Baltimore Salsa Blog

Why do so many salsa venues fail?

As time goes by more venues open up providing a dancer with multiple options for the same night.  Sounds perfect, right? Well, maybe, for a little while, but this business model is not sustainable. Eventually many venues close.

Salsa nights emerge as a result of someone's excitement and enthusiasm based on a "want" rather than a "need".  The community announces "we want more venues."  The promoters say, "okay, let me find one."  Ask and you shall receive, however, that which you seek has a price.  The community is unable to financially support all of them.

Wait a minute...I see new people all the time. Isn't the community growing large enough to accommodate all these venues? NO.  A successful salsa night requires 2 kinds of people. Those who consistently patronize the venue and those who are brand new each week. Are both "old blood" and "new blood" at your favorite venue? Do you see the numbers growing or just the faces changing? Attrition is inevitable.

What you will find in the salsa community is many people in transition.  When they experience changes in their priorities, interest, marital status, finances, and/or residency, they disappear from the salsa community. Without an inflow of more dancers to not only replace the ones leaving, but also sustain a steady growth, the community shrinks.

In a nutshell, the people request more venues and their wishes are granted. The number of dancers doesn't grow fast enough to financially support those involved in the numerous business deals.  As people's lives transition, less dancers are at each venue. Businesses lose money and cancel salsa nights. People gossip about what happened ignoring the truth: the business model wasn't sustainable.

Salsa is a business which requires customers spending enough money to create a substantial profit for the venue and have a positive impact on the ROI - return on investment.