How To Kickstart Your Private Yoga Business With Crowdfunding
Getting Over My Fear Of Asking For Help Was The Best Move Of My Career
What comes to mind when you first hear the term “crowdfunding?” Do you know what it means? Does a charity or business come to mind? Do you associate it with a specific platform such as GoFundMe, Kickstarter, or Indiegogo?
Most yoga teachers are limited in their knowledge of crowdfunding and how it can help them grow their yoga business. They either don’t know how it works or don’t realize that many successful startups were financially supported by a kickstart campaign.
When starting a crowdfunding campaign was first suggested to me, I was hesitant. I was starting Private Yoga Brooklyn, but I didn’t have the finances to fully invest in the continued education I felt I needed in order to offer meaningful private yoga lessons. I didn’t have the money to invest in another yoga teacher training and I didn’t want to use credit cards.
However, after I launched my campaign, I was able to afford the Thai bodywork and Yin yoga teacher trainings I wanted to enroll in. I knew that taking those two trainings was my next step in establishing and growing my private yoga business.
Fast forward two years later and I transformed from a burnt out and broke group yoga class teacher to a proudly self employed, financially abundant private yoga teacher. I then began offering coaching and mentorship programs to other teachers who want to do the same but are confused about how.
Many teachers have now successfully completed my programs and begun teaching more private yoga and enjoying more financial abundance. Still, I often hear from many teachers that they would love to sign up for my programs but cannot afford the investment.
I often suggest that yoga teachers who cannot afford my programs launch their own crowdfunding campaign. They can raise the funds they need to invest in working with me as a coach, so that they can then learn the marketing skills they need to grow their business and income exponentially.
Usually when I make this suggestion to a teacher, they balk at the idea. I have come to understand why so many yogis are reluctant to use this simple, effective method of kickstarting their business. It’s the same reason I almost didn’t launch my own campaign years ago.
It’s the same reason so many humans across so many situations will not take advantage of simple, effective solutions to their problems…
They’re afraid.
Why I Was Afraid To Launch A GoFundMe Campaign … and Why I Did It Anyway
When my partner suggested setting up a crowdfunding campaign to raise money, I had the reaction that a lot of you may have. I felt uncomfortable. I thought it was for emergencies or charities.
I didn’t feel secure enough to ask people for money to fund my yoga education.
I didn’t want to seem like this privileged person who was asking for handouts though not in true desperate need of financial assistance.
What I didn’t realize at the time is that me growing my private yoga business was a good and important cause that people would care about and want to support.
As yoga teachers we deliver an important service that helps people heal, improve their health, and transform their lives.
We assist our clients to grow spiritually, physically, and mentally.
We are impacting individuals and therefore families. We are impacting families and therefore communities. We are impacting communities and therefore the world.
I also realized that by being my true authentic self and doing whatever it takes to live my highest dreams for myself, I was setting the example for others to do the same.
The quote that comes to mind is:
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” — Howard Thurman
I was starting to see it, but I still wasn’t convinced until I jumped in head first…
Crowdfunding Is An Exchange Of Energy
I launched my campaign on GoFundMe because it was the simplest platform I could find. I investigated a bunch of websites and found GoFundMe to be the most straightforward and low-tech.
While I was setting it up, I couldn’t stop thinking limiting, self deprecating thoughts like “Why would people want to donate to this?”
I was worried that I would feel uncomfortable asking for donations. What I needed to be told is that when a business does a campaign to raise capital, they are doing a pre-sale of their product. Once I understood this I realized I could do the same thing with private yoga sessions.
Until this point, I didn’t realize my campaign could be an exchange of energy. It’s one thing to ask for a pure donation but it’s another story to offer services in exchange for your community’s donation.
I realized I could use my campaign to do a pre-sale of my private yoga services and create many opportunities for me to start teaching more private lessons and build momentum doing the work I was trying to do more of.
As the money started rolling into the campaign from so many of my supportive and enthusiastic community members, I rejoiced and celebrated.
Many of my supporters chose to receive my services for their donations, but even more of them were just happy to donate and expected nothing in return.
I found myself reflecting and wondering:
Why do we feel uncomfortable asking the people that know, love, and appreciate us for their help? Why wouldn’t our community want to help us grow into our highest vision for ourselves, and into deeper service to others?
Asking for help from your community doesn’t mean you are bad person. It means you are a courageous person.
It means you are dedicated to your own dreams and willing to do whatever it takes to make them your reality.
There’s No Excuse Good Enough
If you are currently stuck in growing your yoga business because you have no money — crowdfunding is the fastest, simplest, most risk-free method I know of to help create the funds you need.
Ask yourself how many of these excuses you hear yourself making for not trying crowdfunding:
- I can’t do this, people won’t take me seriously.
- Nobody will donate and I’ll feel embarrassed.
- I’m not a good enough yoga teacher to do this.
- My family won’t approve of this — they’ll think it’s needy.
Sound familiar?
All of these excuses stem from our fear of not being loved or approved of.
This very fear is the same reason that I almost didn’t launch my crowdfunding campaign a few years ago.
I feared that someone wasn’t going to approve.
It turned out when I did launch my campaign, someone didn’t approve. My own mother didn’t approve. She was angry with me. She said things like “It’s embarrassing for our family that you’re asking for handouts.” She didn’t get it, and that was very painful for me.
In the end, this conflict with my mother turned into an important learning opportunity.
I stood by my decisions and refused to let my worth and value be determined by what other people thought of me and my actions.
I knew the trainings I wanted to take were the next step in order for me to move forward with my business.
I was so excited to be able to give back to my community. I knew I was going to be doing the most amazing work of my life.
Crowdfunding Did More For Me Than Just Kickstart My Business
My campaign raised $3,000 — some of which was received in checks and cash and not through GoFundMe.
Those of my campaign supporters who chose to donate in exchange for my services scheduled their private yoga sessions with me as soon as my training was over.
The best part of this exchange was that I was able to get more hands-on experience. At this point, I was still getting into the groove of teaching more private lessons and fewer groups, so every session I did from my campaign was an extremely valuable learning experience.
Above all, the most important result I got from my experience with crowdfunding was the personal growth I received from it.
Crowdfunding taught me to surrender my fear of not being approved of and loved by others.
I learned to love myself and approve of my own decisions, even if others don’t understand them.
Without my crowdfunding campaign, I would not be the entrepreneur, yoga teacher, and mentor that I am today.
Become A Private Yoga Teacher
Many yoga teachers dream of working with more private yoga clients in place of running around spreading themselves thin teaching too many group classes.
If you are ready to make the transition to teaching more private yoga and enjoying a financially abundant lifestyle as a yoga teacher, my coaching and mentorship programs are for you.
I help passionate yoga teachers develop the mindset, confidence, and marketing skills they need to fill their schedule with consistent, committed private yoga clients.
You can work with me in person in Brooklyn, NY, or virtually from anywhere in the world.
Visit my website or e-mail me today at yoga@emilysussell.com to learn more.
Request to join my free Facebook group, Abundant Yogi Collective.
You can also sign up for my free masterclass, Entrepreneurship 108, using the form below. Enjoy!
