Yoga Retreat Mania!

Yoga Retreat Mania!

Yoga retreat mania has hit the yoga scene like an avalanche! And let me tell you why I think this is a great thing… but a double-edged sword.

First of all, I love yoga retreats. I have led them for close to a decade and they never cease to impress me with the quality of amazing people who come together. Retreats are a way for you, the teacher, to affect your students in a much bigger way and in usually gorgeous locations. They also provide a bigger income but before setting anything up please take the time to assess where you are in your practice as a teacher and leader. I suggest you do some soul searching as I don’t want you to set up a retreat and it not meet your expectations.

Yoga retreats gone wrong…

Not only is taking people on an adventure a huge responsibility but the planning process, if not done correctly, can leave gaps in your retreat that could possibly make your life challenging.

I not only have heard of disasters when planning the retreat but also during. This leaves a really bad taste in your participant’s minds and can sour your reputation, to say the least.

Let’s go through a laundry list of things you will need before you even get there:

  1. Where & When
  2. Retreat title & theme (purpose)
  3. Style of retreat (training or fun)
  4. Who do you want to have on the retreat?
  5. How many participants do you want?
  6. Solo or co-taught?
  7. Why would people come (benefits & outcomes)
  8. Landing page
  9. Pricing
  10. Sales strategy
  11. Location (securing the venue)
  12. Marketing

I go into it much deeper in THIS ARTICLE

The Bright Side

Don’t worry! I know that seems like a LOT but the payoff is so sweet. This is why having a plan and a guide is so important as it will allow you to get to your destination happy. Here is one super important tip you want to always be conscious of- don’t book out an entire center without having some for sure YES clients first. This means you had conversations with people, you did your legwork, you even took deposits. YES you took deposits even before sending deposits to the center. I have done this in my last 2 retreats and worked amazingly. Have the right conversations with possible locations and ask them to hold the dates for you at no charge or maybe a small fee while you get your people.

Apart from this, your mental capacity for planning should be in for the big vision. Let’s say you project a $3500 profit from having 7 people attend the retreat for 5 days. Is this what you would make normally in 5 days doing your classes and possible side gig? If it isn’t, then, create time to plan and get all your ducks in a row. Having this foresight to larger income will put things into perspective nicely.

Is leading a yoga retreat right for me?

Here is where I can’t tell you yes or no, but I can definitely give you more insight into qualities of a leader. If you connect to some of these, then most likely you are on your way. Another thing is having enough material to offer during your retreat (and remember it’s not enough to just teach a couple classes a day… this is mediocre). Lead people to an experience. Help them uncover or re-discover something (your specialty). Have the boldness of stepping into your leadership and guiding from the heart with the full knowledge that you are there to serve on many levels.

Qualities of a leader:

  1. Honest
  2. Vulnerable
  3. Authentic
  4. Flexible
  5. Resourceful
  6. Deep listening
  7. Creative
  8. Supportive
  9. Intelligent
  10. Ability to delegate
  11. Big vision
  12. Caring
  13. Kind
  14. Fun
  15. Speaks the unspoken

End result

Not only will you feel happy you planned correctly and took the right steps, but your retreat will be smooth sailing. I really can’t stress enough people who are leading retreats want to offer the best experience with quality teaching, special attention to details, good communication and extreme awareness to your students needs (the spoken and unspoken). The more retreats there are, the bigger reason why you should be the BEST and most special one. Doing that will help you rise above, cut through the clutter and feel authentic that you are giving the best of you.

 

Why You Shouldn’t Open A Yoga Studio

You read it right, you shouldn’t open a yoga studio… Unless you do this FIRST!

I don’t want to start this post off with anything negative, but having an award-winning yoga studio doesn’t come easy (trust me, I know!). With the right strategy, it can be easier and a heck of a lot less stressful!

When I decided to open my studio I had ZERO business knowledge. I mean, I was SO green I had no idea what revenue meant… net, gross, what IS that?! I got a huge business from one day to the next with employees, massive overhead and major expenses.

I was drowning in work; projects, payroll, classes, UGH! I had never done payroll in my life. Thankfully I had admin jobs in the past, but nothing like this. It was literally 17 hats all day, everyday. Dealing with water and plumbing issues while having to promote an event, then teaching my class. It was madness.

DID I MENTION AWARD WINNING?

With all that mess one thing we did right was quality and branding. Why does that matter? First of all, when you have a good product people recognize it instantly. People start spreading the word, creating a marketing campaign for you. Our branding was on point as well, meaning everything matched our guidelines, was easily recognizable and looked fresh. Opening a yoga studio is no easy feat, but it changed my life.

That still didn’t clean up the mess we had no idea how to handle, but because of hustle and resourcefulness I was able to figure it out with my partner. We asked the questions we didn’t know, we created magic out of thin air with elbow grease and good intentions.

This still left me drained and well… unmotivated. I had no idea how to increase our revenue or attendance. It was always up and down with classes and income. Have you ever felt this way?

Keep reading and I’ll tell you how we turned it all around.

HOW IT ALL SHIFTED

When I realized I could no longer do what I was doing the way I was doing it, I decided to look to see who could empower me with the right knowledge. VIDYA. I know a ton about yoga, asana, meditation… because since I was 23 all my attention was focused there.

You see, I had to realize that my attention had to shift elsewhere to make not just my yoga studio, but my entire life, be more successful. That meant having more time, more space, less worry, less stress, more abundance.

I sought help. I asked the right questions. I enrolled in a mastermind program and got my business pants on (on top of my yoga pants that is) and get my other side of my life get busy. What happened? Our income grew because of 2 or 3 little changes. We had a system, an organized system. I hired the right people and I gave myself days off. I also created other revenue streams to sustain my lifestyle. I wanted better.

I know you’ve heart not to put all your eggs in one basket, instead have many baskets with some eggs. My advice to you who want to open a yoga studio is to break the model. Create a business that is innovative, fresh, exciting and makes you feel good.

ALTERNATIVES

Also know there are other ways to create an awesome yoga business besides having a full blown yoga studio. Having high overhead is the number one quickest way to go into debt and possibly fail. I am here to answer your questions and be your guide.

If you are thinking of opening a studio, let me know as I have some nice tips for you – we need more yoga in the world, but less broke yogis. Just schedule a free call at http://bit.ly/BizzyYogi.

If you’ve already opened a Yoga Studio and you’re stuck in a rut or stressed from all the work, just read this post >>> Analysis Paralysis: The ONE THING That Holds More Yogis Back From Greatness Than Any Other

 

Namaste!

– Arianne

 

P.S. In the meantime, why don’t you take my fun quiz and learn what your Yogi Archetype is if you haven’t already!!

 

Have specific questions? Let Ari, the Bizzy Yogi answer them! Ask your question below and we will answer it in our weekly email OR in a FB Live webshow – we’ll even give you a shoutout! Just type *anonymous* after your question to remain anonymous.

 

 

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My first Yoga Studio… the Epic Story

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Yogis Studio Dreams

There comes a point in a yogi’s life where we ask ourselves… what next? The most logical progression is start and open a yoga studio. Of course! Do you want to know how and why this happened? The evolution of it all? In a moment I will share how this all came to be, why the most perfect and imperfect people came into my life during it and how it taught me to shape up or ship out!

 

But first, let me introduce the key players:

  1. The Russian
  2. The Jersey Yogini
  3. The Argentinian
  4. The slumlord

Sounds a bit like a spy drama doesn’t it? Picture the Russian with a mysterious je ne sais quois about him and the Argentinian dancing tango and throwing knives while doing it. Well it’s kinda like that but way way less dramatic!

So about 5 years ago I had coffee with my friend, the Russian and he said – “Hey you want to open a yoga studio with me?”. All this in a thick Russian accent of course. I immediately said “YES!”. You can get an idea of my impulsive nature as I am a gemini, a monkey in my Chinese astrology and Vata/Pitta in my dosha.

Now mind you I had never owned a brick and mortar business. Much less, had never really had a “business” that involved others.  I was a lone wolf in the yogi and freelance world and had never even thought of what owning a business meant. An entrepreneur at heart, but not to this level.

Second, I had no idea the Russian came with a partner. So I jumped head in to a massive investment.  These were my life savings!!! With someone I had maybe met 3-4 times in my life. This turned out to be the best decision ever.

Meet Michelle. The Jersey Yogini with a heart of gold and the hustle of a pizza bagel (as we lovingly call Italian Jews). She is now my soul sister, a lady who works as heard as I do because without her help nothing of this would be a reality today.

 

So the story begins.

After agreeing that this was a great idea, getting the location, starting the build out, jumping for joy after signing our lease we realized we had no more funds, no more energy and no vision. The “oh shit” happened and reality came crashing down. The Russian is a yogi who traveled and disappeared for weeks in caves or with a swami. Michelle and I had been left to our own devices dealing with the unfriendliest and slimiest cigar smoking, name calling landlord in the universe (enter the slumlord). He made our build out process a nightmare from cheating, delaying, lying – well you get the picture. Know that at the end of the day good always wins and we definitely won because of our grit and hard work!

 

Life of a Yoga Studio Owner During Opening

All I can remember is sitting in my car talking to the permits man crying hysterically on WHY we had gotten denied AGAIN and had to now pay another few thousand dollars. To make the long story short, we were in dire straits. I studied architecture for a year in college so I had some idea of something but not to this degree. When you have a small budget you get creative. You hustle and learn to do things on your own quickly. Michelle took to the city and department of building to expedite our permits. I chose flooring, dealt with engineers and architects. A killer team ready to make it happen.

At the end of the day we had an opening day and were going to stick to it. If you are thinking about opening a studio- do your homework and make sure you have the funds and needs to make one from scratch or invest and buy one already made.

In comes the Argentine to save the day. With help from his ninja business skills we made a studio that would sky rocket to success. All of us made a killer team- business brain, yogis on a mission and lots of good will. We finally opened TRIO Studios the day before a 30 person training we had scheduled months before.

 

NOTEWORTHY TIPS

Top 5 Tips to Success with Your Yoga Studio

So you know anything you are trying to build out will take twice as long, and twice as much. Our classes steadily grew because to have a successful studio you need a few things:

  1. REALLY GOOD TEACHERS
  2. A KILLER SCHEDULE
  3. A GREAT TEAM
  4. A BRAND THAT STANDS OUT
  5. A UNIQUE APPROACH

Good teachers make or break a studio. Because the owners always have a bigger pull if you open a studio, give yourself the top and best time slots furthermore always share some of those slots with your best teachers so when you decide to step out of the teaching the studio is still busy.

The schedule should reflect the people who live near you, your niche clientele, your ideal student. If you live near young professionals know that the might want later classes or really early mornings. Study your neighborhood and cater to what they want.

To mange or not to manage is the question that seems like has an easy answer.  I decided I am a better teacher than a manager. Hiring someone else to take care of the smaller things is a great idea and as a result it created space for me to be creative, to see the bigger picture and to create a lifestyle that I wanted. The hiring process is critical because your manager is the face of your studio in addition to the front desk. Whether yogis turned business owners realize it, sale are number 1. Make your team represent you. Create a family of workers that care and want to grow with you.

Branding. One of my favorite topics. First of all you want a killer logo that represents you. Since you want to be top of mind a name that is easy to remember is KEY therefore helping you stand out more. TRIO is in English & Spanish and short and sweet. Don’t confuse people who don’t speak sanskrit. Make the branding something that appeals to your ideal client and stands out from the others. Because branding is so important, check out this free mini video or my complete course which has a whole section on creating your brand.

aerial yoga - trio yoga studio

Finally, a unique approach which in TRIO’s case, is aerial & acroyoga, and over 65 classes a week. We cater to people who want to expand their horizons with yoga and explore different avenues. We want people to be able to come to class whenever so we make the studio available almost all day so that they have easy access. ALSO owning a studio is about real estate management. If the room is empty, you are losing money. Don’t leave money on the table- ever!

With all this being said and done, TRIO has created a community of yoga lovers, people who’s lives change for the better daily. It created a job for Michelle and I who are the main teachers, lead the trainings and yoga retreats. Our studio is probably one of the best in Miami because we provide a level of service and quality unmatched by others and as a result make a big impact on the lives of many. Our vision and dedication teaches us daily on how to be better business owners and yogis. It’s a fine line but at the end of the day it’s worth seeing the smiles on peoples faces.

 

SUCCESS STORY

A legacy in the making.

In conclusion TRIO is a HUGE hit and continues on its way up. Profitable on year 1, top 10 yoga studio in Miami 3 years in a row. Unique in scheduling, class style and the first in Wynwood Arts District. A team that kicks ass and a legacy of quality.

To learn more how to be a yogi entrepreneur, a creator, a proliferator of goodness then check out Bizzy Yogi Online Business Academy. Most of all you will learn all the ins and outs of being a successful business owner, a top of mind yogi entrepreneur and grow your yogi business mind that surpasses what you think was possible.

Take action today and join the tribe of movers and shakers who want to change the world one om at a time so that yoga grows and continues to impact the world daily.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]