Seema Sureshkumar

FEATURED ENTREPRENEUR

Seema Sureshkumar

Founder Anjani Dance Academy, LLC

Seema Sureshkumar is the founder of Anjani Dance Academy, where she teaches Kathak and Bollywood dance. Kathak dance is one of the classical dance forms of Northern India. Kathak dancers tell stories with their hand movements, footwork, and facial expressions. Seema has practiced Kathak dance since she was 4 years old, and began teaching it in 2014. Anjani Dance Academy opened in January of 2019. Encouraged by her father to continue dancing, Seema named the academy after him, saying, “Seema is nothing without Anjani.” In addition to teaching dance, Seema can also certify her students as performers or instructors of Kathak dance, allowing her to continue the flow of Kathak dance knowledge into the community.

At first glance, you may not expect Seema to own a creative business. Seema works full time in IT administration, in addition to running the dance academy. She comes from a business family, but feels that the dance academy is less of a business than it is a commitment to herself and her students. She started the business with one class of ten students, teaching in her basement. Many of the students at Anjani Dance Academy were born in India, and work in traditional STEM fields, like Seema, and want to dance because they did not get the chance to learn while they were focused on school. Most of her students come to learn Bollywood dances, but then end up curious about Kathak. Seema has considered cutting down on the number of dance classes she is teaching because it is so physically demanding, but as her stamina has grown, so has her commitment to offering space for Kathak to her students.

Seema’s commitment to her students helped ease her transition to a virtual environment when COVID-19 hit in 2020. While she did lose some students at the start of the pandemic, Seema found that the students who decided to stay were the most dedicated. Many of the students who stayed began taking the virtual classes twice a week, instead of once a week, and grew their skills even faster. The business did not lose any revenue, a testament to the relationships Seema has built with her students.

With her focus being primarily on her students, Seema struggles to keep her social media up to date. It is challenges like this that remind Seema to use the expertise of others. She has leaned into the expertise at WISE by participating in WISE’s Learning and Accountability Group on branding, and is planning to outsource getting her website updated. She waited to build up her cash flow before outsourcing any website work. With WISE, Seema was able to create a business plan and cash flow projections through the Business Plan Intensive (BPI). Creating a business plan allowed Seema to see how many students she would need to have to make the revenue needed to have a brick-and-mortar studio outside of her home, and begin working toward that goal. The business plan gave her clarity, her peers in the class gave her perspective, and WISE gave her support.

WISE HAPPENINGS: WISE HAPPENINGS:

Check out www.wisecenter.org for a complete list of upcoming events!

WISE Women’s Business Center Orientation

May 19h 12-1:00pm

Building Blocks for Starting Your Business

Held Twice monthly! March TBD

Learning and Accounability Group: DIY Websites

Begins on May 24th 8-9am for 5 weeks Apply @ wisecenter.org

Photo by Alice G Patterson Photography

In addition to looking for the right studio space, Seema will be teaching the first Kathak dance class at Lemoyne College. Seema’s goal is to grow the business to share the art form, and not to make money. She doesn’t think of the business as her own accomplishment, but rather, that she is the vessel for which the goals and events were allowed to happen. She believes that teaching dance is her life’s purpose, which will drive her to continue to grow her dance community through her business.

WISE words of wisdom…

Give yourself time, do not expect anything immediately. – Seema Sureshkumar

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