How to Start a Yoga Business

Yoga is a large and growing industry. The 2016 Yoga in America Study indicates that practitioners spend $16 billion a year on classes and gear. Further, CNN gave yoga teaching the tenth best job in 2016. This shows that there is space for new yoga businesses.

Despite the positive numbers, there are several things that people should consider before jumping in to a yoga business.

Training

To be a yoga instructor you should be registered with Yoga Alliance. This requires investing in your education and completing at least 200 hours of training.

The cost of this training varies by school and location. Based on researching various schools’ fees, expect to pay around $3,000 for the course. However urban areas and specialty schools offering particular types of training can be more expensive. Courses can be offered from anywhere between intensives (about one month) or a couple weekends a month (about a year).

One popular option is to participate in an intensive course abroad. Time should be a consideration in the cost of the course, and these intensives offer the training in the fastest time.

India is the birthplace of yoga. So, yoga teacher training in India offers the opportunity to train with long-time yoga practitioners and can be cheaper than programs at your local studio. Generally the costs of these courses include meals and materials (and the opportunity to travel), so these benefits should be considered in the overall cost calculation.

Market

How many students and studios are there in your area? There are many venues for yoga in urban areas but there are also many potential students. Weigh the balance of supply and demand in your area to determine if there is opportunity there.

Even if there are other teachers and studios in the neighborhood, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have a successful business. It just means that you will have to offer better or different options than your competitors. You can specialize in different styles of yoga or offer classes at different times. Be creative in your search to find your own niche.

Location Cost

Rent for spaces will be lower in areas with less traffic. Can you find a space to run your class for a reasonable price? Optimally for a fair price you will find a place with decent accessibility and traffic to be noticed and convenient. However, if you can’t find that what will your backup plan be? Can you make arrangements to share a space? Or can you find enough clients who want private lessons to minimize the cost of having a permanent location?

Reducing costs will be an important consideration in developing your business. Equipment and operations costs will be limited, so try to get the best deal with your location that you can.

Marketing

Once you decide to set up your business, think about how will it be run and how will you acquire new students? Consider whether you will need to take out advertising or if you plan to operate a blog or social media sites. Some methods will be more expensive than others so try to make a plan that best fits your style and needs.

If you enjoy yoga, you will want to be in the industry despite its popularity. However, considering these questions and options will help you determine whether you can profitably join this growing industry.