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Claire M, by emailTrue story
I just wanted to write and say that I found the article ‘Advice to My
Younger Self’ a great read (issue 78, November 2017). It resonated
so well with me as a teacher, and the advice given was spot on
about the joys and disappointments of running classes. I am a fairly new yoga
teacher and wish I had been given all this information during my training, I’m
sure it would have helped me not lose faith in why I chose to teach. Love the
magazine and I always look forward to my monthly fix – thank you!
JanetOM Letters, Prime Impact Events & Media,
Park House, The Business Centre, Earls Colne
Business Park, Colchester CO6 2NSWhat you said
about us on
social mediaom beginnings
Started the day with a lazy
lie-in, my favourite magazine
and a big mug of tea. Self care
is important and sometimes we
need to relax and recharge our
batteries. I’m ready for the day
now! Have a beautiful Sunday
yogis, whatever you’re doing.
yogaoneshropshireLazy Sunday evening. Yoga
reading and chocolate
josephina142What I wish someone had told me when I started to teach yoga. By Claudia BrownTe acher zoneW
hen I was doing my yoga teacher training I didn’t
plan to be a teacher. Sounds odd? I just fancied the challenge
and wanted to learn more about yoga. I began flirting with the idea of running a little
some yoga. I didn’t know that three years class when friends and colleagues asked if I would be teaching as they wanted to do
later I would be a full time yoga teacher and running my own yoga business.
and run a class ‘for fun’. I had my rose-tinted glasses on at that point. In the movie, After I qualified, I decided to hire a room
Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner’s character says, “Build it and they will come ...” and I envisaged flocks of yogis pouring through
the doors for my classes. Here’s what I know now:
First lesson: Schedule classes to suit you (the
teacher) not the publicWhat? That can’t be right? Running yoga classes is a ‘service’ industry? Well, yes,
however the service provider (in this case you, the yoga teacher!) may deliver the class but people don’t always come even though
they promise they will. When I first startedteaching I drove myself mad trying to deliver what people were asking for in terms of the
start times and day of the week for classes. want to come to your class. But life gets in People mean well, they really do - they
the way. The car breaks down, a child is sick, the dog is sick, the husband is sick...I could go on. Class attendance numbers will always
not worth running classes. January: best month of the year for class attendance and be a variable. August and December: almost^
that’s a fact even though it’s a cliché.After spending a small fortune on room
hire putting on three classes a week at different times, I was running classes to pay the room hire. I realised this was not the
way forward. Two classes in one night, three classes in total in three days – my body took about six months to get used to it. I cut two
week at a time that suited me. And I moved of the classes and went back to one class a
the class to a cheaper venue. The start time and number of classes needs to suit you and your lifestyle, otherwise you get fed up
very quickly.Second lesson:
Don’t pay crazy room hire chargesTouched on in the first lesson. Room hire
can kill your profit when running a class,Advice... ...to my
younger
selfand if you are unlucky you end up paying to run a class. When I first started I ran clawhere nobody turned up. Thankfully it only sses
happened twice but I still had to pay the room hire. Unless you don’t need to make money (great if that’s the case!) then shop
around for venues and ask for a deal – they can always say no! Free rooms do exist. I
they know of anywhere (ask verbally or use social media), it’s amazing who and what found them. Ask friends and colleagues if
people know.Third lesson:
cI moved away from a career in local government to become a yoga teacher. lasses = admin
I thought I’d be spending less time at my computer and more time in Downward Dog.
aware of the time it takes to do the admin – mainly bookings, chasing up bookings, If you are running lots of classes then be
processing cancellations and carrying over payments, invoices and paying bills. Yes, you can use a booking system but when you
are starting up this is cost prohibitive. All of a sudden, every email is a possible income
source, so be on the ball, and remember to check your junk mail as work emails sometimes sneak in there.OM_78.indd 142 03/10/2017 11:43:37 143
Te acher zone
Fourth lesson: classes are not how you make a
living as a full-time yoga teacherThis is it. The crux of the whole ‘I am a full-time yoga teacher.’ Classes are not how yo
make a living. Classes are pocket money. Classes alone don’t pay the mortgage/u
bills/childcare/car/holidays. Classes feed into everything else that you are running which bring in more income – private tuition,
working with corporate clients, retreats, workshops, teacher trainings. Classes are essential but they are not the main game
if you want to be a full-time yoga teacher. I know some teachers who run 10, 14, even
profitable ways of making a living as a yog18 classes a week. They burn out quickly. Trust me, there are better, easier and more
teacher. I worked this out early enough so that when I decided to make the leap into a
teaching full-time I already had a number of yoga-based income streams.
Fifth lesson: i am running a business. My product is yoga
Yoga is your product. I see a lot of part-time Like it or not, if you are a self-employed yoga teacher, you are a business owner.
yoga teachers who have full-time jobs and can’t see how they can make the transition
into the full-time yoga world. If you are going to make the change then basic business rules apply. Even if you don’t want to be ‘full
time yoga’, you can still apply basic business models to your class and make it profitable.
cDon’t work for buttons Sixth lesson: harge what you are worth.
(chocolate or otherwise)Oh the number of times people (mainly
who work in the private or public sector) think yoga teachers work for nothing or for copper coins. As a self-employed yoga
teacher I am not a charity. I have paid a lot of money for my training, I continue to pay for continuous professional development, I
deserve to be paid what I am worth. am good at what I do and I have outgoings. I
growth industry, and I have had many approaches from local companies asking ‘Wellness’ in its widest sense is a huge
me to run yoga classes and workshops for their staff. If you take on corporate clients, behave as if you are a training agency- charge a good hourly rate and ask for payment up front and be clear on your
days in local government that some trainers are getting over £1,000 a day so don’t cancellation policy. I remember from my
charge £20 an hour for your services. If you are running a weekly class for a company,
make sure part of the deal is that they do the admin for the bookings, not you. With my own classes, I worked out very
quickly that most of the people who wanted to come to my classes were time poor
not money poor. My classes were priced competitively in comparison to other local classes, but whether I was £1 or £3 deareror £1.75 cheaper was not an issue for 99% of the people who came to class. If my class fitted into their schedule then they came t
class. Pricing my classes at £7.50 instead of £8 an hour doesn’t make a difference. Also, o
if you are going to take cash payments and you charge £7.75 be prepared to carry a lot of change around. Keep the pricing simple,
time and effort having to carry around lots work in pounds not pence, preferably paper money not coins, and it will save you a lot of
of small change, trust me!
Seventh lesson: Hours vs poundsBe clear on your most profitable income
stream. I have only very recently (I’ll admit it, last week!) sat down and worked out exactly where my income vs hours worked
wanted to know the bottom line – what is the comes from in each area of my business. I
most profitable income stream for the least amount of hours worked. I already had a really good idea about this, but when I looked
at the actual figures it provided me with a clear focus on which income streams to further develop over the next 6 to 12 months.
epyou areighth lesson: eople need to know where
If people are going to come to your class or workshop or retreat they need to know about it. This is not a paragraph on
marketing top tips or using social media. The gold for me is Facebook advertising.
I only discovered this recently but one thing I wish I had started using when I first began teaching. It’s easy to do, it’s very
in terms of who has looked at it, their age competitively priced, and they also provide you with very useful insights on your advert
and location.Ninth lesson: lSelf-care is so important, and is also ook after yourself
becoming very popular in the media. You need to look after yourself properly. If you
your students may question if yoga is good look like you haven’t slept for a week and you are stressed out and on your last nerve,
for your health! You are your own advert. or four months I need a week off from doing Rest your body. I know that every three
yoga as old injuries start to flare up or I start to get new ones. I’m 45 and I know that
my body is changing, my energy levels are decreasing and if I am going to continue to teach yoga on a full-time basis I have to take
that I am no longer 25. Try at least one day a week where you don’t do any physical care of myself. And I’ve had to sadly accept
asana as this works for me; maybe you don’t need to but listen to your body.
from computers, mobile phones and social media and I also get to the point where You also need mental rest, stepping away
I just don’t want to say inhale, exhale, or forward fold for a few days. Teaching can be mentally tough, especially if you are tired or
so if you are having a bad time it is much stressed. You are ‘on show’ when you teach^
harder to deliver a class and engage fully with your students, and it can also become exhausting. Time out gives you a chance
to recharge your batteries so take this into account when you are doing your weekly or monthly schedule.
What? This whole article has been about Tenth lesson: Work for nothing
making money! Yes, but as a small businesowner, I decide when I want to work for s
nothing. I’ve run charity events, I’ve given people free classes when I know they can’t afford to pay, I’ve given free classes /
private tuition/places on retreats as raffle prizes for local fundraisers. I will continue to do so because I like doing it.
How much are printer cartridges?Oh how I wish someone had told me how Bonus lesson:
many printer cartridges I would use and how much they would cost me! I did my financial
projections, but I really underestimated on printer cartridges. However many you think you will need, times it by 10 at least!
Claudia Brown is a writer and yoga^
(yogabyclaudia.com)teacher based in the Staffordshire areayogis pouring through “I envisaged flocks of
the doors for my classes. Here’s what I know now.”OM_78.indd 143 03/10/2017 11:43:[email protected]facebook.com/ommagazinetwitter.com/OMYogaMagazineinstagram.com/omyogamagazinesnapchat.com/add/omyogamagazineperiscope.tv/omyogamagazineYou can also find us on
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