Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlos Rangel.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
After living nearly ten years in the Los Angeles area, involved in the cultural, educational and special dynamics of that city, my wife, Esmeralda, and I decided to move to South Florida to become a part of this area’s rich environment. Upon our arrival, we inserted ourselves into the dance community, driven by our daughter’s passion and involvement, and soon realized there was a need to satisfy: a contribution we could give by using our business skills and background to offer a unique place for dancers to shop. We have always thought about Attitude as a place of interaction: a first encounter for young dancers and parents into the wonderful world of dance instruction, a growing and nurturing learning experience for the continuing student, and a place of knowledge exchange for seasoned dancers and instructors. We are fortunate that the community has embraced us and that such experiences occur in our store in Coral Springs every day. We equally serve from the toddler dancers to the professional performers, always seeking to satisfy their needs of product, information and services in a professional and respectful manner. After having been in business for twenty years, it is tremendously satisfying to see those we have known as children grow up to be professionals in a variety of fields including, of course, the performing arts, going on to nominations and acclaim in Broadway, Hollywood or other venues where they pursue their passion.
But truly, our greatest satisfaction comes when young parents come in with their little ones and reminisce on their past experience in our store when they were young when their parents brought them to us, and that now they trust us with their own.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Any business that claims it has been a smooth road is glossing over the challenges of the marketplace and the dynamics of our changing world. When we started twenty years ago, the online marketplace was also in its infancy. As a novel market experience, that was our first challenge, as everyone believed that retail as we knew it then and now was a dinosaur doomed for extinction. I propose to you a thought experiment: imagine there were no retail stores at all. If then one retail store opened, it is very likely that it would be a huge success. Finding that place in between those two extremes: the dinosaur and the unique experience is the challenge of survival for the local retail store.
A big struggle not only for us but with personal tragedy for many was the COVID-19 pandemic. Ever since we opened, we had not had one day in which we did not have more than one sale, from that very first day, back in September 2002. March and April 2020 were months in which, while keeping sales by virtue of technological wizardry and driving around a lot, we believed we could fall into a hole we would be unable to climb out of. But here we are, back and strong.
Over the years, we have seen competitors come and go, and it is a healthy aspect of the modern marketplace that such dynamics occur. Our industry is unique in that it is small but intense, and many people that go to a dance store do not realize this, believing that a flurry of activity is an indicator of great opportunity. However, it is a very limited specialized market, and the product is easily commoditized by the online markets. Even when sometimes it seems busy, the margins are very low, so we must keep the operations very trimmed. The challenge of competition, existing, new and potential, always keeps us on our toes.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We are often asked about our background, if I or my wife and partner were dancers or such. We both have some background in dancing, of course, but much more than that, a passion for the arts and education. I did some dancing while in college, taking a string of courses that were a combination between yoga and modern dance, focused on the body movement experience. My wife, Esmeralda, did the dance/ballet experience of many a young girl up into her twenties. But our passion for the arts exceeds that. From performing arts to visual arts, we are immersed every day in this world. Both she and I were professors and always have had a knack for relating to students of all sorts and trying to make all interactions a learning experience. Our business background has allowed us to create in our corner of the world a little gem that some appreciate and respect, and we are grateful to God and our community for that opportunity.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
In a baseball game, any batter standing at home plate does not know if the next pitch is going to be fastball, a curve ball or what. But you do what you have to do: you’re up. When you’re at bat, it is your decision to either swing or hold, and either decision is a risk taken. You could hit a homer, walk or strike out, but the reality is that when you are at bat in the market, every move you make is a risky one. You must embrace risk as a part of life, otherwise, you will be paralyzed by the circumstances and the world will move on, with total disregard for you. I remember, when I lived in NYC, one of my first jobs was as a photo-booth photographer at a flea market in Times Square. My boss then told me, “We always have to move forward because the world always is; if we stay still, the world will leave us behind.” We must always decide our move, regardless of the uncertainty, or be left behind for sure.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.attitudedancewear.com
- Instagram: @attitude_dancewear
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/attitudedancewear
Image Credits
All photos taken either by us or our daughter, except for the one of one of our Venezuelan customers, using her pointe shoes (bought at Attitude) during a 2017 protest march in Venezuela.
