We were lucky to catch up with Jaila Kaleisha recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jaila , thanks for joining us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

My passion for dance has always been there. I feel that I have known my purpose for a long time. I knew that I wanted to dance and teach dance but as a kid I had no idea how to make a business out of it. My dance career is pretty much self taught but when I was 14 I just wanted to learn everything about dance so I started to join dance teams. My mom posted a video of me performing at an event on Facebook and someone responded. The woman had I dance team of girls ages 7-12 and she needed a hip hop choreographer. I took on the job at 14 and I felt that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I worked with them for awhile they even took my choreography to competitions. Eventually I felt like I wanted to give more , like I said before I am self taught so I wanted to take more classes and get more knowledge of dance so that I could share it. During the time of finding out more knowledge about dance I started to doubt myself. I felt that I wasn’t good enough or that I wasn’t advanced enough to teach. I’m now 22 years old and I’m starting to teach classes again. I wish I would’ve stayed consistent and put a start to making my passion into a career but I was finding every excuse to convince my self I wasn’t ready. I want people to know that if they have a passion or a dream to put effort towards making it happen everyday, don’t doubt yourself, and live in your purpose everyday.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Jaila Kaleisha aka Lala and I’m a dancer/choreographer. I was born and raised and STL,MO. My goals and aspirations are to own a dance studio and teach different dance styles to people of all ages. As a dancer my very first dance class was at an after school program at one of my elementary schools, Lexington Elementary. It was an African dance class. I was very excited to learn the routine. I’ve always loved dancing but this day is when I felt the energy in my dancing shift and the way it made me feel. Since then I learned the dance styles of hip hop, jazz, majorette, Pom, and step. A lot of this knowledge came from watching YouTube videos and teaching myself choreography. After taking dances classes I knew that I wanted to be a choreographer. I started teaching classes at 14 for kids and now I’m doing adult classes. My plan is to get a studio hire staff to teach multiple dance styles for all ages . Travel for competitions and even host events . My studio is not only to fulfil my passion but to also give motivation to others that want the same things . Dance keeps me secure , gives me confidence, strength, and it also keeps me healthy. At first I didn’t realize the impact my dancing had on people but once I realized I knew that I wanted to share it with the world. So many people could benefit from my classes . I just want to uplift my city and give them something else positive to look forward to.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source of new clients is definitely social media right now. It’s just an easier way to get you message across to more people at once. More accessible and convenient. Whenever I have a class I post a flyer with information to attend . I even ask questions for feedback from my social media and it works for me.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The biggest pivot I’ve had in my dance career is just letting my mental get in the way of my success. I feel that that’s a big thing for everyone. We all have something deeper going on and with me I sometimes struggle dealing with it. I had to learn to take care of myself and to take my mental health seriously because it really affects everything else. Dance is something I thought no one can take from me but I’ve taken it from myself plenty of times by just not having a healthy mind..

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/glamgurlla?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jaila.kaleisha?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jailakaleisha7875
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@jailakaleisha?_t=8ayXKIOHhYB&_r=1

Image Credits
Davion Sanderson