After graduating with a degree in entrepreneurship in May of 2024, Gabi Spigelmire immediately used her major to its fullest ability, opening The Vibe Dance Company in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
Spigelmire started dancing as a child and has always been interested in the idea of opening a business. She always thought it would be fun to open a dance studio, so having an entrepreneurship major helped set her up for success.
She shared how the classes she enjoyed most during her time at Kent were Entrepreneurial Experience 1 and 2.
In these classes, students decide what business they want to make for the class and are expected to have their businesses running by the time they graduate.
“It is really cool to see everybody in the class progress on what they want to do and how their ideas changed,” Spigelmire said.
Spigelmire highlighted two professors who helped her on her entrepreneurial journey.
“Professor Mary Heidler, she just has the best ideas and same with Rick Schultz. He is one of the [entrepreneurs in residence] and he has the best advice,” she said. “So they fully prepared me for running a business and they still give me great advice to this day.”
Throughout her college education, she continued to dance, pursuing a dance minor along with her entrepreneurship major. On top of school, she was teaching at two different dance studios and choreographed 20-plus competition dances. This provided her with the experience she needed to one day run a studio.
“I never really gave it a break. I just kept going throughout my whole college career,” she said
She started the process of finding a place for her studio around February 2024 and soon got the keys June 1. Shortly after, she held her first class June 23.
“I passed by the building I’m in currently, and I saw that there was a lease sign up and it was the only place I ended up looking at and it was perfect. I just fell in love,” she said
Spigelmire found it sometimes hard to be taken seriously as a 22-year-old opening her own business as many people saw her as too young.
“It was definitely the perception of a young recent college graduate being a big risk. So it was a little bit scary to try and find people that would believe in that,” she said.
She definitely proved that even at such a young age, she could successfully run and create the business she aspired to have. She already has 36 competition dancers and 67 recreational dancers.
The time she spent teaching at other studios allowed her to gain students at her own studio.
“I built a relationship with a lot of students that ended up following me, which I was really grateful for,” she said
Teaching dance has been a rewarding experience for Spigelmire, as she gets to watch the dancers progress and grow within their dancing abilities.
“Their dancing has changed so much and they’ve gotten so serious about wanting to be a good dancer, so just seeing them change as they grow as dancers and little people, too,” she said.
Spigelmire wants the atmosphere of The Vibe Dance Company to be a place of positivity and good energy. She shared how growing up in the dance world was not always a positive experience.
“I wanted to make sure whenever somebody came into the studio that they felt good being there, that it felt like a safe space,” she said.
Spigelmire shared how the studio has received overall positive reviews from people saying that the environment is a good mix between being strict and also having a welcoming family environment.
Currently, the studio holds classes in multiple dance styles such as jazz, contemporary, tap, ballet, acro and more, both in competition and recreational dancing. Along with dance classes, there are teen fitness classes, including pilates, barre and buti movement, with Zumba coming soon.
Currently, the competition team has four regional competitions on its schedule right now and plans to add a national competition in the summer.
They also plan on hosting a recital at the end of the year. Spigelmire hopes to hit 100 students by next year and continue attending competitions.
“Our goal is to go to competitions and show what a first-year studio can look like and that it’s not always just beginner, entry-level dancers coming in,” she said.
Along with their competitions and recitals, the studio hosts many events for the community. They held an open house for the public to learn more about the studio. Spigelmire also hopes to plan and host a 5k for the community next year.
Following the opening of her studio, Spigelmire provided some advice to the current entrepreneurship majors at Kent State.
“You don’t know what could happen. It’s worth it to try. It’s worth it to go for it, because you never know, it could turn out to be the best thing you’ve ever did,” she said. “I’ve never been happier.”
Ava Drozd is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].