What you’ll get out of tuning in:

• How to weigh the pros and cons of becoming an employee vs independent contractor
• How passion and talent don’t equate to success in business
• Why yoga studios would be more successful if they niched down. How it’s hurting not only their success but the success of their students.

Links Mentioned in Episode:

• Yax Yoga Concepts
• Yax Yoga Concepts – Facebook
• Have a conversation
• Free Master Class

Show Highlights:

• Discovering who you want to serve
• Why yoga studios often fail
• What yoga studio owners are missing by not creating high ticket items

Timestamps: 

• 10:00 Becoming an employee vs. an independent contractor
• 14:50 The biggest mistake they made when opening their studios
•  23:15 The solution to the commodification of yoga through the high barrier to enter offers

Favorite Quotes:

• “It’s interesting, a lot of our teacher training graduates end up at studios teaching as employees initially to cut their teeth and get experience. But at some point a lot of them feel the entrepreneurial spirit; they want to become independent contractors and start to build their own thing. But just like anything, we have to study it. We have to understand what it means to be an entrepreneur.” – John Yax
• “I strongly believe yoga is for everyone. But I can’t be for everyone, our studios are not for everybody, the way I teach yoga is not for everybody. It’s for a specific ‘who’. The challenge is to figure out who that ‘who’ is.” – John Yax
• “A lot of what I’ve seen in studios is that they don’t grow. They might hit a sustainable revenue that can kinda support a lifestyle business but not one that is growing, with an increased profit margin over time. For most entrepreneurs, you’re looking to grow with an increased profit margin over time, which usually entails strategy and innovation.” – Cate Stillman

Guest BIO:

John and Chris grew up in a small house with a big family. The level of love their Mom gave disguised the level of struggle and hardship of raising six kids on her own. This fueled them to spend decades forging deep practices in martial arts, yoga, and meditation while studying and applying business strategies to make a living doing what they love… And over that time they’ve built a million-dollar brick and mortar yoga business… eating, sleeping and breathing the entrepreneurial lifestyle…

Through decades of experience leading heart-based businesses, John and Chris have helped transform the lives of thousands of people through yoga lifestyle coaching, in studios and on stages around the world.

Being At Ease in Multiple Roles 

I am a student, a teacher, a client and a coach. Accepting help AND providing it are both roles that feel good to me. I have coaching office hours at the studio after my weekly yoga class, and when I attend class at the studio I am often still on the mat when I am asked for help. Sometimes before I can help I need a minute to re-group and transition from student or yoga teacher to health coach.  It is my responsibility to see that my needs are met before I try to help others.

Sometimes making the transition between client and coach can be challenging. I have learned that if I create space for myself it is easier to experience the joy of being both student and coach. Independent of the type of client I am working with I have learned that I need to set boundaries to best support ease and success for both of us.

I have also learned that yoga is a core part of both my mental and physical fitness.  I go in part to stop thinking, to let go, and to be present with my body and breath. My personal practice is high on my self-care priority list- it is another technique I use to create space for myself so that I can shift with ease between roles.

The Joy Of Being a Student

I choose to be a lifelong learner. Studies in Ayurveda and Yoga provide a lifetime of learning. My personal practice is an essential part of my morning ritual, but when I practice at home I am still a “teacher” in charge of planning the sequence of poses.  Sometimes I want to let go of decision making and step fully into the experience of being a student. Stepping back into a yoga class lets me do just that.

Attending yoga in a studio or classroom is a great way to get out of your head and into your body. There is a simplicity in showing up, following directions, and moving and breathing in the moment. An hour or two or classroom practice each week is a treat!

One of the challenges I have faced in the past was my resistance to practicing alongside my students. Ego made me self-conscious- I was worried about being less than “perfect” in my poses and often pushed myself into performance mode.  This wrecked my experience and hurt my body.

Now my practice is more focused and precious.  I’m better able to accept the true nature of my body. I don’t take moving with ease for granted anymore.  Instead, I cultivate gratitude for the ability to move. I enjoy moving.

“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.”

–The Bhagavad Gita

If Yoga is not your thing, find a way to engage as a student or client.  I know my experiences on the other side make me a better listener and more empathetic coach.

Give With A Glad Heart

I have learned that I need my coaching relationships to be clear rather than muddy. I want enough information to be able to really help my clients, and enough time and space to coach and follow up effectively.  This means that a quick conversation after class- either one to one or in a small group- does a disservice to my role as a coach and to Ayurveda as health science.

One boundary I have set is that I generally don’t book appointments in person after class. Instead I ask clients to go through my online booking software.  This prevents us from entering into conversations that are not timely. I intentionally don’t carry my paper calendar or phone into class.  When I leave them locked in the car, I can stay mellow at the end of class knowing that I will not need to start “work” while I am still in student mode.

This is a process that works for me. Yoga class is not a place I want to multitask in.  You may be different.  You might prefer to have quick access to your booking software so you can book appointments after class. But I invite you to consider what you might be giving up.  If you are cool with handing out advice after yoga, go for it.  Turn on a dime, give with a glad heart, in ways that feel good and create balance.  Me? I need a little more space and time to feel comfortable and to make sure that my glad heart is ready to help.

What you’ll get out of tuning in:

• Why the first step to upleveling your wellness career is to admit that there might be a better way.
• How an open mind and an online community course can help you design a wellness career that aligns with your vision and values.
• Why having a conversation with someone else can help you identify what’s working and what’s not working in your wellness career.

Links Mentioned in Episode:

• Be a coach
• Have a conversation
• Discover more about Body Thrive 
• Yogahealer Live Experience

Show Highlights:

• Grace talks about how she’s been guilty of a know-it-all mindset, assuming that her way is the best or only way.
• Cate talks about how the wellness pros she sees personally don’t have a business model that enables her to get what she needs and them to get what they want.
• Cate and Grace discuss the power of community and the advantage of having a conversation that helps you identify what’ working and what’s not working in your wellness career.

Favorite Quotes:

• “If anyone really wants to be on a hard-core spiritual path, all they have to do is start their own business and be self-employed because it’s going to bring up every issue in the book. It’s going to bring up all your dirt. It’s going to bring up all your shadows.” — Cate Stillman
• “Talk to Grace, if you haven’t already, because it just starts you thinking in a more productive way on what’s working and what’s not working so you can overcome what’s not working.” — Cate Stillman
• “There’s no reason to give up on what your deeper dreams are.” — Cate Stillman

Guest BIO:

Grace Edison lives in British Columbia, Canada. She’s a mom of twin 8 year olds, a Yoga teacher, studio owner, and Yoga Health Coach — and she also works for Cate Stillman in Admissions at Yogahealer! More than anything, she loves to make people laugh and has a not-so-secret dream of doing stand-up comedy. Grace has a strong passion for empowering others to take their health and wellness into their own hands. She loves building authentic relationships, making people laugh, and creating supportive communities. After a long-standing relationship with severe depression, Grace has found deep relief through the habits of Ayurveda — and much credit is due to Cate and her Body Thrive program. After taking Body Thrive several times and jumping into Yoga Health Coaching, Grace came aboard the Yogahealer team.