Beyond the Stage with Kristina Cross & Brie Peña

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Speaker B: Welcome to Lifestyle Solopreneur, the community for entrepreneurs who put lifestyle first. Join your host, Flavia Baris as she interviews successful lifestyle solopreneurs and shares ideas to help you find the perfect balance between lifestyle, business and self. Uh, Flavia is an attorney, marketing expert and founder of several online academies. She's been featured in major media including BBC World News, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, ESPN Television and more. Join us for this episode of Lifestyle Solopreneur.

Speaker C: Hey, Lifestyle Solopreneurs. Today we get to meet with Bree Pena and Christina Cross. They are the founders of Elevation on Tour. It's led by them two visionary entrepreneurs and leaders dedicated to creating a positive, inspiring and elevated experience, no pun intended, within the competitive dance industry. Together, they have helped grow Elevation on Tour, uh, into a nationally recognized dance, competition and convention brand known for its strong community, culture, high energy events and commitment to empowering dancers both on and off the stage. With a shared passion for mentorship, leadership and creating meaningful experiences for studios and families. Cross and Pina continue to expand the brand across the country while leading Elevation on Tour's core values of service, integrity, inspiration and excellence. Welcome to the show, Bri and Christina.

Speaker D: Thank you for having us. We're excited to be here.

Speaker C: I'm excited to have you because not, uh, everyone who listens to the show knows this, but I used to be in the world of dance myself. I absolutely love the world of dance. It's a very unique little niche, I think, in the world of hobbies or in the world of sports. Sports. And you've built a whole career around this. So, you know, I'm assuming you started off at some point as dancers and have grown into what you're doing now, but, you know, that's just an assumption. So tell me a little bit about how you got from zero to where you are now.

Speaker D: Yeah, so Bri and I both actually grew up dancing in studios somewhat and then went on to be drill Team, a part of our, of our school drill team, which is a really big thing here in Texas. Each of the high schools, almost every single high school, has a fairly sizable dance team. And it's a really big part of the extracurricular offerings in high schools here. And so we both did that when we were in high school. I am 10 years BRI senior, so I did that in the, actually in the 80s. And when I graduated, my coach had started a company that was focused on teaching camps to drill teams around Texas. Long story short, I worked for her for quite a long time. Along the way, Bree also was a part of our staff. That's how I met her. And she started working for crowd pleasers when she was 18 years old. And eventually I went on to buy out the owner of that company. And when I did that, Bri had been a full time employee for a little bit for us. And I decided to go ahead and start another brand and do that with Bri. And that was Elevation On Tour, which started in 2018 and we began serving studios, which is kind of a different part of the dance world here in Texas. It's a little different part of the market, but very similar in the way that we serve them. But there are nuances for each. And so we started the Elevation brand just because we wanted to expand into that part of the market. And it's been really exciting. At that time, my kids were dancing in studios, so I had gotten a really good bird's eye view of being a dance mom in that environment. And it really made me want to start to do that ourselves because there were some things that I saw as a mom that I thought could be done better. And so that was kind of the impetus that made us want to start Elevation On Tour. So yeah, it's been we are new to the stage or studio competition side of the business or newer. We're not really new anymore that we're going into our ninth season, but we're newer on that side of the business. But we have actually been producing dance events for a really long time. I'm actually in my 38th year of putting on dance events, so it's been a really long and amazing career.

Speaker C: So a lot of people listening are not dancers. Didn't grow up in the dance world. What does a, ah, quote unquote dance event look like in your world and what you work on? Because set the scene for us. What would one of your sort of big events that you put on look like? Who's the audience, you know, how big are the events. And how many of them do you do per year?

Speaker E: So I think a really easy way to compare is competitive dance is very similar to competitive sports or select sports or tournament travel style sports. So this is for the dancer that has kind of moved beyond just wanting to do dance as a hobby and recreationally. They're wanting to participate in dance in a competitive way. Our events, we serve hundreds upon hundreds of dancers at every single one of our cities. A standard dance competition usually runs about two and a half days. So we usually kick off in the afternoons on a Friday, and we dance Friday afternoon through the evening, a, uh, full gosh, probably 12 to 14 hour day on a Saturday. And then we are mindful to try to wrap up our events in the afternoons if it's a really, really large location, early evenings on Sundays. Because it is super important to us that dancers after a full competition weekend do get to go home and actually go to school on a Monday morning. So it is definitely a long weekend. However, everything is div it up into divisions and categories. So while the entire event does span a two and a half, um, almost full three day period, dancers are not necessarily there the entire time. They are coming and going as there are different divisions, age groups and levels that are being served.

Speaker C: And are these school teams? Are they freelance teams that get put together at dance studios or is it soloists? What would this look like on stage for someone experiencing this?

Speaker E: So with Elevation on tour, we are serving the studio market. So these are studio teams that are coming together ranging from, you know, 4 years old all the way through 18 years old with our sister company, Crowd Pleasers, that serves the scholastic dance world. And so those are school teams that are definitely connected with their typically public high schools, sometimes private high schools, but again, serving dancers of all ages.

Speaker C: Well, there's a lot to unpack here because again, this show is about entrepreneurship. So it's about being a business person, being a business leader, creating something. A lot of people who are entrepreneurs came up with their name, their branding, their concept. So tell us a little bit about that part of the journey because you are business partners and sometimes it's easier to be a solopreneur because you have nobody to sort of negotiate with on, hey, what should we name the company? What should we name this program? You know, how many events should we hold per year? There's very little negotiation that way, but you're partners. So tell us a little bit about that journey. You know, doing business together as a team.

Speaker D: Yeah. So, uh, like I mentioned before, Bri and I had Been working together for. I'm trying to think how many years it was when we've been working together from the time she was 18 until close to 40. Right. For quite a long time. Many decades. Close to multiple decades. And so for us to start a brand together, we were very familiar with each other and kind of our work ethic and our. Our style of service, our. The aesthetic that we both kind of like. So it was not your typical venture where you haven't discovered all of those things about one another. It was just. It was such a natural fit for us to start this business together just because we had worked together for so long. And we were also, both of us, because we started with crowd pleasers when we were both very young. We had been very integral in the development of that brand. And so we really. We had somewhat mastered the art of branding on crowd pleasers. Uh, so when we got together and started elevation, that part just really naturally clicked, you know, so it's hard. It's hard to say how it would be for somebody else, but for us, that part of it was not very difficult. I will say that. I think that is one of the things that makes us so successful, is that we did have this very long kind of courtship period where we got to work together and really got to know each other, and we knew exactly what we were signing up for when we decided to go into business together. And so, I don't know. That makes a big difference. And I know that a lot of people don't have that luxury.

Speaker C: Well, we are an audience of entrepreneurs, so there may be people in the audience thinking, hey, you know, I know nothing about dance, but I love, you know, soccer or martial arts or, you know, something else, and are thinking, maybe I should create tournaments or grow in this industry, because I'm already maybe a student of some kind of martial arts, or maybe they own a studio, but they've never thought larger, to put together some kind of regional competition or something. What would you say to someone like that who comes to you, uh, sort of hat in hand and says, hey, you're doing great at this? In the world of dance, I want to do it in soccer, martial arts, or, you know, something else, some horseback riding competitions, whatever it is, would you tell them, look, hey, it's a miracle. We made it. We had to thread this needle. We're doing great. But, hey, I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Or would you be more encouraging? And do you think there's a lot more sort of room out there for more of these kinds of Ventures just to give kids and families more activities, more things to shoot for, more goals, and just more fun.

Speaker E: I think if someone has a passion to serve people well and to solve problems that they see, they should definitely take the leap. Yes, starting a business is definitely super challenging and there are many risks involved. But. But I think what makes a business successful is when you're able to identify either gaps in the market or things that could be improved in a way to serve people better. And I think that's what some entrepreneurs can view a situation from more of the passion lens and the purpose lens, where perhaps some bigger box businesses or private equity and those types of things are obviously driven a lot more by the numbers and the finances. But I think, uh, really passionate entrepreneurs can view things from the people lens and can really look to solve problems. So I think that that would be an encouragement to listeners out there that are looking to branch out and offer something new because they see something in their interest or in their marketplace that could be done better or more creatively.

Speaker C: And for people who are successful in doing something like you are right now, I think there's always that risk that lots, maybe too many opportunities will pop up and people will be trying to pull you in lots of different directions. Either maybe like, do more events in this other state or, you know, expand or make this bigger or hold more per year, or, hey, why don't you start a, uh, shoe wear line or all these kinds of different opportunities and things pulling you in different directions. This show is about lifestyle and maintaining a sense of self and a sense of freedom and spare time and joy in what you do because you're not overwhelming, overworked. How do you maintain your sanity and keep yourself from be becoming spread too thin?

Speaker D: Yeah. So Bri and I each have three children, so we have done, you know, most of our building of this business. And crowd pleasers, the one that came before elevation, we have been juggling a lot for a really long time. My kids are grown now, and much of the building of the original company was done when they were just little babies. And it was tough. It was tough. Tough. I would say that I am absolutely so grateful for the people like my parents and my husband that were so supportive during that time to help me be able to continue to do something that I loved. But it's not easy. It's not easy at all. And as a woman, I think it's very tempting to just say, I'm gonna throw in the towel and I'm just gonna stay home and take care of these Kids. But that's one of the things that I think I'm the most proud of and the most passionate about is that I was given an opportunity to do something just incredibly meaningful in my life. Obviously my children and raising them is very meaningful. But I was able to build this other side of my life alongside with being a mom, which a lot of people don't have that opportunity. And that's one of the things that I'm super passionate about as an entrepreneur is being able to provide that same opportunity to young women who do want to have a career and be a mom. And Bri is one of those people that we have always tried to create a work environment that works for young moms. Bree, I'm sure you probably have something

Speaker E: to add to that that I think that it is rare to think that you can balance both sides of that. But again, I think is something it's. It's worth figuring out. And like Christina said, our previous, you know, with the, with the original company, Crowd Pleasers, I being a full time employee there, I was always supported in exploring and growing my role with the company. But then also having three children very close together, that was something that was always. I felt supported in being able to do that. And I think as the side of the company with Crowd Pleasers has grown, we have a full time team of many, many young moms. We actually even in our office that we are recording this podcast in, we, there is a nursery that's in the back and there are actually two very young babies that are back there with a nanny that these two moms have hired. So they're able to really dive in and focus in on work when they're here at the office. But they know that their young children are, you know, just a few steps away if there was something that they needed. And that is such a special and unique opportunity for a working mom. And then I think as elevation is growing, we also have some m. First time moms on our full time staff and definitely more, more young people that are going to be growing their families. And I'm super glad to also partner with Christina in making that a real reality for them. So I think it is. And then I think just thinking about the mom perspective, I, I really, I love the fact that my children get to have me, you know, supporting them and really being as involved in their lives as I possibly can. But I love that they get to see that I do other things and that I have other important priorities and I think that is motivating and inspiring to them. You know, as they grow and decide what they're going to be passionate about, I hope that, you know, watching, not only, obviously my husband, their father, in growing his business, they're getting to watch their mom do that too.

Speaker C: Well, you are creatives and visionaries. So what do you have on your roadmap into the future? What are the different projects that you would say would be different from what you're doing today? And maybe not. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, sometimes someone's like, hey, it's not broken. Not changing a thing, but what's in store in the next few years ahead of you.

Speaker D: We are really passionate about growing the business, mainly because it gives us opportunities to touch more young people. I am super passionate about all dancers, but I am particularly passionate about young women because that is just where my roots were in. We at Crowd Pleasers, we've always done a lot of leadership training and that sort of thing. And so I'm prioritizing young women and providing opportunities to build up young women is. That's what makes my heart beat. That is what I get up in the morning for. And so I think it just, it's obvious that if that's our passion, that the more we can grow, the more we can do what we love and what we're passionate about. And I do feel like the dance industry in particular is so saturated with various companies, and some of them have. All of them obviously have something good to offer or they wouldn't be in, uh, business. However, I do think that there are also some parts of the dance industry that maybe are influencing young people in a way that's maybe not as positive as others. I'll just say that. And we want to be the positive voice in the dance industry. We want to be the ones that are there to build up these young people into amazing humans. And I just think it's. If that's our passion and that's what we're good at, and we've proven that, then it's incumbent upon us to, to expand and do it more and go places where they don't maybe have companies serving them that have the same passions. And so I would say, yes, we're going to build. But also I am constantly creating new companies in my brain, constantly, just because I am always seeing areas of the dance industry in particular that are maybe not being served as well as I think they could be. And so there, uh, are all kinds of opportunities that we are faced with. And I'm not going to say no to really any of them if they make sense for us and fit within our core values and our passions. So we're just walking through doors over here. Doors are opening and we're walking through them.

Speaker C: I love this story. I love your story. Just how, where you've been, how you got here, but also where you're taking this. And let's face it, we live in a world where a lot of kids are becoming more and more sedentary and they're just kind of on their phones so they're not needing to move around because really you can't jog and look at your phone at the same time. So a lot I, I've been seeing it myself. I have a daughter who's in the middle school sort of timeframe and I see just a lot of kids that are just kind of sitting and looking at their phones. And I'm sure there's a lot of video games happening at home. And so just to have your efforts help, kids love being active and moving their bodies and also making friends in real life. Right. Because when you're on a dance team, you're seeing people face to face. You're also like, I mean, I don't want to get too technical for the non dancers listening, but you know, you do things like you all have to do the same step at the same time. So you're watching each other, you're interacting, there's camaraderie and friendship and I think you're putting that out into the world and helping that grow and that's just a wonderful thing.

Speaker D: Yeah. And I think as we move into this era of AI being everywhere, I just think that human connection and the community that we're building here at Elevation and at events like ours, I just, it's, I think it's going to become more and more important to people as they find that a lot of their lives are getting kind of siloed into these, you know, AI type activities. And you know, the way that we work is changing and all of those things. And I just think people were made to be in community and that is, that's something that we're really passionate about and uh, really trying to build.

Speaker C: Well, on the one hand, while we guard against AI, are there any ways in which AI has helped your endeavors and your company and your business?

Speaker E: Definitely. As much as we need to be cautious with AI, it has been super helpful tool. We actually encourage all of our team to try to use AI in new and creative ways to help them with efficiency or, you know, just routine tasks. I know personally, I do handle a lot of contract negotiations with our venues and AI has been incredibly helpful with that with me because I'm able to kind of double check my work and obviously the sales manager that I'm working with, I'm able to double check things and just get some guidance or different perspectives about certain language that's used in contracts. And that's just one small example. But creatively we're able to use AI and it's just great to have that tool as our brainstorming partner. When you're talking about new branding ideas or new marketing sayings and it's just, it really speeds up the process. And so for as much as we need to guard against the things that AI can make things feel less human, I think we should also embrace the things that it does assist with, especially from a business aspect.

Speaker C: So for people listening that are fascinated by your story, they want to learn more about what you're doing or maybe they even have a dancer who is in your area, your territory where you have these events, tell us a little bit more about how people can go learn more about you, learn more about not just Elevation on Tour, but your other company as well and just keep in touch and follow you.

Speaker E: So we can be found on our website is elevator.com as well as all of our socials are at Elevation on Tour. Our sister company Crowd Pleasers Dance actually has serves Crowd pleasers with the original scholastic dance platform, but then recently also has launched a spin off branch which is CPD Spirit. But both of those can be accessed with crowdpleasers dance.com as well as socials there. We are very, very active on social media across all of our brands, across all social networks and we'd love for people to check us out.

Speaker C: As some parting thoughts. There's a lot of listeners who are not working on their own business right now. They're still in some kind of a job or maybe just some endeavor, maybe a business, but it wasn't the right one. Who are looking to make some kind of a change. But change is scary and risk is scary. So what would you say as uh, some parting words for the day to anybody that is hesitant or scared or reluctant to take the leap and to do something unique and that they're passionate about because you know, there is a lot of fear around that. What would you say to encourage someone to see your success and the footsteps you've traveled and to get inspired by your journey?

Speaker D: Yeah, I think first of all I will say that every single thing that we do and every new challenge that we take on we do it very responsibly. You know, we do a lot of research, a lot of market research to find out, you know, what it is that people want and don't want and how we can fill those needs in a way that kind of combines our passions and our core values with that service. And I think as long as you are staying true to yourself and that you. You can see that there are kind of. My rule of thumb is if there are people out there making money doing something that you're passionate about and you know full well that you can do it better than them, then you should probably go for it. Because if they're making money and you know that. That they're not as good or maybe that you see some specific key things that could elevate the experience, then there's more than enough room for you in the market. But do it with, you know, with you use all of the tools that you have to make good decisions and make sure that your timing is right and that your market research has been done and, you know, that you're not getting ahead of yourself. We try to grow at a pace that is very reasonable and attainable and not, you know, something super lofty that we can, Cannot make good on. Bri, do you have anything to add to that?

Speaker E: I think something that's really helped us is utilizing a, uh, system of networking and talking to people and learning. I think that's something that's really helped us overcome some hurdles or open our eyes to new opportunities, is really spending a lot of time talking to others and trying to always continue learning. I think that's something that has helped us maybe avoid some risk or avoid heading down a path that was maybe going to be not as successful just because we're always trying to be as in tune with what the dance industry is looking for and what our competitors are doing. I think keeping the learning and the listening, ah, as a foundation is super helpful.

Speaker D: Well, and the humility, I think that's really, really key. At the core of why we are able to do that is because we don't approach it as if we know everything. We, the customer is the one that actually knows everything because they're the ones that know what they need. So we've always kind of kept that humility at the forefront, and that has really served us.

Speaker C: Christina and Bree, thank you so much for all that you do. Uh, those words of wisdom were fantastic and very inspiring and helpful, but also for everything you do out in the world, helping get kids off the sofa and onto the dance floor where they can achieve goals and make friends and just live a fuller life. So thank you for all that you do out there and thank you for being on the show today. It was a wonderful conversation.

Speaker D: Thanks for having us.

Speaker E: Thank you.

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