Jess Dohnt tried yoga for the first time over 10 years ago and didn’t love it. If you had told her 10 years ago that she would be a yoga studio manager, owner + teacher, she wouldn’t have believed you! After a bad injury, Jess discovered her love of yoga and hasn’t looked back since.

On this episode, Jess shares her experience as a yoga teacher + yoga studio manager and what she learned through her years managing a successful studio, including hiring yoga teachers, scheduling classes, and creating a community. Six months ago, Jess took the leap into studio ownership with 2 other teachers, and she shares the ups and downs of owning a yoga studio and what she’s learned over the last 6 months. We chat about burnout, wearing multiple hats, what it’s like to own a small business, the lesson of asking for help, and so much more.

Enjoy!

Business Lessons from this episode:

• Remember how you look in class + what your own experience is – allow people to have the experience they need to have and don’t worry about their facial expression!
• Allow people to have the experience they need to have
• Do a teacher training at a studio you want to teach at
• Everyone is human + everyone is approachable
• When you are a studio owner + manager, you wear a lot of hats
• Ask for help + remember that you can’t do it all!
• Keep up a regular personal practice
• Build a strong community and make people comfortable
• Get to know your students, and get to know your teachers when you manage a studio
• Know your limits and when it’s time to say “no”
• Sometimes getting people in the door is the hardest part!
• Yoga is a saturated market – find something unique to offer!
• Yoga isn’t one size fits all – listen to your students + clientele
• You’ll see what’s working through the numbers
• Send out feedback surverys + give your students the chance to give you feedback
• It’s a slow + scary process to have a successful studio
• Listen to what people want
• Managing people is tough
• Studio ownership is a lesson in organization
• A small business is all hands on deck and you have to be willing to go outside of what your role is
• What works for one business doesn’t work for another
• “If I fail, I fail” – you can learn a lot from your failures!
• You are capable of so much more than you think you are
• MBSR – minfulness based stress reduction
• And much more… Here’s the episode!

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Connect with Jess:

Remedy Yoga

Jess on Instagram

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