Yoga Business

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I’m curious to know. 

How are you staying in touch with your yoga tribe?

You do know the importance of staying in touch with your yoga tribe for your yoga business right?

If not, allow me to explain…

The thing is, we all like to stay abreast of what’s going on with our favourite people and interests.

You, being a yoga teacher are a favourite person for many people. 

So they want to know what’s going on…   What is going on with your teaching…  What is going on in the world of yoga…  What your current thoughts and insights are. 

Why do you think twitter and facebook are so popular?

But it not only keeps you connected to your current tribe, it helps you attract new students, a bigger tribe…

How?

Think about these two scenarios.  You find a website with a teacher offering something you want to try out, but it looks like their website hasn’t been updated since inception.  There is no news, no blog, no twitter, no facebook.

The second website has again a teacher offering something that you want to try out.  Both are pretty much equal on this level.

But there is a big difference with the second teacher’s website. 

They have a blog.  It is updated.  Daily.  It gives you all the latest insights that comes into the teachers mind.  It informs you about upcoming events in the yoga world.  News and announcements are made here. 

Not only this, but this teacher also has a twitter account connecting you to their tribe and other interesting yoga information and events. 

This teacher looks good.  Really good.  They know whats going on, and now so do you, as they are sharing all of it with you.

Who would you pick?

Its not a hard choice.

Obviously you would go with the teacher who knows what’s going on and is sharing all of it with you.

So back to the question.

How are you staying in touch with your tribe?

Do you have a blog on your website that is updated at least weekly?  Do you have a twitter or facebook account connecting you and your tribe?

Do your yoga tribe a favour and think about how you can inform and connect with them, and in doing this be of better service to them.  Again it is a win win situation.  A win for your tribe and a win for your yoga business.

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Remaining on the theme of mind set and yoga business success is another ingredient to add to the cake of success.

While it is obviously important to have your end goal and objectives clear, in order to reach them it is important to understand the art of small.

The art of small steps that is.

While it is exiting to define our big end goals and our big objectives for our yoga business, actually thinking about what we need to do to get there can be a little overwhelming. 

This is a natural reaction, because if we are to think of all that hard work, blood, sweat and tears we need to invest in order to conquer our objective it can seem exhausting at the simple thought of it all!

Here is where small steps are extremely useful.

If you can map out all the small steps that you need to take in order to reach your yoga business objective, the big end goal doesn’t seem so overwhelming.

The end goal can be broken down into smaller phases, segments or actions.  These smaller phases can then be subdivided again. 

This pretty much works for many business and also non business objectives.  If you can turn what you need to do into a process with steps it makes it all the easier.

These smaller steps can then be actioned a little at a time. 

Day by day. 

Step by step. 

Little by Little.

Charting your progress is also a fantastic way to help you to stay on track with your actions and time and give you that sense of satisfaction by saying “I did it!” for what you needed to do in that day.

Tracking your progress keeps you motivated throughout the process and helps you to reach your final end goal.  Tracking your progress also helps track when you are falling behind and when you need to pull your socks up!

So start thinking about how you can make your yoga business goals and objectives easier for yourself. 

Break them down. 

Create a process. 

Chart your actions and track your progress. 

In time by simply working through the small steps you will see how little effort it involves to reach your objective.  With consistency and continuity you will find that in time the process and small steps almost take a life of their own and walk by themselves.

Obviously you have to actually do the work but you will find it much easier by breaking it down with an easy and trackable process to follow to reach your yoga business goals.

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A big part of managing and creating success in a yoga business, any business in fact or indeed any new venture requires something we really don’t like.  That is, the mastering of the dips.

What are the dips?

Whenever you start doing or learning something new it goes through a series of phases or a process.

First phase is that of the start, the newness and some call it “the shiny”.  Everything is exiting and wonderful. 

We get that adrenalin high of the new, the start, the shiny.  A bit like shopping and buying new clothes!  We are full of enthusiasm and energy for our new venture.

The next phase is the plateau or the dip.  Reality has kicked in and the high has worn off. 

Now we realize that whatever it is we are doing we have to actually work!  Yes, we do actually have to do the hard grind, and get our butts working. 

It feels uncomfortable, uncoordinated (just think of learning a new asana) and a bit unpleasant to be honest.  Because we just don’t know exactly what it is when we start doing something new.

We also realize that whatever it is we are doing or learning is going to inevitably take work, commitment and time to achieve.

However this is not what modern society wants.  We all want quick fix, fast and done yesterday.  However, in reality, when it comes to anything worthwhile, it takes time, energy and commitment and work.

What is the use of knowing about the dips for your yoga business?  It means that when you know about the dip, you can start to learn how to manage your dips. 

Just knowing about this process in itself and being aware of it can bring us many rewards.  If we are aware of the cycle and the process we can then recognize where we are in it.

Then once the newness of starting a yoga business or a new business endeavor wears off, we will know what to expect.   We will be prepared for the “after high” reality once the shine has worn off and the reality of the hard work ahead of us has set in.  We will know that the next phase is putting in the time, work and energy to realize our goals and vision.

Being prepared in knowing about the dips means you will be less likely to quit when the going gets tough.  You will have awareness of the cycle and process to know that quitting is not necessarily the way forward.

Also you will be aware of the upside after the dip.  Because the good news is, after some time in the dip, comes a spurt of growth, a realization, an insight, some from of a return on your investment on time, energy and commitment.  And you will feel a renewal, more energy, proud of yourself for learning or achieving something in your overall process.

So in order to reach your yoga business objectives, understand your process and especially the dips to support you on your journey.  Make a commitment to ride out the dips when they get tough to ensure you don’t quit and instead realize your vision of a successful yoga business.

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Following on from my last article I would like to speak about something else related to the inner construction of our reality that is fundamental to the success of your yoga business.

That is the mind set you are operating from.  I know to say you need to have a positive mind set, may sound like an obvious and simple thing for a yoga teacher. 

After all, we train our bodies, minds and energy.  But this needs to also be applied to the way we think and interact when we manage our yoga business.  It is like we put our yoga business on the mat too.

Having a positive mind set when running any business is crucial.  When I say positive, just to be clear I don’t mean, being naive and ignoring problems as is sometimes the case in the spiritual world where one must not look or think about things that are seemingly negative.

No, we are spiritual beings but we are also living in matter and therefore we can have problems in both the spiritual and material world if we are even going to divide it in such a way.  It is not about ignoring reality.

But it is about how we choose to look at reality.  We can’t choose all of the events that come to us but we do have the choice of how we perceive the events and interact with reality.

Having a positive mind set here goes a long way to cultivate yoga business success.

Normally when problems arise there can be a tendency, a natural tendency to get frustrated, angry, scared, irritated or even run away and not deal with it.  But problems do arise in business and they need to be dealt with.

Having a positive attitude would mean that when a problem occurs, instead of getting reactive, ignoring it or running away from it we may want to soften up, breath, relax into the situation (just like an asana!) and ask ourselves:

“What is the opportunity for me to learn from this situation?”

or

“What is the teaching for me in this situation?”

Your inner wise person will hold the answers for you.  These answers can be integrated into your life and business practice.   It is a path of growth off the mat.

Granted, it is not always easy.  And for sure it takes practice.  But as yoga teachers we have the added advantage of awareness from years of yoga practice.  Awareness is the first step.

Once you start interacting this way in the world with reality, doors start to open, relationships change, the reality itself changes.

So orientate your your mindset into a positive one that facilitates the success of your yoga business.

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It goes without saying that attitude is everything.  The way we think, the thoughts we have, the actions we take all help shape our reality.  As yoga teachers we are certainly aware of this and teach this.

The same goes for our yoga business.  The attitudes we have help shape the outcome of our yoga businesses.

Do we have successful, thriving businesses that are fulfilling or do we have businesses where we are struggling to get by?

That’s a question we all need to look at in order to start creating successful businesses.  This question is one that is closely related to our relationship to money.  That dirty word.  Money.  Sometimes difficult for those working in the “spiritual world”.

Actually, frankly, I don’t see why it is dirty.  The way I see it is that money represents a form of energy, just like health, or happiness or vitality or connection with others and relationships.

It is the way it is used that makes it dirty or clean.  If we are going to look at it in such terms.  Like anything, like any instrument.  An instrument can be used for good or evil.  It is a choice of how it is used by whom is using the instrument.

Going back to the energy.  Money is a form of energy which we have a relationship to.  So we can evaluate our relationship to money and see firstly what our attitude is to money and then how this attitude is effecting our life.

Ask yourself.  What do you think money is?  How do you feel about money?  What is your relationship to money?

This is the first step.

Once you have an understanding of what your attitudes are then you can analyze and change if you consider it necessary.

Is your attitude to money one that will support the outcome of your business and help you realize your goals?  For example, is your attitude to money one where you believe it is something that everyone including yourself can have abundance with or do you think having an abundance of money is reserved to the elite few or do you think its just downright nasty and we as spiritual beings should be having none of it?

Understand what your attitudes and feelings to money are.

Then look at your business objectives.  Is your aim for a profitable business that pays the bills and more? Or is your objective to receive no money whatsoever and be in debt and heading for bankruptcy?

Now look at your feelings and attitudes towards money and the objectives of your business.  Is there alignment?
For example perhaps your business objective is for a yoga business with an abundance of profit to
support your lifestyle.  But perhaps you think you are not worthy of receiving an abundance of money. 

Here lies the problem.  There is not an alignment, a coherence within your reality construct.  Meaning your beliefs, attitudes and feelings are not aligned to your desired objectives.  If you want abundance in your business, feeling that you are worthy of and want abundance are key.

Here is where change needs to occur if you want to achieve your desired outcome.  The attitudes and feelings need to be changed for them to support and thus create and manifest your objective.

Being yoga teachers we are not new to changing things – we change our body, our mind and our soul every time we hit the mat and hopefully off the mat too.  After all this is what the practice of yoga is all about – transformation. 

If you find your objectives and attitudes are not in alignment, to your business goals, work the transformational power of yoga on yourself.  Find a way to change your attitudes and feelings to be in alignment with that of your yoga business objectives which is hopefully for that of a successful yoga business in whichever way you desire.

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Recently I talked about the strategy of having a distribution platform by way of an online yoga shop for yoga teachers and yoga business owners.  I talked about how a yoga shop is a platform to distribute your own content and products and others products and why this is providing a benefit and service to your yoga tribe.

I’m going to take a step back however and address the fundamentals of the importance of having an online presence, meaning having a website as a yoga business owner.

Essentially, in a nutshell, a website is crucial to letting the world know you exist.  Having a website is similar to being in the yellow pages, but in the online space instead.  But having a website and being on the internet is much much more.  A website is a tool that you can use to leverage your yoga business.

But stepping back again to fundamentals.  Without an online presence all the budding yogi’s searching for a yoga teacher, yoga information or yoga class in your area will be missing you.  You will not be connecting.

The internet is the tool of today that people use to people search for whatever they need in life be it shopping, information, holidays or yoga classes. Through searching on the internet, people find what it is they are looking for.

So essentially without a website presence you are missing out on students because you do not have a presence in the online space.  Yoga students searching for a teacher will not find you.

When you do have a presence in the online space, ie a website, it means that not only can  potential students find you, but all the information they will need to know about your classes is there for them to read at their leisure. 

Your website should contain information on what you teach, such as what style or tradition and ideally a bio too so that potential students can get a feel for who you are and what your motivations are for teaching.

All your schedules should also be on your website for students, new and regular to refer to as and when they need.  This means all class schedules, all course information and retreat dates and all other event information.

Having all this information in once space not only shows professionalism but it also saves time.  You can directly refer students to all the information they will need instead of having lengthy conversations about logistics.  Students can then read this in their own time and then come back with any questions they may have.

Enhancing your business even further, there are many more strategies to harness the power of a website.  Above are really the fundamentals.  One way of taking your website a step further is to harness the technological evolutions of video and podcasts to create something extra special for your yoga business online.

More on this to come…

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As a yoga teacher are you providing the service of a yoga shop to your students?

I know there will be many teachers thinking, “urgh, I don’t want to be selling yoga products!”  But actually this can be a highly valuable service that you can provide to your students based on your years of experience.

Firstly, as a yoga teacher with your many years of experience you have tried out those different types of mats, props, belts, neti pots and yoga clothes.  You know what works for you, what doesn’t work, what you like and what you don’t like. 

Students are always wanting to know the best way of doing something by learning from your mistakes and not having to make mistakes at their own expense.

Secondly, a student may want to purchase an identical copy of what you are using in class – the same type of mat and bag, or the same props.  This makes it a lot easier for students to purchase direct from you rather than hunt around on the web or in the shops.

I know for myself this was true as this was the route I first took when I needed my first yoga mat and bag.  I was grateful to my then teachers for sorting this out for me by selling me a mat and bag.  I didn’t have a clue back then.  It took the hassle away for me of knowing what to buy, where to buy it and the time I would need to do it.

Some yoga products that you use might even be hard to find and not available in traditional yoga centers and yoga shops.   For example, if you are a user of the VisionMat or a particular hand woven cloth mat, these are not easy to source.  Again it makes it easier for your students and takes the hassle away from them and allows them to get on with the important thing – getting on with their practice.

A yoga shop also gives you a platform to sell your own content.  Whatever your content is, be it lessons, courses or seminars you can distribute and sell your content in the form of yoga cds, dvds, yoga books, yoga cards and anything else.  Students are always keen to get hold of their teachers material so they can enhance their practice and practice on their own.

There are several options to having a yoga shop depending on your circumstances.  If you have a studio, you can sell physical items in your studio.  But you should also consider an online yoga shop which obviously gives you a much wider audience. 

An online yoga shop is also a great way to provide the service without needing the physical space to do so.  An online yoga shop acts as a distribution platform to provide yoga products.  So if you are a yoga teacher who freelances in different studios or you don’t have your own studio this is the perfect solution.

Having an online yoga shop to supply your students makes you more professional and organized than the teacher teacher who doesn’t and the student has to go hunting and wasting time trying to find the products. 

An online yoga shop is an excellent strategy for your yoga business.  Not only does it give you an additional stream of income but it also provides that extra service for your students and provides you with a distribution platform for yoga products including your own content.

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