The Ultimate Guide to Opening A Yoga Studio 

Ashtanga, hot, power, laughter, yoga classes are more popular and unique than ever before. According to a survey on 2,000 Americans on their yoga habits, 64% want to practice more in 2019 than they did in 2018. Yoga’s popularity continues to skyrocket with a whole new generation of yogis willing to spend a lot of money on it. 

Yoga is big business in the U.S with revenue expected to reach $11.6 billion by 2020, a considerable jump from the 2012 figure of $7 billion. Taking the steps from a yoga teacher to a yoga studio owner is a huge task. As a first-time business owner, there is a lot that you need to consider. To help you on your business journey, here is the ultimate guide to opening a yoga studio. 

The Benefits of Opening a Yoga Studio 

The average yogi is willing to spend $40 on a single, unique yoga experience and will spend about $62,640 on yoga over their lifetime. The yoga market presents a massive opportunity to enter into an industry that’s in demand and growing in popularity. Roughly 1 in 3 Americans have tried yoga classes in the last year, and the number of over 50s practicing yoga has almost quadrupled in the last four years. Although it’s a very competitive space, it gives you the chance to build a community and brand from the ground up in a business that you love.   

You have a passion for yoga, and you’re a certified yoga teacher from a recognized body of yoga, like the Yoga Alliance. The natural next step is to open your yoga studio. Of course, it takes more than just one step; it takes several tough steps to start a yoga business. Many people want to make the leap from yoga teacher to the business owner but don’t know where to start. 

3 Examples of Great Yoga Studios  

There are currently 6,000 yoga studios in America. With so many different yoga studios, it can be challenging to find a way to stand out from the competition. Here are three examples of great yoga studios in the U.S.  

Om Factory, New York     

Om Factory offer a range of classes including Vinyasa, restorative yoga, aerial yoga core, and aerial yoga blast. The studio has focused on building an active community that really supports its students. They are all about creating a home away from home and nurturing every student that walks through the door. 

Miami Life Center, Florida  

The Miami Life Center is a community space dedicated to yoga and holistic health. Created by a couple in 2006, the center is dedicated to the study of yoga. The center incorporates workshops and events, yoga and meditation and is focused on yoga as a way of life. The only yoga style practiced is Ashtanga, so the classes are more traditional than other yoga studios.   

Pure Yoga, New York    

Pure Yoga adds a level of luxury and calm with spacious facilities. The brand currently has two locations with premium facilities and dedicated rooms for private yoga and hot yoga. The boutique yoga studio offers private lessons to cultivate your yoga practice. 

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Opening a Yoga Studio

Before you open your yoga studio, it’s crucial to avoid the mistakes that previous business owners have made already. Learn from someone else’s mistakes and avoid them on your journey to a thriving business. A genuine love for yoga is a great place to start when launching a business. But you will also need to steer clear of typical errors when developing your dream yoga studio. 

Hiring The Wrong Staff 

Once you’ve decided to open a yoga studio, you’ve decided to undertake a tremendous amount of work. If you fail to build a reliable team and hire the wrong staff who don’t share your passion, it can impact your progress. Starting a business may take you out of your comfort zone where you will be performing tasks that you might not have a lot of experience in. Hiring a team that can take charge of tasks that you’re not confident in can help ease the pressure.

The right staff members can help your business thrive, but the wrong staff can be detrimental. Whether that means hiring a bookkeeper to look after your accounts or a studio manager to handle the day-to-day running, look for people with passion and drive. Check out our guide on how to hire the best manager for your fitness business. 

Not Having a Plan   

Whether it’s a business plan, financial plan, or vision for your business, don’t underestimate the business aspects of opening a yoga studio. It’s still a business, like any other, and it needs to be treated that way. When you’re planning to open a yoga studio, your business plan will be at the core of everything you do. It will help you secure your funding and show investors why your business is going to be successful and make money.  

Spending Too Much Money on The Wrong Location 

Finding a suitable location within your budget in the right place will be one of the biggest challenges you face. Are there enough people in the area that can visit your studio easily, and is it easy to reach? If there’s a problem with parking or no transport links, then the location isn’t ideal. The location will be one of the most expensive parts of your business. Whether you buy it or rent, if the area isn’t right, it could lead to a problem very early on in your business. 

Not Knowing Your Clients 

If you already teach yoga, communicate with your clients, and find out what they want from a yoga studio. If you’re opening a yoga studio in a new area, you need to know everything about your potential clients. There’s a ton of options when it comes to yoga; you may want to teach a variety of classes or just follow a traditional path. This decision comes down to your market research and knowing your clients. 

Skimping on Marketing Your Studio 

The yoga community is strong, and your existing yoga base is a fantastic place to start spreading the word about your new studio. Having said that, you’ll need to push it further to reach enough clients to keep your studio going. Make the most out of social media platforms and expand your online reach. Once you’ve built a beautiful space, you need to tell people about it and get them through the door. 

The Costs of Opening a Yoga Studio 

Over the past several years, the yoga industry has experienced considerable growth. With the number of yogis increasing all over the world, opening a yoga studio has become a dream for many. When starting a business, cost and budget are crucial for success. When it comes to costs of opening a yoga studio, they can differ massively depending on several factors such as location and scale. 

It’s difficult to give an exact cost of setting up a yoga studio. A state of the art studio with premium facilities in an expensive city could be anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million. However, a smaller basic facility could range anywhere from $15,000 to $100,000. The size and location of the studio are two of the main factors that affect the price. 

Business expenses quickly add up; here are other costs that you will need to consider when planning your budget and the initial investment required:

• Business registration 
• Legal expenses
• Equipment 
• Leasing or buying a location  
• Member management software 
• Employee wages 
• Marketing promotions 
• Remodeling the space
• Building and hosting a website 
• Grand opening party 
• Utility deposits   

8 Things to Know About When Opening a Yoga Studio 

Whether you’re thinking about opening a yoga studio or have already put plans in place, it’s time to take the next steps on your business journey. Yoga is a booming business with people from across the globe, turning to yoga for stress relief and balanced physical and mental health. Here are eight things to know about when opening a yoga studio.  

Establish Your Business Plan, Vision, and Strategy 

When starting a yoga business, you need a business plan and strategy that encompasses your vision. In this initial phase, you’ll discover the working capital that you will need to establish and run the studio, especially in the first few months where you will need financial cushioning. Your business plan will include everything from the type of yoga you’ll be teaching to how much yoga classes will cost. Key elements you need to include in your business plan include:

• Customer analysis 
• Competitor analysis 
• Marketing plan 
• Financial plan and projections 

Get Ready to Market Your Yoga Studio 

Once you start developing your yoga studio, you need to get the word out there. Before the grand opening of your studio, your marketing efforts will go towards hosting a busy event with plenty of buzz around your new space. Yoga is a highly saturated market with studios popping up regularly. To make sure your studio is noticed and stands out from the competition, you need a solid marketing plan. 

Thanks to the internet, getting the word out there has never been easier. A good marketing plan includes social media marketing, your website, content marketing, and events. We’ve put together a guide on effective marketing tips to take your yoga studio to the next level. 

Here are some excellent marketing inspiration reads from thought leaders:

• 11 Seconds to Success: The Queen of Snapchat on Living Your Dreams and Ruling Social Media by Cyrene Quiamco – this book is a fantastic place to start for beginners new to snapchat. Find out more about storytelling through snapchat. 
• Future Marketing: Winning in the Prosumer Age by Jon Wuebben – Content Launch co-founder shows how technological and cultural changes that are currently happening will affect marketing. 

Pick The Right Location  

The location of your yoga studio plays a vital role in the success of your business. Finding the perfect yoga setting surrounded by nature can be tough in an urban city. Your studio needs to be easily accessible with ample parking and decent transport links. If your space isn’t easy to find or has no parking, it may put people off visiting you in the future. 

Your location depends on how much capital you have to work with. If you only have a small amount of money, consider renting a room to begin with, before expanding into a studio once you have built your community base. Once you have decided on your location, you can then design the space that’s perfect for your clients.  

Communicate With Your Clients     

Clients will visit your studio for the yoga but one thing that will keep them coming back is the experience that they have. Part of this experience is formed by the meaningful interactions clients have with you and your staff. 

Even if you offer a high-quality or premium yoga service, there’s no reason not to have friendly relationships with your members. Maintain a close relationship with clients, and this will help improve word of mouth marketing and drive customer loyalty. 

Make Sure Your Finances Are in Place    

This is an obvious but big one. In your initial research from your business plan, you should have a general idea of how much capital you need to start your business and how much extra you need to keep everything afloat in the first few months. A yoga studio is not a quick-rich plan. You will likely be investing a considerable amount of money in start-up costs for the first few years while you build a strong business foundation and client base. 

Have a Good Logo and Website 

A logo is an essential part of your brand, and quite often it’s the first thing a client will notice about your business. A logo is a point of recognition, and a well-designed logo conveys everything a potential customer needs to know about your brand. It takes 10 seconds to form a first impression of a brand’s logo. Of course, a logo is just the start when it comes to your brand. An easy-to-use and informative website is essential, as well. Branding should be consistent across all platforms and your website. 

Hire Well-Trained Instructors 

Your new yoga students expect to be taught by experts. Your clients pay the class fee and naturally expect high-quality service from you as a business, including well-trained instructors. You should hire instructors with qualifications from known official bodies of yoga like the Yoga Alliance. Several companies offer yoga teacher training now, so double check they are genuine before hiring and that they share the same love and passion for yoga as you do.  

Create Additional Streams of Revenue    

Selling retail items like yoga mats or water bottles is a great way to create additional streams of revenue to your business. Part of what fuels the yoga industry is yoga apparel and accessories. Selling yoga clothes, books, or jewelry from your studio is an easy way to add more revenue. All you need is a small shelf to start with if you’re limited on space. This is really helpful when one of your students have forgotten their water bottle or simply want to invest in a new yoga mat. 

In Summary 

Starting your own yoga studio takes you on a personal journey of self-discovery and perseverance. Don’t underestimate the amount of work that it takes to open a thriving yoga studio in today’s market. Make a clear and concise plan and be prepared for the financial and emotional investment that comes from starting a business and start your journey today.