South African Ballet Company close to losing business by Milan Hamilton

      http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/04/world/africa/ballet-harvard-south-africa/index.html
     
      South African Mzansi Ballet is a professional ballet company located in Johannesburg, South Africa. This company, however is struggling because they have not received any government funding in 12 years. Ballet mistress, Angela Malan, says that it is not easy running SAMB with little financial support. Chief Executive  Dirk Badenhorts says it cost $2 million to run a ballet company in South Africa. They get 1/3 of their costs through ticket sales and have to rely on contributions for the other 2/3 which is not enough for a long-term business plan. SAMB joined with the students from Harvard Business school to find ways to improve the marketing of this ballet company. The students gained experience and the directors of SAMB gained marketing advice on how to turn their company into a sustainable business. Badenhorst concluded that the company needed to begin touring again. "That we take the ballet to the army, to farmers to the plants of big big companies and businesses, to the real man on the street to get them to appreciate the beauty and wonder of ballet." With the lessons learned and all of the advice that had been given, this collaboration was just what SAMB needed to keep its dancers on stage.

      This is a really good article, especially since I am a dancer. I feel that it can relate to anybody at Booker T. If someone decides that they want to own a business, they need to keep in mind all of the marketing and management they need to be able to keep it up for a long time. Whether you own a dance studio, an art studio, a music school, or a theater school, you still have to have enough business to pay the teachers and the bills. We can all keep this in mind if we are thinking about doing this later in our life.