STARTING OUT: DOES TEACHER
TRAINING SET YOU UP FOR RUNNING
YOUR OWN BUSINESS?
No, definitely not! They are very different
things to consider. I am very lucky, I am
also an accountant, and have run my own
accountancy business for 15 years, and
have also helped other small businesses
set up. It depends what you want. Being a
self-employed yoga teacher is one thing -
most people can do this, with a little bit of
organisation and a good accountant - but
setting up a large (or small) yoga studio is a
very different animal altogether.
Being a dedicated and passionate yoga
teacher is not all you need to set up a yoga
studio, unfortunately, so if you are not
accountancy minded, then ensure that you
get a reliable accountant, and know how
your business is doing monthly, or at least
quarterly. Waiting until your year-end is usually
too late to put right financial difficulties.
BUSINESS PLANS: DO YOU HAVE ONE?
I do indeed, I have had a five-year business
plan since setting the studio up. I planned
it so that I didn’t grow too quickly. It’s very
easy to charge less money, below your
worth, to sell lots of memberships, or use
Groupon, but I did not want this in my studio.
I have trained very hard, and put lots of
money into my teacher training, and I have
put lots of money into the studio; not only
that, the other teachers at the studio are
also very well trained. It is very important
that any business grows slowly and this
studio is no exception. Selling low prices,
and filling classes lessens the worth of the
teachers and the studio. Plus, there is a
danger of over-subscribed classes, and
people not being able to book on. I do not
want 50 people crammed into the studio:
that was never – nor will ever – be the
intention of the Yoga Bank. The magic of my
plan is exactly that - slow and steady growth.
IN THE FLOW: TOP MARKETING TIPS
This has been a massive learning curve to
me, and I have made a few mistakes, yes.
The biggest mistake was a leaflet drop fairly
early on when I set up, that cost me quite
a lot of money, with zero response. I have
been fortunate enough to have a friend who
is also a marketing director, and her advice
and input has been invaluable.
My advice: ensure you have a large
marketing budget, as it can make or
break a business, but crucially, know your
community...go out there in person, meet
your local businesses and the people who
live in your close proximity.SOCIAL MEDIA
My daughter Jenny runs my social media
campaigns. We use Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram. But if you do use social media,
ensure that you attend to it regularly,
and don’t just advertise your classes and
workshops; people soon get turned off by
that. Add in things of value to your target
audience, posts on meditation, inspiring
pictures and quotes. Plus, I have found that
my ‘personal’ posts do very well.WHAT’S YOUR NICHE?
I like to ‘theme’ my classes and workshops,
down to the food that I supply, the oils and
aromatherapy, and the music - everything
is thought out to the last, tiny detail. I want
to give as much value to my students and
teachers as possible. From a class point of
view, I have always been a fan of stories,
and storytelling, so I love the myths of yoga,
Ganesh, Shiva, and I love teaching mythic
flow classes and workshops.TIPS & TRICKS: WHO DO YOU ADMIRE?
I admire Jason Crandell and Noah Maze,
they are both trail blazers and have
managed to keep their integrity whilst using
social media and advertising well.WHAT’S THE SECRET TO MAKING A
LIVING TEACHING YOGA?
It depends what you want from life. You
have to work very hard in the first five years
of any new business, and be prepared
to take little or no money, seven days a
week sometimes. If you want to be a self-
employed teacher (rather than a studio
owner), and you want to make a decent
living only doing this, then be prepared to
teach at least 10 classes a week, but then
also add workshops, and retreats. But,
it’s important to know your worth. I have
seen lots of discussions about teachers
charging little or no money for their classes,
or have them as donation-based. Whilst I
think giving back to your local community
is crucial, this is not the way to go about
it, and eventually it will mean the teacher
having to find other ways to make a living.HARDEST LESSON
Trying to get as much ‘training’ under your
belt as quickly as possible. I did over four
years with the British Wheel of Yoga, then
went straight to Yin training and Vinyasa
Flow the year after, then Oxford University
for yoga history and philosophy, then
mythic flow...I was exhausted! I would see
other teachers always off on trainings, and
I thought that I had to do the same. The
best way of becoming a great teacher is
to practice teaching. There is genuinely
no better way to improve and serve your
students and clients. When you do too many
different trainings with different teachers, it’s
hard to find your own authentic voice and
way of teaching.FUTURE TRENDS
I have seen the yoga ‘business’ grow
dramatically since I first started practicing
yoga, and explode with social media, which
has been both a blessing and a curse. I have
been genuinely surprised and thrilled to
see that the classes that are the busiest in
the studio are the meditation, beginner or
relaxation classes, as well as Hatha yoga. It
is the Vinyasa Flow classes now that are the
least well attended. People are moving away
from the more ‘yang’ style practices, back
to the most important aspects of yoga...
breathing, concentration, mudra, and so on.
And that is exactly what is needed in today’s
frenetic ‘yang’ lifestyles.Written and compiled by Claudia Brown
(yogabyclaudia.com)Te acher zone
“I like to ‘theme’ my
classes and workshops,
down to the food that
I supply, the oils and
aromatherapy, and the
music - everything is
thought out to the last,
tiny detail. I want to give
as much value to my
students and teachers
as possible.”