#LifeLessons - Danielle Hall

NAME: Danielle Hall

AGE: 38

INSTAGRAM HANDLE: @colivinglegendsdubai

JOB TITLE: Founder and owner of Co-Living Legends 

Danielle moved from the UK to Dubai 7 years ago as a school teacher. She is mum to teenagers and enjoys travel and reading. After a long career as a teacher, she made the switch to immerse herself fully into the world of business. Always having an interest in property as an experienced landlord back in the UK, she decided to pursue her dream of providing comfortable, clean and modern co-living options for professional women in Dubai. Co-Living Legends was born in 2021! 

#LIFELESSON – 1

Listen more.

Some of my most valuable lessons have come from listening to children! I am a firm believer that they are our biggest teachers. As adults, we tend to quieten them rather than listen to their insights. But taking the time to listen can open your mind to different perspectives you may have never thought of before! I really tried to put this into practice when I went into business. Don’t assume you know what people want, take the time to ask and understand their feedback. Likewise, if you come up against resistance to your idea, listen to the person’s concerns and try to understand their challenges and objectives. Over time, I have learnt the art of listening more than talking. It also holds more power because when you do speak, everybody is ready to hear what you have to say!

#LIFELESSON – 2

No doesn’t mean never.

On the exciting journey of entrepreneurship, there are many ‘noes’, rejections or disregard. But the great thing is that every no will always push the brain to find alternative solutions and think outside the box in order to achieve the desired outcome. Sometimes no just means ‘not now’ but very rarely does it mean never! 

When sourcing apartments for our co-living business, we have been greeted with many noes along the way. However, things have still progressed quickly, we began with just one apartment, now we have over 45 rooms, providing homes for 45 women in Dubai who really appreciate what we do. Not everybody will love your ideas, but some will absolutely adore them! Seek out those people and build your following there.

#LIFELESSON – 3

Come from a place of empathy 

As an educator, I can think of many examples where children weren’t behaving in line with the desires of the school or classroom, only for us to find out later that there were terribly unfortunate circumstances in the home. We must always try to act with empathy and understanding in life, because the behaviour of others is often a reflection of what they’re experiencing. Another example that stands out was when two people very close to me disagreed over business matters. One of them continued to make life very difficult for the other when, unbeknown to them, the other person was in the middle of cancer treatment. This will always stay with me, and if ever I feel myself about to say or do anything unkind, these memories always bring me back from behaving that way.