even when she's not in the spotlight. Tune in to hear her story.
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Guest Bio - Claire O'Shea
Claire O'Shea is a dynamic entrepreneur and educator in the dance industry, serving as the Founder, Director, and Class Teacher of Dance Energy Studios. With a Bachelor of Education, Claire has developed innovative programs like Petite Performers Preschool Dance, designed for children aged 0-5. She spearheads digital initiatives such as 'Dance on Demand' and mentors aspiring dance educators through the 'Power Up Teacher Training Program.' As host of the "Assemble Dance Studio Coaching Podcast," Claire shares valuable insights with dance studio owners worldwide, while her speaking engagements and coaching sessions inspire growth and success in the industry.
Instagram: @assembledancestudiocoaching @danceenergystudios
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/assemble-dance-studio-coaching/id1276431018
Episode Transcript:
Kate Peardon: 0:00
The majority of people who start their own business do it because they're really good at what they do. So they start a business. They start working with clients. They get more clients than they can personally deliver the work for, so they start hiring a team and all of a sudden, they're a leader of a business and it's not what they've been trained to do, and so businesses can start to struggle or fail, or the business owner is doing all the work instead of getting the team to do it, and the reason that businesses have these challenges is because running a business and being a leader is not the same skillset as what you're really good at technically. Today's episode is sponsored by a new program that I've crafted, called Founders Academy of Business. It's teaching founders and small business owners how to level up their leadership and run their business smarter, not harder, and get the freedom that they actually want. We meet once a quarter, either in person or virtually, to set your strategy. We then catch up fortnightly via Zoom to keep you accountable to your goals and include in the program as a CEO toolkit with templates for interviewing, performance reviews, difficult conversations and delegation, and this whole program is run with other business owners. Have the business that you actually want, not the one you feel like you are chained to. Applications are now open for the next intake. You can go to zenithjourneycom and click on the button that says founders. On to the episode.
Kate Peardon: 1:24
Welcome to the Level Up Leadership Podcast. This is the go-to podcast for chronically busy leaders and small business owners who are ready to get out of the weeds and start leading. The weekly episodes have micro-leadership lessons focused on how to level up your leadership and help you to be 1% better every day. It's all about growing your leadership, wisdom, building a team and being the leader people want to work for. So let's get into it.
Kate Peardon: 1:54
Today's podcast guest is Claire O'Shea. She is the founder of Dance Energy Studios, and her story is a fascinating one of being a dancer as a kid, going through to owning her own dance studio, to opening up more studios, acquiring businesses, online courses. She has done it all. She is a dynamic entrepreneur and an educator in the dance industry. She has a Bachelor of Education and, as well as running her studios of more than 500 students which, to be honest, that's the size of a small school she also hosts a podcast for other studio owners. Today, she's sharing three of her lessons. One is about hiring, one is about teams and one is about change. So, to kick it off, claire, can you give us a bit of your background, of how you came into the business that you currently have?
Claire O’Shae: 2:38
Yes, of course. So, as I mentioned to you, I own dance studios. I grew up dancing. I've been dancing since I was two, like it's sort of a traditional story. You know, you go into your class and I just never stopped.
Claire O’Shae: 2:52
But when I finished school I didn't really have the like lifelong goal to open up my own dance studio. It wasn't something that I was like always obsessing over. So I started university I actually went into psychology first and decided that was not for me and quickly pivoted to early childhood education, which is what I finished my degree in. And then, yeah, one day I was. I had moved to Brisbane for a little bit and was living with my boyfriend at the time and my sister and he's now my husband and I was just talking to my mom about nothing and she just randomly said I was driving and I took a wrong turn the other day and I came across the sweetest little hall it would make such a dance studio and that was the thing that made me go huh, and I just couldn't get it out of my head.
Claire O’Shae: 3:46
I became obsessed with the idea. I don't know why I decided it was a great idea I was 18 at the time and then I started the studio when I was 19. Um, and so I juggled my full-time studies starting a business and yeah, that was sort of the how I started it. And now we are 12 years down the line and it's grown from. You know me teaching in a community hall. So now we have two commercial leases. One building has three studios, one has two, and we have eight mobile school locations and growing, and within that you also acquired a business.
Claire O’Shae: 4:27
Oh, yes, yes, I did so. I started Dance Energy, which is my brand, by myself, and then, in 2022, I purchased the studio where I grew up from my dance teacher and I did rebrand and everything. But it's funny now going to work and teaching and running a business from the place that I spent a lot of time and now taking my daughter there every week as well, which is lovely, how many students do you have?
Kate Peardon: 5:01
now we have over 500. So you and I talk about this. This is like a school, like, as in a primary school size number of people. When people say, oh, a dance studio, you're like that's 500 students and that's probably 300 parents. If you account for some siblings, teachers of all the classes, all the different locations, it's a lot when you actually break it down.
Claire O’Shae: 5:26
It is a lot and you just you do get used to it if that makes sense and, like I sometimes feel guilty because you know we set goals to grow and not just because we want bigger numbers or higher revenue, but because we do really feel like we're making such a positive impact and often a bigger student base allows us to promote our team and really, like put an emphasis on the arts on the Sunshine Coast where, like traditionally I think in our area there not was a lot of opportunities for full-time dance teaching positions on the Sunshine Coast, like it would be something you would have to go to like Sydney or Melbourne for, because you would almost need to create your full-time position by working at 10 places or you'd be working for the likes of, like, a full-time dance studio.
Claire O’Shae: 6:13
So I sometimes do I don't not that I don't appreciate it, but you know you're just so used to thinking about forward planning and trying to get to the next step that you don't always sit in where you are. But yeah, we are bigger than a lot of primary schools and I think because sometimes I also go like, oh my gosh, are we spending too much money on like team or admin? But if I kind of compare to what again like a primary school? It's definitely not, but unfortunately we aren't government funded yeah.
Kate Peardon: 6:42
Well, that would be nice. Yes, the other part of your business is about educating other studio owners, because what I love about your story is you've come from a dancer to a teacher, to running your own business in a hall, to buying another business, to now running many studios and school locations, and these are things that you've picked up along the way and you've taught yourself. And as a business owner, I think you get into stuff and you don't realize what you've got into, but you've got to figure it out. If you stay afloat as a business this long, you've figured it out and there's things that you've learned that you teach other studio owners so they don't have to do it the hard way.
Claire O’Shae: 7:19
Yeah, of course, and I've always just been, I don't know. I've always been like a sharer and a collaborator and I think, because I started so young, I was just a sponge. I just wanted to learn everything from everyone, or as many people as possible, and that's not to say that I've just regurgitated other people's information as my own. But there was really I always say there's really no such thing as a new idea. It's been done somewhere or in some way before.
Claire O’Shae: 7:47
And I think what I have behind me now is I have a lot of experience in different areas of business ownership, but more specifically dance studio ownership or, I guess, like class-based ownership, so it could be applied to Pilates or yoga, even though I mostly speak to dance studio owners. But yeah, like I also do, I have a podcast which I really enjoy, and a part of that is just being able I feel like it's a bit like my own, like therapy, like debriefing about you know what's been going on, challenges we've been having, and I do think I have a lot of epiphanies for the dance studio when I'm recording that and I hope and I do see that it does help others. But I'm sure, like you, sometimes you kind of get into this silo where you're not even sure people are listening, even though you see the numbers. Occasionally, like you know, a listener will reach out and will really thank us and it just it makes all this energy and effort is worth it.
Claire O’Shae: 8:42
It's a different side of the business that I really enjoy, because I do really enjoy public speaking and talking more about business ownership and I do think over the last 12 years I've really pivoted from being fully in the classroom to I haven't been in the classroom on a regular basis now for over two years just because I've had one daughter and then maternity leave and now I'm about to give birth again. So it didn't really make sense for me to go back into the classroom this year, for example. So it's sort of been a bit more logistical. But yeah, like I've really sort of pivoted my focus from being in the classroom to more being a business owner.
Kate Peardon: 9:22
And I think that's probably been essential to your success, because you need to see things from a higher perspective. I have another client previously who was a school principal and a previous teacher and all her friends, her husband, everyone she knew were teachers, and then she became the principal. She just thought she was the most senior teacher. So you're now a CEO of a business and for her that was a whole mindset shift of oh, I'm not. This is like a whole different identity in how I look at things and I feel for you, whether by design or by default, these logistic changes has meant that by being out of the classroom and seeing things differently, has changed the perspective of your business.
Claire O’Shae: 10:07
Yeah, I do. I do think I spend a lot more time on things now that are necessary and they're not necessarily the things I love to do, but it's important and it's a part of owning a business. So, more like finance and budgets and all of that stuff which I don't get joy from, and I do hope in the future, like you know, I might be able to employ someone that can at least prepare and spend all the time and energy in those zones and I just review it. Yeah, Don't have the capacity yet where I do still get a lot of joy when I am in the classroom or when I'm teaching my teachers about being in the classroom.
Kate Peardon: 10:48
Yeah, I think, as someone that has come through from your craft to then leading a business, and a lot of people who start their own business, you start it because you're good at what you do. You don't start it. Most people don't start a business because they're like, yeah, I'm a really good business owner, what can I pick that's going to make a good business? That's secondary, but making sure you still have the joy when you get out of the day-to-day doing is really key as well.
Claire O’Shae: 11:11
Yeah, and I do get a lot of joy now, like obviously I see the kids around and I see their happiness and that brings me joy, but I'm spending more time working with my team and seeing them flourish and that gives me joy in a different but equally positive way.
Kate Peardon: 11:31
I think that is a wonderful segue into your first leadership lesson, because you were talking about how growing this business has actually enabled. In the Sunshine Coast, which is a place in Queensland, australia, where we've got some wonderful beaches, it's like a really big country town, but it is not the opportunity for people to have full-time jobs in things like being a dance teacher until companies like yours flourish. So one of your leadership lessons that we've talked about sharing today was about hiring your team and hiring slow and promoting from within. Can you share a little bit more about this as a leadership lesson?
Claire O’Shae: 12:08
Yes, definitely this is like a big thing that we have pivoted towards, and then we've also like taken it so far to now have like an internal education system program for our student teachers to kind of work through. So from like 12, 13 years old, we're almost like building our future. Wow, and again, only if they want to and they also enjoy. But even like some of our really, really shy students, who you know technically probably wouldn't anticipate them ever being a teacher, they get so much joy from like learning leadership skills and being looked up to by the little ones, and it's definitely something that promotes like community within our business and then also builds retention. So we have a huge emphasis on quality education and with that being our teachers being qualified. There is not a lot of legislation and by not a lot I mean none and so we really have to set the standard ourselves, and that's been something that's really paramount for us, and so we have a lot of checks and boxes to kind of ensure that we're meeting or exceeding our own expectations. The only rule we have is a blue card, which I don't think is good enough for the amount that we work with children, but that's what the rules are, so we ensure we reach that. But in terms of hiring, slowly promoting within, it's definitely something I learned, Like I'm sure other business owners listening have all hired someone out of desperation and then it didn't work out for business, and particularly because of the industry that I'm in, you do require highly skilled, trained people. So you can't just take you you know someone who likes music off the street and then teach them how to dance. Often they come with 10, 15, 20 years of their own experience and education before then even learn learning the skill of how to teach it. Absolutely there's a less of a pool to employ from. So and we also know you, we do things differently within our business. So we really are mindful that there is a certain type of teacher that we want to put in the community as a representative for our business and that is different to what someone else likes. And, again, a consumer might like a different type of teacher and that's okay.
Claire O’Shae: 14:41
So we really, I think, made the biggest pivot during COVID because, again, in our industry, it was very common to hire contractors only During COVID. All of those businesses who did that didn't get any government support, of course, but I had employed all of my staff for years Frozen cons From the advice of my mum and my accountant. But people were very confused why I would pay super and why I would do this if I didn't have to. But anyway, let's not get into that. But so during COVID I was lucky or smart enough to get all of that government assistance and my teachers suddenly you know who are working maybe 10 hours a week were getting paid a full-time wage and although they didn't have to do any more hours like legally, they just had to do their 10 hours.
Claire O’Shae: 15:40
All of my staff were like no, what's the maximum amount of hours can I do? All of my staff were like no, what's the maximum amount of hours can I do? They all wanted to do. They all went from doing 10 to like at least 30 something hours a week because they wanted to and were getting paid to, and they had the ability then to stop working retail or working in a cafe or something and really kind of focus their energies on building this career. And so we had over a year of free training essentially for a large portion of our team, and we spent a lot of that time training young teachers how to be managers, how to work in the office, how to be educators, and how to be educators and how to be their own leaders. And so it really. Then, after that time then I fell pregnant and I was able to step away from the business and be super confident where I don't think I would have literally had the financial ability to promote five, six people to full time and pay them.
Kate Peardon: 16:41
I hear this story and there's two things that come to mind. And pay them. I hear this story and there's two things that come to mind. One is you play the long game. Yes, so even when you talk about you are. There's a training opportunity program for dancers as young as 13 to start going if this is what they want as a career. You're giving people opportunities to have this, not as a contract, casual job, but actually as a job and a career. And when the opportunity came up, where you got some funding from the government, that you used it to play the long game. The second thing is that you already had the culture within your team that people wanted to give more, that they wanted to give and to work with you, where a lot of people, if they don't have that culture, they don't enjoy what they're doing, they don't like who they work with. They were like yep, I'll do my 10 hours and I'll take my money.
Claire O’Shae: 17:30
Yeah, and they had every right to do so Absolutely, and I wouldn't.
Kate Peardon: 17:34
I wouldn't have begrudged them.
Claire O’Shae: 17:36
No, absolutely not. Yeah, but I I do think we play the long game and I do think we have an amazing team culture. Like a lot of my staff are coming up to like long service leave and things, and I, you know, it's not something I ever anticipated and a lot of them, like they started with me when they were 18 and now they're mid to late 20s or again. I have, I think, three or four teachers on staff who were my students 10 years ago and you can't teach the community and the culture that they just absorb by osmosis, by being there. You can't teach that Like that's just something that they learn and then they can go out and promote what we do in the community.
Claire O’Shae: 18:22
So I think, aside from that, obviously people like if they're listening, they can't go back and be like, oh, I wish that I retroactively trained people. That's not what I mean. I just mean we did kind of get a leg up to be able to do that and now we have our internal training system with our students and, again, not every business has kids to teach from a young age, but essentially, even in our adult staff, our management team always has like two to three people like in the back end. Like you know, if blah blah ever moved on and we've already kind of promoted a couple of people around, and again I think it's just looking at the individual people and seeing what they're good at and trying to nurture that into something that makes sense for you and your business.
Kate Peardon: 19:12
So I'm listening to your story and your leadership lesson of hire slow and promote from within and thinking, well, how could people apply this in their own business? And sure, a lot of people don't have students or 13 year olds that are working there, but a lot of people don't have students or 13-year-olds that are working there. But a lot of businesses, and whether this is a big business or a small business, they're mapping out what the career could look like. Is not something that takes a lot of time or money, but providing that, hey, this is where you could go and this is what the steps could look like is a huge drawcard for people that want to join your business or stay in your business or say, hey, is this a step in my career or could I see a longer career? Here? People can say to me I don't want to train people in leadership in case they leave, and I say, well, what if you don't train them and they stay?
Claire O’Shae: 19:59
I just 100% agree, because it's a massive fear of a lot of like dance studio owners that I coach and work with is that, oh, I don't want to promote someone to a manager. I don't want to give them the back end of how I run my business, because what if they open their own dance studio? Well, they probably might. You did the same thing, Like I don't understand.
Claire O’Shae: 20:19
It's like if you are really proud of what you do and are really strong and confident in what you do, yes, they might leave, but if you've treated them well and you've put all this love and energy into them, hopefully they'll do it the right way. And it's not going to feel good or nice when they leave, but hopefully they do the right thing by you. And it's just. I always say to my staff like you're not married, Well, you're married nowadays, but you're not married to me or the business. If you want to move overseas or if you want to try something else, I want that for you. I only want you to be here for as long as you're happy and love what you do and if that changes, that's something you should be scared to tell me.
Kate Peardon: 21:02
And I think that in itself is quite important, particularly with the demographic of your staff, because often, and I would say probably the majority of your staff have come through dancing, have been a participant of dances and then have become dance teachers, then become managers, often haven't had other jobs and then maybe have had a retail job, but often haven't had any other jobs, and so their awareness or expectation is quite narrow, which I think leads lovely into your second leadership lessons, which is around your team and how people like to be communicated and how things might be different to how you see things.
Claire O’Shae: 21:37
Yes, I definitely think over time and again, just the way I started my business. I was so young, so you know, being 19 or 20 and employing someone my first employee was 10 years older than me, or, like you know, eight to 10 years older than me and Tuna, she was the best first employee because she could not give a stuff how old I was. You know, she came in to do the best thing that she was best at and didn't care about anything else.
Kate Peardon: 22:03
Yeah.
Claire O’Shae: 22:04
Offer advice. If I asked, she would listen to me. If I wanted her, she would ask me, like, what should I wear? Like how do you want me to do this? Like she was just so great and she still works for me now. So she really showed me that you didn't have to be afraid of your age. And then pretty soon you get older anyway, and then now I'm like the oldest staff member, pretty much anyway.
Kate Peardon: 22:25
I remember doing my first hire and there was a great candidate who was older than me and my own self-limiting beliefs meant I did not hire that person because I was worried that I was supposed to be the leader, I was supposed to have the answers, and if I hired someone that knew more than me then or was older than me, then how's that going to come back? So my own fears helped me back and I love your story because you didn't see it that way and I think, just as a side little leadership lesson, hiring someone that is older or more experienced can be the best thing for you and your growth.
Claire O’Shae: 23:03
I love to be told what to do from my staff Like that brings me so much joy. I've given a checklist and particularly one of my like main manager team members. She's very detail-oriented, very calendar-based, very checklist and she will be like reminder you, you need to finish this task by Wednesday and, amazing, when we were first starting to work, she did. She very openly says to me I don't really know like what, like how much can I? You know, she was really kind of unsure and when I just kind of kept saying this is how I like to work, I love that you remind me, because that's not my strong suit, like I appreciate that. So it gave her the confidence to kind of keep me accountable. I become a better boss then as well.
Claire O’Shae: 23:47
And I think now I've remembered what the leadership lesson, talking about communication, I know the way I like to communicate. I'm very honest and open and can have quite frank conversations if I need to. But I'm very mindful and I like certain people that come into mind straight away that that would give they'd be anxious, they would probably get upset and again, if they get upset in front of me, that doesn't make me uncomfortable. I don't want them to be upset. But if that's how they have to kind of get those feelings out, that's okay. But that's taken me a while to get used to and I think it's just like practicing having those conversations.
Claire O’Shae: 24:22
And then again, now I'm in a position where it's me and then I have three or four management people working with me who all have their own communication styles, and then they have people that are reporting to them. I don't have to be perfect at communicating with everyone in the way that they want to, because I've got a lot of different people now who communicate differently and can kind of meet them where they're at. And I think we've just put things in place. Like you know, we now have set meetings and we have one-on-ones and we have teacher check-ins and we have all of these processes and systems in place to make sure that if things are going to pop up, that we can have the conversations early. Oh, we've known this has been a problem for a year but we didn't say anything. But now it's really bad.
Kate Peardon: 25:10
Yeah, and I think your second leadership lesson is that everyone communicates differently and like. Understanding your style and other people's styles is so important, and the thing that I love that practical application that you've taken from that is putting in a system and a process so it doesn't rely on one person's communication style. So for people that might be coming up with this challenge that people see things differently or understand things differently getting a system in place is key where you have your regular check-ins, whether that's once a week, once a month, once a quarter, depending on the style. You have your team sessions. When there's an issue, you have a process on how you go through it. It means it's not relying on one person's style on remembering or figuring it out and if that's different than another person's style, it's not relying on one person's style on remembering or figuring it out, and if that's different than another person's style, it's not about the people, because they know what the process is. It makes life a lot easier.
Claire O’Shae: 26:03
Yeah, definitely. And again, as a boss, it makes it so much easier, particularly now like I'm about to have a baby, literally next week Time away from the business. I'm really confident that those things will still be happening. There are still those checks and balances going on, even though I'm not there to ask, and the team also have each other to talk to versus just me. And that's not to say that obviously there is. I offer value in a different way, and not that me being away, that my absence won't be noticed, but I don't think it'll be missed.
Kate Peardon: 26:38
Yeah, and that is key to a scalable business. If it's reliant on you or you remembering to have that conversation, or if something's stuck, it relies on you to have it. It's not a business. You've got yourself a job.
Claire O’Shae: 26:49
Yeah, and I definitely think there have been times and only recently, like last year, like I felt like I really pretty much got into this weird like babysitting mode where really I would just sit on Slack and wait for something to come up to help and then I'd just be like reminder, reminder, reminder.
Claire O’Shae: 27:09
And I just got to the end of last year and was like this like my day is so dull, like I I just I wasn't enjoying it again and there's obviously times and places in business where you have to kind of get into that maintenance mode but knowing again I was stepping away.
Claire O’Shae: 27:24
We then switch, put a lot of energy and effort into reassigning everyone's roles and responsibilities and then ensuring and having practice of them being responsible, then if something wasn't to go right, Instead of me trying to step in and fix something before it went wrong, being comfortable with allowing things to happen and go wrong so that the team members could take accountability, because a lot of the time they wanted these promotions, they wanted all these responsibilities, but they didn't members could take accountability because a lot of the time they wanted these promotions, they wanted all these responsibilities, but they didn't want to take accountability when things went wrong and I was kind of placating that a little bit by jumping in and kind of fixing things before they went wrong, where my director and I really sort of discussed like how we almost have to kind of let these mistakes happen so that they can start to learn and her too like you know a little bit of this accountability where I always feel like I've been.
Claire O’Shae: 28:25
I'm very like, honest, like, oh my gosh, I forgot that I or I took on too much, I just or, for instance, that bored me so I didn't do it Like I will be transparent.
Kate Peardon: 28:37
Yeah.
Claire O’Shae: 28:38
So I try and model that. But I understand, like you said, like a large demographic of my team, this is their first full-time job, so it might not be something that they're used to doing. So practising that this year has been a huge pivot and I honestly just feel a weight like off me not having to just be sitting on slack all day.
Kate Peardon: 28:58
I remember having the conversation with you and saying, what if you weren't in the slack groups, I know, and that cycle of like, well, if we did this, this, this, this, okay, that could be okay and this could happen, and it was a process, yeah so I slowly after comfortable no, it wasn't after we had that discussion, I slowly started to just mute slack channels.
Claire O’Shae: 29:23
again, my team weren't asking me, I was just getting in and checking every thread where why, like it's just, it was so unnecessary and'm across. You know a couple that I need to be, but again I don't have the notifications on. So now when I open up Slack, they have this new function where it's like catch up and show me where I need to catch up. I've told them like I'm not in there consistently, so if you actually need me to take action, you have to call me. I'm not, this is not something I'm in all the time, but that was a huge thing Because at first I was like when you said, oh, just, I was like, oh, like, everything will start to go wrong. Where things did go wrong, but it wasn't the end of the world and I just had to.
Kate Peardon: 30:08
again, I communicated hey guys, just letting you know, as of tomorrow, I'm not going to be checking this daily. Yeah, there's some great things when people think about okay, well, what's the applicability for me and my business or my role for this? There's some great things about that, like when you empower your team, that's great. You've also got to give them the accountability as well. Otherwise, if you empower them but you still catch everything, they're not accountable for the results. Then they're not really empowered. So there's that part of it which you did well, and then the part that you just added at the end. I think people miss this step. Well, you tell them hey, this is what I'm going to do, because otherwise they get surprised. They're like but Claire always jumps in and fixes. Why isn't she doing it now? Yeah, so that expectation setting hey, from tomorrow or from next week, this is the new rule, this is how it's going to work and this is what I want from you. Buy in.
Claire O’Shae: 31:01
Again. It's all an adjustment and this is something I feel like I was doing a couple of years ago and then just sort of fell into bad habits. For whatever reason, I had my daughter, she'd gone back into daycare. I was sort of working a full-time role again and I sometimes wonder whether I was like trying to fill my day or making myself feel like I was getting a lot done and like again with slack. The dopamine of like checking off and getting it does get a little bit of addictive. Where I need my plan now is, when I come back from this maternity leave is to maintain the minimal level I spend in slack and really focus my energies into new areas, like starting in a different state or looking into franchising or like all of these like big projects where I just don't have time. Yeah, I was just babysitting people that didn't need to be babysitted and they didn't ask for it. I was just felt the need. I didn't need to be babysitted and they didn't ask for it. I was just felt the need. I don't know why.
Kate Peardon: 31:57
I hear when you talk about the things that you want in the future and like thinking, taking like a broader perspective of what could be and I think your third leadership lesson was all about change and whenever you think you have things figured out, there's usually another challenge around the corner. And I think for you, either the challenge arrives, like COVID, or you create the challenge.
Claire O’Shae: 32:18
Yeah, I definitely think I'm probably like, obviously COVID for pretty much every business owner. Maybe there were some businesses that I think did really well out of that. Just because of what it was, I am very grateful for the funding and everything we got at the time. But being an in-person business, it was an idea for us and for kids. We really noticed them struggle, so that was really sad for us, and even though in Queensland we cruise through so much compared to other places.
Claire O’Shae: 32:50
But all of that aside, I think I am more likely to be the one that jumps in and creates these. It's not even problems. It's just like I shake things up or I try and extend the team in different ways or like add something, and I have to be mindful that often people are maybe at their capacity in their role, which is totally understandable, and so you know a lot of this sort of research beginning phase does rely on me, but that's sort of where I like spending my time, so part of me also. You know the possibilities of the different things you could do are so alluring it's hard to know what the right path is and there's never a distinct path no there's not.
Claire O’Shae: 33:38
That's something I kind of think about a lot and at the end of the day I always kind of bring it back to like, while this interests me and I might want to do it, does it actually work for me and my family as well?
Kate Peardon: 33:52
Something that is not on your leadership lessons, but something that I'm curious about and I know a lot of our listeners are curious about. You're going technically, you're on maternity leave this week, but we are doing podcasting too. You're having baby next week. It's your second child, so you have gone through this process before as a business owner. Do you mind sharing a couple of the insights that you've had, of what you've done to help set up the business to be ready to have this time off?
Claire O’Shae: 34:19
Definitely, and I think this is sort of part of my forward planning nature. Even it sounds so strange, but even at 19, I knew I wanted to have kids. I guess maybe that's not strange. I was an early childhood teacher and working with kids. I to have kids. I guess maybe that's not strange. I was an early childhood teacher and working with kids. I clearly love kids. I always knew I wanted to have kids, being so young and joining all these business groups.
Claire O’Shae: 34:42
There was a lot of studio owners around me who were either in that phase or they were 10, 15 years past and they were talking about all the regrets they had when they were little never putting them to bed, never seeing them play hockey, always being at the studio all weekend, all of these things.
Claire O’Shae: 35:02
And I remember thinking, oh, I do not, I don't want that to be me, I don't want.
Claire O’Shae: 35:08
And these ladies were very openly like their kids, either hated their business or they had a sort of a fractured relationship with their kids because they prioritized the business and and that's not to say like you don't go through times where you have to do that, of course, but for me I was just, it was a really well, I'm really lucky, I guess, that I got to hear from people who had done it in different ways from a young age. So at that time I was like, okay, well, you know, I've got at least you know, 10-ish years to kind of establish the business, to be able to step away. And it was sort of always my plan to have someone who could at least do the day-to-day, whether that be one person, so I could take some time off or so that I could teach you know one or two nights a week and be home for three nights a week. But even that changed. Like I going into having my first daughter, I didn't sort of realize the time involved, for instance with breastfeeding like.
Kate Peardon: 36:11
I can definitely attest to that in my experience. Who knew it would take so long?
Claire O’Shae: 36:16
But also like, for instance, just my daughter just didn't like a bottle.
Kate Peardon: 36:21
Yep.
Claire O’Shae: 36:22
So like I had to feed her before she went to bed at night, which is literally right in the middle of a teaching night. So it just wasn't practical for me to be in the classroom. So there was like, just like logistics that I probably didn't you can't anticipate for me to be in the classroom. So there was like just like logistics that I probably didn't, you can't anticipate for, which is completely understandable. But I guess the practical thing was and not everyone has 10 years to prepare their business, that's not what I'm saying but I kind of started those processes and systems early on and they kept changing and adapting. And again I really started to kind of focus in on team members who had potential qualities, or I noticed they had an interest in taking on more leadership roles and nurturing them. And then again, a little bit of family planning is not always possible but knowing there's better times of the year for my business, for me to have kids, than others. And then also, something I didn't realize was that you know, after I had my daughter, I had kind of thought that you know, after a month or so that I would be mentally ready to like jump back in a couple of days a week and at least have conversations and be trying to drive the business forward.
Claire O’Shae: 37:35
I really lost interest in the whole concept for a good six months and I think it's all hormonal and for me it was all tied, I think, into breastfeeding. I was really ready to like sell the business and become like an earth mother, like I was. Like I can just like stay home and again, there was nothing wrong with staying home and being a mother. I think that is incredible. I personally could not do it, like to be home full time and not have anything else work-wise. It just is not for me.
Claire O’Shae: 38:07
But during that time I really thought that that could be me. But as I came out of that haze I was like, oh my God, and so now going into my next maternity leave, like I have prepped my team, don't be panicked if I talk about wrapping things up. I'm not selling the business. Don't be panicked if I'm not. Like I don't want to bounce ideas off you because, like that sort of man always like, oh, what about this? Or I see this, or like could we try that? And that's sort of my zone, and I'm still trying to work on my team members getting better at doing that or bringing more ideas. But again, I don't think anyone is energized by your business as much as you. That's where it's your business.
Claire O’Shae: 38:48
Yes, exactly. So yeah, I guess, going into my second maternity leave again, my team is in a much better position than they were the first time. I have a bigger team, but then again, financially we have way more expenses than the first time. That is also a little bit of like a oh, like balancing that and maybe giving them some more accountability in terms of budgets, finances, what they can spend, which is a bit different to the first time around.
Kate Peardon: 39:18
Yeah, and I know that's not an area that you'd love as well.
Claire O’Shae: 39:22
No, I don't, and like people clearly do, because they do it for their job and stuff, but it's just not something. I guess it's just to be fully transparent. I like to be good at things and I don't feel good at that. It's not my strong suit, so I can get through it, but I don't feel confident and I think that just makes me uncomfortable.
Kate Peardon: 39:44
And then, which means you do less of it because you don't enjoy it. It's very normal. It happens to everybody in all areas. Yeah, yeah, yeah, and I think as people grow like you grow your business, you go from doing the stuff that you love to then managing other people that do the stuff that you love, and then you have to do all the stuff that you don't like. But then the next phase is you can outsource again the stuff that you don't like, so you can do the stuff that you do like like. It's such a strange cycle of business ownership.
Claire O’Shae: 40:08
Yes, that's what I'm hoping in the next say three I was going to say three to five, let's say three years again that I can hire a business manager or more like a yeah, someone that can kind of do more of that forward planning, finance stuff and more like HR kind of thing, like contracts, all of that stuff which you have to do. But for me I'm like, sorry, boring.
Kate Peardon: 40:33
But they call this in like business, business world, your hygiene motivator factors. So like a hygiene factor is like something that you have to have but it doesn't get you any benefit with your team. Motivators are like the cool stuff that you do that your team's like oh, I love that. And I often joke to businesses that if you have a physical premise you have to have a toilet. But no one says, oh, I'm going to work there because you've got a nice toilet. That's a hygiene factor. And it's the same with doing your contracts and having those hard conversations and people don't join your business for that. But if you don't have it, they're not going to be there. So if you don't have a toilet, no one's going to like you can't actually have a physical workplace. Oh, exactly.
Claire O’Shae: 41:12
Yeah, true, well, I haven't had a place like that, but that makes sense, and I think my personality is that I like to be challenged and I like to try new things, and so the repetitive nature of money is a bore. No one likes to be stressed, and I know in general, either one because cash flow is hard, or two because, again, I can't always put all the pieces together to make sure I have an accurate representation.
Kate Peardon: 41:43
It just makes it seem more stressful than potentially it probably is yeah, yeah, I think, uh, this is something that definitely needs to be in your horizon in less than three years. Yeah, we'll talk about it later.
Claire O’Shae: 41:54
Yeah, Give me six months. Yeah, We'll loop back. Yeah, and three months from now I'll be like you know what. I reckon I might move to a farm.
Kate Peardon: 42:03
So you know I'll talk to you in another three months. So your three leadership lessons one was about hiring, one was about your team and the third one was about change, and I love there's a little line that you've written about. Business is constantly changing and evolving and if that stresses you out, I wouldn't recommend having one.
Claire O’Shae: 42:19
Yeah, To be fair, like my sister has started her own like side business. It's sort of related to what we do and there's a couple of times she's only at the very new stages and I have said to her if this is a problem now, this is only going to get worse.
Kate Peardon: 42:37
Yeah, so the last piece we talk about today is your one percenters, and you picked a few one percenters, a practical tip that has improved your leadership by one percent. You're bringing the value here. Your first one was find yourself a business bestie, because it's life changing.
Claire O’Shae: 42:53
Yes. So like I do think there's so much value in finding a coach or a program, all those things. But those things come and go and either because one you grow out of them, two maybe you can't afford them, whatever you can't find, like I'm in a kind of a phase where I just feel like I can't find the right thing for me. But one thing that I've had consistently is actually in one of the first groups I was in, I met like two to three people and one in particular that has, I think, changed the whole trajectory of owning my business and so being able to find I don't want to.
Claire O’Shae: 43:29
If people don't have someone, I don't want them to think that it's bad, but even like, for instance, we have that little coffee group and it's not something that I'm as consistent with but I find so much value and support and guidance with that. So it's like it might not be one person that you speak to every single day, but it might be. You know, you might go to a networking event, which is sometimes scary and stressful, and you might just meet that one person that introduced you to someone else and that might be the consistent thing that gets you through a hard time, or sometimes when something goes wrong in business. Often you know the right path through it, but it just seems like there's so many steps and you just need to talk to someone who gets it.
Kate Peardon: 44:13
Yes.
Claire O’Shae: 44:14
And you can't always one if you don't have a coach, it's not the right time to try and find one to do that. And two, if you do, sometimes it's like they're in a completely different industry. They would be able to give some advice, but often you're like, well, actually that's not going to work. Like that's what I kind of found sometimes, where having someone who's at least has a really clear understanding of your business and what you've been through and knows kind of like your staff and other issues that you've had, it's they've got the holistic picture yes, and it sounds almost selfish, but like you do the same for them absolutely, and also just like having a friend that you can go to conferences with, is so fun.
Kate Peardon: 44:55
Yeah, I liked your comment about when it's hitting the fan. That's not the time to get a coach. It's almost like you kind of need to have some systems in place to support you before you're at that point. And I do think coaches and programs they're for a season in time and often you might outgrow them or it's not the focus that you need. But I do have a few different people that have helped me through all the seasons of my business. And, yes, our fortnightly coffee where you can just like what's going on in your business. Where are you stuck? Yeah, sometimes you're like, wow, this is like the, I've just got completely unstuck in what I was stuck in. Or it could be a time where you help somebody else or you can just have a coffee and complain about life.
Claire O’Shae: 45:39
Yeah, but also I feel like putting your true sense in or someone saying oh, that really helped me, that makes you feel really good, and then it starts to make you think oh, can I imply that same advice to myself?
Claire O’Shae: 45:51
Like I just find that to be really valuable, but yeah, I definitely am not saying that coaches and masterminds and all of those programs aren't worth it. I think they definitely are. But the thing that's been the most consistent and I think the most valuable asset for me in terms of kind of that realm is my business bestie.
Kate Peardon: 46:12
One of your other one percenters was about some podcasts. So you listened to a couple of dance specific industry podcasts, but also you listened to a Daravish CEO podcast.
Claire O’Shae: 46:21
I'm a little bit of like. I just get like through phases and there's like some people I won't, I won't listen and I won't listen to it for months, but then I'll get really into it and then I'll like, or there'll be like a guest that I really really enjoy. I find his interviewing style interesting and sometimes I don't like some of the episodes, but sometimes I really really do like it. So I just kind of pick and choose.
Claire O’Shae: 46:44
I use podcasts as well as a downtime to not think about the business. Sometimes, like sometimes I get in the car and I just want to listen to something about pop culture or, you know, about some news event or whatever, something that's completely not to do with business, because I think, as much as it's great to use all of the time that you have to think and learn and stuff, it's also great to take time out and to just let your brain rest and with other stuff. And often sometimes I'll be listening to a random pop culture podcast and they'll recommend some thing and I'm like, oh, actually that'd be really cool for the business. So the break from it also helps you as well, absolutely.
Kate Peardon: 47:27
I think people get into an echo chamber If you're a runner and you only read the running magazines and listen to the best running person and all you see things is through that lens, and sometimes a different perspective is actually what helps you get out of where you might be stuck. So people that have been listening to your story and they're curious, perhaps if they've got some kids that want to do some dance classes at the Sunshine Coast or perhaps they have a dance studio and they're like, ah, claire sounds like she's got it together. How can I learn from Claire? How do people get in touch with you?
Claire O’Shae: 48:03
Well, for dance classes, just head to our website or socials. We are danceenergystudiosnetau and we are Dance Energy Studios on Instagram and Facebook and everything. And then for my business coaching again, you can head to AssembleDanceStudioCoachingcom or my podcast is Assemble Dance Studio Coaching Podcast.
Kate Peardon: 48:19
Fantastic. And for those that are not, dance background how did you come up with your podcast name?
Claire O’Shae: 48:25
So Assemble, and when you just write it it just looks like assemble. It is a term in ballet that means come together, so that was kind of the branding. Idea is that, you know, bringing people together from our industry. Like I said at the start, I really have always loved collaborating and connecting with people in my industry and people always tell me it's really strange how much free stuff I share on my podcast. But again, I just I don't think there is that many new ideas, so talking about them doesn't bother me. Like you know what I mean, if I'm not talking about it, somebody else will. So it's not a secret and I don't know. I just feel confident in what we do, so I don't I have no problems in hoping that it helps someone else.
Kate Peardon: 49:12
I think you are a wonderful example, particularly in how you talk that as a business owner or business leader. Our culture of our team comes from the core part of who we are and what we think is important, and a core thing that I've really picked up from knowing you over the years is that you are all about being open and sharing the good stuff, the hard stuff, sharing knowledge and information and being welcoming, and I think that's really transformed into your culture, and I talk about culture as being. We think that you can control culture, but you can't. Culture is like what happens with all the people that are there One person leaves, one person stays like that changes your culture.
Kate Peardon: 49:53
But the best thing you can do as a leader to create a good culture is to create this environment where it is like the behaviors and how people think about things is what you want, but you can't control it. So what you can do is provide, like your opportunity for student teachers, like this is providing. I'm investing in you, I'm helping you see a career path. That's a core part of your values and your culture. So small things that we do impact our culture, and the best part of a culture is when you're not there, that it does continue in a way that you are proud of, and I think, as someone that is currently, I think your business running in a way that you are proud of or your way, is the biggest compliment to how you lead.
Claire O’Shae: 50:39
Yeah, well, I would a hundred percent agree, and that's very nice of you to say as well. But, like I, I also like, cause my daughter dances now. So I'm still like popping into the studio and it's really interesting because a lot of people don't know that I own the business. Obviously I introduced myself. I'm not trying to be like you know, that's like secret CEO.
Claire O’Shae: 50:58
Yeah, yeah but often like it's really nice to hear like their experience and things and then kind of be like, oh, by the way, like in case you didn't know, because my face is everywhere, but you know I don't wander around with a little crown that says like that would be nice though. But yeah, so I and I am really proud of of what we do and you know, of course there's not a hundred percent of people that have a like that love it all the time. But overall we have so many people that you know, even if it's with us for a term or a year or 10 years, they walk away from what we provided with a really positive feeling, and that's really that's that's why we do what we do. So, yeah, I hope that some of my yakking has helped someone in some way today. Thank you so much, claire. Thank you.
