Liz Krieger is an editor and
writer in Brooklyn who specializes in
health and wellness.The ins and outs of real estate
Your studio won’t be successful if it’s not in the right space, says Maria Turco,
founder of Honor Yoga Studios in New Jersey. She handles the leases for all
11 of her studio locations and off ers this checklist of must-dos (and don’ts) for
selecting your building and analyzing your lease.
You need a lease that costs you no more than 20 percent of your revenue.
In an expensive market like Santa Barbara, this can be diffi cult, but it should
be accounted for in your business plan and in the amount you borrow from
investors or take as a loan.
During negotiations, talk about a tenant improvement allowance,
which means the landlord improves the space before you move in. At the
very least, you should get what’s called a vanilla shell—an empty space with
working heat and air conditioning that only needs paint, fl oor furnishings,
and fi xtures.
Take your measuring tape (and maybe your yoga mat!) because when
it comes to yoga studios, the magic width of the room is 20 feet. We want
to get one person for every 30–35 square feet, so a smaller space
of 600 square feet can accommodate about 15–20 people. If your business
plan calls for that number of students per class, make sure you can
accommodate!
Don’t underestimate the importance of parking. If there’s no adequate
parking nearby, do what it takes to make it easier. Perhaps your landlord has
a garage that you can negotiate a parking validation program with. Or get a
parking lot lease from a neighboring business, such as a bank or a restaurant.
Be wary of giving a personal guarantee on the lease, which means you’re
open to being sued for your home or investments if the business fails. Ask for
no guarantee. If that fails, ask about off ering a line of credit or putting up more
money up front—or even adding a “a good guy clause,” which essentially
says that you’d vacate the space pronto in the event of the studio closing.
Ask for an assignability clause in your lease, which allows your lease
terms to transfer to another owner in case you want to sell your business.
This turns your lease into an asset instead of a liability, because you’ll be
able to sell it to a buyer who then will not have to renegotiate until the lease
terms come due.
Your best bet is to sign a fi ve-
year lease with two or three 5- or
10-year options. If your business
succeeds, you’ll want to be in that
space for a while. But if you think
that you may want to increase
your space soon, try for a two-
year lease with additional
5-year options.continued from page 6
connect and share information with stu-
dents, but it can be a huge time suck. They
should plan ahead for social posts and
choose key conversations to have online
that reinforce their brand,” she says.
But before owners even get to all of
those marketing to-dos, the crux of their
marketing will depend on how simply and
clearly they can again answer the question,
“What does your studio stand for and what
is its purpose?” says Taylor. “This is the roof
of your building, so to speak.” In the case of
MindShift Studio, they do seem quite clear
on what the company is and what it plans
to do, she notes. “However, people don’t
buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
I’d urge them to make potential customers
really understand why MindShift Studio is
vital, why brain health matters to athletes—
both casual and competitive, injured and
noninjured. You need to communicate that
brain health is for everyone.” Since healthy
athletes are a part of their business model,
they have to clearly answer the “why”
aspect in marketing eff orts.
And marketing is not just getting press
or making sure people know about classes,
it’s about every person in the company—
from the front desk to the teachers in each
room—being able to articulate the studio’s
mission. They are the ambassadors for the
brand, and when they fi eld a phone call or
speak about the studio, they need to do so
in the most convincing way.
And fi nally, Taylor recommends that all
new studio owners be realistic and patient.
It probably won’t all happen as fast as
they’d like, and it may take a while to get a
lot of people through the door—often up to
two years, she says.
YOGAJOURNAL.COM / 8 / FEBRUARY 2018
Maria TurcoCOURTESYOF MARIATURCO