Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and fitness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Helene Su, Director of niio dance, located in Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I am a Transformational Dance Facilitator and Life Coach through Dance (this is a new arm of my offering) - my customers are conscious creatives, coaches, healers interested in health and well-being through the mind-body connection.
Tell us about yourself
Well, I have always loved dance and did the whole ballet school thing from a young age - the exams, the festivals, the shows... it was consuming and competitive, and I thought I wasn't good enough; my legs were too short (!), etc, etc. so I kind of left it. But after having done a few other jobs - writing, creating clothes, traveling, and getting into yoga, I began teaching English in Asia and realised I enjoyed it but wanted to be teaching something I really loved. I started with yoga dance, but one day, in Ibiza, at an outdoor party, I realised I needed to find out what happens exactly within us that is so amazing when we dance - so I went back to the UK and studied dance movement therapy and then got an MA in Dance and Somatic Well-being. Fast forward a few years (my son was young then, and I am a single parent). I realised that the MA and everything else that I looked into didn't give me all the answers because I have a different background (e.g., being British-born Chinese or BBC as we're called) and history to many of the people offering programs, etc., so I created my own modality called niio dance.
My motivation - knowing that I'm doing something that ultimately can help people to heal, transform and change their lives, and it brings joy. When I am teaching, I know that I am aligned with my true purpose, and when I get thanks and good feedback, it feeds my soul.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Learning (still!) umpteen different software and figuring out the boring (for me) but essential systems needed to create an online business (which is not what I would have imagined doing years ago).
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Making all the decisions. I am not yet in a position to hire a team, but even then, you can't just hand everything over to someone else. Ultimately you have to go with what feels right (after doing some research, of course, so you are making calculated risks) - you can ask 20 different people, and they might all have 20 different opinions - everyone has their own way of doing a certain thing, and no one has a magic answer in business. But of course, on the flip side - you make and create your business - it's both the most challenging and satisfying thing!
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Know your why really well, and vision your future successfully running it - something to return to when the going gets tough - which it will at times. There will always be people who will doubt and dismiss your ideas - and it can be people close to you - family members, friends, etc. They are just projecting their own doubts and fears onto you. Trust your gut on an idea you feel very strongly about (and do some research!); it might just be that new amazing thing that no one would have believed could take off. We all have to start somewhere. And it might mean some butterflies in the stomach of anxiety. This is part of the process; if you were totally hunky-dory and comfortable with everything, you wouldn't change the status quo. There is a lot of info out there now, so you can get informed and research everything you need - and in the UK, there are good organisations for business advice, etc. - there to be used!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.niiodance.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/somaticdanceuk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niio_dance/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helene-su/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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