As a yoga teacher, you take time to prepare for a class. You set the intention for the class. You look for inspiration from your teachers to impart on your students. A sequence is developed to prepare the body to reach a specific posture. Each class builds on what you taught in the previous class.

So it surprises me that many yogis begin on the journey of a yoga business (teaching or owning a studio) without a goal in mind. They spend more time planning classes than planning for their business.

Without a clearly defined purpose, the business is more likely to be unfocused and lack direction. When opportunities or roadblocks arise, how do you decide what to do or what not to do if you don’t even know where you are going?

A business plan is a tool that can bring clarity to decision making in your business. This is not a static document – a functional business plan is a dynamic plan that is consistently reviewed and updated. It keeps the business on track so that you can achieve the vision for your ideal life.

What is in a business plan?

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Executive Summary

The executive summary provides direction for the business. This is the section that would be read by investors or a board of directors to get a feel for your business. An executive summary answers the question “What does this business do? Why does the business to this?” while the remainder of the business plan answers “How? Who? When? Where?”.

In your executive summary, include:

• Vision If you have been reading any of The Yogipreneur blog, you have now created a vision for your business and your life. In your business plan, you should craft a statement that states the major purpose for starting your business. By including a vision statement in your business plan, you are setting a powerful intention and setting the law of attraction in motion to magnetize your vision to you.
• Mission How is a mission different from a vision? Your mission statement is your talking logo. It is a statement that tells your students who you are, what you stand for, and what makes you different. It is a powerful answer to “What do you do?” that intrigues people and sets you apart from similar businesses. This is the statement you will include in your communications, marketing, and public relations campaigns. This statement may evolve as your business evolves to resonate with your community.
• Values Most businesses do not include this in a business plan, but I find that stating the values of the business, you set clear expectations of yourself and your employees. Limit to the top 5 values that are the most important to your community. For example, the values of The Yogipreneur LLC are: Integrity, Fun, Gratitude, Philanthropy, Creativity.
• Business Summary The business summary highlights the major points of each of the key elements of the business plan. Any outside person should be able to read this section and understand: who the business serves, the products/services offered, and who is on the business team. You may want to write this section last and keep it about a page long.

Market Research

This entire section is dedicated to understanding who you are serving. Many businesses open their doors without understanding the market they are trying to serve. If you don’t know anything about your clients, how can you possibly communicate how your services can benefit them? By positioning your business to serve the needs of your clients, you will provide more value and your services will sell themselves.

Market research does take some time and detective work. National statistics may not apply to your community. By answering these questions, you will have a better understanding of your community and potential students:

• What industry are you operating in?
• What are the trends in your industry?
• What is the growth of your industry?
• What are the key success factors in your industry?
• Who are your competitors – where do people in your community take yoga?
• What services do your competitors offer? How much do they cost?
• What are the demographics (sex/age/income) of your city?
• What are the demographics of your yoga community (sex/age/income)?
• Who is your primary customer/secondary customer?
• What are the needs of your primary/secondary customers?
• Why do your primary/secondary customers practice yoga?
• How can you provide value to your primary/secondary customers?

Admittedly, there is not much information already available about the yoga market. Where can you get this information?

• Yoga Journal publishes a study on the yoga industry. Search for the Yoga in America Study to find some fantastic statistics.
• Interview local teachers, yoga studios and even gyms.
• Create a survey! Make it short and sweet – no more than 10 questions – and survey at least 50 people. A great way to do this is to frequent other businesses that serve similar clientele (Whole Foods is a fantastic place – get permission from the manager first).

Products & Services

This is the one section that all business owners are able to create very easily. Even if you don’t write a business plan, you know what services you are offering!

How do you ensure that you are offering the right products and services? Understanding your market (see above). If you are targeting young professionals, don’t waste your time trying to create a class for gentle yoga or yoga for 50+. Offer products and services that your core market will value. You will be able to spend less time and energy marketing and selling if you have tailored your business to serve a specific type of student.

Make sure you create descriptions of the products and services you are offering. Write these descriptions as if you were talking to a potential student. Each description should answer: 1) What is the student looking for? and 2) What value does this service provide? Here are some suggestions for common products and services:

• Yoga Classes Create a class description for each type of class you offer. Do not write this description full of yoga terms – make it clear to anyone the type of class, the intensity, and what types of students will benefit from this class.
• Private Yoga Why would someone take private yoga sessions? Provide value in your description of the benefits of working one on one – this will drastically reduce price resistance.
• Corporate Yoga Many companies, large and small, are looking to reduce the cost of healthcare, improve employee moral and loyalty, and help employees manage stress. How can you help these corporations achieve their goals? Create a compelling description that educated the human resources manager about the benefits of yoga for employees.
• Teacher Training Many people enroll in a training program to deepen their own practice. Some are looking for a career in yoga. Make sure your address the different reasons someone would enroll in a teacher training program and how your program will provide value.
• Yoga Workshops Workshops are a fantastic way to bring guest teachers to your business OR for you to boost your resume by offering workshops at other studios. Create a list of 10-12 topics for potential workshops.
• Yoga Retreats Retreats are becoming a popular way to take a vacation. If you are considering yoga retreats, be prepared to market your retreat outside of your core student base. Consider combining a yoga retreat with a philanthropy project to create the ultimate experience.
• Yoga Retail Warning – Retail is another business! If you have no experience managing inventory, merchandising products, or selling products – you may not want to enter this world without the help of an experienced retail manager. Determine what kind of products you will offer – yoga props, clothing, lifestyle, accessories, etc. Focus on a specific

Keep Reading – Creating a Business Plan Part II
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July Business Bootcamp

Allow The Yogipreneur to guide you through the process of creating a functional, results-oriented business plan. This series of 4 webinars will take you through each section of a business plan with a bonus session on creating systems to allow you to achieve more of your goals with less time and energy!

Two Week Series | Tuesdays & Thursdays 1PM – 4PM | July 14 – 23 2009
Creating a five year strategic action plan for your business.
Read more and Register Online

Most new business owners think the first thing that they should do is start writing a business plan. While a business plan is imperative to the growth and success of your business, there is something even more important that you need to consider – creating a life plan.

As a business owner, many opportunities arise. Many of these opportunities will be incredible business opportunities to grow or increase income, however many of these opportunities will also move you away from your vision of your ideal life. A life plan is the foundation for not only your business plan, but also for the decisions that you will need to make in your business.
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Dream Your Life into Existence
As children, daydreaming was a daily activity. We imagined growing up to be doctors, firefighters, or famous rock stars. We dreamed of traveling the world, learning to surf, or meeting our heroes. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, society told us that it was time to stop dreaming.

Dreaming is a powerful tool. Take some time to dream about your ideal life. Imagine a day in your ideal life ten years from now. Describe it in vivid detail from the moment you wake up. Don’t censor yourself! Include details about:
• Who are you with?
• Where are you?
• What are you doing (for income/for fun/for health)?
• Why are you doing it?

If you have a significant other, include them in this process. Each person should create their own vision. Share your visions with each other. Are you on the same page? Can these visions happen together? With some creativity and comprise, you can create a vision for your relationship that allows both partners to live out a dream. The ability to dream and plan your life together is one of the secrets to happy and long marriages.

Focus on Values
Former Coca-Cola CEO Brian Dyson once said “Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You name them: work, family, health, friends, and spirit – and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But, the other four balls – family, health, friends, and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.”

Understanding your core values will help you to make better decisions to achieve your ideal life. For example, one of my core values is my marriage. My husband is my partner in life. I nurture that relationship and quickly back off of projects, situations, or business relationships that will prevent me from spending quality time with my husband.

When discovering your core values, here are some questions to consider:
• What’s really important to you?
• When you think about your life, what’s most valuable to you?
• What is the purpose of money in your life?
• Where do you want to spend your time?
• What do you want to contribute?
• What do you want to leave behind as your legacy?

Clearly write out your top five core values in a value circle. (If you have a partner, have them do the same.) Each decision you make should be helping you to live a life in balance with your core values. When you make decisions based on someone else’s needs or values, you will quickly find that life becomes more difficult, stressful, and unbalanced.

Set Goals!
Once a year, millions of people make a hoopla about setting a goal that will help them achieve (or get a step closer to) their ideal life. Lose weight! Save money! Spend time with my family! And two weeks later, these goals are long forgotten until the same resolutions are made next year.

People that achieve incredible things in their life are goal setters. They understand the importance of achieving small victories as you work towards the bigger vision. Goal setting is powerful. It is an inspiration to work towards your vision every day. A milestone in the creation of your ideal life. And most importantly – it is written down and reviewed regularly!

Start creating powerful goals! This technique will help you write clear goals that include the actions that you must take to achieve them. Consider each of the following when writing your goals for the next 1, 5, and 10 years.
• Specific – Describe in detail who, what, when and where.
• Present Tense – Write the goal as if you are achieving it today.
• Measurable – How will you know you have accomplished the goal?
• Time bound – Give yourself a specific deadline – down to the day!
• Challenge – If the goal is not challenging you, why aren’t you doing it already?
• Actions – Include what you are doing to achieve your goal!
• Affirmative – Write affirmative goals about want to want to happen – the law of attraction does not see the difference between what you do and don’t want. So leave out the don’t wants!

Here is a template for creating 1, 5, and 10 year goals for your personal life, health, and career.Download Goal Setting Worksheet

Now create your business plan!
Now that you have a clear picture of what you are trying to accomplish in your life, you can begin to manifest a career or business that will help you to achieve your ideal life!
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Learn the essentials of creating a functional business plan with The Yogipreneur Blog – Creating a Business Plan coming June 24th!

You are dreaming of the day when you can walk into a tranquil space, welcome new students (who are coming in droves) and share your passion for yoga. You have taken teacher trainings, workshops, and numerous classes to build your knowledge and understanding of this ancient practice. Owning a yoga studio has been your dream and maybe even now is a real possibility.

Owning and running a successful studio requires more than knowledge of yoga. It requires more than knowledge of business. A yogipreneur embodies a unique set of skills and traits required to endure the roller-coaster of running a business. Do you have what it takes to be a spiritual entrepreneur?
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Why do you want to open a yoga business?

This is one of the most important questions to ask yourself before opening a business. Do you have a burning passion for yoga? For helping people? For making a difference? Most likely, this passion for transforming lives is your primary reason for starting a yoga business.

However, businesses do not survive on passion alone. Unlike many other entrepreneurs, yoga business owners often view money as a necessary evil. Money is neither good or evil – it is simply one energy exchanged for another. And most importantly, a solid understanding of the true nature of abundance reveals that an abundance of money allows you to provide an abundance of services, education, and training to your students.

You must have both a passion for yoga as well as acceptance of financial sustainability to ensure the success of any yoga business.

The Ideal & The Real

Opening a new business very similar to having a child. You dream of having this beautiful baby who giggles and coos, smelling that sweet baby smell, dressed in those tiny little clothes. Then you wake up. Reality sets in. You are up all night. Just when the baby settles down, you are up again. It is messy and you are exhausted. Isn’t it lovely?

So let’s start with the good news first. There are many pros to opening a business, but here are my top three:

• Freedom! Finally – you are out of the daily grind. You are the boss. And you can work in the middle of the day in your PJs if you like. You decide what to do and when to do it.
• Fun! If you love what you do, it never feels like work! So creating a career out of a passion be one of the most rewarding ways to make a life, not just a living.
• Financial Abundance! Owning a business is one of the best ways to eliminate that cap on your income. Your income is 100% dictated by your success. The sky is the limit!

Now let’s look at what really goes into owning a business:

• Sweat Equity Expect to work long hours and weekends to get your business off the ground. The “if you build it, they will come” mentality is business suicide. You will need to learn and execute all areas of business (marketing, sales, operations, and finance). Expect to keep your nose to the grindstone for at least 2-3 years! The pros (above) only come once you have established your business and it is breaking even.
• Getting Paid You will have to sacrifice a regular paycheck and benefits until your business can afford to pay you.
• Issues Problems will arise on a regular basis and you will have to figure it out.

Although it can seem overwhelming, you can create a successful and profitable business if you have the personality, skills, and traits of successful entrepreneurs.

Are you a Yogipreneur?

It takes many different personalities, skills and traits to build a business. The only trait absolutely required of an entrepreneur is the ability to see opportunities instead of problems. This is what distinguishes entrepreneurs from most people. Obstacles are simply challenges. Entrepreneurs find a way to move forward. The burning passionate desire to achieve their vision motivates entrepreneurs to forge ahead.

What else does it take?

• Positive Attitude Yogipreneurs are optimists. They believe that they can overcome any challenge. They don’t let negative energy deter them from achieving their goal.

• Confidence Yogipreneurs believe in themselves and their vision.
• Perseverance Patience is a virtue! Yogipreneurs know that they will have to fail before they succeed.
• Motivation Yogipreneurs are motivated and driven to achieve their vision.
• Discipline Yogipreneurs can stay focused and achieve their goals on time.
• Adaptability Yogipreneurs can handle new challenges and situations. They understand that the only constant is Change!
• Time Management Yogipreneurs organize their time to focus on the most impactful tasks.
• Persuasiveness Yogipreneurs can convince anyone to try yoga! Their passion attracts new students consistently.
• Emotional Competence Yogipreneurs understand there will be incredible days and there will be horrible days. They understand that failure is a learning opportunity.
• Support System Without a strong support system, you will begin to feel very lonely very fast. Although friends and family are well-meaning, most entrepreneurs are initially discouraged to leave the security of a regular paycheck to start a new business.
• Strong Team Yogipreneurs surround themselves with a business team, mentors and coaches. A strong team can provide advice, insight, and support as you start your business.

Starting a yoga business requires ongoing learning. Your business will only grow as fast as you can learn, adapt, and overcome obstacles. Mistakes are a blessing and valuable learning tool. Have humility and ask for help or advice. And never waiver from your burning passion of sharing yoga to the world.[/private]

When you decide to take a vacation, do you just hop in the car and drive aimlessly? Probably not. Most likely, you spent a few hours making plans. You decided where you were going and what you were going to do when you got there. You began to make a list of what you needed to pack. You gathered your map and your directions to get from point A to point B.
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When you are teaching a yoga class, do you have a goal in mind? Did you plan out a sequence? If you are working towards a more difficult posture, you have to carefully guide your student to arrive to that posture.

So it surprises me that many yogis begin on the journey of a yoga business (teaching or owning a studio) without a goal in mind. They spend more time planning classes than planning for their business.

Without a clearly defined purpose, the business is more likely to be unfocused and lack direction. When opportunities or roadblocks arise, how do you decide what to do or what not to do if you don’t even know where you are going?

…to be continued…[/private]