Down But Not Out Check out part 1 for some more thoughts about mental health…
Bring the office to the studio AND bring the studio to the office
Typical corporate-type “day jobs,” can help inform the way that we cooperate in the studio, as students, as teachers, and as studio owners.
Similarly, the love, camaraderie, and closeness of human experience that we learn in the studio can also translate to how we do our day jobs to connect better with our customers, our supervisors, and our colleagues.
Instead of championing one and disdaining the other, let’s take all the best parts of our day jobs and our pole lives to improve both.
Bring the office to the studio
“Professional” is a hard thing to define and can absolutely be interpreted and expressed in different ways depending on social mores of a particular industry.
Generally, “professional” speaks to how you respectfully interact with others such as being on time for all scheduled events/requirements and following through on commitments.
Professionalism often feels like it should come with a suit and tie, but it doesn’t have to. You can absolutely be and act professional when completely nude or in sparkly, unicorn-emblazoned spandex.
It’s not your attire that makes you professional but the way you act; the rules you set for your clients, vendors, instructors, and partners; and how you respectfully but clearly enforce those rules.
Pole class can be a welcome time to cut loose, roll around the floor or do 100 handsprings and sweat out our troubles. Pole studios are safe havens where we forgo our societal labels and are simply humans.
Friendships can easily spring up between studio owner and teachers, as well as teachers and students that might not other wise happen in the “real world.”
While friendships are awesome and dance friends can share a lifelong passion for expression, friendships can also bring with them a host of challenges that without a strong established understanding of where the line between business and friend, professional and inappropriate, begin and end will cause friction that may ruin friendships and affect your bottom line.
Set limits and clearly defining policies that in some cases—particularly between studio owners and instructors—need to be solidified in contracts.
Treat everyone with respect—including yourself—and keep emotions and foul language out of every interaction. It’s ok to be upset but think about how you’d act in a meeting during your “day job.” Enforce all policies the same and don’t put all your staff problems on social media. Keep the shade where it belongs – under the trees and not on your page.
Take a deep breath, review your policies and your pre-established limits, and calmly talk to your student, vendor, or instructor who is challenging you in that moment.
Document things in case of a future problem such as a charge back on a purchase that specifically said no refunds and only put in writing (email, text, etc.) information you would not be embarrassed to be associated with if shared in a court of law.
Bring the studio to the office
In our day jobs, certainly in my previous day jobs, the stress level can get pretty high. Combine that with regularly maintaining a level of respectfully distant interactions and my humanity can dip past respectful and full on into cold, callous, and unfeeling.
Your colleagues and bosses, in a suit and tie or be-sparkled, are just like you and me, filled with hopes and dreams and priorities that probably only most of the time (or even less) include doing a good job at whatever their rent-paying career is at that moment.
You might have been the super star at your company and then something changed. Perhaps you went from super star to problem child in one swoop. Or your new promotion suddenly has caused some friction with your previous work buddies.
Take a deep breath and put your policies aside. Review your handbook for the official stance and then *actually* talk to people like people. Typically there’s a great reason why they’re suddenly slacking off, or why a customer gave them a poor review.
Sometimes all your colleagues, support staff and/or bosses need is the equivalent to a pole happy dance and a booty-slapping, impromptu twerk session. Show some obvious and over-the-top appreciation (skip the booty slaps, just do them metaphorically), give them a gentle touch on the shoulder to connect and empathize more directly, find the words that in your industry mean, “I got you boo” and deliver them with sincerity.
Don’t allow your day job to suck the joy out of your life, bring the rainbows and sparkles and beast mode courage to every meeting and every difficult client. You control what happens inside you and let it be full of encouragement for those around you and confidence in your abilities rather than a cold, calculating enforcer.
You are still you whether you wear hotpants or your sensible pumps.
Don’t forget to be a professional businessperson who is respectful of others who adheres to appropriate policies AND don’t forget that you’re a human too who is capable of great love and support of all your other humans.
The day job and the pole dance studio both can coexist, just remember to take the best parts of each and make your life awesome!
Colleen Jolly is an entrepreneur and a pole dance enthusiast. She has been poling for 13 years, is the CEO of PoleCon and the Executive Director of the IPIA. She teaches pole, lyra, floorwork, and mobility online and in-person in the DC metro area. She has been active in leadership roles in several international businesses over the past two decades and is also an award-winning pole dancer, artist, writer, and speaker. She is certified in several movement modalities and wrote the book "Mobility for Pole" to help pole dancers move better.
Latest posts by Colleen (see all)
- How’s Your Recovery? - January 10, 2025
- Announcing the PoleCon and IPIA Grant Program - January 3, 2025
- Bring the office to the studio AND bring the studio to the office - December 27, 2024
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