Donna Aravena has run the Seven Star School of Performing Arts studio with her daughter Nicole since 2002, and she has learned some important lessons in delegating along the way. She has been an ambassador at our Dance Teacher Summit for five years. She spoke to DT about what to consider when hiring a studio’s front desk manager.
Co-owner, Seven Star School of Performing Arts
Brewster, NY
550 students
Donna Aravena Seven Star students performing in The Nutcracker
Dance Teacher: Does every dance studio need a front desk manager?
Donna Aravena: My immediate reaction is yes, because our building has five studios going all the time, seven days a week. I’m a bit of a control freak—I used to be the only one running the front desk, but I’ve realized I can’t do it seven days a week and still do the job effectively.
I chatted with a woman at the DT Summit, though, who doesn’t have a front desk person, and it turns out she is the only teacher at her one-classroom studio. So maybe she doesn’t need a front desk, but she needs to build in time between classes to deal with problems. And there’s still the concern of an emergency happening in the waiting room. I think when she starts growing and teaching more hours, she’s going to want to delegate some of this. It’s very difficult to do all by yourself.
DT: What are the responsibilities of your studio’s front desk manager?
DA: In addition to keeping the lobby clean and dealing with any issues that arise in the waiting area, the front desk manager is the go-to person for all studio information. That person needs to know what each class entails, the dress codes and the calendar of events. All of that info may be on your website, but when clients come up and ask, “Are you closed on Rosh Hashanah?” the answer can’t be, “Well, it’s on the website.” They need to hear, “No, we’re open that day,” from a person they consider to be knowledgeable.
As part of the training, we have our front desk manager do a lot of reading on the studio’s background. We also keep all studio info in a book we call “The Bible,” so the front desk person can access it even if the internet is down.
DT: What qualities do you look for in a front desk manager?
DA: You have to have a compassionate person, someone who can do seven things at one time, from dealing with a clogged toilet to entertaining a child whose parent gets stuck in traffic, all without letting people know you’re flustered. In that sense a mom is a good person, because she is used to multitasking. You want someone who’s going to be self-motivated. If she sees that a shelf needs to be reorganized, she does it and doesn’t need to be told.
Your front desk person is the first person who meets with your clients. You can’t have a grumpy person or someone who’s just putting in hours. You need someone with a passion for children and the arts.
Photos courtesy of Donna Aravena