Yodega Yoga Studio

I have been practicing yoga for over half my life. I found it at the beginning of my career. It was my first job out of college, I was living in NYC, and the new stressors of adulting and living in a city like NYC created some anxieties and unhealthy habits. I took a yoga class at a cheap gym across the street from my office and was immediately hooked.

I was drawn to the way that moving my body in this puzzle of shapes and focusing on breath made all the external/work worries disappear for a moment. I also discovered the power of breath and how effective it can be in calming the nervous system. As I continued to develop these organizational and leadership skills in advertising, I began to believe that I could start my own yoga studio and that it would be an enjoyable venture.

There was an empty storefront near my home that I would drive by all the time and I kept envisioning my yoga studio in that space. My neighborhood at the time was a yoga desert so it seemed like a new studio would be well received. In November 2022 I was unexpectedly laid off from my job and that day, my mind went to, "now is the time to open my yoga studio." The next day, I called the real estate agent's number from the For Rent poster in the window, inquired, and then went to walk through the space - it was perfect!

I didn't have a business plan in place or any kind of budget fleshed out. I ended up pressing pause, but the idea kept ruminating, and I kept driving by the empty storefront. I had several discussions from the time I was laid off in November 2022, but I think I went nose down with putting all the wheels into motion in September 2023.

The primary steps were: 1. Start negotiating rent (I had already found the space I wanted) 2. Hire a consultant, he was one of my favorite yoga teachers and he had consulted on a few other studio openings. We met weekly at a local cafe 3. File LLC 4. Purchase domain and select web service - GoDaddy 5. Begin Chicago Business License Process

Our students mostly live in our neighborhood who enjoy being able to walk to their local yoga studio. I also live in the neighborhood, have lived here since 2007, and have enjoyed getting to know so many neighbors and to experience neighbors meeting neighbors for the first time at our studio ~ "oh you live across the alley from me".

Our students are a diverse mix of those with regular advanced practices and beginners, and everything in between. I often hear people complain about certain studios that have a certain "look" to them, meaning everyone is wearing fancy branded clothing and has a superficial vibe. Our studio is the opposite of that. We have a wide age range, a great mix of Gen X, Y & Z. Young professionals right out of college, local bartenders, neighborhood parents, 70s with double hip replacement.

It is such a wonderful mix and I think our sense of community is one of the key things bringing students back.

People choose us because they want more than a white box to practice in, more than classes that are conducted with strict guidelines, they want a space and teachers that have character and personality. Our teachers are experienced and amazingly talented.

Many studios have strict guidelines on how classes are structured but we allow and encourage creativity and for the teachers to bring in their own personalities. I hear over and over again that students love how unique each teacher and each class is. They love the variety!

Students also love the community aspect of our studio. We have a "Living Room" space where students often hang out and visit with each other before, in between and after classes. We have seen so many neighbors get to know each other and form friendships after meeting at our studio. We also have socials throughout the year, particularly our Friendsgiving Potluck.

Everything!

Choose something that you enjoy doing, not necessarily what is going to make the most money. I believe in the saying, "it's not work if you love what you do". And while running the yoga studio business can be exhausting, it is wonderfully rewarding and that motivates me to make it even greater.

Talk about your idea, talk to experts and friends who may have knowledge of one part of the business, ask questions, and research your competitors, visit their sites/stores/studios, etc. - it's very important to gather information!

Finally, be mindful in selecting who you hire and allow to represent your brand. In the goodness of my heart, I wanted to give every yoga teacher a chance at teaching, but realized after several bad experiences with poor quality teaching, or poor performance, that I need to be more thorough in my vetting process.

Probably offering too many classes right off the bat. I have carefully curated the schedule over the past couple of years, adding & dropping classes, renaming them, etc.

The yoga studio industry appears to be veering far off the traditional yoga path towards group fitness like mat pilates. Maybe it is a return to more traditional yoga, maybe focusing more on philosophy of yoga.

Our goal/mission can be found in the name, Yodega. Like a bodega, we are your local neighborhood yoga studio. Our mission is to be a place where neighbors come together to practice yoga, practice mindfulness, breathe, and connect.

Punchpass was the first and only - I've used it from the beginning.

The affordable cost of Punchpass has been instrumental in the success of Yodega. Many of the other platforms are $300/month, maybe up to $1000. By limiting the amount spent on our studio management software, we have had funds to invest in other areas to grow the business.