We had the good fortune of connecting with Christiana “Nana” Behnke-Simmons and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christiana “Nana”, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
To be honest I’ve been my own boss for the majority of my life. I’ve had jobs and worked in restaurants but knowing that I cannot increase my income getting paid per hour made me really rethink the way I earn my money. I am a mother so I do want to spend time with my kids as well and see them grow up and not be stuck in a 9-5 rat race having other people raising my children. Creating financial freedom and abundance is my goal to live the life I want to live and prepare a path way for my children and our legacy. Now being able to combine my why with my passion which is sharing the joy of dance with others and inspire those to become healthier overall just was a bonus to create the life I’m loving now!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Being a dancing mompreneur is far from being easy but having children is your biggest motivator of all! I started dancing at the age of 2, started teaching dance 10yrs later and since then have improve my craft and passion internationally. Meeting my now husband in 2015 through dance has created a bond and energy that just sparks through any dance floor and makes our student light up with joy no matter which style of dance we teach. Our careers as dance teachers tremendously needed to pivot in 2020 when all dance studios had to shut down due to California restrictions so it was time for us to keep going on our own. Starting an online business from scratch with no human contact and no time was hard and challenging but the growth and training we’ve gained has been enormous. On top of that we have focused more and more on our health and added that aspect to our business especially in times where everybody is afraid to be at a health risk! We’ve added two medical device to our product line that have impacted and improved people’s health like no other and seeing those results in our circles just motivate us even more to keep on going and inspire others to become a healthier version of themselves. The reason why I claim being a mompreneur is hard is because growing a business from home with a house full of kids being online schooled or needing toddler attention gives you very limited time windows to work efficiently and trying to figure out the work life balance is a challenge on its own. Nevertheless, does it keep me going and motivated!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Living in Hawaii on the beautiful island of Oahu there are countless options on what to do. Endless hikes, swimming waterfalls, watching surfers glide through monstrous waves on the north shore, eating shave ice or some other local foods, experiencing a luau and sharing some of the Hawaiian culture and history are just a few things to name and keep everybody busy. You could easily spend 7 days at 7 different beaches making you not wanting to leave paradise!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
In 2020 my husband David “Darkie” Simmons and I were able to make a huge jump and create our own business and online dance school www.WeDanceOnline.com and wouldn’t been able to do so without all of our followers and supporters! Our students are a huge motivator in what we do and are grateful for every single one of them that have danced along in our journey!

Website: Www.wedanceonline.com
Instagram: Www.Instagram.com/Nanadance24
Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/christiana-behnke-simmons
Facebook: Www.Facebook.com/wedanceonline2020
Other: Www.Instagram.com/wedanceonlinesd Www.Instagram.com/daviddarkie

Image Credits
David Stein Healy Christiana behnke-Simmons David Simmons jr

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutSocal is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.