Creating software for a niche market presents its own Challenges & Opportunities. When we began developing Dance Master Pro, we had the simple goal of allowing dance studios to lower their Administrative workload. This allows them to focus on Teaching & building their Community.
Almost immediately we learned that dance studios function differently than many other small businesses.
Most studios have structured programs that charge tuition Monthly, have enrollment/registration seasons, and produce Large recitals that involve hundreds of Students and Family members. However many studios still run their businesses with Spreadsheets, Email threads, and Manual payment tracking.
The back-end operations for a studio have tremendous complexity.
Studio Owners have to Manage Student Enrollment, Track Costs, & conduct regular (& usually Monthly) tuition collections, at the same time Communicate with their Clients (Parents), Develop and execute Recital Logistics, and Create Parent-Student Class Schedules.
Many studio owners can easily spend 10- 15 hours per week on Administrative aspects of their Business.
This influenced the direction of our product development strategy.
Rather than developing an all-purpose booking system, we concentrated our efforts into creating workflows that provide structure to workloads for dance studios — be it through managing tuition through recurring payments, tracking students through their enrollments or streamlining the production of a recital.
The most surprising realization gained during the course of our operations within such a narrowly defined market, is the degree to which it is vital to understand intimately the day-to-day surroundings and realities of the users being served.
Generic software solutions frequently do not work because they attempt to address all customers.
Conversely, niche SAS products typically perform well and solve very specific daily problems in the operations of a business.
Another lesson we learned is that niche markets usually create very strong communities. For example, dance studios often depend on their customers for referrals, family-related business relationships over long periods of time and continuing education of their students.
Technology in this area must enhance relationships — not replace them.
Our goal has been clear from day one. We want to minimize administrative friction for studio owners so they can spend as much time as possible doing what they most enjoy — teaching dance and building community around themselves.
For anyone developing a niche SAAS product, one of the greatest advantages is clarity. When you develop a true understanding of your users' daily operational challenges, it makes developing meaningful solutions much easier.
If you are curious about the operational processes of dance studios, we have provided additional explanations of how they operate in this post:
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