Woman business owner profile- Jan's Dance Connection

Jan Witte has been running Jan's Dance Connection for 25 years, and began teaching dance in her parents basement 40 years ago.  She has owned 3 dance studios over the years and now has a great studio, Jan's Dance Connection in Brooklyn Michigan. 

Jan's Dance Connection offers dance instruction to children ages 3 and up - ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, point and fitness classes. They offer affordable dance classes to children in a small town.  They are involved in community events and teach their children how to become involved in the community.  They give the children a sense of pride in their dance skills.   They learn dance in a fun and educational way.


Jan has been dancing since the age of 3.  She is certified to teach dance through Dance Masters of America and Michigan and also Cecchetti Council of America. Jan is also a member of the local Chamber of Commerce. She was inspired to start up her own dance school  because she said that she fell in love with dance from her 1st dance teacher and a later dance teacher that really helped her start up her business and helped to get her in Dance Masters of Michigan.
The idea to start a dance studio came from her love of dancing. Her goal was to pass on her love of dance to upcoming generations of children.  Jan started teaching dance in her parent's basement and needed very little money to start up.  Later, she transitioned into a leased building which cost about $500.00 to purchase mirrors, bars, equipment and signs. When asked what advice she would give other women who are interested in starting their own business, Jan said, "Do it!  But you need to make sure you have a supportive family because it takes a lot of time away from your family to get a business started and to keep a business running.  Also, join various trade groups for your business and also join your local Chamber of Commerce so you can network with other business owners in your community."

Jan also started a scholarship program for high school senior young women called The Distinguished Young Women of the Irish Hills and she is on the Executive Committee of The Distinguished Young Women of Michigan.  She was the Past President of Dance Masters of Michigan and the Past President of the Brooklyn Kiwanis Club. She is currently a Director on the Brooklyn-Irish Hillls Chamber of Commerce.


I'm happy to say that I was fortunate enough to be taught dance lessons by Jan when I was young. She was definitely one of my most favorite dance teachers. She was always pleasant to be around and a great dance teacher that I could see really cared about making sure her students were both enjoying dancing and improving on their skills.


www.jansdance.com
517-260-0730
jansdance120 (AT) gmail.com