Today we’d like to introduce you to Bethany Mollo.
Bethany, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up in Michigan and in my youth, I loved dancing. I danced styles such as ballet, tap, and jazz. In the city where I grew up, there weren’t many options to try Ballroom and Latin as a student at Arthur Murray Dance Studio in California when I was in college.
After graduating I moved to Paris, France in hopes of finding a job that could allow me a visa to live and work there. I stayed for nearly three months until my time was almost up and hadn’t yet found what I was looking for. So planning to return home, I decided to take a weekend to myself in London, England.
While in England I noticed an Arthur Murray Dance Studio which was soon to be opening, and I stopped in to meet the owner to see if they were hiring. They were not at the moment but somehow I convinced them to hire me anyway! Within just a few months I worked my way from Administrator to Teacher, to Supervisor and was soon running 2 Arthur Murray Dance Studios in London.
With time I started traveling around Europe and the Middle East with the company helping with staff training where it was needed, and eventually moved to Italy where I started focusing on my own dancing.
While in Italy I trained and competed professionally in International Latin, and did many performances in Argentine Tango. Then the time came where my husband and I got the opportunity to open our own Arthur Murray Dance Studio.
After doing some research, we found that Boca Raton, Florida seemed to be a wonderful city. Not only are there endless Charity Events throughout the year, but the residents enjoy filling their leisure time with fun activities – what better place to dance?
In 2014 my husband and I moved to South Florida, and Arthur Murray Boca Raton opened in January 2016. This January we will celebrate being open for 2 years and we look forward to what 2018 will bring!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Of course, opening a new business will come with challenges. For example, it took us longer than we expected to find a venue, and when we started the build-out of the studio we actually had a contractor scam us, take a check, and disappear.
Other contractors would say they would do a job, and take weeks to just get started! So simply trying to get through the approval from the City of Boca Raton was an obstacle in itself. Of course, eventually we did, and we were so excited to open our doors on January 4th, 2016!
For the rest, I believe all businesses have their ups and downs. It can be tough, and I’ll be honest, sometimes it felt like a bit of a rollercoaster ride. But it is all worth it in the end. We love what we do, and we love our students and teachers, and today we are just so blessed to have such a wonderful dance studio here in Boca.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Arthur Murray Boca Raton story. Tell us more about the business.
Arthur Murray Dance Studios are World Leaders in teaching Ballroom and Latin Dancing. We are the largest dance organization in the world with over 280 Studios worldwide. This way students can participate in local, national, and international dance events. In fact here in South Florida, there is a great Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Coral Gables just South of Downtown Miami!
Our teachers are specialized in over 18 styles of partner dancing and we teach ALL ages and levels – from the very beginners to Wedding Couples getting ready for their big day, to the more advanced competitive dancers!
Arthur Murray Staff are constantly practicing and training not only in dancing but also in business and customer service. This to make sure that the lessons we teach are FUN and EASY for all types of students! We cater to everyone! 🙂
If someone were to ask me what sets us apart from others, other than being International, it is that from my personal experience, Arthur Murray Teachers genuinely care about our student’s goals and progress, and they will do everything they can to make sure people feel comfortable and enjoy learning to dance.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck, of course, plays the part of a role in the fact that there are many dance studios in the Boca Raton area, so we do feel lucky when people chose to try us out over other studios. However, I feel that luck stops playing a role there. Once they are in the studio, our team makes sure that they always have a great experience!
Pricing:
- New Student Special!: The first private lesson at a discounted rate of $49.00
- Thursday Night Social!: Group Class and Party (7:30-9:00pm) only $20.00
Contact Info:
- Address: 7531 N Federal Hwy, Ste E3 Boca Raton, FL 33487
- Website: Arthur-murray.com
- Phone: 561-563-3685
- Email: bocaraton@arthur-murray.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/arthurmurraybocaraton/
- Facebook: facebook.com/arthurmurray.bocaraton
- Twitter: @AMbocaraton
- Yelp: yelp.com/biz/arthur-murray-dance-studios-boca-raton-2
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