Tips from the experts to help you grow the yoga business of your dreams
This month’s mentor:
Jo Tuffrey, 49, The Weekly Workout Club
(jotuffrey.com)
Starting out
Growing up I was always into sport. I went to university and studied a BEd (Hons) in Physical Education which gave me a fantastic grounding. Whilst teaching in a secondary school I set up my own personal training business and then after a number of years stopped teaching in school and trained in Pilates and yoga.
I think you definitely need to get the proper training so you have a sound base to start from and then you can choose to run your business your way.
The beauty of teaching is that it is very individual; everyone teaches differently so you will attract a varied clientele that like your way of teaching. As teachers, we want the very best for our clients and for them to really enjoy the classes so they come back with a smile on their face and see the benefits from the classes both mentally and physically.
The secret to making a living teaching yoga
I really believe there’s no secret! If you are authentic, have deep knowledge in your field, keep learning and have lots of enthusiasm, you will make a living from teaching.
It’s hard work establishing yourself, you have to be prepared to put the hours in and work hard and your dedication will pay off. Just keep doing what you do with passion and, over time, word will spread and you will get a really lovely loyal following. I’m so fortunate in that I absolutely love what I do so it never feels like a job! All in all I feel so lucky, my job never feels like a job and I’m as passionate about it now as I ever was after teaching over 30 years.
Self-care
I find this really difficult as I’m a born worrier and will always be thinking about people and how I can help them. Because I worry that I’m not good enough, I find switching off quite difficult. But the saying ‘You must look after yourself if you are to look after others’, is so true and I am definitely getting better at it. For example, I have monthly physio sessions to help maintain my body and I eat healthily (well during the week anyway!). But really my relaxation is chilling with my husband, drinking wine, cooking and reading books. All in that order!
Social media
I came to social media quite late. My friends will tell you I’m terrified of it and I take ages to decide on what to put up! But I’ve embraced it and I now regularly post on Instagram and Facebook. It mainly helps promote my online business but I love the way it’s enabled me to speak directly to my Weekly Workout Family. I also see it as a way to show people that life’s not all about fitness so there’s plenty of pictures of me eating nice food and drinking wine!
Business plan
I don’t have a formal business plan. When we set up The Weekly Workout Club online over two years ago, I didn’t envisage how it would take off. Because we’ve really grown we always have to keep the website up to date and all the content fresh so my business partner and I chat nearly every day about new ideas, how we can give more to the Weekly Workout Family and where we want to take it. So you could say we have a ‘fluid’ business plan!
Written and compiled by Claudia Brown (yogabyclaudia.com)
Om Magazine
First published in November 2009, OM Yoga magazine has become the most popular yoga title in the UK. Available from all major supermarkets, independents and newsstands across the UK. Also available on all digital platforms.
