7 Actionable Tips to Find the Best Location for Yoga Studio

7 Actionable Tips to Find the Best Location for Yoga Studio

Opening a yoga studio is exciting for yoga teachers and unlocks a plethora of opportunities. If you’re planning to open a yoga studio, you must be thrilled too. While this may be your dream, we recommend carefully considering the different factors and thoughts included in the process. Your studio will showcase your abilities to the world and serve as a foundation for your future endeavors.

This blog focuses on the location aspect that plays a critical role in the success of your yoga studio.

Read more to find out 7 actionable tips to find the best location for your yoga studio:

• The Area Options

Indeed, your conscious working and the way you’re presenting your yoga studio have a strong influence on your business. But the location also determines your success journey and customer footfall. Finding the right location for your studio is a big affair and you need to settle with the best possible option to reap maximum benefits. You can amend the little things in your studio, your marketing tactics, classes, and even your brand’s ideology, but the location is something that you can’t change in a short time. You need to be sure that the location you’ve chosen to build your dream yoga studio checks all the boxes and won’t disappoint you in the future.

Depending upon the city you’re based in and planning to establish your yoga studio, the first thing you need to do is identify the type of neighborhood, is it urban, suburban, or rural?

If it’s a suburban province, aim for centralized locations that are close to potential or existing market spaces, fitness centers, food stores, and good neighborhoods. Here, people tend to live in grouped places and usually travel to sector markets and central areas for shopping and other activities. The business is pretty sorted in urban areas, where the footfall is high compared to the suburban and rural areas. Even the marketing budget goes down because the location itself acts as a promoter for your yoga studio. Getting more students can be a tough deal in rural areas because you will need to tell people about your existence, make your services affordable, and put a hefty amount for marketing.

Connect with a property broker and visit some available options that are available on rent. The brokers have good knowledge of the neighborhood and markets and can help you find the best options. Just share your basic requirements including the type of area- traditional market or non-traditional market, the area covered, floor and rent, and your broker will do the needful.

• Features Of The Location

Once you’ve found the perfect location for your yoga studio, you need to check for a few more things and assess the features that the location has to offer. Let’s look at the salient features that your yoga studio must have to get maximum clientele:

Ventilation:
Yoga is a rejuvenating activity and practicing it in a cold and dingy place might not be the best option. Your yoga studio needs a fresh vibe and should be well ventilated. Fewer brick walls and more windows make the ideal floor set up for a yoga studio. Make sure there is cross-ventilation in the studio so that the students can breathe properly during the practice, instead of feeling suffocated.

Floor/Levels:
Let’s suppose you’re aiming for the 50+ crowds, in that case, it would be ideal to get a yoga studio on the ground or first floor. Your demographics also play an important role in determining the location of your yoga studio. We’ll talk about this later in this blog. You can also get a studio on the second floor, as long as the building has an elevator. It would be great if you can find a place with two independent and internally connected floors, and run two classes simultaneously.

Studio facing:
If you’re into ‘Vaastu,’ we recommend consulting an expert to analyze the critical features of the studio. We consider getting an east-facing studio so that the students can enjoy the beautiful sunrise during morning yoga sessions.

The View:
Though yoga is about looking inside yourself, yet we recommend getting a studio that offers a pleasant and green view, instead of a busy street-view. The gorgeous outside views have a substantial effect on the studio’s ambiance andcan enhance yoga practice.

How ready and equipped is the place?
Instead of renting/buying a bare shell, try finding some old dance studios, gymnasiums, or other fitness centers that are partially equipped. This way you can reduce the cost on set-up and take advantage of the previous step. Old gymnasiums and dance academies might have usable mirrored walls, air-conditioning ducts, separate rooms, etc. that can be utilized and refurbished as per your needs.

• Security

You will be putting in a hefty amount of investment for setting up your yoga studio and you need a sense of reliability and security, especially when you’re not at the premises. First, the location should be in a well-known and running spaces, instead of an isolated space with no buildings around. Most market complexes and buildings offer day and night security that is ideal to keep your studio safe. Talk to the concerned authorities about the kind of security they provide, if the place is under video surveillance, and the number of guards, who monitor the space during the night.

• Easily Accessible

No one would like to travel for an hour for an hour-long yoga class and travel back home for another hour. People need accessibility. You can’t be physically close to every student or client, yet you can find a central location, where you can cover a good radius of the city. Instead of getting a place at one end of the city that offers lower rent, we recommend renting a place, where people can commute daily. You also don’t want your studio in your market that experiences heavy traffic, as soon as you connect to the main road. Let’s suppose you’ve found the perfect market space that checks all the points. The next step is to get a store, which doesn’t require a long way to reach; rather it should be close to the communal bathroom (incase your studio doesn’t have on), the exits, the entries, parking lot, or the elevator.

• Location Must Match Demographics

As a yoga studio owner, you must be well-versed with the demographics of the clientele and the target audience before opening your studio. For instance, lower-priced residential districts are perfect if you’re aiming for the budget-conscious individuals, who don’t wish to travel to far off places for yoga classes. If you’re planning to open a fine yoga studio with exceptional amenities for the upper-class individuals, we suggest luxury markets that have high-end stores. An alternative and safe option would be to open your yoga studio in specialized locations that have fitness institutes, health spa, organic food stores or colleges. This way you will enjoy a high footfall of health-focused individuals.                        

• Parking Area

Parking spots have been a constant topic for disputes in most cities. The crowded market places are filled with cars and two-wheelers, and you don’t want this to be a reason for your studio going down. Your students will need to park their vehicles for at least an hour or more, and a dedicated parking space will add to the value of your studio. Most traditional market spaces in posh areas have ample parking area for the visitors. Try to find a location, where your students don’t have to waste 10 minutes every day, finding a spot for parking. The availability of parking spaces will speak volumes of your studio and attract and retain the upper-class audience, who commute by car. You can also hike up the prices of your classes, if you’re offering legit parking space to the students.

• Compare Rents

Once you’ve shortlisted a few places, make a note of all the places with their rents/price and compare all the options. Write down the pros and cons of each, and try to analyze the best match for your studio. Keep the rent of your studio, aligned with your budget and don’t just opt in for a bigger option just because you like it. Work out the monthly investments, rent, projected sales/classes, and see if it works out for you.

We hope this blog will allow you to carefully weigh the pros and cons of different kinds of locations and find the best spot for your yoga studio.

11 Things To Know Before Starting Yoga Studio

Yoga is a beautiful practice and people love the rejuvenating benefits of this ancient art. With increasing popularity of the fitness and wellness industry, opening a yoga studio is an amazing idea.

If you have what it takes to run a yoga studio successfully, then what are you waiting for? Keep the following things in mind and start your yoga studio:

• Why Do You Want To Start Your Own Yoga Studio?

There can be a number of answers to this question. Maybe you want to share your yoga experience with others, educate the world, make money, or just teach yoga as a hobby.

If you want your venture to be successful, you need to have or create a strong purpose. You cannot expect good results unless you have the passion or some sort of inspiration for your work.

Even if you want to open a yoga studio for extra income or just as some side-work, tell yourself the truth. If your purpose is strong and you know what exactly you want, your efforts won’t disappoint you. 

• Make A Proper Plan

Now, that you’ve figured your passion and made up your mind, its time that you formally prepare a plan for the yoga studio. Begin with a small business plan, your brand’s vision, financial schemes, and a plan of action. The initial stage of planning is crucial, as it allows you to view a structured setup of the yoga studio and you can share the same with your investors, friends, or consultants for further suggestions.

Consider preparing a floor layout for the studio, determine the capacity of your classes, the kind of classes you will host, the props you will require, and every little thing that comes across your mind. Keep a note pad with you at all times and note down any idea, suggestion or aspect regarding your studio.

• Are You Yoga Alliance Certified?

Yoga studios with reliable and certified yoga instructors are more popular and admired by serious students. Be it your trainers or you, Yoga Alliance certification is important, if you wish to successfully run a yoga studio. Most people won’t even consider joining your yoga studio if you don’t seem professional or hold a valid certification.

Being a certified instructor, also adds to your training sessions, as students will be amazed to see your fine knowledge, and return for more classes. They might even recommend you to others if they feel your training helped them in some or the other way.

• Take Care Of The Finances

Are you planning to take a loan to set up the yoga studio or will you be using your savings? Either way, you need to be careful and spend your hard-earned money, wisely. Setting up a yoga studio is a lot more than just building four walls with a ceiling. It requires heavy investment for a variety of things. This is the step, where your planning will come handy and help you get close to a figure that you’ll be investing in.

Another aspect of the finance is the studio rent that usually is a big pain in case you’re studio isn’t running well. Apart from the rent, there are various legal fees, salaries, and other maintenance charges that also require a good chunk of the investment.

• Think Of A Feasible Location For Your Studio

Nobody wants to commute to a location that is far away from the city and disconnect from the mainstream areas. There are various points that you need to keep in mind while selecting a location for your yoga studio. It’s pretty difficult to find a scenic and natural setting for your studio in the urban cities, and even if you manage to find one, the high rents are just another worry.

Consider renting a small place in a good location for the beginning. Make sure the location has ample parking space, good markets, proper connectivity to the rest of the city, and a lively atmosphere. If the business goes well, you may expand your studio and put in your profits for the same.

• Who Will Be Your Clients?

What kind of people are you aiming to target? Depending upon the type of classes you’ll be offering, find the right kind of clients that suit the profile and target them through intensive marketing. Even the location of your studio depends upon the target audience.

Your yoga brand won’t be a success if you’re targeting the 50+ audiences and your studio is on the 4th floor with no elevator facility. You will have to determine your target audience and set up your yoga studio side by side, so that every factor aligns properly.

• Associate With People And Brands

Affiliate marketing is an efficient and inexpensive way of marketing that creates a win-win situation for both parties. There are various online bloggers, social media influencers, online fitness enthusiast, and online brands, who love to share the latest trends, information, and news about the wellness industry. Collaborate with them and ask them to publicize your yoga studio, in return for a free yoga class.

You will notice that the majority of their followers will fall in your target audience group and once they’ve given your brand a shout-out, people will come running to your studio.

• Be Natural And Reflect True Yoga Principles

No matter how modern and top-notch yoga studio you’re planning to set up, don’t drift away from the simplicity and other values that yoga has taught you. Make sure your trainers and classes offer proper yogic principles and not just a vague workout experience.

Make your classes interactive and share theoretical knowledge of asana during the practical sessions. Tell your students about the Sanskrit names of asana, their benefits, and modifications, along with some lifestyle tips. This way, people will look upon your yoga studio as a genuine and authentic place.

• Trainers And Staff

To make the most of your yoga studio, you will need to hire experienced yoga instructors, who share the same passion for yoga as you.

Talk to your friends, colleagues, or former students and see if anyone is wiling to join your studio as an instructor or trainer. It’s really tough to handle one class, especially when everyone has different physical abilities. You cannot attend to every student, personally and this where your instructors and trainers will benefit. Even your students will love the fact that your studio has dedicated yoga instructors for proper training.

Make sure that the trainers you hire are genuine, have proper knowledge of yoga, and treats the students with respect.

• Set Short And Achievable Goals

You cannot set up a yoga studio in one day. It is similar to practicing yoga and requires a lot of patience, dedication, and hard work in the right direction. Don’t stress yourself by making huge plans and failing at them. Instead, make small goals that are within your capacity and slowly increase its intensity. The happiness that you will achieve by completing small goals will eventually motivate you to do better and fulfill your dream.

Make a small checklist every night, regarding the work that has to be done. Try to complete as much work you can and see how much you’ve accomplished by the end of the day. Repeat the same every day.

• Marketing

Before you launch your yoga studio, it is recommended that you at least begin with the groundwork of digital and online marketing to create hype about your yoga studio. Don’t wait till the last moment, start with online marketing as soon as you can. Develop a website, social media profile, and link your URL with Google to slowly improve your online ranking. By the time you inaugurate your yoga studio, make sure you have commendable online presence and traffic online. This way you’ll experience tremendous response even on the first day.

You can also use the online platforms for pre-bookings and get an instant return from your marketing investment. We recommend hiring a digital marketing agency such as Digital Media Soul, to easily manage your online marketing needs such as SEO, SMO, Web Development, Content Marketing, Graphic Design, Brand Optimization, etc.

Stay calm, focused, and keep the above-mentioned things in mind before starting your yoga studio. 

How To Build Yoga Studio Website

Yoga might be an ancient practice that enhances the well-being and lifestyle of individuals, but marketing your yoga brand or studio requires modern and smart methods. Having a stunning and informative website builds a strong online presence that is essential for business growth. A good website attracts a number of yoga students, increases the chances of collaboration opportunities, and skyrockets your brand’s reputation.

Whether you’re a professional or an amateur, a good online presence is essential in today’s time. Even a basic website with relevant information about the yoga studio, services provided, and few pictures of the studio will do miracles for your yoga brand. You don’t need to be a programmer or a coder to build a website, and even the process isn’t rocket science. Let’s talk more about how you can build the perfect website for your yoga brand.

• Find The Right Domain:

Getting a domain is the most essential step to enter the online world and to be a part of an ever-growing digital community. Domain serves as your digital address and is a place where people can reach out for your services and other information through online media.

If your yoga studio already has a business name, then choosing a domain is no biggie. You can buy a domain at a very low cost which will give you subscription for a year. Consider adding some keywords such as yoga, ashram or wellness, incase your preferred name isn’t readily available. We recommend choosing the ‘.com’ extension, as it adds credibility to your website and brand, is highly favored by search engines, and implies that your brand is highly established. You can also get the .org extension and enjoy high social validation.

• Get An Affordable And Excellent Hosting Service:

Web hosting is a service that allows your website to get published on the Internet and available to the people. The website’s database is usually stored on special computers on the servers and houses every little information and content of your website. This service or technology allows visitors to access any website and is an essential requirement to make your website live.

Most hosting service providers offer a range of packages that differ in terms of bandwidth allocation, storage, control panel features, IP address, privacy, security, and uptime. Depending upon the type of usage, you can find the right package that suits your needs and get your website running. HostGator, Bluehost, Dreamhost, and SiteGround are popular Web Hosting Providers that offer affordable and reliable services.

You can also find special packages at GoDaddy, which offers hosting services, along with domain names at discounted prices.

• Choose A Website Building Tool:

After you’re done choosing your domain and hosting service, its time to get a building tool that will help you design an informative and attractive website. Earlier, website designing required high and complex knowledge of HTML coding, but today there are various tools and website builders that have pre-coded tools. These tools, action buttons, and other elements come with a simple drag and drop feature that can be used by anyone, who has zero or little experience of coding.

WordPress is the most popular website building tool that is recommended by professionals and is super easy to use. With loads of customizable options, privacy settings, and security features, WordPress is the best platform to build a website for your yoga studio.

• Alternatively, You Can Also Hire A Website Developer:

If you’re new to website building and developing, it might take you some time to understand the functionality part of the building aspect and you might not get exactly what you had planned. You may want to hire a Website Developer to get some workload off of you.

Today, there are various freelance WordPress developers, who can help you design the perfect website you want, at affordable prices. These developers also have sufficient knowledge of coding and can tweak your website for better functionality, visibility, and usability. You can get in touch with the freelancer and discuss your requirements to develop an amazing website.

Hiring a website developer will not only save your time but also enhance the performance and credibility of your website.

• Choose An Interesting And Catchy Website Theme That Complements Your Yoga Brand:

This is the most interesting part of Website building that also plays an important role in audience retention and conversion. Pre-formatted themes and templates determine the layout and formatting of the overall website that plays a vital role in showcasing the content of your website. The color scheme, backgrounds, arrangement of items, and fonts must synchronize with your yoga brand to induce authenticity, reliability, and attractiveness. 

As soon as a visitor reaches your homepage, they would expect a clean and user-friendly interface that beautifully presents the content of the website without comprising with the aesthetical appeal. A cluttered and hotchpotch webpage on the other hand reduces the brand image and visitors tend to leave the website without any interaction.

• Increase Audience Traffic With Readable Content And Blogs:

Once you’re done with the essentials and drafted the perfect website, its time to divert traffic to your website and convert them into prospective clients. Informative content such as articles, blogs, press releases, brand’s services, offerings, visions, and other readable items are essential to retain traffic and increase interaction. You can also mention testimonials and reviews from previous clients to add to the authenticity and viability of your services. Your website should also have a dedicated page for blogs, where people can read about yoga, wellness activities, and other lifestyle tips.

Apart from the written content, you can also add infographics and pictures to make the content more attractive and simple. The content on your website not only adds to the brand’s value but also showcases your brand’s regular online activity and increases your search engine rankings through keyword marketing.

• Sign-Up Visitors For An E-Newsletter Or Weekly Subscriptions:

Data has become a big asset for digital marketers and is vital to connect to a large number of audiences. Weekly newsletters and subscriptions are ideal options to build a dedicated customer database. If your newsletter offers varied content that people might find useful, they would love to signup for the same and eventually convert into potential yoga students.

Make sure your newsletters are informative, relevant, and valuable to the subscribers, otherwise they’re just going to end up in spam. There are various email marketing services that easily integrates with your website and lets you shoot newsletters to all the subscribers.

• Connect With Google And Other Platforms To Enhance Your Search Engine Rankings:

With abundant yoga studios emerging every day on the World Wide Web, your website might not be able to make it the top without SEO and assistance from Google’s services. Google is the most used search engine in the world and people use this efficient service to search for almost everything.

When people search for ‘yoga studios’ or ‘yoga’, Google displays the most relevant results on the top, followed by URLs signed up with the search engine. Getting your website on the top might take time, but proper SEO techniques, keyword marketing and other marking tactics will help enhance your search rankings and online visibility.

• Enroll For Google Analytics:

Google Analytics is an easy and effortless service that lets you determine your website’s performance. This must-have tool allows you to view the traffic, time spent on the website, most viewed content, and other relevant details. All you need is a Gmail account and you can enjoy the benefits of this efficient service.

Google Analytics seamlessly integrates with your WordPress websites and provides all the statistics that are available for your website. You can also analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, along with valuable insights and ROI that will help you strategize further solutions.

• Or Sign Up With An Online Marketing Agency, And Let Them Take Care Of All The Work:

Running a yoga studio comes with a lot of responsibilities and work, and you might not even get enough time to easily manage everything. Today, various digital marketing agencies offer a host of services that will take your yoga business to the next level. From website development to SEO, Graphic Design, SMO, Content marketing, and other online marketing services.

There are numerous digital marketing agencies which specialize in online marketing of yoga studios, yoga teachers, yoga brands, and other wellness businesses. You can get in touch with their executive, share details regarding your brands and objectives, and they will help strategize effective and brilliant marketing techniques that will enhance your online presence and business.

Boost your yoga studio’s online image with the above-mentioned tips and build a stunning yoga website! After all your efforts need to be promoted properly to get you on the forefront and make your business a hit.