Fitness is the key to happiness and success: Ashwini Franco
Ashwini Franco, 27 years is a Fitness Instructor and Dance Choreographer. She has performed for National and International Events too. She runs her classes under the name of Dance Planet. She is a Bachelor of Commerce graduate and going into events was a dream come true when she was selected for a job in an event company in Mumbai. After she came back to Goa, she started freelancing and still does (weddings, corporate functions, annual, Gala Meets, etc.) for the growth of the Business. INCUBEES asked her about her passion, which will lead her ahead in life.
INCUBEES: Tell us about your services?
ASHWINI FRANCO: I am a fitness and dance instructor by profession. I also have choreographed for movies and freelanced for events. I am mostly into entertainment. I provide professional services to my clients through the skills I possess. I presently conduct fitness classes in Margao, Goa. I have always loved entertainment, and that has been my life, which made me choose my passion as a profession.
INCUBEES: What makes your services unique and what competition do you see in India and globally?
ASHWINI FRANCO: The clients I have served, have always been happy with the results they get, and also they have gained more confidence in themselves by losing weight and toning up their bodies. The way I interact with them and share happiness, keeps them going, makes it worthwhile and unique.
INCUBEES: What are the challenges you see in the market at this point in time?
ASHWINI FRANCO: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, clients are scared to join back. However, keeping all protocols and guidelines of safety in place, I am re-starting from September 14 after a break of nearly six months. I hope they join back if they want to and with the consent of their family. However, we are aware that everyone is extra careful about their health.
INCUBEES: Tell us about your team and what inspires them?
ASHWINI FRANCO: We see that everyone enjoys the classes and feels happy about themselves as for a lot of my clients, Zumba acts as a stress buster from their family and busy working lives.
INCUBEES: Where do you see your service reaching in the next five-years?
ASHWINI FRANCO: I am grateful for my achievements to date. Yes, indeed growing is our endeavor and required at this time. Most of my business is through the network and I wish to gain more into the fitness and entertainment line. We have a few tie-ups with hotels now. I hope to have more clients and hotel tie-ups all over India and globally which will help us grow our business.
INCUBEES: Do you have plans to raise funding to grow your business or allow your business to organically grow?
ASHWINI FRANCO: Right now, the investment done has been fruitful and I wish to flourish it. But yes, if needed definitely we would go for it.
INCUBEES: What are the challenges you face as a startup?
ASHWINI FRANCO: When I first started, building up contacts was a huge task, as hotels and clients do not want to change their personnel and staff members. Negotiations were tough and we had to do it without keeping a margin as we had just started. I was working in Mumbai with one of the events companies and that helped me a lot to gain contacts later as most of the events we did were in Goa.
