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| Hello everyone!
I'm curious as to what as a yoga teacher you find to be your biggest challenge or challenges as the head of your business.
I've found that there's not a heck of a lot of information out there that addresses how a yoga teacher can actually earn an income, and a lot of conflict between earning money and being a spiritual being.
Full Disclaimer so you know where I'm coming from ...I work with spiritual entrepreneurs on their businesses.
I'd love to gather info from yoga teachers on this aspect and hear from you directly so I can be of more service to my clients in this arena, instead of "guess" and assume I know all of what keeps you up at night.
Thank you if you choose to answer, your thoughts are so appreciated!
Namaste
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| I do not see any conflict between earning money and being a spiritual being. I do see a lot of conflict between being dishonest, greedy, manipulating/misleading others and being a spiritual being.
A "spiritual entrepreneur" does not need to be any different than a doctor who trades his/her medical knowledge and experience for money in an honest above board transaction.
That is totally different than a "spiritual entrepreneur" who manipulates people and offers false promises in order to gain power and wealth.
A monetary transaction between two equal parties where there is full disclosure is usually honest. A monetary transaction between a "master" and a disciple or follower is usually dishonest.
Money is neither moral nor immoral; behavior is. |
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| "Money is neither moral nor immoral; behavior is."
I full heartedly agree. My experience with "spiritual entrepreneurs" (my definition being entrepreneurs whose focus is on being of service to the holistic well-being of their clients/patients/students) is that many have guilt surrounding charging clients a decent amount for their services, feel inauthentic while selling their services (don't want to be too pushy; don't want to appear greedy), feel they may be overstepping boundaries by asking for referrals from happy clients/students, and all around have a difficult time sometimes managing the business side of their profession (they would like to just wake up and teach and not have to worry about where the business is going to come from.)
I wish more "spiritual entrepreneurs" carried your views towards money with as much conviction! I believe that having confidence around what money is and isn't allows client-focused entrepreneurs the ability to transform more lives without guilt or uneasiness. |
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| What came first? The chicken or the egg?
Do yoga teachers develop issues around money? Or do people with issues around money naturally gravitate to teaching yoga, due to a perception that they can avoid the requisite business acumen to prosper in the context of our society? (which I'll call capitalism for now)
When the term "yoga teacher" can mean someone who trains in 40 hours AND regurgitates a script AND only choreographs movements like a step aerobics instructor then it is not to wonder why both intrinsic and extrinsic value is up for debate.
We have everyone and their downward facing dog taking a teacher training. And while we certainly need more teachers of yoga, those teachers need to have a certain level of integration, understanding, skill, steeping, knowledge, desire, wisdom, commitment, compassion, and self-reflection if we are to truly make a difference on the planet.
There is also room to debate the efficacy, soundness, nature, ethics, and integrity of "teacher training" programs. Many are not of a high enough caliber to put those who should be teachers in a position to value their offerings.
A teacher who does not comprehend themselves, their practice, the teachings, that person would have deep internal conflict about the value of their offerings. It is only when the teacher has a robust tool set AND fully comprehends the value of that (inside themselves) that they can truly have an external comfort exchanging their services for something of similar value. Otherwise, doing so is just a veneer covering up the internal struggle.
A thoughtful process before electing to become a yoga teacher AND the choice to be well trained to do so, this would clear up a lot of the fiscal acne on the face of our industry.
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| Here, Here - Gordon.
I would love to see the relationship between the level of training and "problem with charging money"
I know it's anecdotal - but no one I've met who has a significant amount of training - (I'm going to use 500 hours as a base) - has a problem charging for their services - and/or offering their services without compensation when appropriate.
Victw
Edited by victw 2010-04-22 12:12 AM
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| I have to say, it's surprising to hear your experience of meeting few or no (highly trained) educators that have a problem charging. I've met and worked with quite a few studio owners and educators who are struggling to earn a decent living with their businesses, let alone prosper. They truly believe in their calling but have not been able to fully approach what they do as a business as well as a mission. While managing costs (studio owners in particular) is one part of that equation, keeping a steady flow of consistent, paying students is also key. This is a challenge with just about any business, but my experience has been that the more spirit-based entrepreneurs, and especially women, carry more "stuff" around growing their businesses. I mentioned above guilt towards being prosperous, not wanting to appear "pushy" with promoting their services, etc.
I can see how those with more training would ultimately have more confidence in themselves and their services, which may translate into increased business. However, many excellent teachers are not excellent business owners... |
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| valeriefalkner - 2010-04-22 6:25 AM
However, many excellent teachers are not excellent business owners...
The skill set required to be a good teacher is not the same as the skill set required to be a successful business manager. You need education and experience to be a good teacher. You also need education and experience to be a good business manager.
For example: You cannot be a good yoga teacher without knowledge of anatomy and it's application. You cannot be a successful business manager without knowledge of accounting and it's application.
To succeed in business you need to understand marketing, accounting, business law, budgeting and forecasting, negotiating etc. These are not skills that are part of learning to teach yoga; in fact, they are a skill set that is often perceived as the opposite of that which is required to be a successful teacher.
Maybe if you tell your clients that they need both sides of the coin (which appear to be opposites) to actually have a coin they will understand.
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| BEWARE. Rant ahead.
Valerie and I may have a difference of opinion (or perception or definition) of what a well trained yoga teacher is. And that would make it very challenging to have a levelized discourse on the topic of what a well trained yoga teacher does or doesn't, can or can't.
Further, "charging" isn't the issue. Anyone can edit text on a flyer to say $90 an hour instead of $40. But it would be erroneous to say that alone equates with their level of comfort or their inner perception of value as a teacher.
And as The E-Myth Revisted and Jim point out, there's a difference between being an amazing pie maker and owning the pie shop. So a passion or calling to teach yoga, practice yoga, share yoga, be involved in yoga...that doesn't equal "own/operate a yoga business".
An aside: Val, how many of your clients had a business plan before going into business (I'm assuming brick and mortar but it's not mutually exclusive) and had that plan reviewed by the SBA/SCORE as well as an accountant? If they had a business plan and that plan was sound (numerically, energetically, geographically) then it should be a reference tool for today's direction. And it should be a living document that is constantly being changed BUT not changed for the sake of change. Changed mindfully relative to that person's dharma.
Of course there are issues of retention (both with students and teacher), issues of varying revenue streams, issues of human resources, issues of philosophical direction, issues of marketing choices...collectively there's a word for all that and the word is business. That IS being in business. That is something that WE have to think about before we choose it, just as we have to think about fracturing an ankle before we select an asana practice that has us carelessly jumping all over god's creation.
One doesn't have to be pushy to promote. One doesn't have to be a snake to sell. Simply, one has to understand themselves in the current context. This is something that should be part of the yogic process. And so my point about training is not "how well does Jane know trikonasana?" My point about training is "How well does Jane KNOW Jane". That is Yoga. It is this concept of svadhyaya, of reflection and self study, of daily introspection, which is being missed in trainings, be they 50 hours or 500.
Edited by purnayoga 2010-04-22 4:03 PM
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
    
| Awesome rant.   |
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"One doesn't have to be pushy to promote. One doesn't have to be a snake to sell. Simply, one has to understand themselves in the current context. This is something that should be part of the yogic process. And so my point about training is not "how well does Jane know trikonasana?" My point about training is "How well does Jane KNOW Jane". That is Yoga. It is this concept of svadhyaya, of reflection and self study, of daily introspection, which is being missed in trainings, be they 50 hours or 500."
I agree, awesome rant. Though I wouldn't necessarily call it a rant. Gordon, you carry exactly what I strive to teach my clients: a deep-seated and unwavering belief in the value you offer to others, in combination with the ability to eloquently communicate that value.
It's interesting because many of my clients did, in fact, start with a business plan. However, without the above - the belief in your own value AND the ability to communicate it - the business plan really doesn't matter one bit. So while I find that the clients I work with DO need guidance with logistics of business, a large part of what I do also addresses "inner stuff" - believing in themselves and that they offer what their students truly need, and then creating ways of authentically communicating that to their students.
So, is the answer then that teacher training programs should focus on reflection and self study within the context of growing a business? How many programs actually do that? I think that those that don't (a vast majority?) are doing a true disservice to their teachers-in-training and as a repercussion to the future students that those teachers could guide if they only knew how to effectively use the knowledge gleaned from self-study to communicate/promote.
On the flip side, if training programs don't provide, it then becomes the responsibility of the teacher/owner to seek that self-knowledge continually. But again, many don't get that it requires, as you said, to seek that reflection within their current context, i.e. as a business owner, not just as a student of yoga.
Lots to ponder there.
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| the purpose of yoga teacher training is to train people to effectively teach yoga.
it is not to teach them yoga--technically speaking, they should already be learning and practicing yoga in an ongoing and in depth basis before they take training.
it is not to teach them business.
it also isn't to coach them to "believe in themselves."
if a yoga teacher wants to learn yoga, then they need to study yoga. if a yoga teacher wants to learn business, then they need to study business. if a yoga teacher wants to learn to "believe in themselves" then they need to get the counceling or coaching necessary to achieve that.
the purpose of yoga teacher training is to train someone to effectively teach yoga.
so, i do not think it is a disservice to teachers in training to focus on, say, the various aspects of yoga required to teach effectively, as opposed on striving to get teachers in training to "believe in themselves." on average, teacher trainings last less than 500 hrs. contact hrs, you're talking about 400 hrs.
that's hardly enough time to cover the basics of yoga, let alone scratch the surface on "believing in yourself." |
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What's your biggest business challenge as a teacher?
