On Owning a Yoga Business

(This article was written on the one-year anniversary of my yoga therapy business.)

What I have learned after one year of being in business:

1. No experience is wasted. I have worked a variety of jobs in my life, from the very mundane to the creative and complex, making an excellent salary to making minimum wage. Every one of these experiences has either given me skills I now use or allows me to have empathy toward others in similar situations.

2. Just keep going. Many of you own your own businesses and have passed along words of wisdom to me. The most frequent message has been to just keep going – despite setbacks, disappointments, failures, or fear. Thank you for this wisdom.

3. Keep going back to your mission. My mission from the beginning has been to run an ethical business that benefits all conce
ed – yoga students, teachers, artists, service providers, myself, and the world in general. I have learned this is a delicate balance not easily attained. My thanks to those of you who have understood this mission, supported it, and shown me compassion when I missed the mark. When I am in doubt about what to do, I go back to my mission.

4. You cannot please everyone all the time. Even with the mission of creating a winning situation for all conce
ed, some folks still end up angry and frustrated. Do your best to make it right and move on.

5. Keep your eyes on your own paper. I believe we all have a mission in this life that is channeled from the divine, God, the higher power, or however you look at it. When I am seized by fear or competition about what other studios are doing, I remind myself to just keep doing what is in my heart.

6. Travel light. Live within your means and pay everyone what you owe them. I am happy to say, the studio is debt free except for paying back my husband and I some start-up costs. There is a lot of freedom in not owing.

7. Ask for help. The studio and my sanity would not be where it is today without the help of Danielle, Michelle, Emily, Sally, and Terri, the many students who have served as sounding boards and advisors, and colleagues in the community that have referred students to me. Thanks to all of you for your hard work and trust!

8. Stay present. Oftentimes in running the business aspects of the studio, I have to deal with frustrating situations right up until I have to teach a class. Interrupting my frustration to be 100% present with the class often dispels the frustration completely and allows creative solutions to emerge.

9. We are all afraid…. of looking stupid, of not measuring up, of failing, of missing the mark. See #2 – just keep going.

Thank you for a great and challenging year, for indulging my need to share my thoughts , and for sharing yoga with me. nn (Written in May 2005)