Throughout the month of March, the CAN BE Innovation Center is proud to celebrate Women’s History Month by highlighting its female clients. In this short Q&A, we sat down with one of our incubator tenants, Emily Finer from Keystone Ballet Academy, to reflect on her journey and what it means to be a female entrepreneur.

For those who might not know your story, tell us who you are, what your business is, and why you became an entrepreneur.

My name is Emily Finer and I have loved ballet for as long as I can remember. Growing up in New York City, I was so fortunate to study with the best teachers in the world and train to a professional level. Although I changed careers as an adult, my love of ballet never wavered. I noticed other cities in Northeast PA had ballet-based schools but ours unfortunately didn’t; so I decided to become an entrepreneur and create my own studio. In 2017, I opened Keystone Ballet Academy to give parents and students the choice of quality ballet training. My goal is to show this area that ballet is an art form and help them develop an appreciation and love for dance.

Emily Finer and her students recently traveled to the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre to see the ballet show, ‘Giselle’. Students will be performing dances from Act 1 of the show for their Spring Dance Concert on June 15th.In what ways do you think being a female entrepreneur has influenced your approach to business?

As a female entrepreneur, I don’t put myself in a different category from a male entrepreneur. For me, the idea of starting a business at the age of 55 in an area already inundated with other dance studios that have been around for decades made me nervous. However, if you have something different to offer and believe in it, opening the business becomes something you must do.

What advice would you give to aspiring female entrepreneurs just starting out?

If you are just starting out, make sure to have a good support system of family and friends behind you - having people around you to cheer you on and help you is a necessity. Most importantly, always believe in your product and don’t judge yourself by what other businesses are doing.

For more information about the CAN BE Innovation Center, or starting a business within the Greater Hazleton Area, visit canbe.biz or contact Nico Makuta at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..