Bethel Small Business Spotlight: Gilleoghan Irish Dance

Every local business has a story worth sharing with the community. And that’s the belief behind this exciting series — to shine the spotlight on all our favorite local businesses, and to learn a little about the ones we may not know that well.

Business: Gilleóghan Irish Dance
Owners: Philip Owens & Terry Gillan

Website: www.gilleoghan.com

Address: 170 Greenwood Ave. Bethel, CT. 06801

How did you come up with the name?

Gilleóghan is the combination of both our names in Gaelic and was also the name of our house in Dublin, Ireland.

Why choose that location? Why start a business in this town?

Bethel is a central point for most of our students and a great town as far as infrastructure is concerned. The location on Greenwood Ave. is perfect for access and passing trade.

Briefly, what business are you in?

We are an Irish dance studio, catering for all ages from children to adults. We cater for all levels of dance from recreational through to competition.

What’s the most difficult moment or challenge you’ve faced as a businessowner?

Probably the most difficult to date was dealing with winter weather and making the call of should we cancel or not! Also rising costs of utilities always make it hard to make decisions regarding expansion and scheduling.

Were there any challenges that made you second guess your decision to be an entrepreneur?

Not really, although sometimes running a studio can be very stressful as you are trying to be all things to all folks.

What’s been your favorite moment or proudest achievement since opening?

We have had many of these but the proudest would have to be our Senior Team of dancers winning the North American National title.

What’s the most innovative idea your employees or customers have had that you put into practice?

We tied a fitness trainer and introduced a fitness program for our students and this has proven to be very successful.

How do you deal with difficult customers?

We listen to their concerns and do our very best to try and accommodate them as best we can.

How does your business give back or get involved in the community?

We give back by performing each year at community based events in the town and also at various nursing homes and assisted living centers.

Would you like to see your small business showcased in this series? Email wendy.mitchell@ patch.com.