Today we’d like to introduce you to Kasey and Kelly` Keller.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
We are a fun, dynamic sister duo who loves working together impacting hundreds of children’s lives a week! We were both born and raised in inner-city Houston. Kelly stayed close to home for college and attended University of Houston while I (Kasey) went to Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Tippi Toes started as a part-time job while I was in college. I knew I loved dancing and I knew I loved children, but I never imagined this little teaching gig would become my career! I stayed with the company all throughout college and I fell in love with their mission and philosophy. Kelly would come and visit me in Corpus and I would show her all the cute dances and the adorable costumes that my dancers would be wearing on stage. We had the best time going out dancing and enjoying the beach life. Kelly and I grew closer and closer over the years and by the time I finished college, we were literally BEST Friends! I graduated with my degree in Education moved home to Houston, got a job as a middle school math teacher and was excited, but I just did not feel it in my heart that I should be teaching.
At this time, Kelly was a full-time teacher, purchasing a home and planning a wedding and had absolutely no free time to help me make major life decisions! I remember the night that we took the leap to entrepreneurship like it was yesterday. My sister was over at our mom’s house for dinner after work, I was there too since I just graduated from college it was technically my home too. We were sitting on the couch in the living room talking about me starting my new job and all the things I needed and our mom out of the blue said “Hey, why don’t you guys open a Tippi Toes Franchise?” We laughed out loud and looked at her like she was a crazy person, but it felt right! Kelly had been working with children basically her whole life and had been teaching young children for five years at the time and I knew the ins and outs of Tippi Toes since I did it all for years in college. It just clicked, we felt amazing, excited and also super scared because we knew nothing about running a business! A few days later, we could not stop talking about this dream that had now been planted in both of us! We quickly created a business plan and with a lot of prayer and lots of encouragement from our family and now husbands, we decided to purchase the Tippi Toes Dance Houston franchise together in July 2013! We have been in business for six years and we have around 450 dancer in our program weekly.
Three years ago, we were blessed enough to be able to purchase our second franchise in Corpus Christi and surrounding areas. Then this past summer we opened our third Tippi Toes location in the Sugar Land and Pearland areas just outside of Houston. Together within our franchises, we are able to bring dance with close to 1000 kiddos each week. We also work with an incredible team of women who help us to teach classes all across the Houston area and we could not do this with out them! We absolutely love what we do and our ability to bring joy, show kindness to make an impact in our community! We are so lucky and blessed to have the BEST job ever and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for us and for Tippi Toes Dance!
Has it been a smooth road?
I think anyone who has ever owned a small business will say there are struggles! We have had a handful of different struggles from things like not having a recital venue one month before the event, and staff members quitting right before a class. What we have learned through the struggles is that the best solution to any problem is to do your very best to fix the issue at hand, be honest with the situation and people involved and to move on! We are great problem solvers and we try our best to not to get stuck when things are not going our way. I feel like you become really resilient to all sorts of things and as long as you can solve problems quickly and you are good with people it will all work out just fine!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Tippi Toes Dance Houston – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
It is our mission here at Tippi Toes® to develop a love of dancing in children by creating a positive experience that promotes healthy living habits, helps build self-confidence, and a love for others.
Tippi Toes Dance is a franchise company that is in over 30 different locations across the United States. Tippi Toes has been a company for 20 years and Tippi Toes Houston has been around for around six years!
Tippi Toes provides creative music and movement along with Ballet, Tap & Jazz and Hip Hop classes to all children ages 18 months- 12 years old. Tippi Toes specializes in creating an environment that is safe, fun and provides and opportunity for all children to experience dance.
The biggest thing that sets us apart from other companies is our MUSIC! Our corporate team writes and produces each and every song that is played in all of our classes! The music makes us unique since it was designed for a young child it is literally perfect for what we are trying to teach in class. We currently have five albums and each one is amazing and will have you singing along for days! They incorporate rhyming words, dance skills, a lot of imagination and creativity, but mostly they are just full of FUN! All children absolutely LOVE our music especially since they get to dance along to songs about unicorns and rainbows!
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
We love everything about Houston. I would say our favorite part is the diversity and the unique culture. Houston is a melting pot and that what makes this city SO unique. We love getting to meet so many different people from different parts of the country and the world! We have the best food, the best shopping and the best people!
As most people will say, Houston TRAFFIC is the worst! We are pretty used to it at this point in our lives but we all know the feeling of sitting in the sea of brake lights at 5:15 on 610 south!
Pricing:
- Your first class with Tippi Toes is always FREE!
- Our monthly tuition ranges from $45-65 per month!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tippitoesdance.com/houston
- Phone: 713-291-2431
- Email: houston@tippitoesdance.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tippitoeshouston/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TippiToesHouston/
- Other: https://dancestudio-pro.com/online/tippitoeshouston
Image Credit:
Sweet Pea Photography, Bethany Rogers
Suggest a story: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
