A yoga business can come in any shape and size. And this is great! Because each studio owner and teacher brings their own gifts to their business, their own teaching style, philosophy and even a little je ne sais quoi. But there are a few ingredients that lay the foundation for every successful yoga business. If any one of these ingredients is missing, a pot brimming with potential morphs into a recipe for disaster.
So let's get down to it, because I much prefer the savory scent of success to that of dried out dreams, don't you?
Success Ingredient #1: Mindset
There are certain characteristics of successful yoga business owners (teachers, you are the owner of the business of yourself!) that must be present. Not every yoga practitioner should be a business owner. You must have:
a strong desire to help people
communication skills - a love of talking with people
ability to step outside your box to grow your biz and challenge yourself
willingness to invest money in learning new skills (both yoga training and business training)
Check yourself on these, and be honest. Being in business for yourself means facing your fears on a day to day basis, making missteps, and allowing yourself to be uncomfortable. But because of that, having a your own business is the most rewarding self-growth vehicle out there. Homework: Journal why you decided to choose teaching yoga as a career. What was it about teaching? What was it about yoga? Why did you feel you needed to open a studio? Pick up a book by a passionate teacher for inspiration (for ideas on great books email me, I've got plenty.) Reconnect with your own passion through writing, and then review this every day for the next week. Use it to guide your interactions with students in a new way.
Success Ingredient #2: Excelling At Your Craft
Do you offer the absolute best yoga training in your area? If you own a studio, are your teachers friendly, welcoming, and good at what they do? Teaching yoga means you are guiding your students on a very personal journey. Are you, or your teachers, up to that task? Personal here is the key word. Because a teacher can have great technique, but if she is not making a connection with her students on a very individual basis then the student in not getting what they paid for.
Ensure that you are investing in furthering your and your teachers' education, not only in technique, but also in self-study. Be a leader to your students by practicing what you teach (so many studio owners I talk to "can't find the time" to practice yoga themselves!) If it's not important enough for you to make the time, how can you be authentic with your students in encouraging them to further study? You can't. Another check of yourself here, because this may be where you are experiencing an energy disconnect with your yoga business. But there's a simple (not easy, but simple!) answer...you must continually invest time, energy and money into your own yogic studies if you want your students to do the same. Homework: commit to attending someone else's class two times this week. Choose a continuing education workshop to attend within the next month. Meditate tonight before you do the homework under #1.
Success Ingredient #3: Business Skills
Ah, here we go. So many yoga business owners get the "yoga" part but not the "business" part. And that's ok! All the information you need to be successful is out there, if you start implementing it authentically and consistently. Are you willing to invest the time in finding it? Are you willing to invest the money in acquiring help and guidance to make you profitable?
Marketing is fairly simple if you follow these steps:
find out who the likeliest people are to visit your class
uncover what their biggest needs are
offer solutions specific to their needs
get in front of them to let them know how you solve their problems
Of course, there are more advanced steps that you can do once you've done these, to take yourself to the next level. But if you are doing the steps above consistently, you will be profitable, I guarantee it. Where business owners falter sometimes is understanding the strategies associated with how to do each of these steps. Again, this takes some research, or if you're ready to really step it up, hire someone to help you skip the mistakes and accelerate your growth. Homework: pick one thing on your marketing to do list and focus on it until you're consistent. If it's your newsletter, pick the day each week or month that it will be sent and schedule out content for the next 3 months. Read a book about newsletters. Research some articles online. The key here is to pick one thing and do it til your consistent, before you start on the next thing.
You may have caught the theme I've woven throughout these success ingredients. Here it is: the most successful business owners, myself included, understand the value of investing time and money so that they are constantly learning, growing, and improving their skills. In fact, every successful entrepreneur I know consistently reads books, attends workshops of admired teachers, has a coach (or two!) and hires consultants when needed. They do this in the three areas I've mentioned: to improve their mindset, further their craft and to acquire business knowledge. It's a must. If you model the behavior of other successful people, you will be successful yourself!
Valerie Falkner is a Certified Money, Marketing and Soul Coach, helping yoga teachers and studio owners create profitable, spiritually fulfilling yoga businesses. An author, national speaker and teacher, Valerie reaches audiences worldwide through her seminars, teleclasses, workshops and private coaching. Visit her website at TheBlissfulBusiness.com TheBlissfulBusiness.com to read more articles and sign up to receive the free report: Get More Students Now! 3 Easy Steps for the Yoga Teacher to Attract More Students.
Copyright Valerie Falkner 2010
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