It’s a way for a dancer to open their own small dance education business without the expense of start-up development-a win-win for both licensor and customer, the licensee.Īs dance fitness grows in popularity, other enterprising dance entrepreneurs are taking a page out of the Zumba playbook by launching their own thriving concepts and related licensing models. What’s in it for the licensee? Affiliation with an established brand, access to playlists and choreography, and a built-in structure for classes, as well as the chance to plug into a bona fide community of teachers.

Throw merchandise, apparel, and other revenue streams into the mix, and a brand is born. The Zumba business model is relatively straightforward: Take a dance fitness concept, train and certify others to teach the format, and give ongoing access and support through a licensing model and instructor network. Now a household name, Zumba is essentially the Kleenex of the dance fitness world, with more than 100,000 instructors globally. When Beto Perez founded Zumba Fitness as “Rumbacize” in the late 1990s, it’s unlikely that he could have predicted its massive success.

Seven questions to ask before moving forward with a licensing model Licensing is a way for a dancer to open their own small business without start-up development expense.

Zumba dance workout