| i think that this is going to ramble a bit, but i hope it's helpful anyway.
the best way to understand the market that you want to be in is to be in that market.
a young man who is a massage therapist and yoga teacher recently opened a studio in my area. 6 months later, he's going to have to close that business.
this is because he did good market research, but didn't understand the real market. his research consisted of looking at how fast the area was growing, the median income of families here, and how much the houses cost. this gave him the idea that this was an area with people with expendable income, interested in luxury experiences.
thus, he opened a beautiful, luxurious yoga studio, cafe, and massage studio and charged the normal rates for this area, and advertised it as the new, luxurious place to practice yoga.
the truth is that while this area is relatively affluent compared to other areas, people here do not have a lot of expendable income to spend on luxury. most of them are living at the very end of their shoestring. most families here have purchased houses beyond their means, and most mothers (as these are who is most likely to practice) will willingly give up their specialty classes (such as yoga, dance, or what have you), so that their children can participate in an event or class.
these families will spend money on things that they consider to be worthwhile, a good value, or even beneficial/necessary.
And the only way that one can learn this is by being in the market.
Understand who your students are, how they spend, and why.
i really understand this market a great deal. i actually do not understand the luxury/affluent market as well--but your average, run-of-the-mill, middle class family, that i get.
one of my friends owns a studio in a VERY affluent area and her business is massive (it's going to cross a million next year, no question). but, she understands that market and how to reach them. she doesn't understand how to reach the middle class market--which is a larger market. she'd like to, but i asserted to her that she should stick with what she knows. She knows rich people, and it's working. stick with rich people.
so instead of opening a second studio in a more middle class area, she took over space that was available in the same building as her studio and is expanding that way. makes perfect sense to me, the woman runs at least 6 classes each day (3 on sat; 4 on sun) plus workshops, teacher training, private lessons, and specialty classes (for athletes, therapeutics, teens, kids, prenatal/postnatal). So, she's going to put specialty classes in one room, regular classes in another, create a space for private clients, open up a space for massage, and "bob's your uncle."
but, the real question is--how did she learn about that market, and how did i learn about this market, and how does my friend, who lives in one of the poorest neighborhoods in philadelphia figure out how to have a successful yoga business there?
the answer is--that's where we work for years before getting started on a studio space.
Small steps lead to success.
every successful studio owner whom i know started the exact same way.
they started by working individual classes in their community and paying attention to the students they attracted. they got to know these students over time, and learned of their schedules, their family life, their spending habits.
now, i'm n ot saying that they did this because they're callous people and wanted "market research"--to be honest, it's just part of getting to know someone. but it's also part of the business-mind to pay attention to trends.
For example, i can NEVER get a student to do a special event in early december that isn't free, and often even if it is free, i still can't get them. Early sept is the same. why? Christmas and schools. kids, partners, extended family and friends, as well as school and work, are going in 10,000 directions. money is being spent on either gifts or school supplies, or signing up for special classes or paying fees or what have you for the kids and their school/events. money for mom's yoga classes--spent!
once the individual has a reputation and begins to attract clients, the teacher takes the next step--renting a room and running classes independently. this means running classes at a wellness center or at the fire house or at a church. they typically start with one, and then will build from there.
some are lucky enough to have a large space in their home where they can run yoga classes--a finished basement, a finished garage, even a barn. others just rent space as they find it.
after a time, this individual is running a number of independent classes and withdrawing from "paid" gigs at gyms, yoga studios, etc.
from there, it is most common to rent a full time office space on the second floor of a building with very good visability--for example, on a main street, or in a very busy shopping center, where there is a lot of foot and car traffic. people see the place--even if it's upstairs.
the students from the independent classes follow the teacher; foot traffic and good marketing--gleaned from those years of creating your own classes and just working within that community--creates new business.
once the community outgrows that space, then it would be a good idea to move to a larger space, perhaps with a storefront on the main floor.
and then expand from there as the need arises.
This process is slow, but it's also the way that leads to the most success. this is what i have observed, and it's even the process that multi-millionaire teachers of JivaMukti yoga studio followed. they started by teaching in general, then started renting space to teach individual classes, then rented the basement of a building, then moved on up to the second floor, and now--bam, huge. (part of that is NYC, but part of it is they are creative and savvy).
even studios not as well known or fancy or what have you are very successful when they start small, when they know their market because they've worked in that market for a long time, and when they build their business step-by-step. |
| i think that strong, athletic vinyasa practitioners are not as narrow as we often think. most people will eventually try different styles over time and then adapt. that's normal/natural. Also, i know many people in their 70s who practice vigorous vinyasa, so it's not just for the young. 
location is a big part of this process. another part is market saturation. i was looking at our local yoga free publication, and i counted the number of studios in my area (within 1.5 hours of my home). there are 329 yoga studios listed, and i know that there are also yoga studios who are not listed in this directory.
in my neighborhood--fifteen minutes from my house--there are two yoga studios. within 30 minutes, there are 17 more. within 45 minutes, there are another 30 or so.
with this, nearly every gym, karate studio, wellness center, chiropractor's office and church offers a yoga class. even our local health food stores have rooms for yoga classes. So, even beyond studios, i can find a yoga class any day of the week, n early any time of day, in nearly every style of yoga (and things like yogalates and budakon), for anywhere from $5-10 whereas studios cost $12-15 on average.
there are gyms here that offer classes 7 days a week, and a membership at the gym is so low that a student can pay as little as $.57 per class if they are members of the gym.
while i agree that many of these places may not have the best teachers--i know a number of gyms who have very high standards for their teachers, and some gyms that even have separate yoga/pilates rooms that are cleaner, more mellow/better lighting, than their other group fitness room.
So, what i'm saying is, this market is pretty darn saturated. it's why i'm not starting a studio here--even though many of my students have asked and made the suggestion. I did point out to them, of course, that if they came to the studio 2 times a week, rather than the Y (classes at the Y give 2 per week at acost of $2 per class), they would be paying about $24 per week, rather than 4, and were they really willing to put out that kind of money to support me, considering they're suggesting that i take on the rent, utlities, advertising etc.
and then they realize--oh yeah, that's why i don't go to that studio down the street. not because the teachers aren't good or whatever, but because i can be here at the Y for $2 and there i'd have to pay $12-15.
in any case, one of the reasons why a studio may not grow is simply because of the competition that some people simply don't consider. |
Market research?
