We were lucky to catch up with Yeli Romero recently and have shared our conversation below.

Yeli, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I am very happy as a business owner. I like that I am doing different things and working with different clients each day – I never feel bored. Sometimes, when we are very busy with many different projects, I think of how much easier it would be if I had a regular job. But life isn’t interesting without the challenges and being involved in the community is what drives me to continue to be a business owner. The work I do fills my heart – to help others and work with people form a variety of backgrounds.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Yeli Romero, I am from Puebla Mexico. I am a mother of 2 and I am the co-owner of two businesses along with my husband. One of my businesses is a Zumba service call Yeli’s Fitness. I started out taking Zumba classes at my local YMCA. One of my teacher’s encouraged us to make our own choreography and to lead some of the songs in our classes. The teacher was impressed with me, and I loved it so much, that she encouraged me to apply for my license to be a Zumba instructor. I found a certification course in Chicago and decided to try it. I became a Zumba instructor in 2017. I still remember my first class – I had three songs prepared, but I needed about 20 songs to fill the 1 hour class. It was a wonderful challenge for me to build a class around the songs I loved. I enjoyed dancing since I was a child, and I love to encourage others to express themselves through dance and being healthy. I have grown my business to serve private businesses such as Steelcase and Rockford Construction. I also enjoy teaching classes for the community through the CIty of Grand Rapids and at the YMCA.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Like many people and businesses during the pandemic, I had to change the way I taught because of restrictions on doing exercise classes indoors. I had to learn how to encourage my clients virtually, which is harder than you think. In person, you are able to be hands on to help clients with Zumba moves, but virtually sometimes you can’t even see the people who are attending. I also get a lot of energy from seeing the faces of my clients, smiling and enjoying the music, which is harder to see in a virtual setting. But I knew that I needed to continue promoting health in my community with my Zumba classes so I was able to convert my living room into a studio to host my Zumba classes.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

One of the biggest ways I have built my reputation as a Zumba Instructor is by attending and performing at many community events for free. People see me out in the community and know me, and know about my Zumba classes. Being out there is a first step to building your client base. Now I work with the YMCA, Local community organizations, and the CIty Parks & Recreation Department. My private Zumba classes were clients who heard about me from either attending a Zumba class or knowing someone who attended. You can say that each Zumba class is like an interview for a future class. making sure that my classes are fun, motivational, and have high energy is very important.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.zumbawithyeli.com
• Instagram: Yelis_fitness
• Facebook: facebook.com/yelizumbainstructor/

Image Credits
ACCESO VIP & Yeli’s Fitness