By: Joshua Finley

Miranda Daisy, an entrepreneur with a passion for making a difference, founded Perform Ability to address a critical gap in the performing arts industry for individuals with disabilities. With a background in performing arts and a tenacious spirit, Miranda transformed her vision into a thriving business that provides specialized dance and performance classes as well as creates inclusive opportunities for all abilities. Her journey from a 17-year-old googling “how to start a business” to leading a successful enterprise is a testament to her dedication, resilience, and innovative approach to solving a gap in the community.

Initially, Miranda juggled multiple jobs to sustain her business. “For a long time, I worked a number of jobs to keep the business going,” she shares. “I was willing to do whatever it took.” Despite the challenges, her passion for inclusivity and empowerment kept her going.

Making a Difference Through Perform Ability

From those early days, Perform Ability has grown from strength to strength and has created many notable moments for their students.   A notable success story is Liam, a young man with autism.  Liam previously had a disheartening experience being cast as a tree in an end-of-year performance. Within a year of joining Perform Ability, Liam competed in a partner Latin dance competition in Orlando USA. This transformation highlights Perform Ability’s commitment to personalized training and developing growth and confidence by understanding each individual’s needs and preferences.

This approach by Perform Ability has allowed participants like Liam to thrive!

Accepting a Helping Hand

Miranda reached her lowest point when Perform Ability was facing severe financial difficulties, struggling to stay afloat in the early years. The pressure to achieve her vision of an inclusive performance space was overwhelming, and Miranda felt the weight of her responsibilities more than ever. She remembers, “I was exhausted and ready to give up.  Then, this wonderful woman, Mary, and her son Sebastian, came along and helped shape the organization that it is today.

Recognizing the potential and the impact that  Perform Ability would have not only for her son but for the greater community,  Mary stepped up with a combination of financial support,  strategic advice,  motivational guidance, and mentoring that Miranda desperately needed. With Mary’s support, Miranda reshaped Perform Ability to what it is today, a leading provider in the disability sector for dance and performance.

“I’ll never forget how Mary swooped in to save the day. Her timely support was crucial in helping us stabilize and refocus on what mattered most.”

Ways to Build a Business That Makes a Difference

Miranda’s journey offers valuable insights into building a successful business that makes a real impact. Here are her four key strategies:

Jump in at the Deep End

Miranda emphasizes the importance of commitment and perseverance. “If you want your business to be successful, not only financially but also in meeting the vision you set for yourself, you need to jump in at the deep end and make it happen!”. “Be ready to commit your time, your energy, your knowledge, and also be prepared to sit outside your comfort zone, learn, make mistakes, learn again, and adjust every day”  she advises. Her own experience of juggling multiple jobs, learning on the go, and nurturing her business underscores this principle.

Learn to Hire the Right People

A crucial lesson for Miranda was the importance of hiring the right people. “I learned to hire those who are passionate, committed, and non-judgemental,” she notes. Surrounding herself with a knowledgeable and experienced team has been instrumental in Perform Ability’s success. Miranda realized that having a diverse team with varied expertise and experience levels enriches the program’s quality and effectiveness. Older and more experienced team members bring a wealth of knowledge, stability, and refined skills, whilst younger staff bring the energy to match that of our clients.  All these skills are essential in providing high-quality training and support to our students. 

Create a Work Culture

Miranda also stresses the importance of cultivating a positive work culture. Initially, she struggled with this due to the part-time nature of her team and where everyone was located.  It has taken time and commitment to bring the team together as one.  “We have created a shared vision for the organization where we are all aligned to providing our students with the possible outcomes and we absolutely love what we do”. 

Know Your Value

Understanding the value of her services was another turning point for Miranda.  “When we adjusted our fees to reflect the quality of the services we were providing, we really understood the value we were providing for the first time! We invited allied health professionals to partner with us to ensure that the programs we provided were of the highest quality.  We align ourselves with the elite dance teachers in the country to remove the stigma of disability and showcase the professional standard of the program and that of our students.”

Keeping the Vision Alive

Miranda’s vision for Perform Ability has remained steadfast.  “We are still committed to providing our students with all the opportunities available to them to achieve their goals in dance and performance.  We continue to find opportunities in their local community, within Australia, and throughout the world!”

The organization has developed a comprehensive training program to ensure consistency and quality across all its services and is now available to others through licensing and training courses.  Their vision is to enable others in the dance community to provide a high-quality, inclusive performing arts program to create opportunities for people with disabilities everywhere!

To learn more about their program, and training opportunities and to get involved, visit their website.

Published by: Holy Minoza