If you’re looking to plan out the next steps of your yoga studio, there are many decisions that you need to make—including creating your business plan and making sure you pick the right business model for your yoga studio. But what do you need to do to create that business model, and how can you plan ahead?
When creating your business plan, you must consider your business models for your yoga studio. Options include working at a studio, opening your own studio, creating a home studio, or teaching online. These models affect the writing of your business plan, namely in your location, your budget, your marketing strategy, your programming, and your staffing.
Your business plan and your business model are inextricably linked, and in most cases, must be developed together. Read on to find out more about what models you can develop and how you can turn it into a business plan.
Types of Business Models for a Yoga Studio
Before you truly delve into creating your business plan, you need to create your business model. Before you do that, though, you need to understand your options in starting your own yoga studio. There are several ways you can go about starting your business, including:
- Working at a studio. While this is one of your easiest options, at least to start out, it is also a lack of control on your part. You are an employee to another yoga instructor or company, and you do not have the ability to make most business decisions. If you’re just starting out, though, and want more experience in the industry, this is a great way for you to begin.
- Start your own studio. This is the track that most new yoga instructors take if they are stepping out of the field of working in a studio and want to branch out and start their own. Most business plan decisions will revolve around this business model.
- Create a home studio. If you’re looking to keep costs low and want to stay at home, there is the option of creating your own home studio. While this still falls under the category of starting your own, many choices about space will be different, as you will be having your classes within your home or a space you already own.
- Teach online. While still technically “your own studio”, teaching online has become increasingly popular. You still need your own space, but make sure you invest in technology and marketing if this is the way you want to go.
How to Use Your Business Model to Write a Business Plan
There are many steps to take to write your business plan, and each one of those steps may shift depending on your business model.
- Create your mission statement.
Why are you creating your yoga studio, and why are you using the business model that you are? What makes teaching online the best option for your chosen demographic, or how are you going to bring in students to your own yoga studio? Consider all the reasons why you want to start your business. State any direction you’d like to take with your business here, and make sure it’s something you can look back on in a decade and still stand by what you said. Business models aside, this is one of the most important guiding structures within your business plan as you navigate your new business.
- Create a list of goals and objectives.
While a mission statement is vaguer, your goals and objectives are a lot more specific. If you’re looking to start your own studio, consider making your goals something like number of students per class per month. If you’re teaching online, this can be converted to number of views. Make sure your business plan reflects your business model, especially in your goals—and if you decide to switch halfway through, make sure to edit your business plan to reflect those changes.
- Determine your market and find out how it affects you and your yoga studio.
This is one of the most defining parts of your business plan when it comes to your business model. For those seeking to work in their own studio, this data comes from the surrounding businesses, other yoga studios in the geographical area, and the demand in that community. For online businesses, it’s a completely different information segment—you should be considering any and all competition on the streaming website you’re using, like YouTube. Understand what they’re doing and what they’re providing, and what kind of demographic they’re bringing in. If you’re trying to teach yoga out of your home, consider the same information as you would if you were opening your own studio.
- Create your budget.
One of the most important parts of your business plan, there are many things to consider. If you’re starting out in your own studio or at home, you will need equipment like non-slip yoga mats, blocks, straps, etc. For those who need more staffing, consider whether you need office equipment. Depending on how you open your business, you may need licenses and permits, along with signage and marketing. A location, rent, monthly bills, and even renovations should be included in your budget if you’re opening a physical location. Not opening a new location and working from your home or online? Make sure you look up any potential licensure or regulations you might need in your state. Each state is different, and if you intend on bringing in a profit off of your online classes, you may need to follow a certain checklist to make sure you’re in compliance.
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- Create your marketing strategy.
As with any business, finding your best marketing strategy is key to bringing in those students. If you have a physical studio, you may find yourself marketing more within the area and putting up flyers or getting additional marketing through word of mouth. If you’re teaching online, your marketing should be primarily online through your website, your streaming platform, and your social media pages. Also consider your target demographic. How are they finding out about you? Lean into that strategy when marketing your studio to bring in more students.
- Consider your programming.
This section is also affected by your business model, as your classes depend on your location, your staffing, and what you can provide on your own. If you’re teaching within your own studio, your choices are infinite, as you can hire on teachers for various classes and difficulties. If you’re teaching at home or online, your classes are specifically tailored to your education and your interests. Make sure you add these to your business plan, along with if you’d like to expand into something more.
- Plan out your staffing.
This is another aspect that changes depending on your business model. If you’re opening your studio in your own space, you’re going to need a few employees to make sure your business runs smoothly. Consider how much education you would like them to have and what traits they should embody before hiring. Don’t be afraid to be picky, but also make sure you leave room to shift and grow. In this section, you should also list out who answers to whom and what their objectives and responsibilities are.
- Finish off with your executive summary.
This section doesn’t change with your business model and should be included at the start of your plan, but written at the end. Include an introduction and concise overview of your business, along with any brand highlights and why you want to open your business. What are your goals? What do you want out of your business? Outline some of the market information and why it is you want to start a yoga studio within that market, along with how your business model works within that market.
When you’re putting together your business plan based on your business model, there are many factors to consider and ones that change depending on what your yoga studio looks like to you. Remember that your business model, as you develop it, doesn’t have to stay the same—and it can also take many forms. You are not tied down to one specific business model and can do a combination of several. As long as you plan for it in the long run, you can decide to do it in whatever way you wish.
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Frequently Asked Questions
While the demographic shifts and changes depending on your physical location, if you have a in-person yoga studio, Most people practicing yoga are between 20 to 60 years old with enough disposable income to take a yoga class. This data might change depending on your physical location, your community, and even what types of classes you’re offering and whether they’re easier or more challenging.
There are many potential reasons that yoga studios fail, and most of them lie with poor planning. If you try to do everything by yourself or don’t have the right staff, your studio can go under. You should also make sure you treat it like a business instead of a hobby, make sure you have a tight budget, and find ways to both attract new customers and keep your existing customers. Not checking into the competition is another reason they fail, along with boring and inconsistent class schedules.
To learn more about starting your own Yoga Business check out my startup documents here.
Please note: This blog post is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult a legal expert to address your specific needs.
Meet Shawn Chun: Entrepreneur and Yoga Fan
I’m a happy individual who happens to be an entrepreneur. I have owned several types of businesses in my life from a coffee shop to an import and export business to an online review business plus a few more and now I create online yoga business resources for those interested in starting new ventures. It’s demanding work but I love it. I do it for those passionate about their business and their goals. That’s why when I meet a yoga business owner in public at a studio or anywhere else I see myself. I know how hard the struggle is to retain clients, find good employees and keep the business growing all while trying to stay competitive.
That’s why I created Yoga Business Boss: I want to help future yoga business owners like you build a thriving business that brings you endless joy and supports your ideal lifestyle.