Breaking Even

Money was never really a part of my decision for BecomingZUMBA.  My health was.  I figured that since I had very little motivation to go to the gym ever, and the costs of drop-in Zumba classes in Los Angeles and San Francisco were breaking my bank, it would be nice to be paid to work out.  A wonderful, temporary instructor at Flying Yoga Shala in Oakland, CA, told me that if she had her own studio she would hire me.  (She ended up starting her own studio and becoming the group exercise manager for a fancy sports club throughout the Bay Area.)  If you've read my blog from the beginning, you know how apprehensive I was about becoming an instructor.  I didn't think people would want to take classes from a fat guy.  It wasn't great "this is what you'll look like" advertising.

All that being said, last week I made enough money to break even.  From now on, every class I teach for the next six months is pure profit.  I keep a very thorough spreadsheet detailing parking charges, BART fees, sub payments, Zumba gear, promotional items, insurance fees, ZIN membership fees, trainings, other Zumba classes I take, etc.  And though I had spent almost $650 before I got my first paycheck, it was only 6 quick months before I had turned into pure profit.

This is even more amazing when you consider that I only teach 2 classes per week, and one of those classes pays less than $10/class on average.  I do sub regularly, so my average is probably closer to 3 times a week.  The point is that I'm not killing myself, I'm healthier, and I'm making money.  win-win-win!

I'm heading off to Lexington, KY for 6-12 months to accompany my domestic partner on her temporary engineering assignment.  I'm going there without any great full-time employment leads.  Yet, I'm confident that I will be able to continue to teach Zumba and make money from it, no matter where I go!

I've been talking to a few students lately to convince them to become instructors themselves.  This is why.  Again, it's not about the money, but in this economy, the money helps.

Happy Dancing,
~RoB