Angela Fuentes is a local Mom and business owner of "The Art of Exotic Dancing" for the the Northern Virginia and DC area. Read more about her exciting yet crazy life here and in her journal.
What is your favorite color, favorite tv show, favorite store, favorite vacation.
Color: I really like the chocolate combinations this season…pink & chocolate, blue & chocolate, green & chocolate…in fact, I decorated my son’s nursery in a baby blue, green & chocolate décor!
TV Show: Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes, and I will always love watching Friends reruns!Store: I love shopping in general! For me, The Gap, Express, Banana Republic, although I am waiting to get my pre-pregnancy body back before I hit any of these stores! For my kids, Gymboree, Old Navy, The Gap. I’m also a scrapbooker so I could spend hours in Recollections (and literally have during their crop nights!)
Vacation: My husband and I went to Hawaii right before having our first baby…it was paradise!
Tell us about your business.
The Art of Exotic Dancing for Everyday Women® (AOED) offers workshops that are less about exotic dancing and more about discovering self confidence and appreciating inner beauty. We are everyday women teaching other everyday women ways to feel good about themselves by using exotic dancing as the vehicle. There is nothing risqué about it, but it’s a way for all women to come and re-discover themselves. Of course it’s also a lot of fun! Women come to our workshops from all walks of life and it is so rewarding to watch their transformation in class. We also will teach at private parties, such as girls’ night out, bachelorette parties or any reason women want to get together!
How did you come up with the idea?
AOED was actually started in 1998 by co-founders Leah Stauffer and Tim Kelly. My friend and business partner, Deena and I, are one of the first few territory owners. We licensed the Northern Virginia and DC territories in the beginning of 2006. We feel very strongly about the message AOED is trying to spread and felt we were offering something unique in this area.
What are some obstacles you faced when deciding to move forward?
I think the obvious obstacle with our company is helping people understand what we do and what we’re about without jumping to conclusions. Getting women comfortable with the idea when they come to class is part of the instructor’s job. This obstacle has sometimes carried over into our search for studio locations at which we could offer our workshops. Studio owners who aren’t well-informed on what we offer are sometimes hesitant to allow us to teach at their location.
How did you overcome those obstacles?
The positive national coverage our parent company has received over the years (The View, Entertainment Weekly, Shape Magazine, just to name a few) has helped in overcoming this obstacle. I think the new Dove campaign has opened women’s eyes to feeling beautiful at any age, which has also helped with our message. We have also tried to carefully market our brand in the area and rely heavily on word of mouth to spread the correct message of what we do. Once a woman takes our class, I believe the positive impact it has on her causes a chain reaction to other women in her circle and they want to experience that transformation for themselves.
What is the first thing you think of the second you wake up in the morning?
I have a 2 month old baby, so I am still waking up a couple times a night. Each time I get woken up, I always think “please, just a few more minutes…” I’m really looking forward to that one break-through morning when my first thought is, “Yay! He slept through the night!” You moms know that magical moment to which I’m refering!
Tell us about your family.
I have been married over 10 years to my husband, Jaime. We met at the young age of 18 when I was in college and, after on and off dating, got married right after college graduation. Seven years later we had our first son, Joshua, who is now 3 and just had our second son, Adam, who is 2 months old. I think my husband and I were both shocked at how much parenting would change our lives and are still trying to adjust. Our house always looks like a scene out of some sitcom with nothing in its place and children making noise. I think our house is a cross between Toys R Us (I think we own every noise-making toy at Toys R Us), Best Buy (my husband is in the computer field so we also seem to have every computer-related product found at Best Buy) and Recollections (I started scrapbooking when I had kids, which I think most moms do!). Oh and throw in an old, stubborn dog and a bunch of purple boas that we use in our AOED workshops, I think I have a very colorful, fulfilling life right now!
What does your typical day look like?
Right now nothing is typical in my life! My 2 month old is going through some reflux issues which means no sleep pattern whatsoever. I never know what time my day will start in the morning, and I spend the rest of the day trying to keep up/catch up. I am usually very schedule and list oriented and that pretty much went out the window with baby #2, but the to-do lists help keep me on track somewhat. I make sure my 3-year old is involved in many different activities, from playgroups to preschool, and in between these activities I squeeze in AOED work, housework and errands.
What is the magic secret of balancing your business and personal life?
I’m still trying to figure that one out! But I try to prioritize and, for me, my family comes first. Deena, who is also a mom of two boys, and I are very fortunate to be good friends with similar priorities, which means we both understand each other and what’s important to us. We both want this business to be successful for us, but know that unless we are both happy with our family lives, we can’t put our hearts and minds into this business. I think that’s why we chose such a flexible business….we aren’t dealing with too many deadlines and have the ability to work on things when we get free time, even if it’s at night after all the kids are in bed.
Where do you find time to spend quality time with your husband?
We’ve always spent time together after our son would go to bed and we’re looking forward to that time again once our baby is more on a schedule. We are also lucky to have both of our families nearby. We rely on them a lot to help out with the kids, giving us some time alone here and there. I think it’s just as important to spend time with each other as it is to spend family time together.
Do you have any pet peeves?
Sure! I hate running late, dirty dishes in the sink when I wake up in the morning, littering, poor customer service…I’m sure there’s more!
If someone handed you a $10 million check tomorrow and you had to spend it in a week, how would you spend it?
I think that would be too easy! I’d put some away for the kids’ college and our retirement, share it with our families and close friends who have been there with us through thick and thin, give some to our church, pay off our house and our parent’s houses, pay off all our bills, buy new cars...have I spent $10 million yet?
Do you have a ‘happy place’?
That to-do list I mentioned earlier? When everything is checked off, I’m in a happy place! Seriously though, as much as kids change your life, no one can describe to you what a joy it is until you have them yourself. My happy place is watching my toddler discover something new, watching his eyes light up when he figures something out or gets excited about something, or watching my baby achieve his next milestone…smiling, rolling over. The other day my son gave me a kiss out of the blue and told me he loved me..what is better than that?
Is there anything you are looking forward to over the next year?
Personally, watching my children grow, getting more sleep, summer-time activities and vacations.
Business, teaching more AOED classes and watching women transform themselves.
What does your life look like in 5 years?
On a personal level, I will have 2 boys in school by then! Wow…I think that will be bittersweet. I can see myself being lonely at first, but who knows, I may have baby #3 by then! On a business level, whether or not Deena and I renew our licensee contract with AOED, I still see myself teaching classes. It is a “career” that I find very rewarding.
Contact Angela directly to find out more about the Art of Exotic Dancing for Everyday Women!
