If you're anything like me, once you decided you were going to teach yoga, you were ready to hit the ground running.
You would teach anywhere and to anyone.
You might take on 1 private client, and 3 classes at 3 different studios, plus start to record classes.
The energy of just getting started and the excitement to teach to anyone who wants your services will take over.
But to build a sustainable business, one of the most important things to do is to take a step back & look at the big picture before you get down to the work.
It is the best way to ensure that the energy you have now is put into steps that will make your business work for the long term and build a solid foundation.
There are 3 things I suggest doing before you start your yoga business.
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Figure out the big picture - What do you want your business to look like? What are you trying to offer and what makes sense for the situation you are in right now? What is the big goal? Do you want to create an online platform so you have location independence? Do you want to be a private yoga instructor only? Do you want to build your own studio? Knowing the end goal will help you figure out
what the first steps to meet that plan are and keep you focused.
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Define what success means to you - For some of us, success means making a living full-time off of teaching yoga. For others, teaching independently on your own schedule is the ultimate goal. Before you set out on the crazy ride that is building a business, make sure you know what success means to you so you don't get lost in comparative mode, and you can pivot or plan better if you aren't meeting those goals. Defining what success means to you is so important so you can stay working in your own business for yourself, instead of being influenced by what is around you.
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Plan - Now that you have a pretty good idea of what you want to do and what a successful version of that plan will look like, tak
e the time to plan out the next year. I always suggest breaking it into the 4 quarters of the year and having a goal for each. For example, quarter one may be just about building a social media following so you are more focused on producing content, engaging with your community, and getting to know what they would want from you. Then maybe quarter 2 is about working with 1 on 1 clients or developing your first class schedule and so on. Breaking the year down into these smaller parts will keep you focused and help you better track what is working and what is not.
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As yoga teachers, we are so excited by the prospect of sharing our gift with the world that we can jump at any opportunity to teach. But building a sustainable business requires discipline in knowing what your goals are and what will help you meet those goals, which sometimes requires saying 'no'.
Clarity at the beginning of your business is one of the best things that you can do for yourself to conserve your time & energy and focus it on what you really want to do.
What is your big picture? I would LOVE to know!
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