Mini business success story: How one dance mum created Australia’s go-to marketplace for pre-loved costumes

What started as a simple solution to one family’s overflowing costume cupboard has become a thriving (and sustainable) online hub for dancers across Australia. We chat to Re-Dance founder Belinda Robinson about her lightbulb moment, the ups and downs of running a mini business, and how a little idea – and a lot of word of mouth – can make a big difference.

How did Re-Dance get started? 

My daughter Jess, who’s 15 and a dancer, actually put the idea in my head when I was complaining about how many costumes we had! I started thinking about creating an easy and affordable place to sell costumes – like an eBay, but just for dance.

What does your mini business do? 

We offer a free marketplace to buy and sell costumes for dance, gymnastics and ballroom – essentially, a marketplace for dance costumes. We also accept costume donations and fundraise to help dancers who need financial support.

What’s something your mini business has taught you about yourself? 

It’s taught me that building a business is a marathon, not a sprint! I tend to be a bull at a gate, but when you don’t have millions to spend on marketing, you need to focus on small, incremental steps to keep things moving forward.

What’s your favourite part of your day as a mini-business owner? 

I love it when someone takes the time to send a kind email or social media post telling us how much they love the platform and what a great idea it is – and of course, I get so excited whenever we sell a costume!

What’s more valuable as a mini-business owner, social presence or word of mouth? 

In the dance industry, word of mouth is incredibly powerful – dance mums talk! Social presence is also important, especially for reaching the younger generation and spreading the word more widely.

Tell us about your first customer. 

I was so excited – like a two-year-old at Christmas! That first sale really validated the idea.

What’s something you never thought you’d be doing, and now it’s just part of running your business? 

The donation side has become a big part of the business, so I now spend a lot of time taking photos and working hard to sell $30 costumes!

What’s been your biggest ‘OMG I’m actually doing it!’ moment? 

When The Morning Show did a segment on our sustainable business – that was definitely an OMG moment!

What’s one thing you wish more people knew about running a mini business? 

It’s not for the faint of heart – there’s no such thing as an overnight success. The journey is long and full of ups and downs, but if it were easy, everyone would do it!

Any advice for someone sitting on a mini biz idea but hasn’t made the leap yet? 

Just have a go – you’ll never succeed if you never try, and failing sometimes is all part of the process.

What’s a ‘failure’ that actually moved your business forward? 

Any issues we had early on with the website, I’ve tried to treat as learning moments. Our initial launch was terrible – the site was clunky and hard to use – but we rebuilt everything from scratch, and now it’s so much more user-friendly.

AMP Bank GO is proud to share Re-Dance’s Mini Business Success Story — not only did they turn a simple idea into a thriving marketplace for the dance community, but their dedication and impact also earned them $5,000 in radio ad airtime sponsored by AMP Bank GO, helping them reach even more dancers across Australia. Learn more about how AMP Bank GO takes care of mini businesses here.

Interested in more mini-business journeys and business tips and insights? Visit AMP’s Insights Hub for inspiration, advice and more.