DivaDance

Values driven

Profitability is there but thin margin

The choreography and class experience are genuinely excellent. Clients love the product itself, and the instructor onboarding and client experience training at the HQ level are solid. We also have strong lead generation systems: our social media to booking funnel works well, and when studios deliver champagne-quality classes, the conversion metrics speak for themselves.

The membership model is foundational to the business, and requires an immense amount of hands-on support. Revenue fluctuates based on sign-ups and churn, and there are months where studios operate at a loss depending on the fitness industry cycle. That's the reality of the model, and it's worth knowing upfront. This is a not a business that you can run VPT (very part time) or (part time) successfully. I also would not recommend opening a unit within at least a 20 mile radius of another one. It's been a challenge to maneuver through the system with other Franchise owners who are not collaborative, and puts financial challenges on our business because we are often competing for the same clients. The ten percent royalty fee feels high, especially when you consider that resources are spread across underperforming locations that are paying significantly less. Units that are meeting or exceeding expectations end up subsidizing those that aren't, which doesn't feel proportional to the value received. The franchisor has also been through significant staff reductions in the past year. They haven't been transparent about it, but it's visible, and it raises legitimate questions about their financial health and capacity to support franchisees. Here's where it gets harder: accountability and decision-making at the franchisor level aren't consistent. From my observations, franchisees with closer personal relationships to headquarters tend to receive more favorable treatment. In my experience, this looks like rules getting bent, decisions happening outside normal scope, and enforcement becoming selective. Meanwhile, underperforming units and territorial violations are flagged inconsistently. When I've raised concerns about these patterns, I've either been met with silence or responses that feel like I'm being redirected rather than heard. The franchisor has also become increasingly controlling around marketing decisions — operating within the letter of the agreement but in ways that feel heavy-handed. When I've questioned decisions that seem to violate the agreement itself, I haven't gotten substantive responses.