If you are a certified yoga instructor, then it is not surprising that you are thinking about opening up your own studio.
Even if you are not a teacher, you may still be thinking about the exciting prospect of opening up a brand new space for people to practice yoga.
While the dream of it is wonderful, the reality of it is hard work. Fortunately, the yoga studio sector has grown considerably and is said to have been worth over 9 billion dollars back in 2020 alone.
Who would not want a slice of that pie?
In this article we take a look at how to go about opening up your own yoga studio, from building a solid business plan to choosing a location. So, let’s get to it!
Create A Business Plan
Before you can begin concentrating on other areas of the business like marketing and choosing the location for the studio, you will need to create a business plan.
This will help you to have a firm grasp on what the vision for the studio is, as well as work out a strategy on how to get there. A business plan is also useful for when you need to acquire money as a loan from a bank, or from an investor.
This means that you will need to write down what the working capital will be to see how much the studio will cost to run.
You may find that in the first few months you might lose money, so work out how in the following year or two you have plans to make that back.
Other things to include in the business plan are what kind of yoga you are going to teach, how much you will charge per cost, and whether you plan to hire and pay staff to work there.
Other key areas include an analysis of your target market, an analysis of your competitor(s), the marketing you plan to do, financial projections and the plan to get there.
Check Your Finances
Finances are a major hurdle when it comes to launching a business. You will need to put into place a realistic budget and how you will get the capital in order to open the studio.
Not only will you need money for the initial opening, but you also need money to keep the business going for several months.
Having a yoga studio is not a quick way to make money, so a fair amount of cash may need to be invested. Over time, you will establish the studio with regular clients and newbies who will bring the money in.
However, you are not there yet!
Choose The Location
When choosing a location for the yoga studio, you will find that it is critically important if you are wanting it to be accessible. While the dream is to have it in a rural location surrounded by greenery, the likelihood of this happening is slim.
An urban space is easier to get to by many people, especially one that provides a place to park their cars. Also, having it close to transportation helps too.
If you find that you cannot drum up much capital to launch the business, then hiring a single room may be beneficial to you. Over time you can build up a client base and move into your own premises.
Market The Yoga Studio
Once you have a business plan in place, investment secured (if needed) and a location sorted, you can begin the exciting step of actually developing the look and feel of the studio.
During this time, you should think about how you will market your business, and what branding you will use. The branding should reflect inside the studio too, so make sure there is an effort to join the design together.
You could just rely on word of mouth for the big opening of the studio, but it would not be the best idea. In today’s digital world, you can create social media pages and create a buzz surrounding the opening.
Before this though, you will need to have a solid strategy and marketing plan in place. This is because there are so many yoga studios out there that you will want to stand out.
Don’t forget to create a website, attend events, and talk to people in person. You cannot rely on one form of marketing only.
Launch A Website
Speaking of marketing, an official website should come before planning out marketing strategies on social media. A website is the place a person will go to check out all the information needed in one place.
For the website you want to create a logo that is strong and recognizable that can be used all over your marketing tools and website.
You might want to hire a professional to do this job, and get some much needed feedback on the finalized design.
Create An Experience
Once you have clients walking through the door, you will want to create an experience for them that causes them to keep coming back.
While top quality yoga is fantastic, you will need more than just that to survive as a business.
That’s because you should be communicating with your clients to drive word of mouth business to your studio, but also strong loyalty.
They both work hand-in-hand.
Final Thoughts
Opening your own yoga studio in a saturated market can be both daunting and frustrating at first, but so long as you take the necessary steps to do so, you can be successful.
A good marketing and business plan will help you to understand how to drive clients to your yoga studio, as well as how to finance the project. While you might need to invest a lot of capital at first, over time you should see some of that returned back to you.
Good luck with your new adventure into owning a yoga studio!
The positive effect yoga had on me was indescribable. Every aspect of my life improved, from social to mental, physical to emotional.
I want my website to help more people get into the world of yoga and teach them how to be present for themselves - even if that’s just for a few minutes a day.
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