Meet Ashley Vetek | Small Business Owner, Air Force Veteran & Mom

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashley Vetek and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
This is such an interesting question, because I had so many thoughts prior to opening my business. I’ll start by providing some of my background. I was a military child, my dad served in the Air Force for twenty-eight years. With military service comes a lot of moving and I found myself always making new friends. I started dancing when I was three years old and always loved it. Every time we would move, my parents would make it a priority to find a studio where I could continue dancing. Dancing comforted me and always felt familiar at times when everything else was changing. I danced through high school and into college, taught pre-school ballet and dreamt of becoming a professional dancer. The reality of how difficult life as a professional dancer can be led me to decide on a more practical path. I decided that if I couldn’t dance, then I would serve my country like my dad. I went on to study Aerospace Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. I earned a pilot slot after finishing Distinguished Graduate from Air Force ROTC and flew the C-17A Globemaster III for eleven years. I earned multiple qualifications including air drop and Special Operations Low Level and completed my active duty flying career as an Instructor and Evaluator pilot. Throughout my time in the Air Force, I always dreamt of opening my own business, but it took some time to figure out how I could make that happen. I’ve always been driven to serve something bigger than myself and felt drawn to the impact I could have working with children. It was important to me that I open a business that I felt connected to and that I could be passionate about. Most military pilots go on to fly for an airline, but that never felt right to me. I was drawn to the idea of providing a special place for children to develop their own love of dance like I did.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Tutu School is a quaint boutique ballet school that provides a creative dance education experience for children 18 months to 8 years old. It is a place where students are urged to fully exercise their imaginations as well as their bodies. The founding principle of Tutu School is that motor skill development is infinitely enhanced by Tchaikovsky and Bach, that young imaginations benefit immensely from exploring the enchanted worlds of swans and sugar plums, and that twirling should be a fundamental part of any childhood.

Once I decided that I wanted to bring back my love of dance I knew that I wanted to focus on developing a program for younger children. I felt like there was a hole in the market when it came to these young dancers. In my experience these classes were the most popular, but they did not always have the most well-developed curriculums. My husband and I had talked about franchising before, so I decided to google franchise dance studio businesses and discovered Tutu School. I fell in love with the concept and knew that it aligned with my vision for my own studio.

I opened Tutu School because I truly believe that dance set the foundation for the person I became. Ballet teaches so many life skills. The importance of listening, hard work, and the confidence-building of learning new skills. I carried these lessons with me throughout my life, even as I pursued a path in military aviation. I am honored that we can provide children with their first introduction to ballet because I know they will carry these lessons with them throughout life, just as I did.

I knew there would be challenges when opening the business, but for me I’ve always felt confident that I could make it work. I have always pursued the path less traveled with confidence (maybe to a fault). I think this is crucial for anyone choosing to start a business. You must first believe in yourself before you can expect anyone else to. I remember a particularly bad flight with an instructor who basically told me I wouldn’t make it through flight school. Of course, that felt awful in the moment, but it also lit a fire in me. I went on to receive an excellent score on my next flight and graduated the program in the top of my class. I’ve never accepted that I couldn’t do something. If I make up my mind to do it, then I’m going to make it happen. There will always be challenges and risk in everything, but rather than trying to avoid it, I’ve taken it head on and used it as a motivator.

One important lesson that I have learned in the short time that Tutu School has been open, is that you can’t do it alone. I have made it a priority to surround myself with an amazing staff. I strive to create a work environment that uplifts and supports everyone because I know that my teachers really are the business. I am constantly looking for ways to better support them. For me, business ownership is filling so many buckets. I of course want to provide a wonderful product for my clients, but an equally important part of the business is my commitment to mentoring and helping my staff grow. I treat each of them as a partner and try to nurture their love for what they do. I feel that this commitment to building a relationship of mutual respect creates a culture where we can work as a team to build and grow the business.

I’ve also learned to believe in the power of networking and listening to the advice of those that have come before me. I know I am not the smartest person in the room, but I’m an extremely hard worker and I always listen and learn. I think this has served me well throughout my Air Force career and in business ownership. I have made so many mistakes, but I try to look at every mistake as an opportunity to grow. I also believe that I can take a piece of new information from every conversation and connection. I have been blown away by the outstanding small business owners I have met on my own journey, within the Tutu School franchise as well as in the Atlanta area. I love that this business is providing me with a pathway to connect with our families and other business owners in my community. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to learn and grow with them.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is such a tough question because there’s so much to do here and there are so many places around Atlanta that I still want to check out myself! Being a mom of two littles, my favorite spots are of course kid friendly! We would definitely take a trip to the Georgia Aquarium, the Atlanta Botanical Garden and the Fernbank Museum. One thing that we fell in love with here is all the opportunities to get outdoors. As a family we love to go for walks and bike rides on the Greenway or a hike, so we’d definitely do that. We also love Top Golf as a family, so that would be on the list! We would of course check out some of the amazing restaurants in the area as well. A few of my favorites are Oak Steakhouse and Ocean and Acre in Alpharetta. I also love this quaint little family owned restaurant right around the corner from us called Besties Empanadas and Belgian Waffles. I have so many restaurants on my list to try, so we’d probably visit a few that I haven’t been to yet!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Without a doubt, my husband. I could have never started this business without his support. I think he has believed in me more than I did myself at times. His unwavering support and encouragement gave me the confidence to go for it. With business ownership comes sacrifice, and that can sometimes mean sacrificing time away from my family. My husband has been my biggest supporter and cheerleader. He balances his own career and our family so well and I would not be able to do it without him.

Website: www.tutuschoolhalcyon.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tutuschoolhalcyon/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tutuschoolhalcyon/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tutu-school-at-halcyon-alpharetta

Image Credits
All photos provided were taken by myself or my husband, Steve Vetek.