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Yoga Teachers: This Summer, Get Ready for Fall!

 

In the yoga world of the Northern Hemisphere, one could say that we have two high seasons, or “Januarys”. There’s January, and then there’s September.

September is almost like the beginning of a whole new year with summer coming to an end, school starting, and people getting back into their routines after playing and traveling.

If you want to be ready to capture the influx of students that come in the fall, now is the time to prepare.

Successful yoga instructors and studios cannot depend on luck alone. New students and return students do not just walk in the door. Repeat: The key is preparation!  And the slower summer months are the perfect time to get ready.

 

Here are 5 things you can do right now to ensure a stellar finish to the year:

Declutter & Simplify

First things first, take this time to clear your workspace, get rid of papers and things that have accumulated around your space/office, and throw out/donate/sell whatever is no longer bringing you joy. A clean, uncluttered space is not only calming for the mind, but naturally gets the creative juices flowing and increases productivity.

Get your Finances in Order

Having your financial “ducks in a row” helps you get clear about what kind of goals you want to set (Step 3!).

Ask yourself these questions:

Are you regularly checking your bank accounts to manage your money?

Do you need to set up a budget so you’re aware of your income and expenses? Have you put this in writing so that it’s very clear and there are no questions?

Are you saving 10% of every dollar that comes in?

Is it time to hire a bookkeeper if you haven’t already?

Set your Goals & Create Action Steps

Ask yourself these questions:

What kind of classes do you want to be teaching – workshops, beginner series, retreats, etc.?

What kind of income are you hoping for?

What kind of feeling or culture do you want to cultivate in your studio, with your students, etc?

Once you know the answer to these questions, you’ve got your goals figured out! Now you will be able to create clear, concrete action steps and set up a to-do list of setting dates, create a marketing plan (see below), and prepare to make a great offering to your students. Our favorite online to-do list apps are Todoist and Wunderlist.

Create Your Marketing Plan

Working backwards from the start date of your programming, determine how many times you want to:

Send an email to your list about the program

Post on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and/or other social media accounts

Whether you want to create a printed postcard to put around town and how many to print

Once you’ve determined the number of marketing efforts you want to make for each event leading up to the start date, begin drafting the emails, posts, and graphics needed for each and map them out on your calendar for August, September and beyond.

You can store these assets using some of our favorite tools such as Google Docs, Evernote, Wunderlist, or Sunrise.

 Practice & Study

Since classes during the summer are smaller, many get cancelled for the season, because there just aren’t that many people around. So really, it’s the perfect time to roll out your mat and get inspired! Take advantage of the downtime to pull out your teacher training and philosophy lecture notebooks, experiment on your sticky mat, take an online course, and visit your yoga library to get some reading done. When you take this time to study, practice, and hone your skills as a teacher, you’ll come away from the summer ready to motivate and lift up your students!

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