Cortland County Legislator Christopher Newell(R) 11th District (center) Boom Dance Owner Victoria Congdon and Eric Mulvihill with the Cortland County BDC tour improvements at Congdon’s Boom Dance Complex in Cortlandville.
Victoria Congdon, owner of the Boom Dance Complex in Cortlandville, had a vision of opening a dance studio that could bring big city opportunities for youth dancers to Cortland County. Congdon, who has worked with national recording artists and has auditioned for productions such as America’s Got Talent, didn’t see a lot of local dance opportunities for local youth to engage at the national level.
Congdon decided to pursue her passion by opening a dance studio in a vacant space but soon learned that starting a small business comes with its own unique challenges. “Once I got my lease and went over my budget, I realized I needed to make adjustments,” she said.
With the help of a $10,000 Small Business Expansion Grant from the Cortland County Business Development Corporation, Congdon was able to make some critical investments in her new location including installing a specialized floor system designed to minimize injuries for her young dancers. “The grant was life changing and helped me to start off perfectly,” she said.
The BDC grant program was supported by federal Covid relief dollars channeled through the Cortland County Legislature.
Congdon said she was surprised at how easy the BDC grant application was. “If I had a question on the grant, it didn’t take a week to get a response, someone got back to me within the day or the next day,” she said. “It was super nice just to have that security to know there’s a person on the other side that is listening and there to help you because they want to see you achieve.”
Congdon’s students are now preparing for competitions and she already has a group that’s on track to compete at the regional level – not something she expected in her first year in business.
Next steps are to acquire more equipment and continue to grow enrollment at her studio.
This is just another success story for a BDC program aiming to help Cortland County small businesses grow and thrive.
Note: The Cortland County Business Development Corporation is publishing a series of stories highlighting the small businesses that received funding from Cortland County’s American Rescue funds allocation. The BDC was tasked with distributing $600,000 in funds to qualified small businesses.
