Starter Story Kimberly Westerop
Juggling with ambition
Kimberly Westerop (24) always wanted her own dance school. Six months after completing her dance training at VISTA College (2022), she started AllStarsMovement. The two classes quickly grew to five. Starterscentrum Limburg provides practical support to the driven part-time entrepreneur during her start-up period. She teaches four days a week. In addition, she works 20 hours in after-school care, gives dance workshops, and occasionally helps out entrepreneurial friends by selling cotton candy and oliebollen. Kimberly is bursting with energy; she is a busy bee with "little empty space in her agenda."
Under her company name, AllStarsMovement, she rents a studio in Urmond every week. Classes range from Danskriebels (Dancer Skriebels) for kids aged 2 and up and Starmoves (Star Moves) for kids aged 5 and up, to Hip Hop classes for kids aged 8 and 10 and up, and Zumba for adults. Kimberly is driven, and she's juggling her ambitions, as she has other ambitions for the future.
She wasn't sure if there was room for another dance school in her area, but when a spot opened up, she jumped at the chance without hesitation. "I researched everything about starting my own business and received a lot of help. Both from my then-neighbor, who also suggested using a lesson app, and from my boyfriend. As a dance teacher, I only need to be able to count to eight. He's a math whiz, which helps me calculate the revenue based on the subscription prices I'd set."
Kimberly works with monthly subscriptions ranging from €20 to €37 per month for twice-weekly classes. This makes her revenue somewhat predictable, although there's also a lot of turnover. "Sometimes I have nine cancellations and eleven new registrations a month."
She's also getting help from the Starterscentrum. "I brought a whole questionnaire with me; I wanted to know the difference between part-time and full-time entrepreneurship: what are the terms and conditions, and what about VAT? My advisor, Anita Lussenburg, advised me to make clear agreements about renting the hall and putting them in writing. I also discussed with her my fear of teaching adults as a young person."
What draws Kimberly to working with children is her honesty and enthusiasm. "The 10-plus group has a special place in my heart. They have so many life stories. I regularly resolve disagreements; I'm a mediator, a teacher, an advisor, a mother, and a friend." In the future, she hopes to have her own classroom, be married, and be a mom herself. She hopes to be able to combine teaching and working at the after-school care center. Whether all of that will work out is another matter; as an entrepreneur, she's already thinking about it.
Kimberly still has room for professional growth in her interactions with parents. "I have strong opinions, and not all parents give constructive feedback, which can be challenging. When I get a lot of cancellations or just complaints, I sometimes think, 'What have I gotten myself into?' Because of the student turnover, I also have quite a bit of administration, and taking on new challenges is and always will be a risk. But everything is a risk. I'm not afraid, I love all the children, and I get so much energy from teaching. That's what I do it for."
