About Me

My name is Carlos Chapeton. I live in the SF Bay Area along with my wife, two boys, and our new puppy, Earl! I have lived in the Bay Area since I was 4 years old. I’ve moved around between San Bruno, San Jose, Burlingame, and Foster City. I have an A.A. degree in Multimedia from Cañada College. I am a history buff who love sports, fitness, and coaching little league. I have been a volunteer coach with little league and the Boys & Girls Club. I also recently volunteered as a graphic designer for a local political campaign that is in a run-off this upcoming November, 2022. Go, Noelia!

My professional career has taken from entry level 3D artists, to college professor, and most recently, business owner. My wife and I have run www.SmallFryDanceClub.com and www.PrincipalArts.com for the past 15 years. What started as a small program with a few classes at local preschools, quickly grew into the largest dance school on the Peninsula. At our peak we had over 800 enrolled families and we were teaching in 10 locations between the Peninsula, SF, and the South Bay Area. 

When covid-19 hit at the start of 2020, we were making big plans to both grow the business, and take more of an ownership / backseat roll in the business. We had finally “made it” and we were in a good position. Global pandemics don’t care about your plans. The past two plus years have been very difficult to navigate. We run an indoor, children’s athletic program. The challenges we faced were many, but we did everything we could to keep the studio alive. 

We pivoted almost immediately to online only classes. We made the move to Zoom classes before much of the world knew was Zoom was.  We outlasted a few competitors. We found every grant and every loan we could get our hands on to stay alive. Our biggest priority was keeping our employees working. We are proud to say we succeeded! We made it through 1 1/2 years of online classes. We even held an entire recital online!

The pandemic has continued to throw us curveballs, even after returning to in-person classes. Global supply chain issues, families moving out of the area, performance venues not being available, and staffing issues are just a handful of challenges we have continued to deal with since we returned to the studio in mid 2021. 

While we would love to keep what we have built afloat, we have decided that it is best for our family to move on. We can no longer sustain the stress of running a business. We gave it all we had. Literal blood, sweat, tears, as well as a lot of love and smiles. We have made the decision to restructure the business to be more manageable. We our prioritizing being available for our kids, having more family time, and having the quality of life we wanted to have before the pandemic began. 

One of the changes will be that I will be returning to the workforce. I am not sure where to begin. I have been a business owner for 15 years. So the job market has changed dramatically since the last time I applied for a job. My unique skill set of management, design, marketing, event planning, customer service, hiring, training employees, and my perspective as a business owner will hopefully be intriguing to a hiring manager. 

The transition from running a business that impacted so many families, to returning to a more traditional job will be difficult. As I look to the future, I am excited for the possibilities and bringing a sense of calm back to my family after 2 years of stress. Looking forward to the possibilities.