Is Cash Flow a Problem in Your Yoga Business?
4 key questions to help you focus on the RIGHT things to grow your yoga business.
In a previous article I wrote about avoiding the “bright shiny objects” of yoga teacher business trainings, which promise you can earn thousands from high priced signature programmes and online offerings and from workshops or retreats or even private clients. If you’ve not read this article, and you’ve been tempted by, or perhaps even invested in one of these programmes but it’s sitting on your computer unfinished, then take a look at why I firmly believe this is NOT the best way to start your yoga teacher career: “Becoming a Pro Yoga Teacher Isn't Sexy!"
Can signature programmes; online offerings, retreats and so on help bring you in a higher steady income stream?
Yes!
But developing these offerings not only takes more time, it takes longer if you start with no basic marketing knowledge or skill and haven’t got a clear idea of who your target market is and what your offering would be. Not only that, the infrastructure you will need to support such offerings will require further investment too… all before you actually earn a penny from your efforts!!
So unless you have capital to spare, or money you don’t mind borrowing, it could be a while before the efforts you are putting in actually bring you a return on your investment.
I’ve seen yoga teachers seduced by the idea of taking their teaching online so they start creating products; working on a website; learning technology; worrying about videoing themselves ALL at the expense of doing the actions that will actually generate them cash flow in the next 90 days.
They hit a wall. They are not seeing results from the long term stuff they’ve been working on.
They lose their confidence.
They worry because all their efforts aren’t actually bringing in any actual cash.
And then they give up. The training which promised them so much, sits on their computer, unfinished and/or unworked.
Where you focus your time will translate into money in the bank – or not.
The truth is, if what you need right now as a yoga teacher is cash in the bank in the next 90 days , then going online is NOT where your focus should be:.
Your prime focus should be on where money actually changes hands.
3 KEY QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU FOCUS ON IMPROVING YOUR CASH FLOW AS A YOGA TEACHER:
The key is to start to become more aware of how you spend your time each day, each week.
If you’ve ever felt like you’ve worked REALLY hard all week, yet somehow you don’t feel you’re any further forward then it is highly likely your focus is on the things least likely to get you the results you say you want.
So here’s an exercise I sometimes give the teachers I work with; to help them really start to get sharper with their focus and bring in cash more quickly into their business. The idea is, as you sit down to do ANY work related to your yoga business you should ask yourself these 3 questions:
- 1WILL WHAT I’M ABOUT TO DO HELP ME ACTUALLY GENERATE CASH IN THE NEXT 90 DAYS?
I know this sounds simple – but seriously – this is an important question if cash flow is an issue for you!I’ve had yoga teachers tell me they’ve been spending hours on social media; on blogging or on deliberating over what to put on their website. These activities are not only time suckers, they are NOT what will bring you in revenue in the next 90 days! (And if you haven’t a clear idea of your target message or the right message to put out there on social media, it’s even less likely to produce results for you.)Focus on activities which will generate money in the bank in the next 90 days as your priority. - 2IS WHAT I’M ABOUT TO DO IN ALIGNMENT WITH MY YOGA BUSINESS GOALS FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHS?
Where do you want your yoga business to be in the next 12 months? Do you actually have a clear idea of the revenue you want to generate in your business? (Or is it a case of “Well, I’d love to earn x, but I’ll see how it goes!”)Are you clear about the students you’d love to teach most? The money you want to be able to pay yourself as well as the costs of running your business? The lifestyle you want to be living as a yoga teacher?Many of the yoga teachers I work with don’t want to jet set around the world; they don’t want to be teaching 20 or more classes a week. They’re not even really attracted to the idea of taking their business online. They just want to earn a decent income doing what they love; teaching students they love; at times that suit them and which work around their other commitments in their lives.And why not? Because that IS possible. I’m living proof of that.Focus on activities which will line up with YOUR vision for your business; NOT what you think you should be doing, or what the yoga world tells you is the latest trend. - 3WHAT ARE THE MOST CRITICAL TASKS AND PROJECTS I NEED TO SPEND MOST OF MY TIME ON TO BRING IN CASH IN 90 DAYS?
Get clear on this – and then ensure you spend AT LEAST 90 minutes a day working on those tasks. Get yourself a tool like TOGGL (A wonderful free tool to help you track how you’re spending your time) and commit to being totally focused on those tasks you’ve identified as the best ones to bring in cash quickly.
If you do, I promise you, you’ll get results.
We learn as yoga teachers the importance of focus – for meditation; for balance and on our breath.
You should be good at this!!
So ask yourself those questions and then bring that focus you have on the mat to your income generating tasks – and watch the money roll in!
Good luck!
Namaste,
Shona
Actions you can take
Want more help with your focus? Finding it hard to know exactly where to focus your efforts to get the quickest results? Wish you had a sounding board to run ideas past, or someone to hold you accountable so you waste less time and get more done to build your yoga business?
Join our FB group; where you’ll find resources, tips, short trainings and other opportunities to share and learn how to build a sustainable yoga business and career that’s right for YOU.
