Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Roman Bosque, Founder of DanceLifeMap, located in Chișinău, Moldova.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Dancelifemap is a free worldwide dance studio directory that helps dancers find dance classes or events anywhere in the world. Right now, it's still growing, and there are many things to do to make sure that every dance teacher knows about it and the opportunity to add their dance venues to this database.
Tell us about yourself
I started many years ago by creating a non-competitive social dance studio where adults and sometimes teenagers could learn salsa, bachata, kizomba, zouk, cha-cha-cha, son cubano, and some other dances in a relaxing and enjoyable manner. While doing this, I also realized that even with today's technology and almighty Google, some people still struggle to find good dance locations in their area, especially when they travel to a different country.
So I decided to create an online dance database that would make it easy for everyone to find dance classes of any style. Since then, I no longer teach others to dance, but I'm still being part of the dance world by managing Dancelifemap and promoting other dance studios.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment as a business owner was to be able to create a business model that would not require me to be based at the same location all the time yet, which allowed me to stay connected with people and ideas that I love. Deciding to invest my spare time after many hours of teaching every day and creating Dancelifemap website was definitely the best decision of my life so far from a financial point of view. It has fulfilled many of my dreams and keeps giving back every day.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
As a business owner, you are often faced with problems that require your decision to move forward and try something new or do the same old thing over and over again and get the same results. And usually, moving forward involves the risk of losing what you have now, but it also promises you even bigger returns if you choose to go through. So the most difficult thing is to balance these two decisions safely because it's never clear which way will bring you failure and which will bring you success.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Don't be afraid to try and fail, because otherwise, you'll just freeze and won't do anything
- Choose to do what makes you happy.
- If you don't know what makes you happy, try to do anything that comes to mind and see where it will lead you.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Creating your own business is easy; it gives you a lot more free time to spend with your family and friends doing the things you enjoy doing. It pays you more per hour, although usually, payback is not instant. If managing your own business is hard, try doing something else, delegate the work you do not prefer to others who enjoy doing it, or just find a smarter way to do business. There are infinite opportunities to do what we need to do in an easy and stress-free way, which just need to stay open to them.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.dancelifemap.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dancelifemap/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dancelifemap/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dancelifemap/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dancelifemap.com/
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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