Understanding Your WHY

When I started IDALS five years ago, I was very clear about how I was going to do it and what I was going to build. But my why was still unclear.

For the first year, I focused on building a strong content-based platform and providing value to users. Revenue started growing steadily and we received great feedback. But by the end of that year, I was struggling financially to keep it running and was close to shutting it down.

In December 2021, I got an opportunity to start offline classes with a school in Mumbai. The space was small, but I decided to try, based on my experience teaching offline since 2012 and the work I had done building an education centre in my previous organization.

Initially, our offline classes did not receive much response because I was running them just like any other dance class. That is when I paused and asked myself what different value I could bring to the community after COVID.

That search helped me discover my why.

For decades, dance as a profession has been undervalued in our country, despite being a deeply loved art form. My vision became clear which was to bring respect and real value to dance as a profession. Emotionally, I fixed this as my goal, and as an entrepreneur, I worked on the system and structure to achieve it.

I designed courses that not only focused on dance techniques but also on communication, public speaking, interview preparation, marketing, content creation, and most importantly, teaching skills. The goal was to help individuals become independent, confident, and professionally capable.

This became the PITP - Professional Instructor Training Program, the first of its kind in India. We completed 11 batches in three years, and it was rewarding to see students grow, secure jobs as dance educators, start their own work, and build confidence through internships and real experiences.

Although we had to shut down the offline institute early this year, from February 2022 to January 2025, we delivered immense value through training and transformation.

I am sharing this because whether you are a working professional or an entrepreneur, it is important to understand why you do what you do. Your why is what gives meaning to your work. It is what keeps you moving forward when everything else becomes uncertain.

My journey has had successes and failures, but the reason I continue teaching through YouTube today is because my why still stands strong which is to provide quality education and contribute to building respect for dance as a profession.

When you know your why, you don’t stop. You evolve.

And that is the journey I am still on.

Just sharing a student feedback of how he was able to achieve transformation in his journey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqEfTdlZV5k

Showcasing student's work during their internship program: https://www.instagram.com/idalsnetwork/?hl=ar