Yamilette Cano: Finding Strength in LOUDER Steps

Yamilette Cano was only three when she declared she would become a classical ballerina. Two decades later, she traded pointe shoes for a bold new chapter and moved across the ocean to build a new life as an entrepreneur in Hong Kong.

Throughout her journey, she has embraced every pivot with the same flexibility and resilience she learned in dance and now helps other women discover the strength to do the same.

Setting the Stage

Yamilette arrived in Hong Kong over a decade ago after 20 years as a professional ballerina. She started dancing at age five. "I blew out my candles and said to my mom, 'Take me to ballet school," she recalls. "I started when I was 5, and I stopped when I was 25. And I would not regret any single moment, any sore feet or blood or broken toes."

Ballet became her first great love, bringing lessons on resilience and constant self-questioning: "Am I good enough, am I tall enough, am I thin enough? Can I jump enough? Can I pirouette four times instead of three?" Mentors, teachers, and her parents offered encouragement that focused on her strengths rather than just criticism.

At 25, she left the stage not because she stopped loving dance, but because she wanted to give more in new ways. "Ballet is always going to be my passion, my first love," she says warmly. The biggest gift she carried forward was adaptability: "Always be proud of where you come from, taking it forward and keep learning to support that progress."

Moving from Mexico to Hong Kong brought excitement rather than fear as her passion for a fresh creative journey overrode thoughts of leaving family and familiar comforts. "[Fear] wasn't even in my mind, because I had so much passion to try something different, to pursue creativity," she explains. "This was the biggest creativity journey that I could decide to take on."

Launching LOUDER Global

Once in Hong Kong, the real challenge was not homesickness, but abundance. "Hong Kong is a place that gladly gives you so many opportunities," she notes. When launching LOUDER Global, Yamilette faced a swirl of interests: events entrepreneurship, speaking, fashion, even painting and entertainment. She worked with a career coach to find her ikigai: the intersection where passion, skill, value to society, and financial viability meet. "I thought that I could do it all," she admits. "I could have gone into a very complicated vortex of trial and failure." The coach helped her clarify her path and combine her ballet background with her love for speaking and community building.

Today, LOUDER Global helps entrepreneurs, especially women and youth, build confidence, refine their personal brands, and master communication and presence. The goal is to lift voices that often feel like underdogs. "We're not only giving them a platform, we're empowering them to have the courage to showcase their voices," she says. Her role as President of The Mexican Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong follows the same spirit. "If the Latin American Community comes closer, we become stronger," she explains, " Working together, we are able to elevate our Latin voices and share them with our beautiful Hong Kong."

The Meaning of Success

Success has evolved for her since her time on stage. Today, it means carrying forward resilience and empathy through dance while creating lasting connections. "If I did ballet for 20 years, and I was able to showcase that craft, then I'm sure I am able to do it somewhere else," she reflects.

Several simple truths have guided her leaps. A phrase from a friend still stays with her: "It all shall pass." Another question she asks herself often: "What's the worst that could happen?" When considering the move to Hong Kong, the worst outcome seemed bearable. "Going back to Mexico, perhaps having to live with my family for a little longer – that didn't seem that bad either." That perspective gave her courage. She advises against waiting until everything feels perfect, but advocates preparation: "Jump with a little peekaboo. If you're able to check where you're going to land, you may be able to plan a better strategy."

The Power of Connection

As a woman who has moved across creative and business worlds, Yamilette prioritizes connection. "Women helping women is important," she says. "It's about connection in general, as human beings." Her deepest support comes from her mother, who always believed in her. At LOUDER Global, colleagues act as steady rocks. "Our friendship constantly transforms from work relationship to friendship and back – it's all connected," she notes.

For young women looking to find their own courage, she offers practical advice. Connect with people who will cheer you on and will push you honestly. "Ask for help," she urges. "Don't wait until you're one hundfed percent ready, because that's never the case; go for it, because if you wait, the opportunity will pass."

Finding Ikigai

One coaching experience remains especially meaningful: a Colombian woman living in Australia had doubted her English, her accent, and her place in the health industry. Through the LOUDER Coaching sessions, she discovered that her background made her unique, energetic, and trustworthy. "She now has a first-aid kit of beautiful things that she can utilize when she's in doubt," Yamilette says. "It was her own analysis, self-awareness, and her own growth that made it click for her."

Helping others discover their ikigai starts with deep self-awareness. "The more aware you are about who you are, the easier it is," she explains. Clients learn to turn external ideas into something personal and sustainable. "It's about finding what you can give to the world so that it's authentic and consistent, meaningful and impactful." Life has taught her to see failure differently. "If you fall flat on your face, it's great, because that's progress already," she says. "When you stand up, you're already a little bit further." She also learned the importance of asking for help as an entrepreneur and being kind to herself. "We are our worst critics, so train yourself into trying to see more positives out there," she says. "Start with you. Always be you and do it as loud as you can."

"Start with you. Always be you and do it as loud as you can."

Balancing her roles as founder, chamber president, speaker, and mother requires simple grounding practices. She dances at home or in the garden. Time in nature with her husband helps too. Her current ikigai blends motherhood with the drive to empower others. "I'm a mom of a wonderful four-year-old, and I would say that's my ikigai," she says. "I wake up, and I see her smile." She hopes her daughter grows up unafraid to take space: "I wish for her not to have to apologize for being loud and not have to apologize for taking space."

Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, Yamilette feels energized by the growing conversations around connection in Hong Kong. She is also excited to continue building a world where her daughter can thrive through community and courage. "With community, we grow, with community, there's progress; with community, there's support; and with community, success will come," she explains. "I hope that it also helps other women to know that what you say matters. And I want everyone to say it louder."