Opening a Studio: A Yoga Studio as a Profitable Business
Are you a new or experienced yoga teacher thinking about opening a yoga business? Do you want to run your own yoga business? Are you wondering if starting a yoga business will be profitable? Are you dreaming about becoming a yoga school or yoga studio owner?
If so, stay here for a few minutes and read this introductory yoga studio owner guide.
Understanding the yoga industry
The yoga industry is expected to grow rapidly (by close to 10% annually) between 2024 and 2030. The COVID-19 pandemic and studio closures rocked the yoga world. Lots of yoga studios folded. During that period, being a studio owner wasn’t all of the glitz, glam, and excitement that many yoga teachers and yoga enthusiasts expected it to be.
However, in-person yoga studios and face-to-face yoga classes are making a comeback and demand is increasing for yoga classes, particularly in certain regions. And the yoga industry, which is estimated to become a $215 billion industry by 2025, is bracing for rapid expansion with increased demand for yoga and fitness offerings.
If it is your dream to open a yoga studio and become a business owner, this might be the perfect time to launch.
Is a yoga studio a profitable business?
A yoga studio has tremendous potential to be a profitable business, particularly depending on its location and the business strategies and decisions taken by the yoga studio owner. Yoga studios are an incredible way to build and support the yoga community and to promote the benefits of regular yoga practice.
If you want to build a profitable and successful yoga studio—and a thriving yoga studio–it’s definitely within the realm of possibility.
Develop a clear yoga studio vision and strategy
Whether you want to launch a studio in a rural market or in a very competitive space, it’s essential that you have a clear vision for your yoga studio and a solid business plan. When you own your own business, having a vision and business can not only remove a lot of stress from business ownership, but it can help keep you focused on your business, particularly during the highs and lows (which will inevitably surface) as an entrepreneur.
As a yoga business coach and founder of The Yoga Startup, I help yoga teachers and entrepreneurs navigate all stages of running, organizing, and managing a business–including creating a business plan, brainstorming, market research, and helping to clarify business vision.
Creating a comprehensive yoga business plan
A successful business doesn’t just happen overnight, it requires determination and support. For example, there are many aspects to consider when planning on opening a yoga studio.
Your Business Model
In the very beginning, you’ll need to consider your business model and business structure (e.g., limited liability company, independent yoga teacher), determine how much capital you need and what will be an initial investment required, decide what legal entity suits your business, figure out insurance to ensure you and the business legally are covered to protect your personal assets, decide on whether you’ll hire someone to become a studio manager, among other considerations. For example, you’ll also need to think about the studio’s location, finding a suitable space, and overhead cost such as rent, and whether it is too much money or reasonable for the location and for how many students you’ll be able to teach. You’ll also have to think about yoga equipment and gear needed, such as yoga mats, yoga props, and room lighting.
Market Research
You’ll also need to spend time conducting research, such as looking at other local businesses in the yoga and fitness space, and specifically other yoga studios, and determine where your new yoga business will fit in. You’ll have to do your homework and figure out if you’re competing in a highly saturated market. Your research will help you determine if your start up costs are what you expect or will exceed your financial plan.
You’ll have to think about your unique selling points and your competitive advantages. For example, will you offer niche yoga classes? Will you sell yoga products in a corner of your yoga studio space, such as yoga clothes or personalized merchandise (e.g., such as custom yoga mats or t-shirts). It’s important to take a close look at the existing yoga market, so you know whether you stand a real and serious shot at becoming a thriving yoga studio.
Yoga Business support
The Yoga Startup can help you come up with your yoga studio business plan. As a business coach, I can also help the yoga business owner and yoga studios navigate business fears, planning, and challenges, such as how to deal with imposter syndrome in the business world. However, if you choose to tackle a yoga studio business plan on your own or navigate opening a yoga studio without professional support services, you’ll need to ensure it covers key components, such as an executive summary, marketing strategy, a sales plan, and funding/cost projections, as well as KPIs (key performance indicators).
Offered Yoga Services and Yoga Classes
Owning a yoga studio gives you freedom to come up with your very own plan for classes, class schedules, workshops, retreats, private yoga sessions or private lessons, and yoga teacher training offers–all which can contribute to a yoga studio’s profitability. For example, your yoga studio could be a boutique yoga studio and feature a very specific niche or style of yoga, or feature a variety of yoga classes and yoga instructors, such as hot yoga. You also have the flexibility to set the class fee or devise a specific yoga class for an event or student group, which can positively impact your studio’s bottom line.
If you plan to run a yoga studio and teach yoga, as well as manage your social media platforms, you will have even more flexibility to craft your dream yoga studio and maximize profits. You will also have flexibility to think about multiple streams of revenue to enhance profitability.
However, you may find yourself extremely pinched for time. That’s when finding a business coach or support can come in handy.
My book ChatGPT for Yoga Teachers can teach the studio owner how to leverage AI to help you on your business journey and help you open a yoga studio, while feeling like you have a studio manager or bigger management team than you actually may have in the beginning of your launch.
Yoga Certification
As a note, as a studio owner, if your yoga studio (or yoga school) is Yoga Alliance Certified (yoga’s recognized body for certification), you can potentially even make more money as you can offer yoga teacher training that is highly sought after by yoga students looking to become a new yoga teacher. Having Yoga Alliance certified Yoga teacher training programs (YTT) can also make your studio marketing efforts a lot easier–talk about time saving tools. These are the sort of things you will want to address in your marketing plan if you want to stack the odds in your favor of having a thriving business.
Yoga Studios – Location, Location, Location
As well, having a unique physical location for your yoga studio, workshops, or retreats (such as exotic retreat destinations) can help you earn even more revenue. Plus, offering unique yoga practice workshops, special events, classes, or retreats with advanced practitioners or invited yoga guests can help you make even more money.
Investment
If you plan to open a yoga studio, you have to consider the financial investment and cost of operating a studio.
Opening a yoga studio on a shoestring budget is possible, however, many yoga studio owners find that it can cost more or less than $30,000 in start-up costs, depending on upfront costs like the studio lease, how many classes you’ll offer, yoga studio owners’ plans, and how much clients pay. If you want to launch your own yoga studio, there are ways to be creative to keep costs low or to raise money (think crowdsourcing and business loans).
Conclusion – Become a Profitable Yoga Studio Owner
Are you thinking about opening a yoga studio? If so, I’d love to hear about it and your business journey ideas.
What is your biggest concern or hesitation about opening a yoga school or studio? Does coming up with a marketing plan, financial plan, or the idea of social media marketing freak you out? Are you concerned about your ability to build a strong yoga community? Do you feel ready to become a studio owner or do you doubt whether you have the CEO or entrepreneurial skills you need to launch?
Are you ready to open a yoga studio? If you’re on the fence, this might the perfect time for you to become a yoga studio owner.
Drop a comment below or reach out to me via my social media channels.
-jules