When we’re at school, we’re often asked one big question:

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

It’s a question that assumes there will be one answer.

One career.
One profession.
One path.

We’re encouraged to choose our GCSEs, our A Levels, our university course and, ultimately, the career we’ll spend the rest of our lives doing.

For some people, that’s exactly the right path.

But for many of us, life simply doesn’t work that way.

Careers aren’t as linear as we think

One of the things I love most about speaking to our franchisees is hearing how they arrived here.

What’s fascinating is that almost none of them planned to own a dance fitness business.

In fact, if you’d asked them at 18 what they’d be doing today, none of them would have given you the answer they’re living now.

Joanne trained to become a primary school teacher because she loved helping people learn. She poured years into education before eventually reaching a point where the environment no longer allowed her to be the teacher she wanted to be.

Watch our recent conversation (“Life After Teaching: How Joanne Left Teaching & Built a Dance Fitness Business She Loves”) here:

For a while, she felt as though she’d left everything behind.

Then she realised something powerful.

She hadn’t stopped teaching.

She’d simply found a different place to use the very same skills.

Today, she still teaches.

She still builds confidence.

She still helps people achieve things they never thought possible.

The classroom has changed – but her purpose hasn’t.

Sometimes the path you were told to follow isn’t the one that’s right for you

Rosie’s story is different, but the theme is the same.

She studied dance at university, believing there were only a handful of “successful” outcomes available to her after graduation.

Become a performer.

Become a choreographer.

Maybe teach dance.

When none of those paths felt quite right, she found herself feeling lost.

It wasn’t because she lacked talent.

It was because nobody had shown her the hundreds of other ways she could build a career using the skills she’d spent years developing.

Watch the full conversation (“What’s next? after dance college or uni: the career path they didn’t tell you about!”) with Rosie, here:

Eventually, Rosie discovered the On Broadway® Dance Fitness franchise opportunity through a chance encounter – and with it, the opportunity to build a business that combined everything she loved about dance with the flexibility and purpose she’d been searching for.

It wasn’t a career she’d ever been told existed.

Success doesn’t always look like climbing the corporate ladder

Kim’s story follows a different route again.

For years, she believed success meant working your way up the corporate ladder.

Promotion after promotion.
More responsibility.
More pressure.

Because that’s what many of us are taught success should look like.

Eventually, she realised success wasn’t about climbing the corporate ladder, working yourself into the ground, and having a certain job title.

It was about creating a life that gave her freedom to spend more time with her young family, fulfilment in her work, and the chance to make a genuine difference in people’s lives.

Today, she does exactly that through her own business. Watch the full episode (“From Corporate Career to Dance Business Owner | Kim’s Franchising Journey) here:

The skills came with them

Although these women have completely different backgrounds, they all have one thing in common.

They didn’t start from scratch. They all had transferable skills that they bring to business ownership.

• Joanne brought communication, leadership and empathy from primary school teaching.
• Rosie brought creativity, resilience and a love of movement from her dance training.
• Kim brought organisation, passion and professionalism from her corporate career.

And ALL of them brought a love for dance, whether that be as a trained dancer or just for fun, it doesn’t matter – the passion for dance was always there.

They weren’t abandoning their previous careers.

They were transferring everything they’d learned into something new.

That’s a message I wish more people heard.

Because too often we think changing careers means wasting everything that’s gone before.

In reality, it usually means building on it.

What if schools talked about more career possibilities?

I’m not suggesting schools should stop encouraging university.

Or that everyone should become an entrepreneur.

Or that every teacher should leave teaching.

Far from it.

Traditional careers are valuable, and they’re absolutely the right choice for many people.

But I do think careers education could be broader.

What if students learned that careers can evolve?

What if they knew it’s okay to change direction?

What if they were introduced to entrepreneurship as a realistic option – not just starting a business from scratch, but also models like franchising that allow people to build a business with training, support and proven systems behind them?

For many people, franchising isn’t even mentioned during their education.

Yet it can offer a route into business ownership that feels far more accessible than people imagine.

Not every franchise is a global fast-food chain or requires hundreds of thousands of pounds to invest.

There are franchise opportunities across health, wellbeing, education, fitness and many other sectors, with models designed to support first-time business owners.

For someone who wants to use their existing skills in a different way, that can be life-changing.

Maybe we should ask a different question

Instead of asking young people:

“What do you want to be?”

Perhaps we should stop trying to put young people into a box so early on, and instead ask:

“What are your strengths?”

“What do you enjoy?”

“How do you like helping people?”

Because careers will probably change.

Industries will change.

Technology will change.

But our strengths have a remarkable way of travelling with us.

Joanne, Rosie and Kim all prove the same thing.

The route they took wasn’t the one they expected.

But it was the one that allowed them to use their gifts in a way that feels authentic to who they are today.

And maybe that’s what success really looks like – not choosing the “right” career at 18, but having the confidence to keep building a life that reflects who you’re becoming.

Could your next chapter look different too?

If Joanne’s, Rosie’s or Kim’s stories have sparked something in you, perhaps it’s because you’re beginning to wonder what your own next chapter could look like.

If you’d like to find out more about what it’s really like to build an On Broadway® Dance Fitness business, we’d love to chat.

Whether you’re actively looking for a career change or you’re simply curious about what’s possible, a discovery call is an opportunity to ask questions, hear more about the franchise and explore whether it could be the right fit for you – without any pressure or obligation.

Book your discovery call today and let’s explore what your next chapter could look like.