In celebration of International Women’s Day, we at BizCover are putting a spotlight on some of the amazing female small business owners that we are privileged to call our customers.
Katie Dickens is a small business owner that is motivated by her customers. Owner of Dance Barre, she strives to inspire and encourage her female clients through her small business.
Dance Barre is a dance-inspired fitness studio, that offers group fitness classes for women spanning across cardio, weights and pilates. Katie emphasises the noble purpose of Dance Barre, which is to inspire, motivate and encourage women to feel confident and to love their body.
Katie’s own inspiration speaks to this purpose, as she “wanted to create a space where women could feel comfortable to exercise in a supportive environment”. She notes the lack of spaces that weren’t dedicated enough to building up their client’s self-esteem and confidence.
“Working out doesn’t have to be boring, it can be fun and motivating. We are focused on helping women create life-changing habits, embracing their body, their curves, their muscles and to love what they see in the mirror.”
Even Katie’s favourite thing about work revolves around supporting her clients. Through her small business, she works with many women from various walks of life, and she enjoys helping them build their confidence. Katie summarises saying “A confident woman is a strong woman; a person who can achieve anything she puts her mind to.”
Not only is Katie a small business owner, she’s also a mum of two. This means she understands the balancing act of preparing meals for her family, cleaning and dedicating time for her business. She says that being a small business owner “means you are incredibly creative, cautious and precious with your time.”
“It means you work hard… and at times you may question why you even started. But you look back at what you’ve achieved and where you are going, the people you have helped and everything is put back into perspective.”
While Katie looks to many female business owners and entrepreneurs like business author Emma Isaacs, she says she doesn’t have just one role model. She prefers to learn from many, and run her own race.
As part of International Women’s Day, we asked Katie what advice she’d give someone looking to start their own business. With heaps of great advice, she starts off by emphasising the importance of making hard decisions – being a boss is hard. She says that the first years will be full of ups and downs, but business owners must appreciate the lessons they’re taught and learn from them. It’s imperative to look at the bigger picture; why you’re starting your business and keep motivated.
“After all, this is how we learn, how we grow and how we begin to build our empire.”
Keep up to date with Katie and Dance Barre on their website and Facebook , and follow their Instagram here.
