Need or want to generate regular income from your yoga teaching? Understand that money loves speed… and how YOU might be sabotaging yourself!
Do you really want to make a sustainable income from teaching yoga? An income that helps pay your bills, provide for you and those close to you, and leave you feeling this is a genuine and sustainable career and not an expensive hobby or pin money?
If you do, you need to know that money loves speed!
Speed of decision making.
Speed of implementation.
And speed of picking yourself up if a plan doesn’t quite work, and moving on to what does work!
Because the truth is, the slower you are at these three things, the longer it is likely to take to hit your goals, and the more pressure you’ll put on yourself to give up.
Trust me! I’ve learned the hard way!
The truth is, if you currently have a job which pays the bills, you either have to find a way of transitioning from your job to yoga teaching, OR have enough funds to support you for a couple months AT LEAST, while you build your yoga business.
And that can feel a scary place to be...
All sorts goes through your mind.
If I give up my job what happens if it doesn’t work? Can I work part time? How can I transition from where I am now to teaching with a stable income?
For some, the feelings of insecurity this provokes is enough to send them running for the hills; with a sense that it’s just “impossible” or “too scary,” so they give up the idea of teaching professionally, and settle for teaching a couple of classes at a studio or gym.
And you know what? There’s nothing wrong with that!
Teaching as a side-line hobby, for a bit of extra cash each month, is sometimes the best route, and if that's a conscious choice that feels right for you, you know what? That's absolutely what you should do!
Truthfully? I suspect a majority of the thousands of yoga teachers being trained currently fit that category. When I am coaching yoga teachers I spend time trying to understand their motivations; their current skill set and their attitude toward risk as part of the process towards helping them make a decision which is right for them at that moment in time.
And here’s the thing – making that decision can be totally freeing! Because while ever you’re stuck in the “what path do I take?” mode – you’re stuck! Worried about making the “wrong” choice. Riddled with “what if” situations and the fear of failure.
Indecision about what path to take with your yoga teacher career holds you in the grip of inaction, anxiety and guilt.
I encourage you to start making faster decisions - for the sake of your yoga business and your sanity!
For some yoga teachers though, there is this deep sense of wanting to do more with their teaching. Maybe you’re in a job you don’t currently enjoy and yoga teaching represents a potential “way out”; maybe you are already in a complimentary career, in health and wellness and you can see how you could incorporate the skills from both careers; maybe yoga has helped you so much you find yourself totally motivated to try to help others find the benefits you found…
So... if you are motivated to make the transition to being a professional yoga teacher, one of the first skills to cultivate is making faster decisions!
Here’s the thing.
Because until you make a decision you don’t know what to do next! And the longer you hesitate, the longer you put off, the longer goes by with nothing being done to move you forward – and there’s nothing like staring at the end of the month wondering where the money will come from to pay the bills for making you pull your finger out – or panic – or both!
Money loves speed... and this is NO different when you're building a yoga business.
WHERE HESITATION COSTS YOU IN YOUR YOGA BUSINESS:
I’ve seen so many places where yoga teachers hesitate – and it costs them – but here’s just a few of the most common situations:
1. Indecision over which path to take – quit job or not? Go part time or not?
2. Not getting your CV out to gyms/studios you want to work for.
3. Working out your niche!
4. Taking weeks to decide your logo/branding!
5. Deciding your prices.
6. Taking AGES to get a website up – and putting everything else you need to do on hold until it’s ready.
7. Taking weeks (or longer) to decide what booking software to use – or if you’re going to use it at all!
8. Working out what to put on your adverts.
And the list could go on...
At every twist and turn in your business you will have to make decisions – and the longer you take to make them the longer it will take you to generate the results and income you desire.
Here’s a favourite quote of mine by John Maxwell:
There are two kinds of people in this world: those who want to get things done and those who don't want to make mistakes.
Because what holds us back is the FEAR of making a mistake – of making the “right” choice. But while you are angsting over which choice to make, your competition is just out there, trying things out, and seeing if it works or not. If it does – hey presto! The money comes in! If it doesn’t, they move on, and try something else or tweak what they did. They learn. They understand that’s part of the process...
This is SUCH an important topic, I’m running a series of articles on this. So if this resonates for you, watch out for:
So where do YOU hesitate in your business? Where are you putting off making a decision, instead of just taking a step?
This isn’t about neglecting what I call “due diligence.” You DO need to do your research. You DO need to learn from those who can help you – find a mentor you can trust and take their guidance.
But leadership is about knowing you will NEVER have all the answers or facts; you could research till the cows come home – but at some point you have to make a decision! It’s about maybe having 70% of what you need and then just getting out there and trying your plan.
Because the best feedback you can get is from your marketplace – from your clients or students. They will tell you whether you’ve got it right or not. And all the while, you are building relationships, learning what works and what doesn’t and building your confidence.
So are you ready to boot hesitation into the long grass?
Good luck!
