Dance Studio | Greenville, SC | Coached by Alan Melton, Small Business Coach Associates
Beth Bradley came to Alan Melton of Small Business Coach Associates with a dance studio serving 30 students and a mission the industry said couldn’t work. Using a Google 3-Pack strategy, press releases that brought TV news crews to her door, and community marketing that cost almost nothing, Dance Without Limits grew from $44,000 to $1.3 million in revenue, without a paid advertising budget. Today the studio serves 800-plus students across two locations with 19 employees. Beth was named the 2026 SC Women in Business Award winner.
Here’s how she did it.
The Challenge
- Operating for two years without receiving a paycheck
- Only 30 students enrolled with no visibility in local search
- Generating only $44,000 in annual revenue with zero paid advertising budget
- Work-life balance with 3 young children
The Solution
- Google 3-Pack optimization to dominate local map search
- Press release strategy that earned TV news coverage
- Guerilla marketing tactics
- Community partnerships that cost almost nothing
- Search engine optimization
The Role of SmallBusinessCoach.org
- Built a marketing plan centered on local SEO and earned media instead of paid ads
- Guided Beth in identifying the Key Performance Indicators tied to enrollment and revenue
- Offered a proven business systems structure to streamline day-to-day operations
- Helped Beth make her first admin hire, freeing her up to market full-time using an easy-to-implement hiring system
The Results
- Received a six-figure paycheck after two years of not taking any
- Sales grew from $44,000 to 1.3 million per year
- Student count grew from 30 to 800 plus
- Expanded from one studio to two locations with 19 employees
- Named the 2026 SC Women in Business Award winner
- Enjoying the “Freedom Stage” with sustained business growth and operational stability
Author Bio
Alan Melton is an Inc. 500 founder, award-winning entrepreneur, and a small business coach who has built or acquired 18 companies and coached more than 1,100 business owners. His companies have served elite clients including the Ritz-Carlton and the Jacksonville Jaguars. He is a Florida Governor’s Sterling Award winner and former SBA Small Business Person of the Year.
