Barcelona Mum

Chantal Ducoeurjoly - Mums & Babies yoga

- Tell us about your business? I am currently autonoma and teaching English and private yoga classes and yoga classes for Moms and Babies

- How is it going? Great, I have lots of work with English and am looking for more yoga classes.

- Who are your main clients? How popular are your courses among the locals? My main clients are business people (for English) and Moms and Babies and professional people. In the last yoga class for Moms and Babies which started a couple of weeks ago, I had my first Spanish/Catalan Moms joing the course which is really great!! I think if we could get the word out, I would be able to reach not on ly foreign Moms but local Moms too!

- What are your goals for the next year? to teach less English, teach more Yoga and finish the coaching course that I am currently doing.

- What were the main challenges you faced establishing your business? I built it up little by little and the advertising and support from people like Pamela at A Ma Terapies really helped too!

- Would there be anything you would do differently if you did it all again? No ;)

- How does running a business in Catalunya compare to running a business in Canada (if relevant)? Since I don´t run a business (yet) I can´t really answer this one but I think the bureaucracy here and the tax rates are a bit challenging to say the least when running your own business!!

-  Do you think the system in Catalunya is sympathetic to the self-employed?  According to my husband who is an entrepreneur, the system makes it difficult for self-employed people to do well....you had better have a really good business idea when starting up so you can make the money you will need to pay for taxes, fines, new legislation materials etc.

- What do you think the main advantages and disadvantages or running your own business are? Advantages: you are your own boss, your business will grow as much as you are willing to work on it....Disadvantages: you need to be Ok with living with some uncertainty and be ok with risking your investments...

- What advice would you give to other women who are thinking of ‘going it alone’ in Catalunya? Be sure you have a really good business idea and plan!! Get a mentor if you can who will show you the ropes and be there in case you need help!! But most of all, believe in yourself completely and be clear about what your objectives are so you can manifest them!!

- How can people find out about you? they can email me at ducoeurjoly@hotmail.com