Want peole to show up to your classes?

As silly as this may sound you would be surprised at the little bit of thought that some people give to scheduling and I will admit it can be trial and error. I have been doing this for over ten years now and there is a bit of a challenge to it. When I started at the college we had classes in the evenings and most of the people who showed up worked a day job. A year later I went to work at a large health and wellness facility and our biggest classes were on Monday mornings. So how do you know when to schedule your classes?

In previous post I covered how to decide when you should teach, that is your first step. What fits into your life style. For the sake of this blog I will use myself and a current graduate as an example, we will call her Sally. I have teenagers whom I take and pick up from school, it is important to me to be available for them early in the a.m. and afternoons. However I can work some weekends because my kids can feed  and look after themselves and my husband is off on weekends.
Sally however has small children and her husband is a nurse who works three weekends a month working three ten hr shifts. He is usually worn out on Mondays. Sally would like to work Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, but not all three days as she would like to have some family time. Sally would like to add about $300 a month to her income so she feels at $25 an hour she needs to teach four classes per week. Sally and her husband talk and decide that working on Tuesdays and Thursdays would be ideal. Sally decides to approach her yoga studio and ask to teach a 6:00 a.m. class and a 9:30 a.m. class, giving her a little time to run errands between classes or do paperwork. She approaches the Director whom she has taken classes from in the past. The Director ask her to demonstrate a class, which she does. The Director says she will be happy to ad the 6:00 a.m. class for three months and see how it does but she, the Director, teaches the  9:30 class. Sally gladly accepts and soon finds she has an average of eight folks showing up to take her class within six weeks. The Director is becoming more and more busy and decides since Sally is doing so great by month three that she will let her sub for a month and see how it goes on the 9:30 class with the intent to free up the Directors time if it goes well. Sally loses two students (normal when teachers change out) but gains four so the Director keeps her on and within in four months Sally has exactly what she wanted and is bringing in an extra $400 a month for her family working two weekday mornings and loves her job.


So you may be saying "Huh, how does this apply to getting people to my class?" Well it's only half of the story. One Sally is happy, enthusiasm is key to your success. So then what is the other half, or I should say quarters.
You need to look at your clientele and marketing approach. At a college you cater to students and to retirees who get a discount so you can offer classes for students any time of day and they will likely show because they need P.E. credit. I would recommend between the hours of 8a.m. and 12:00 and 1:00 to 5:00 and then starting again at 6p.m. and then offer classes on M/W or T/Th for an hour at a time. Look at the college schedule and see what classes are offered and talk to the Director of Health and Fitness.


At a health club or yoga studio you can start at 6:00 a.m. and then nothing from 7 to 8:30, start back up 8:30 and end no later than 12:00. There are some exceptions but slow times are usually 7a.m. to 8:00 a.m. for classes and 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m., at 4:00 you get school age kids, around 5:30 start back up and end all classes by 7:30. Depending on your place of business you can have 15 mins of wiggle room here. These numbers are based on many years of experience on my part. For yoga I highly recommend you have 15 to 20 mins before or after a class for people to socialize. A huge part of exercise is the community aspect, hold this to be true "Value the social aspect of your yoga community in order to grow." Push them out within minutes of a class and failure is an option. Give them time to build relationships and they will return.

Happy Scheduling!

Courtney

Green Drinks

I pretty much survive on these for enough veggies and fruit in my diet.

All you need is a blender and some fruits and veggies.

Start with about 2 cups of water
Ice or frozen fruit
Add any or all :Kale, Spinach, greens of any kind, shitake mushrooms, cucumber, zucchini, sprouts...etc..milder veggies lend to a milder flavor.
Add in a banana for a sweeter flavor
Add in optional: grated fresh ginger and / or lemon juice (fresh is best) sometimes I use lime.
You can add any fruit you like, apples, oranges, pineapple, cherries, berries, mango's.
SUPER TIP: Add powdered Wheat grass, Spirulina, or Super greens to your drink for protein, antioxidants, and more.

I am a fiber freak and I don't want to give it up so I just blend until smooth. You can put leftovers in a glass jar with fitted lid. I drink about four cups a day and it always makes me feel refreshed and healthy. 

Running a Yoga Based Business

So you think you want to run a yoga studio or own your own yoga business?

The next couple of months I will share with you some things to think about before you sign the lease.

In previous post we have discussed:

• Who you are as a teacher and who are your present clients: Teach beginners, seniors, Vinyasa flow, children, Power, or a combo.  
•  What is your vision? Do you want to teach in a studio, nursing home, public school, at a retreat center, etc...
• What are the best times for you to teach? You have kids and you want to teach while they are at school. Or you work and want to teach one night a week and two Saturday's a month, etc...If you make it hard it won't last.
• What part of yoga do you love? I have one teacher who is a great technical writer and she helps me with yoga manuals. I love marketing so I consult and write a blog. One of my teachers owns a studio, one works with kids, one teaches Power Yoga. What do you love to do? It will sustain you.

Okay so now you have it all figure out? Right!  Now  you can answer these questions below to help you figure out a little more. Just remember "You have the right to change your mind, and you will." It's okay. These exercises are part of the creative process.

Lets' start with the basics of finding space.

1. First you need to find a space that is open and has good energy.
2. Does it need to be on a busy street or out of the way? It depends on the space, the noise, and the feel, and the price. Generally you are a destination not a drop in place, but visibility has advantages.

*To see more, such as how to figure your expenses please subscribe by going to our "Services Offered page" you can join for $9.97 a month you can cancel anytime  you like. Join and pay online. You will be added to our "Coaching website" within 24 hours and see all the past post in full including a podcast and future podcast and webinars.