Should you invest in a yoga class booking system if you’re a new yoga teacher running your own classes?

Truth bomb!

Investing in systems to support the everyday running of our business is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL for your sanity, and for your growth!

You don’t have to look for the most expensive systems: that can wait until your business really needs it and you have the cash in the business to be able to afford it. But finding systems which will support what you do and provide opportunities to develop and grow your business is a smart move – right from the start.

My advice? Don’t allow your brain to persuade you there’s no need to invest in that right now – it can wait till you get more students. Some infrastructure really is worth every penny – and a student booking system is an absolute must as far as I’m concerned.

Thoughts on yoga student booking systems:

1. Make a list of the criteria that are important for you in any booking system.

Seriously – this is the most important place to start! What do you need the system to do?
For me – it needed to allow students to book/pay through it.

I needed to be able to offer a variety of class times/teachers (for cover or when running
retreat days)

I knew I wanted to develop courses and different types of membership options – any system needed to be able to do that.

It needed to be able to e-mail students if there was a change to a class.

It needed to be fairly intuitive to use – so it wouldn’t take me long to understand how to
work it! (Or my students!)

And it needed to be value for money. No need for “whizz bang” features I wasn’t going to
use – or couldn’t see myself using in the next 12-24 months or so at least – otherwise I’d be
paying for things I actually never really made good use of!

And that was it basically.

2. It will take time for you to research and decide which one is best for you – but don’t take too long! Give yourself a week deadline at the most – to have it researched and the
decision made!

I don’t know about you – but buying anything these days can end up being something of a nightmare and a rabbit warren which sucks your time (and in my case my energy and will to
live!) – and often leaves you confused about which is the best system to invest in.

I’ve seen yoga teachers take months agonising over this! Talk about procrastination and
creative avoidance!!

I actually hired a virtual assistant to research this for me and come up with 3 of their top
choices based on criteria I sent over to them. They did in this 24 hours; sent me their report;
I took a couple of hours reviewing the programmes and made the decision and purchased
the same day. By the end of the week it was set up to take money/bookings and had all my
classes in ready! Boom! Job done!

3. Booking software makes you look professional.

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This is a biggie for me. If you’ve been with me for any length of time, you’ll know I teach
people they need to take the business side of their yoga teaching seriously – like any other
career, you have to act in a professional like manner.

I still have attendance sheets my students check in on in class, but they get receipts,
notification of their bookings and can book themselves anytime into a class all through this
system. It’s just one more thing which tells them you’re not a fly by night. You’re here for
the foreseeable future, and they can feel confident you’ll be there to support them going
forward.

4. Booking software takes the nightmare (well almost!!) out of offering flexibility to your
students and it’s another way of allowing you to see how you’re doing instantly.

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I offer 4 different levels of membership with me, drop in price and a fixed course price.
If I had to keep tabs on where all my students were at any one time with their membership
status I’d not have a life! (I usually have between 90 and 110 memberships running at any
one time). I still find there are queries and checks – but generally speaking, the system is
easy to up-date for both me and my students.

And most systems will also give you reports which show how many active students you
have; how many memberships; what money has been paid etc. To be honest – I tend to take
more notice of my accountancy software for checking how my business is doing – but it’s
still a useful feature.

5. Don’t be mesmerised by the expensive or brand names.

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Yes – most yogis have heard of Mind-Body but literally there are dozens of systems out
there. (Another reason why getting help or advice to make a shortlist is a good idea!)

Most will offer you a free trial – so if you schedule a couple of hours when you know you are
in your diary to sit down and just have a look at the ones you’ve shortlisted – and see how
easy it is to enter details/classes etc – then make your choice and get on with attracting
those students to your classes!!

So don’t put off. Get yourself sorted with a booking system before you enrol your first student!

Good luck!
Namaste,
Shona

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