by Cathlyn Melvin || Small Business, Entrepreneurs, Education, Community
updated 5/9/2019
It's National Small Business Week! What? you might wonder? What's that? What's so great about Small Business?
Well, it’s a personal question.
Well, it’s a personal question.
| Back in 2012, Cassandra gave me a proposal (no, not that kind of proposal!): she said she wanted to start a children’s theatre, and asked if I would partner with her to help send week-long theatre experiences to kids across the country. When we sat down to create our business plan, one area that tripped us up was our volume goal: how big, exactly, did we want our organization to get? It took us a few years to iron it out, honestly. But I think we’ve gotten a good idea of how big we want to get. And the answer is: Not very. And it doesn’t have to do with revenue, and it doesn’t have to do with workload, and it doesn’t have to do with fame and fortune (ha!). The bottom line is, as a small business, we can serve our families and our sponsors better. Here’s why. |  She's trying to figure it out. |
We’re the end of the line.
When we started this endeavor in 2012, it seemed simple. Past Cathlyn and Past Cassandra thought it would go like this: Write a play. Hire designers to create sets, props, costumes. Buy a van. Get the show on the road. Literally.
See, look at us all fresh-faced (and vacationing! what?!) in 2012,
just 5 months before we began this business adventure.
just 5 months before we began this business adventure.
Well, thanks to Past Cathlyn and Past Cassandra, Present Cathlyn and Present Cassandra are now wiser for the wear, and through insurance, taxes, marketing, coding, plug-ins, spreadsheets, et cetera et cetera et cetera, one thing has stayed the same: because Compass Creative Dramatics reflects our goals, our views, and our aspirations, because we don’t answer to an executive committee or a governing board, we are able to be relentless in our goal to serve as many students the highest-quality theatre education that we possibly can.
That means that if there is any way we can make something happen for you, we will, because we are the decision-makers. End. Of. Story.
Well, maybe there is a little more story, because:
That means that if there is any way we can make something happen for you, we will, because we are the decision-makers. End. Of. Story.
Well, maybe there is a little more story, because:
Being small means we can be flexible.
Our larger competitors in the market have established systems in place that force them into more rigidity than we want our program sponsors to experience. Cassandra and I both take pleasure in problem-solving and finding creative solutions. We pore over feedback from families and program sponsors, and regularly make adjustments to our processes, whether that’s with regard to curriculum, registration, material provisions, anything. If there is something that will make your experience better, we’re eager to have a real live conversation about it and brainstorm how we can make it happen. Sometimes we can, sometimes we can’t -- but this flexibility encourages creative problem-solving, allowing us to continually improve our service.
Earlier this year, we worked with St. Andrew the Apostle School in Romeoville, Illinois for the very first time. Margaret, the school’s PTO volunteer, and Carol, the principal, were enthusiastic about offering the program because with the pressures of curriculum, their students (preK-8) don’t have much of an opportunity to explore public speaking and presentation in the classroom.
Leading up to their residency, we spent time on the phone kicking around ideas about the different options for programming, boosting enrollment, scheduling, and anything else that Margaret wondered about. “I appreciate that you always responded to emails and phone calls,” Margaret shared with us in her end-of-program survey, “and that you were always willing to schedule dedicated time for discussion. Organizing a program like this, no matter how small, brings a lot of questions!”
We totally get that -- and we want to make sure your questions all get answered! So like Margaret said, we’re totally willing to schedule time that’s just for you to ask your questions, and for us to brainstorm the best way to serve your community. It’s this adaptability that allows us to make theatre programming more accessible to organizations and individual students year by year.
Leading up to their residency, we spent time on the phone kicking around ideas about the different options for programming, boosting enrollment, scheduling, and anything else that Margaret wondered about. “I appreciate that you always responded to emails and phone calls,” Margaret shared with us in her end-of-program survey, “and that you were always willing to schedule dedicated time for discussion. Organizing a program like this, no matter how small, brings a lot of questions!”
We totally get that -- and we want to make sure your questions all get answered! So like Margaret said, we’re totally willing to schedule time that’s just for you to ask your questions, and for us to brainstorm the best way to serve your community. It’s this adaptability that allows us to make theatre programming more accessible to organizations and individual students year by year.
Put your hands in the air and wave 'em like you really care about good customer service!
Being small means we can afford to be picky.
We’re picky about our theatrical designers, our musicians, the words we use in our emails, the articles and photos we post on facebook and instagram . . . you get it.
Because we’re not trying to assembly-line our process, we have the ability to take our time and make sure that we are choosing just the right artist, just the right material, just the right image.
Every detail is important to us, so you won’t see us making any decisions lightly.
Because we’re not trying to assembly-line our process, we have the ability to take our time and make sure that we are choosing just the right artist, just the right material, just the right image.
Every detail is important to us, so you won’t see us making any decisions lightly.
Small = Gritty. Small = Spunky. Small = Up-and-Coming.
| We work with some of the best artists in Chicago and around the country who are developing their own businesses in set design, musical composition, and costume construction. They are determined, they are tenacious, and they are dedicated to giving us (and, as a result, our families and program sponsors) the best work possible. Because they, too, are their own small businesses, all of the qualities that describe us also apply to them and to their work: They’re flexible. They’re picky. And it’s personal. |  Spunk is contagious. |
To us, this is personal.
We have students who have been with us since year one or year two, who have performed in a Compass Creative Dramatics play every year since we began producing them. And we look at those kids, and we think, man, how did they get to be high schoolers? Wasn’t it last year they were just nine years old?
And then we also look at those kids and think, man, remember when they were nine? Whoa, that was a zillion years ago.
We kind of look at our organization the same way. It was just seven years ago that Cassandra and I applied for legal help to officially file Compass Creative Dramatics with the State of Illinois. Just seven years ago that we opened a Compass Creative Dramatics checking account. Just seven years since we wrote our very first Compass Creative Dramatics play, Peas & Harmony: The Princess & The Pea (Remixed).
(It’s a good one.)
But it also feels like we’ve been doing this for a lifetime. The connections we’ve built, the relationships we’ve made . . . thinking back on those elements, this experience feels timeless.
This thing, we built it. And that means we’re personally invested in its success. We make personal sacrifices to ensure that our students are getting the education they deserve, and that our program sponsors are getting the support they need to help us make that happen. We’re not working for an organization; we’re not punching a clock. When we go to work each day, it’s because our students matter to us. Our program sponsors matter to us. Our mission and our work matter to us. We are personally inspired to better serve students across the country each and every day.
And each and every day, we are able to serve them better.
Because we are small.
- Cathlyn
And then we also look at those kids and think, man, remember when they were nine? Whoa, that was a zillion years ago.
We kind of look at our organization the same way. It was just seven years ago that Cassandra and I applied for legal help to officially file Compass Creative Dramatics with the State of Illinois. Just seven years ago that we opened a Compass Creative Dramatics checking account. Just seven years since we wrote our very first Compass Creative Dramatics play, Peas & Harmony: The Princess & The Pea (Remixed).
(It’s a good one.)
But it also feels like we’ve been doing this for a lifetime. The connections we’ve built, the relationships we’ve made . . . thinking back on those elements, this experience feels timeless.
This thing, we built it. And that means we’re personally invested in its success. We make personal sacrifices to ensure that our students are getting the education they deserve, and that our program sponsors are getting the support they need to help us make that happen. We’re not working for an organization; we’re not punching a clock. When we go to work each day, it’s because our students matter to us. Our program sponsors matter to us. Our mission and our work matter to us. We are personally inspired to better serve students across the country each and every day.
And each and every day, we are able to serve them better.
Because we are small.
- Cathlyn
Thank you so much for your students, your energy, your business (and also these pineapples).
For more information on Small Business Saturday, please visit www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/shop-small/
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