Here are 3 best tips on creating a yoga career that lets you thrive written by
These 3 tips can apply to anyone in the healing arts, or anyone who is health or wellness professional.
1: Niche down.
Often yoga teachers or anyone in the health and wellness field, get caught up in the trap that we have to be experts at #allthethings. Not true. In fact, we’ll be seen as the expert in something when we choose a niche. This niche must come from your heart…after all, that’s the best place to teach from, right?
Get some clarity around what you most like to teach about, or what you focus on most in your practice. If you find yourself teaching anatomy workshops when you really love philosophy, then it is time to make a change. If you often get called to teach any class on the schedule, but love teaching only yin yoga, then it is time to put your foot down.
When you try to teach to everyone, ultimately you teach no one.
Finding your niche is the best first step you can take in creating a successful business model, because everything else you do from here on out stems from this. All the classes you teach, courses you create, or offerings you give lead people on a clear path of transformation that stems from your one true passion.
What brought you to yoga in the first place? What could you teach about for hours, or days on end, without feeling sapped of energy? Where do you find the greatest flow in your practice?
What sets your heart on fire? This is your niche.
Be unapologetic about focusing on it, and do it with conviction. This way, rather than be last on everyone’s list to call for any class, you’ll be first on their list to call for this topic: the one you specialize in. Niching down gives you an expertise, and people always want to learn from the expert.
That’s you! You’re the expert!
Once you’ve found your niche, it makes it much easier to find your tribe: that unique group of people who choose you to lead them through their spiritual evolution. You don’t need to appeal to all the people, you need to appeal to your people. Your niche makes it much easier to find them. And, once you do, you use social media to stay connected.
2: Boost your social media game.
Most people use social media as a way to connect with friends and family. This gets a little complicated for us yogipreneurs who also use it as a way to establish and grow our business. Ultimately, social media platforms are one of the most powerful tools you have for connecting with the exclusive tribe of people who love what you have to offer.
Your tribe doesn’t want to look at pictures of your cat. Or, your lunch.
To step up as a small business owner, and take yourself seriously (so that others will, too), think of everything you do on social media as a way to grow your business. Growing your business on social media does not mean you need to win the popularity contest. It is not about finding all the people…it is about finding your people.
To do this, curate your posts and interactions in such a way that everyone sees what you are capable of as an expert in your field.
This doesn’t mean you need to be cold, uncaring, or aloof. Quite the opposite!
You’ll gain traction when you are real, authentic, and personable…and most importantly, when you keep this sacred directive in mind:
Let everything you post serve and uplift (and grow) your tribe.
While they don’t care that you had dim sum for lunch, they do care about what you did this weekend to further your education. They want to see what you are struggling with in your practice. Your tribe loves finding out the things that make your yoga-brain tick, and they are excited when you have advice, tidbits, and secrets to share that help them get to the next level.
It’s all about them. It’s not about you.
Constantly speaking to your core tribe members lets them know that you’ve got their back, and you are here for them and their spiritual growth. Take it up a notch by establishing a rockin’ group where they get secret teachings, or extra special access to you.
And, definitely go live.
Going live is the best equivalent we have on the web for an in-person interaction. You know how students constantly stop you after class to ask you questions or advice? Now, they can do it anytime with you on Facebook or Instagram. You’re their go-to expert…let them go to you!
Social media is your yoga community on the web. It neutralizes the playing field, gives everyone access, and transcends location. No matter where you are, or where they are, you can connect. They don’t need to make it to a weekly class. They can find you everyday.
And, when you’re doing something as important as changing their lives, that access is precious…and priceless. Speaking of access…
3: Take your business online.
The yoga industry is changing, big time. Over the two decades I’ve dedicated my life to this practice and career, I’ve witnessed massive shifts. From the decline of the mega-conference to the rise of the Instagram-yogi, things in this industry are not what they once were.
It is an oversaturated market.
Too many yoga teachers clamoring for work means the pay for classes can be as low as possible, or even free. Rather than try to clamor for packed classes, let your students come to you…at their convenience.
It’s time to go online.
Going online is a way for you to open up your own “studio†without the overhead of a bricks-and-mortar space. It allows you to teach what you are most invested in (your niche) to your tribe (whom you’ve met and curated on social media).
It levels the playing field, neutralizing limiting factors like location, cost, and availability.
When you’re online, you or your students can be anywhere. You can charge a premium for your teachings…which would still be less than what they’d pay at a studio, and far more than you would normally earn (win!). Students don’t need to hassle with schedule conflicts to make it to your best workshops because they are always available.
This is the golden ticket to success as a yoga teacher: passive income.
Even if you continue to offer studio classes, or ultimately, you would like to create high-end retreat offerings, having a solid online presence is the way to make this career sustainable.
Online courses sell even when you’re sick, injured, or (let’s hope) on vacation.
I was never so grateful for my passive income streams as when I was dealing with a major illness (Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis). When I would get a flare up, I used to have to push through and teach. Sometimes it would be so bad, I would stand in the shower and cry, knowing I had to face a 10 hour day of teacher training, giving every last ounce of energy I had available. Well, when you’ve got next-to-nothing, that’s pretty hard to do.
Creating an online network of courses allowed me to take care of my health, curate my energy, and finally restore my body back to a state of balance…all while earning an income.
That kind of freedom cannot be underestimated. And, I want you to have it, too.
I also want you to think beyond just putting classes online. Classes are great, but ultimately, you have something more special to offer. How do you transform people? What is your core teaching? Can you teach a skill, or dive deeply into a technique?
Your best knowledge is perfect for an online course.
What we would normally offer as an immersion or intensive makes for great online courses, and you can charge a rate that values you as highly as you ought to be valued.
You can even surpass students’ expectations of a traditional studio experience with live interaction (hello, private social media group), personal touches (how about a 30 minute one-on-one Skype call?), and by answering every single one of their questions…things you could never do in an studio setting.
The coolest thing? It doesn’t take 432,000 followers on Facebook to make this work. No need to bend over backwards to win the popularity contest to gain success as a yoga teacher (literally).
All you need is a small tribe of dedicated followers who can’t wait to have more of what you offer.
When you have your niche, and you offer it graciously to your tribe, they want more of that. When you value yourself highly, and price your offerings accordingly, you don’t need to sell a million courses to make your income goals. You just need to deliver high-quality content to the people who want it the most, and are happy to demonstrate that by investing in you.
You are worth it. I know how much you’ve invested in your craft as a yoga teacher and spiritual leader (I know, because if you’ve read this far, you’re trulyinterested in making this work!). You’ve already said to the world that you are a dedicated teacher and practitioner of yoga.
Now, it’s time to say to the world that you are an expert who can’t wait to find your tribe and offer them highly valuable teachings in the most accessible way possible, while creating a business that delivers the income you deserve.
If you’re excited by this, and want to take next steps to A Yoga Career That Lets You Thrive, I can’t wait to help. Schedule a breakthrough session, where I’ll tell you more about how to create success for yourself as a yoga teacher.
