- Get Yoga Certification
First, get a yoga certification as an instructor from a recognized authority. You can visit a Yoga Alliance affiliated institution to get the training and certification. Yoga Alliance is known for presiding over the national standards of yoga. A certification from the alliance will turn your yoga studio into a brand due to the practitioners’ confidence in your ability as an instructor.
- Create A Business Plan
Draw a business plan for your yoga studio. Find out how much working capital you need to run the studio successfully for at least a few months in its initial phase. You will also need money to meet your personal expenses since you will be devoting your entire time to teaching your yoga students.
Make sure that your business plan includes the current rates of yoga classes. The plan must also mention how much you will be charging. Fees of yoga instructors vary by area. In the urban areas, the fee is competitive and low due to many free and donation-only classes running. Moreover, many studios and private instructors are already present in almost all small and big towns.
If you are starting your own yoga business as a brick and mortar establishment, the plan must include rent and utility expenses and finances for managing the staff, etc.
- Build A Customer Base
One of the crucial tips for starting a yoga studio is to build a loyal following. To do so, you should explore the current pool of your students. Treat them in the best possible way by attending them personally when they face a problem in learning the difficult yoga asanas correctly. Try to build a relationship and rapport with your students and talk to them individually.
People must personally know who you are. When they know, they will come back to have more yoga lessons from your studio. A way to build a loyal customer base is to offer them free-classes or donation-only classes more often. This will help heighten consumer interest in your techniques of teaching some intricate yoga asanas.
- Pick A Type Of Yoga
Yoga has attained many variations due to cross-disciplinary forms mixed to it to achieve different objectives. Some of these forms are more popular with people. For example, some yoga instructors specialize in Kundalini yoga, which is based on breathing techniques plus working on the chakras, the energy points on the body.
Other popular yoga choices include Iyengar, Vinyasa, and Asthanga. Then, there are variants such as power yoga, which is for looking good and losing weight. Vikram yoga also is popular with the audience.
- Choose A Perfect Location
Your location of the yoga studio matters a lot for its success. In urban settings, it is difficult to find a location with a lot of nature around, which is ideal for yoga classes. In big cities, try to find out a location that is easily accessible through roads and has plenty of space for parking.
But if your budget is small and you cannot pay high rentals, start from one room with a small reception desk. That may be a good start. You can then expand your business when it has a good customer base and has bigger rooms. But make sure that the location is pleasant and pleasing to the people.
- Have A Logo And Website
Another crucial aspect of starting your own yoga business is to have a memorable logo and website for your yoga studio. Both of these graphic designs are extremely important to draw potential customers’ attention to your yoga classes and business.
Before setting out to create a logo, look at some inspirational yoga logos to find out how your own logo should look like. But make sure that the logo stands out from the crowd to convey your brand message.
- Market And Expand Your Brand
After you have established your yoga studio with a solid loyal following, it is now the time to expand the business. You already have a pool of potential clients. Use those clients for spreading a word of mouth about the quality of your yoga instructions.