Dance Taught Me About Profit Patterns

How I Learned to Spot the Drop Before It Hits

It was 2019, just before the world shut down.

I was in a heels class - one of those high-energy, full-sass, Beyoncé-channeling kind of nights. The instructor was Ryan, and the routine was fire. I don't remember the exact song, but I remember how I felt: powerful, in flow, so in it. You know that feeling where you forget everything and your body just takes over? I was fully there. Total motion. Zero mind.

Until one sharp twist - and boom. My balance bailed on me.

One wrong step and my leg went inwards. I didn't lose my lashes (miraculously), but I did end up with an overstretched ligament and a recovery period that dragged on for nearly a year. No surgery, thankfully, but it was a massive reality check. I had let my focus fly so far off-centre that I literally crashed.

And that was the moment I learned: when you don’t check in with your balance - when your core isn’t activated - your movement will eventually collapse.

Movement Patterns Mirror Money Patterns

Back then, I wasn’t a business owner. I was just someone who loved to move. But now? I see the parallel so clearly.

What dance taught me about physical balance, business is teaching me about financial balance.

And honestly? Most creative business owners have no idea what their financial patterns are. They don’t teach this stuff in dance school. And unless you’ve studied accounting (hi, I did, and even I missed things early on), the money side of your business stays blurry.

Financial clarity isn’t about spreadsheets. It’s about knowing the mechanics behind the movement.

Think about ballet. You can watch it and feel the beauty. But unless someone explains the turnout, the alignment, the effort behind a clean pirouette - you don’t see the full picture.

Same with money. You can feel like things are going well. But that doesn’t mean you’re moving in a way that’s sustainable.

Let’s talk about what happens when those patterns get ignored.

The Patterns I See Before the Dip

If I were to look at your accounts as part of a Glow Check™ - this is exactly what I'd be hunting for. Not just the numbers on the surface, but the patterns underneath them. I'd be pulling apart your income streams, offer strategies, seasonality, and spending habits, cross-checking everything against what you say you want from your business. It’s about trends, not just totals. And unless you’ve trained to spot them, they're easily missed - just like ballet technique unless you understand the mechanics behind it.

Here’s what I know happens in the dance industry, and I know all that from years of being surrounded by dancers, watching them juggle multiple gigs, late-night rehearsals, and really tight budgets, all while trying to build something sustainable. Patterns don’t lie. They repeat. And if you know what to look for, you can catch the leak before it drains your profit. These habits are sneaky. They don’t always scream “problem.” But they often show up right before the income crash:

1. Booking Everything, Tracking Nothing

You’re teaching five classes, prepping for a weekend workshop, and squeezing in a guest slot. It looks full. It feels full. But what did you actually keep?

You brought in £1,200. Amazing. But studio hire? £300. Travel? £150. Extra outfits, props, snacks, last-minute tech? Another £120 gone. Oh, and you still haven’t chased payment from that one client.

My Dance parallel: It’s like freestyling an entire routine at full energy, thinking you’ve nailed every beat and movement - only to have someone ask, “What count are you on?” and suddenly you’re lost. Without a clear structure and checkpoints, even your best effort can fall apart when someone asks for the details.

2. Saying Yes to Every Collab or Stage Opportunity

You want to stay visible, so you say yes to every offer that sounds good. Problem is, they’re unpaid or low-paid. Your calendar is full of commitments - but none of them actually feed your bank account.

Now the paid gigs are crammed into your leftovers, and you’re too exhausted to give them your best.

My Dance parallel: Imagine learning five different routines simultaneously, spreading your energy thin and never fully mastering any. You never give yourself the space to perfect or enjoy your craft. Instead of one standout performance that leaves people speechless, you deliver multiple underwhelming ones - and you know you could’ve done better.

3. Letting Admin Pile Up

Receipts tossed into your dance bag. Emails flagged but unopened. Invoices saved in drafts “until later.” Then suddenly, it’s April, and your tax return looks like a war zone.

My Dance parallel: It’s like knowing all the individual dance moves perfectly but neglecting the transitions and spacing. The flow breaks, timing suffers, and the whole piece feels clunky. It doesn’t matter how well you know the steps if the glue holding them together is missing.

4. Operating on “Vibe” Not Capacity

You’re picking gigs based on what feels exciting - not what fits your energy, your bandwidth, or your budget. You say yes out of guilt, FOMO, or fear of missing a connection.

And then you’re overbooked, underpaid, and quietly burnt out.

My Dance parallel: It’s like showing up to every class and rehearsal full-out, every single time, without listening to your limits. When the show comes, you’ve got nothing left in the tank. The passion’s there, but the stamina’s not - and your performance suffers.

5. Avoiding the Numbers When Things Feel Good

This one’s sneaky. When the money flows, you stop checking in. It feels like everything’s finally working - so you ride the wave. But no review = no insight.

No insight = no plan for the slower season that’s coming whether you like it or not.

My Dance parallel: Imagine crushing one rehearsal and skipping the next five because you “felt ready.” Then performance day comes, and your timing’s off, the transitions are fuzzy, and the confidence you had starts to fade. Turns out, that one good run was the exception - not the new standard.

What These Patterns Cost You

Okay, real talk. These aren’t cute little habits. They’re the invisible drain.

Here’s what they actually cost you:

• You work all month… and still feel broke.

• You say yes to the gig… and resent it halfway through.

• You delay invoices… and feel awkward chasing money.

• You price low… because you don’t know what your time’s worth.

• You panic at tax time… and promise you’ll “get organised next year.”

You don’t need more hustle. You need to see the pattern.

Because once you do? Everything changes.

Not overnight. Not dramatically. But steadily. Predictably. Strong.

You start:

• Saying yes with intention

• Building structure before burnout hits

• Tracking your wins, your leaks, and your capacity

• Making financial choices that match your real-life rhythm

You Can’t Fix What You Don’t Spot

Spotting your profit pattern is like spotting your posture in the mirror. You don’t fix what you can’t feel.

That 2019 class was a wake-up call. One missed connection between movement and balance - and I was off my feet for nearly a year.

Some of you are there right now with your business. Still moving. Still smiling. Still dancing. But inside? You know something’s wobbling.

And that wobble always shows up in your numbers before it explodes in your life.

What’s Your Balance Point?

Financial clarity doesn’t mean perfection. It means posture.

It means catching your habits mid-routine. It means leading yourself like a pro, even when no one’s watching.

You’re already resilient. You’ve already got rhythm. You know how to hold space on stage.

Now it’s time to hold space in your books.

Dance taught me how to spot the pattern. Numbers taught me how to fix it. And together? They gave me the confidence to create the kind of financial support that I know is missing in Dance & Fitness world.

Let’s help you find that same balance - before the next dip hits.