Building your business with a beat: Jazzercise founder and CEO Judi Sheppard Missett to present keynote at March 11 women in corporate growth breakfast.

• Author: Law, Sherry

There are three things you need to pay attention to if you want to grow your business: passion, change and mind-body connection. This trilogy has certainly worked for Judi Sheppard Missett, who has grown Jazzercise from zero to $95 million. Jazzercise is not a fad but a business phenomenon - in all 50 states and 32 foreign countries.

Missett a professional dancer who turned entrepreneur in 1969 when she applied her passion for dance to the business of Jazzercise, continues to teach classes, choreograph new routines every 10 weeks for franchised instructors to teach, and star in Jazzercise home DVD products.

A fitness advocate and aerobic dance pioneer for nearly 40 years, Missett continues to break new ground in the industry through innovative class formats, customer/instructor conventions and community service programs. Jazzercise also has a commitment to philanthropy, and it comes as no surprise that most of its support goes to the arts.

In addition to serving as president and CEO of what has become an international franchise business since 1980, Missett oversees more than 7,500 instructors and employs 161 support personnel from the Jazzercise headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif. And if that isn't enough, she regularly stars in "Jazz Cardio Strength Stretch," a professionally produced half-hour workout program designed specifically for Public Access cable stations.

Jazzercise is a diversified business with a single focus. The company makes its money through franchise fees as well as the sale of related clothing, books and other...