Typical Pay rate for franchise instructors (and structure)

[DanceMentor]

I was curious how much franchise instructors make these days. I recently was offered approximately $30/hour, which I politely declined. As I understood it, this figure was at the top of their budget. Aside from studio owners, how much can a franchise teacher make? What is typical for a new teacher?

And I was also curious if commissions or bonuses tend to play much of a role in recent times. If so, what might be the amount paid to a top teacher at an above average studio? Would they have had to work many hours to get the high amount? Or can they just have some really good paying students?

 

[MaggieMoves]

Eh... I know it, so why not. This is for Arizona, so expect a bit of a higher payout on the coasts.

My friend who works for the larger one gets paid 25 per lesson (45 minutes worth). There is a minimum pay structure though, and once you go over the minimum (10 lessons/week), you get one or the other. So if she teaches 11 lessons, she gets 275 dollars. 9 lessons she gets the minimum of 250 dollars.

Top teachers at the larger comps can be several thousands of dollars. The big comps, the top teacher can fetch up to 20k USD. Keep in mind though that this kind of payout is rare, and typically for male instructors that have 2-4 female students for a total of 200+ heats or more throughout a competition. The monetary value for "top teachers" drops off exponentially as you go down in placements too.

I don't know how much they pay though for commission on competitions though. I know of a smaller chain (not a franchise) that pays their instructors 500-1000 dollars per student for the competitions they do. They seem to be a bit of an exception though, and I tend to believe that this number is on the lower side of things. This is also in the NYC area, so expect similar payouts in CA, MA, DC, SoCal, and San Fran.

For what it's worth, pretty much all of this information is a year old.

 

[jump'n'jive]

I highly doubt a teacher at $30 per lesson will also receive a commission. It's usually lower base pay but commission or higher flat rate.

We start our teachers off at $20 per lesson and through certifications and experience can max at $40 per lesson. No commission.

 

[Loki]

Is there usually additional pay for running group classes, attending socials, etc. or is that part of expected duties?

I've always been curious about the business side of this.

 

[RiseNFall]

As usual, details vary from not just between FADS and AM, but between individual studios. The guaranteed minimum I've heard is 20 lessons/week. I believe that the structure here is that classes and parties count as lessons. In some studios, teachers are paid different amounts for different types of lessons; in others, it's uniform. Teachers are paid a fee per heat at the franchise competitions. It would make sense for there to be a minimum guarantee there as well, but I don't know.

 

[LateToTheDance]

I suppose it's none of my business, but our franchise's teachers push people pretty hard to attend not just private lessons, but also the group classes and the parties. I notice that the office manager/receptionist actually looks around and logs who attends the parties each week.

My question:
Do instructors get paid more if their own students come in for group classes and parties, even if they don't teach the group classes? Maybe because they want to get students - especially newer ones - to make dance lessons a more regular habit? Just curious.

 

[PaulBunyon]

My teacher (at an independent studio) said she gets a flat percentage of whatever the student is paying. She told me the percent but I forgot it as I considered it one of those "none of my business" facts you sometimes stumble upon.

It was an interesting learning for me as it meant that students (like me) that buy the largest package and enjoy a per lesson discount she makes less money per lesson versus a student who buys the smallest package and pays "full price" per lesson.

 

[RiseNFall]

My question:
Do instructors get paid more if their own students come in for group classes and parties, even if they don't teach the group classes? Maybe because they want to get students - especially newer ones - to make dance lessons a more regular habit? Just curious.

Not at the franchise studio I dance at.

 

[s2k]

A couple of years ago, a former instructor at the independent studio where I practice told me they earned $5 per student in the group class.

 

[Ruslan Wilder]

As usual, details vary from not just between FADS and AM, but between individual studios. The guaranteed minimum I've heard is 20 lessons/week. I believe that the structure here is that classes and parties count as lessons. In some studios, teachers are paid different amounts for different types of lessons; in others, it's uniform. Teachers are paid a fee per heat at the franchise competitions. It would make sense for there to be a minimum guarantee there as well, but I don't know.

Interesting.