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As I was coping with my own yoga teaching injury + burnout + lack of income, I brainstormed three ways to make money teaching yoga and a list of the pro’s and con’s of each.
Option #1- Make Money Owning a Yoga Studio
Many teachers choose the studio route.
PRO’s
- Make revenue without teaching as much
- Manage other yoga teachers
- Make a big impact in your community
- Be your own boss
Easy, right???
WRONG!
Owning a studio is super hard work. I used to run a large University and city-wide wellness programs and it was one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever had!!!
It takes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to make a studio work for you.
Here are the con’s of opening your own studio:
CON’S
- A lot of upfront financial investment
- Teach ALL of the classes for the first few months and barely break even
- It can take many years for a studio to ever turn a profit
- You are the constant sub when teachers need it
Here’s a few other things you’ll need to consider if you want to open your own studio.
Create a business plan outlining your profit & loss. Be realistic about your monthly expenses. How much are you paying your teachers? How much are you paying for cleaning? How much is your rent? Your electricity? Your MindBody program (which is ridiculously expensive!!!). How much money will you set aside for repairs?
Be realistic about the time spent as a yoga studio owner – managing your teachers, subbing for them, handling client complaints, dealing with technical issues, networking in your community.
Owning a yoga studio is a full-time job that will require you to be present and hustling.
Running a studio is NOT easy.
If you live in a small town without a studio and you know how to run a lean business, then this could be a viable option. But I live in CO where there’s A LOT of yoga studios. Owning a studio wasn’t a good option.
So I came up with Option #2.
Option #2- Make Money Teaching Yoga Online
PRO’S
- Make good money as an affiliate or brand ambassador
- Time and location freedom
CON’S
- Very, very slow growth
- Lot’s of technical pieces
There’s a lot of teachers out there making good money as an online yoga teacher. They are affiliates for companies and they are getting paid to promote brands. They are building online studios and hustling on IG and FB to fill those online studios.
This is an option- but it doesn’t happen quickly.
Just because you build something, does not mean that people will come.
Building an online business as a yoga teacher takes a lot of time and it takes a lot of marketing. You need to niche down and market on FB, IG, email, your website, etc. You need to learn copywriting and online networking. You can build a podcast and market that way. You need to set up your website with WooCommerce to collect payments (because there’s no faster way to piss off your audience base and your customer base then to not be able to deliver the product that they just paid for). And then you need to make sure that the person is automatically added to your Mailchimp, then sent an automation email to stay in touch, etc.
This is a possibility for yoga teachers, but it does NOT happen overnight. It takes time to build your following and time to set up the online pieces.
The yoga teachers who have built these followings have built them slowly and steadily.
It’s a long term plan so don’t quit your day job!
You can do it, but it’s going to be slow.
This is my LONG-TERM option right now. I’m slowly trying to build this.
But I still needed to make money right away. So I personally capitalized with Option #3.
Option #3 – Make Money Teaching Yoga Workshops, Teacher Trainings, Events, Retreats and Conferences
This is personally how I’ve created my yoga business and how I recommend most yoga teachers start to build a sustainable yoga business.
PRO’S
- Can start making money right away
- Be seen as an expert within your industry
- Less time spent teaching weekly classes
CON’S
- Can be a lot of weekend work
- Must specialize
- Still requires a lot of business skills
Make Money with Yoga Workshops
Teaching yoga workshops is a GREAT way to make income as a yoga teacher. You’re able to specialize, niche down, and create more income with less teaching hours. The Return On Investment (ROI) is huge.
But a lot of yoga teachers have a million ideas for a workshop but don’t know how to narrow down their ideas and create the actual content, price the workshop or market it.
Check out these articles to help you get started right away:
Narrow Down The Ideas In Your Head – Choose Your Workshop Topic
How Much Should I Charge for My Workshop?
Create Your Workshop Content
Make Money with Yoga Teacher Trainings
Yoga teacher trainings are another great way to create revenue, especially if you live in a place where there aren’t a lot of teacher trainings. I won’t lie to you – if you live in a market saturated by yoga teacher trainings, then this probably is not a good option for you.
I personally started training yoga teachers in North Dakota, a market that only had about 5 yoga teachers. Now, there are over 100. I found a niche in a small town and capitalized on it.
You can do that too!
Make Money with Yoga Retreats
This is another great way to build your yoga business and create a great yoga following, especially if you can do a lot of the work yourself!
It can get really expensive to offer a retreat so if you’re interested in this option, I suggest setting up a realistic budget and a solid marketing plan
Make Money with Yoga Conferences/Events
This is my favorite way to create income in my business and make a huge impact in my community! Yoga conferences have increased my visibility and helped fill my yoga trainings.
I also create a profit from every yoga conference I run.
I now run the ND Yoga Conference, the 406 Yoga Conference and in 2021 I’m starting the Yoga Teacher’s Conference.
You may be intimidated by workshops, trainings and events, so I encourage you to join a community of teachers who have “been-there-done-that.”
If you’re interested in creating a more sustainable yoga business through yoga workshops, teacher trainings, retreats or events then join our FB community. I love sharing my knowledge to help you make more money and create a bigger impact with your next yoga event!
Teaching yoga is not an easy way to make money. It’s okay if you’re struggling.
I want to support you, however I can. I offer consultations for Yoga teachers, and a FREE FB community for yoga teachers planning yoga workshops, teacher trainings, events and conferences.
I truly believe that YOU, as a yoga teacher, can change a life and create a community. We all just need a little support along the way.
What are you struggling with fellow yoga teacher?
What are some ways that you’ve made money as a yoga teacher?
Send me a message on IG @allisonrissel
I’d love to hear from you!
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