Your passion for yoga has gained you a dedicated group of core followers, and things are going very well for your business—congratulations, you’ve hit your stride! Now you’d like to generate more revenue but aren’t sure how to reach new audiences. I’m going to give you pointers on how to do just that, so you can keep stretching toward your full potential!
To grow your yoga practice, include teaching classes online, partnering with complementary businesses, promoting your practice with outdoor classes, hosting classes for kids and catering to private individuals or groups.
Consider teaching online
One way to extend the reach of your practice is to offer classes online. It will take a little time to research which platform will work best for you, learn how to use the program, price and market your classes, but once you do, you will have created a new revenue stream.
Yoga teacher J. Brown told Yoga Journal, “I have been putting out my own video projects for last three years, and I’ve made more money off that than I did off of drop-in classes at my center.”
Have a look at existing online class offerings to determine which types of lessons you can teach that will help you stand out in the crowd. Because of the digital medium, you can get more creative with your presentation—learn how to edit visual effects into your online classes or consider offering some super-niche lessons that no one else has. It may take a few days to figure it all out, but once your videos are up, you can effectively be teaching two classes at once!
Yoga instructor Jessica Walsh told Yoga International, “Online yoga can help you reach more people without spreading yourself too thin. Invest a bit of work upfront, and your class can live online forever. There are many yoga teachers who already offer online classes, but don’t get discouraged—everyone brings something unique to the space.”
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Partner with complementary businesses
Identify what sort of businesses in your community have a clientele that overlaps with yours, and approach them about forming a partnership. Building a network with like-minded businesses is a win for your business, their business, and your mutual customers.
Allbusiness marketing writer Rieva Lesonsky says “Teaming up with businesses that have a similar customer base, but aren’t directly competitive, and then strategizing how you can market to one another’s customers to drive new business is a smart way to attract new customers while not spending a fortune.”
Some fantastic potential partnerships could be with massage therapists, chiropractors, acupuncture therapists and natural childbirth centers/doulas, health food stores, other independent fitness studios (“coopetition”), and private preschools (which may not be on your radar, but should be).
I suggest private preschools because the parents whose kids attend these schools have discretionary income and often have free time for a workout after they drop off their children. I witnessed this taking my son to preschool a few years ago—the school happened to be next to a small gym. More than half of the moms would walk the kids to class, then stroll across the parking lot to the gym to get their workout for the day. Most of them did this multiple times per week!
I recommend mapping private preschools near your studio and contacting those facilities. Introduce yourself and pitch the benefits of practicing yoga for kids and adults. Offer a teacher discount and offer to host some free parent-and-me classes for kids and their families in your studio throughout the year. Run a promotion at those times and sign up some new students who are already nearby and have the morning habit.
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Think outside the inside
Outdoor classes will literally increase your visibility! Think of some great venues for outdoor yoga. Of course, natural areas like beaches, hiking trails, and nature preserves are perfect photo-op locales that first come to mind, but I’ll give you some more.
Think about some fun places that already cater to your target market. I’m thinking about properties with ‘pick-your-own’ orchards or berry patches, ranches or horse stables that offer riding lessons, farms that sell field-to-table products on premises—places like that!
Reach out to these potential venues and let them know that you’re a successful, fully insured yoga teacher (with liability waivers!) who would love to host a yoga session at their property. If you get the green light, promote the event in advance by listing it on Google so people just Googling “what to do this weekend” etc. will see it pop up! Post the event on social media and ask your hosts to do the same.
Many attendees will want to make a day of it and explore the surroundings before or after the class—that means your hosts will probably make some money as well. It’s a fun win-win, so your hosts will probably love the cross-promotion.
With outdoor classes it’s best to schedule in the morning or evening when the sun and heat are less likely to be a problem. Keep the mood light and keep the moves simple enough that absolute beginners can enjoy themselves. You want people to associate your yoga classes not with feelings of inadequacy, but with relaxation and good times!
Encourage attendees to register and sign waivers online in advance but always keep some paper copies on hand for walk-up attendees, too. Remind outdoor registrants to bring a mat or blanket, sunscreen, insect repellent and anything else they’ll need to stay comfortable.
Host classes for families and kids
You can reach an underserved audience simply by offering monthly classes for kids. It will be a little different than teaching adults, but there are a lot of resources out there to help you cater to the younger set. Take a teacher training course on yoga for kids so you can offer an experience that will have them begging to come back.
Children’s classes don’t have to be every week to start–make it a monthly ‘special event’ that their parents register for (and that you promote with Google and social media just like the outdoors events). Younger kids whose parents do yoga are thrilled when they can attend their very own class. Offering a kids’ class will expose you to new audiences—the kids, yes, but also other parents who are trying to find something new.
If the monthly classes are successful, offer them more frequently. Aruna Humphrys of Young Yoga Masters says, “One experienced kids’ yoga teacher I know offers classes at her children’s school. She charges $5 per class, per student, and cuts off registration at twenty students. She runs an eight- or ten-week series and makes $100 per class…”
If children’s yoga seems overwhelming right now, consider offering a monthly family night (where they’ll be under the direct supervision of their parents) instead. Just as with kids’ yoga, you want to promote this online and in the community as a registration-required, ‘space is limited’ special event. As always, harvest that event registration information to add adult attendees to your mailing list!
Consider private group lessons
Teaching private group lessons is a surprisingly lucrative way to increase your income and grow your practice. With a smaller class comes more individual attention and enhanced learning, and you will charge more for this unique experience.
Yoga entrepreneur Brett Larkin says a normal range for private lessons is anywhere from $30 for a 30-minute session with up to three students (with a $10 charge per additional student) on up to $75 baseline per 60-minute private session (with a $15 charge for each additional student).
For private lessons, target those in your own clientele who may be dealing with specific issues or those with a goal in mind who would benefit from the special focus of a private lesson. Consider approaching potential corporate clients to see if they’re interested in private group lessons as a perk for their staff. If you partner with any personal trainers, let them know you offer this service and to send a client your way if they could benefit.
There are a lot of different ways a yoga instructor with their own following can build upon their practice—keep an open mind and be flexible about offering different types of classes, even on a very limited basis, just to gauge the interest in different styles, or among different groups.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Find out why they’re leaving. Use an anonymous survey service to ask students about their satisfaction with their experience and leave enough blank space for them to type out their response in their own words, not just checkboxes. Offer to pause memberships rather than cancel.
Students either find the class too challenging or not challenging enough. Students may feel as if they don’t share their classmates’ demographics (don’t fit in) for any reason. An often-overlooked issue: cramming too many students in too small a space makes people too uncomfortable to enjoy.
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.