Let your dream come true

1. Have a Yoga Business Plan
2. Build your Studio
3. Set up your Studio Online
4. Diversify your Classes
5. Keep Learning
6. Build your Brand
7. Make use of Online Booking Solutions
8. Learn from mistakes
9. Get your Yoga License
10. Just have Patience
11. Be Committed
12. Have a Welcoming Attitude

The yoga business is the fastest-growing fitness activity in Australia. People are aware that keeping their mind, body, and soul healthy is the mantra of the times. If you look at the numbers of Aussies involved in Yoga, then in a 2017 survey, Yoga, Pilates, and Fitness reached 2.18 million people who participated with full vigour and strength.

When it comes to gender, women want more fitness packages than men, as 1.7 million women do Yoga regularly compared to just 500,000 men. Not surprisingly, Pilates is even more heavily dominated by women, with nearly 1.1 million women doing Pilates compared to just over 120,000 men.

Statistics show that starting a Yoga business has tremendous scope. Yoga or Pilates, in fact, any fitness activity, is now having great business potential as more and more people are concerned about keeping their bodies hale and hearty.

If you are one of my Yogipreneurs who wants to start a Yoga business, here are 12 tips to help you do so.

1. Have a Yoga Business Plan

Any start-up business needs a plan, and so do Yoga, Pilates, or Fitness. When thinking of setting up a Yoga studio, think of a plan. Swaying in the emotions and keeping the passion of teaching Yoga and spreading peace in the world is one thing, but to generate revenue out of your passion, you need a business plan. Remember that you need to pay your bills, too, and for that, you have to prepare a road map to run your business.

See Develop your business plan by business.gov.au and download this business plan template (doc)

Right from choosing the location of your studio to marketing your business:

• Manage your finances and the set up of a Studio
• You need to manage your classes perfectly
• Keep records of your students and transactions
• Set a price that customer can pay
• Be available when your client needs you
• Understand your financial needs and prepare the membership
• Hiring of good instructors or teachers
• and keeping your account records updated.

2. Market your Yoga Studio or Business

Yoga businesses need to be marketed either by word of mouth, using online digital marketing tools, through your contacts, advertisements and more. No one will come to you unless you speak or share about your business. As yoga is a more prominent business with many studios, you need a proper marketing funnel. To ensure your studio gets noticed, you will need a solid marketing plan to help get the word out.

You can build your online yoga studio website or social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. There are many social platforms to choose from, and you can get your business listed on them. You can also go for paid ads or other free options without spending money. If you can afford it, you can hire a marketer to spread your business to people.

Remember, without a good marketing strategy, there is no way for anyone to know about you or what you’re offering. Intelligent marketing will help you build your brand and promote classes, workshops, courses, retreats, and events. Standing out in the crowd will help you reach potential clients and grow your presence in the industry.

See Yoga Advertisement Poster And Flyer Design

3. Build Your Business from the Grown-Up

Now that you have started writing a yoga business plan and marketing your business, you must build your studio. You do not need a fancy location with high-cost infrastructure or a designer studio; you can even start your Yoga studio at home.

Many well-known yoga studios started their business from home. In her book, ‘How to Run a Successful Yoga Business and Not Go Broke,’ Michelle Fondin says that she went from owning a studio to transferring her place of business to her home. She said it was the best choice because she got to spend time with her kids while creating the perfect yoga space without paying for rent.

You can then contact your local community and have clients who will love not having to wander far searching for a Yoga teacher.

If you don’t have much space at home, you can set up your studio in a perfect city location and search for one in local newspapers or at online sites that advertise to rent out their spaces.

4. Set up your Studio Online / Online Classes

If you cannot afford to pay rent for your studio or you cannot set one up physically, the other option is to teach online. Online yoga studios are also a successful business. You have your own space on the web, and you just pay a few dollars monthly or annually for hosting your website.

See Your Guide to Stream Yoga Classes Online – Zoom vs Skype vs YouTube Live vs Facebook Live

However, you must market your online presence to attract clients to your site to learn yoga. You can teach your virtual classes in video format and set up sessions for teaching your virtual students, and you can get paid online, too. Follow Udemy or Teachable, which are the best platforms to show your online yoga presence.

See How to create a Yoga website online?

5. Diversify your Classes

How about diversifying your classes? After all, your clients need to try new things. You can offer Yoga, Pilates, Fitness, dance, or any other craft or skill that you are perfect in. Also, you can ask other yoga teachers to join your studio to test new ideas and offer them to clients, generating a good income from your business.

See How to make your yoga studio stand out?

You can also bring variety to your classes. Offer retreats, trainings, events and workshops that leave long-lasting positive expression on your students. Now you remember why International Yoga retreats are so successful, right?

6. Build your Brand

Branding is essential, and you must have your own Brand identity. Your brand studio name shows the reputation you create, and people will soon start associating with your business. To build your brand, you need a perfect studio name, location, logo colours, site, and quality of service. Then, you need to position your brand with marketing and customer service, showcasing your potential and work.

Your business values make it a success when highlighted. Something unique in your business also improves your brand. You can be adventurous, taking your students to yoga at a mountain cliff or a nearby lake once a month. Have you ever considered holding a workshop on Pranayama in the early morning?

See Name Ideas for your new Yoga business.

7. Make use of Online Booking Solutions

The best way to promote your business, build a brand reputation, and relieve yourself from the worries of taking each booking and payment is to use online booking solutions. Yoga businesses that have joined booking systems like KRIYA have more time to focus on increasing their business, planning and measuring, and avoiding maintaining and counting passes.

There are many online booking solutions out there. KRIYA Booking software is the solution of choice for Australian businesses catering to small and medium as well as local yoga studios and helping to promote their businesses.

8. Learn from Mistakes

Being new to the business of yoga or fitness requires time to perfect. We all make mistakes, but we learn a lot from such mistakes, right? So keep moving forward even if you have made a few errors. Suppose you are not yet perfect at a specific yoga niche but have tried it with errors—no problem. Just practice to make things perfect.

Also, starting your own studio involves self-discovery, personal growth, and perseverance. Don’t let your fledgling yoga studio fail because you were unprepared for the work and investment required to get it off the ground.

9. Get your Yoga License

You need to get your Yoga license or yoga certificate to prove that you know your business well. This will make your profile authentic. If you have spent time learning yoga from a particular school or centre, get your certificate from them.

There can be full-time teachers or part-time learners. Many learn yoga with distance learning. According to Yoga Australia, you need to take 350 hours of yoga teacher training to become a fully registered member of the yoga association. Yoga certification refers to completing a specific training program according to the standards of that particular school. Registration is a license to set up a yoga studio in your country.

See Best Recommendations For 200 YTT Australia and Best 200 and 500 hours Teacher Training in India.

10. Have Patience

Opening a yoga business demands patience. You are not going to earn profits right away. As you know, each set-up needs time to grow and expand. For the first few months or even years, you will likely be investing quite a lot of money into the business’s start-up costs, such as studio rental, equipment, and teachers, but you won’t be profiting too much.

Slowly, as you build your strong clientele and business foundation, making many sacrifices and working long hours, you will bear the fruits. 

11. Be Committed

Dreaming of being an entrepreneur is quite a serious business. You have to stay focused on your goals and be committed to providing your service to your customers. You need to do lots of hard work and have a strong mind. Be dedicated to your Yoga practices and to your clients as well. Being honest about your business will make it shine in the end.

12. Have a Welcoming Attitude

Your yoga clients look upon you and find you as their mentor. Yoga is not like any other business, which is free from emotions. You have to form a welcoming attitude towards your clients. Please make yourself available to them whenever they want to speak to you in or after class.

They are learning something from you, and they have many questions to ask as kids. Be prepared to answer all their queries. Never hurt their feelings or ignore your students. Remember, you are earning because of them.

Finally, trust your journey of starting a new yoga business and reap the fruits of your hard work.

See also

How Much Should I Charge For An Online Yoga Class?
What You Should Know Before Buying a Yoga or Pilates Studio for Sale in Australia?
5 Ways to Offer More Professional Online Classes as a Yoga Teacher