What is your passion in life? If your answer is “yoga,” then you are in the right place. Perhaps you started other types of businesses, or maybe this will be your first endeavor. Creating a yoga business will be different from other businesses in many ways. If you never created a business before, fear not, because your journey to creating a yoga business .
Why? Yoga is so much more than fitness, flexibility, and strength. Yoga is a way of living in the world. Yoga is a perspective of joining your inner world and outer world. Yoga also lays the foundation for living your dharma — your purpose.
Creating any business can be challenging, but creating a yoga business can be even more arduous. You want to create what you are, what you believe in, and what you want to see in the world. Yoga is not a product, nor is it a quick fix. A yoga business is a long-term commitment to living and sharing your dharma.
Let me begin by sharing my journey of creating my yoga therapy business, the resources I used, what seemed to work, and what didn’t work for me.
My passion for yoga started in 1971, when I learned about asana, the posture limb of yoga. I also started transcendental meditation during this same period in my life. I experienced trauma early in my life, and yoga gave me a way of coping, growing, and healing. I dug deep into the teachings of yoga and over the years I became certified as an iRest Yoga Nidra Meditation teacher, certified yoga teacher, and then a C-IAYT certified yoga therapist. I also became a Reiki Master and a therapeutic massage therapist.
My massage business took off in 1999. My passion for yoga redirected my focus to create Veda Yoga Therapy LLC, in 2008. Although yoga therapy differs as a business from a yoga business, I think the fundamentals of how I moved forward with it will work with any type of yoga business.
First and foremost, ask yourself what part of yoga you are most passionate about. This will begin your process of developing your “niche.” Knowing your niche will give you a road map of how you will begin. Creating a spreadsheet of your areas of interest in yoga can be helpful for you to begin to categorize and narrow down your passions and, more importantly, the areas you would like to grow.
You can begin by listing all of the aspects of yoga you really love. We all know yoga requires more than the asana (posture) practice. Yoga contains eight limbs and your business could focus on any one of them, or perhaps several interest you. Let your heart sing as you write down all of the pieces of yoga that call to you.
The next step is to look at your list and think about who you most want to share your knowledge with. You want to get very specific, categorizing the type of personal identities you identify with, their age, what they like to do for fun, where they work, what they read, and what they follow on the internet.
Now you are ready to connect with your avatar-perfect client. As you connect, perhaps by meditating on them, begin to identify their potential body/mind/spirit challenges. Visualize them in their state of unease. Add all of this to your spreadsheet. Take a look at the limbs of yoga you are passionate about and, in the third column, write down what effect your yoga will have on their specific concerns. You now have a before and after picture of your avatar.
This piece of pre-work for creating your business takes some time. Be open to changes in your initial plan. Your plan may change as you move along the process, so be gentle with yourself and allow your inner voice to guide you.
Finding my niche was a process. With so many interests I felt passionate about, my niche didn’t speak directly to anyone at first. Since I am an aging woman, my niche now focuses on women 45+, with the focus of staying healthy and balanced as we age. I can incorporate all the knowledge I gathered over the years to help women stay balanced and pain free, as well as find joy.
Once you narrow your niche and feel ready to market your passion, create another column on your spreadsheet with specifics on where your potential clients hang out on the internet, Facebook, Pinterest, blogs, and podcasts. List specific health concerns of your potential clients, and this will lead you to a specific health issue group. One example, you may find is a group for postpartum depression. Try to be as specific as possible about the type of client you would like to work with and the issues they might face.
Upon completing your client avatar, your next question is how you like to communicate:writing, speaking, video, networking, volunteering, or some other way—include any or all. Once clear about what you enjoy, you can then put together your marketing plan.
Another question for your consideration:What would you like to name your business? Many yogis and yoginis use their names. This has pros and cons, and when you create another name for your business, you can easily and inexpensively create an LLC to protect your assets. A business name provides a clear definition of what you offer and who you are as an individual. But if you morph into another area too far different from the business name you created, you will need to backtrack. Additionally, you want to keep your personal page separate from your business on social media for many reasons.
Creating your avatar can help you find your business name. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- What are your interests?
- What element do you resonate with: water, fire, air, ether?
- What are your favorite colors?
- What is your favorite music?
- What is your dharma definition in a few words? Mine was “knowledge = Veda.”
- What stone resonates with you?– (Mine was turquoise.)
- What is your favorite place to vacation?
- Anything else that defines you?
With your avatar, you can start listing any names that come to mind. Then ask your “people” their favorite ones. Next comes your logo, should you want one. A logo helps in marketing as it starts your branding creation. You are your “brand” and your brand is what you are marketing. Your logo also helps identify you quickly in many marketing areas.
A side note here about marketing in general for yogis: many don’t resonate with the idea. Some feel it fails to align with their dharma or feel they aren’t good at it or want to do it. I reconcile marketing with the fact that the busy world out there has lots of information. How can you get your passion out there and help people if they don’t know you exist?
The next question is whether or not to create a website. Again, it’s the way of the world and allows you to showcase your passion and reach people. Many website builders exist out there. If you like to write/blog, WordPress is a good one. I use Wix and find it easy to learn with many bells and whistles as you develop your business.
Once you have all of the above figured out, what next?
Here are some ideas connecting with your ideal client:
- Develop your “elevator” pitch. Your elevator pitch is what you say when you meet a stranger and they ask what you do. The pitch is succinct and rolls off your tongue easily. It’s a good idea to try out your pitch on as many friends as possible to nail it.
- Join groups of your interest that pertain to your business and where your ideal client may be.
- Write articles for magazines.
- Find a podcast that may interview you.
- Volunteer in your area of interest.
- Use the internet: blogs, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc.
- Talk to anyone and everyone you meet about your business; you never know what that connection will create.
A lot goes into creating your yoga business, and you will have days you feel overwhelmed. When that happens, step away and take some time to reconnect with yourself in nature. You are on your path, and once you step your toe on your path, there is no getting off. Your path is who and what you are.
Above all, remember: “You are the light that the world needs more of.”
Namaste,
Lisa
Below are some links to various companies I used and liked.
Website: www.wix.com
Website builder: Kate Tracy
Website manager: www.hyphenagecon-sulting.com
Devin C Vanderschaaf email: dcvan-derschaaf@gmail.com
If you blog, here is a free site to help you find keywords to use: https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest
Neil also has a lot of free blogs and good information on how to get your website ranked high on his main site www.neilpatel.com.
Accounting: www.quickbooks.com is an easy online accounting program.
If you are looking for help in presenting yourself in videos, Bobbie Jo has some great programs
If you are looking for more help on how to get clear about your Dharma or how to move forward with your new business, I would be happy to help. lisa@vedayogatherapy.com
Lisa Fecarotta is a Certified I-AYT Yoga therapist, Certified iRest Yoga Nidra instructor, massage therapist, Reiki Master and the owner and founder of Veda Yoga Therapy, located in Minneapolis, MN.
