How to open a yoga center? yoga studio business plan

Yoga can make a person rich, but only if it is done as a spiritual and physical practice, and not as a business.

Elena Ulmasbaeva became interested in yoga back in the 1980s, when the study of spiritual practices was semi-legal. Since then, together with partners, she has created a network of yoga practice studios, whose revenue in 2013 exceeded 40 million rubles. “There is no big money in yoga,” Ulmasbayeva says. “You can’t count on significant profits, and you will have to invest a lot of time and effort.” A good yoga studio will have a revenue of 1 million rubles. per month, but it is very difficult to achieve such a result.

Gift from India

In 1989, the founder of Iyengar yoga, Iyengar Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja, visited the USSR, whom Ulmasbayeva managed to meet. “We met the Iyengar teacher according to Indian customs: you had to take off your shoes right at the airport and flatten yourself face down in front of the guru,” she recalls. “At the time, it was a very bold move.” Through the efforts of Sundararaja, yoga became popular in Europe and the United States. In 1991, during Ulmasbayeva's visit to India, Iyengar gave her official permission to open a center named after him in Russia. “In Europe or the US, a math professor can quit his job and become a yoga teacher, and no one will judge him for it,” Ulmasbayeva says. - In Russia, it was difficult to imagine that yoga would become a profession for someone. But we tried to turn the hobby into a way of life, into a business that can give a piece of bread.”

The first Yoga Practice Center opened in 1997 on Pyatnitskaya Street as a non-profit organization (NPO). In 2003, there were already three of them, and in 2005 Ulmasbayeva, together with her partner Maxim Yushko, registered the Yoga Practice company (later, Konstantin Kovalev and Sergey Melnikov were among the partners, according to SPARK). Yoga according to the Iyengar method, in the view of Russian entrepreneurs, was supposed to bring the student, first of all, practical benefits. “Whether it is worth plunging deeply into the culture of India and the philosophy of yoga is the individual choice of each student,” explains the executive director of Yoga Practice Yushko. “We wanted to create the most secular and at the same time technically correct type of yoga teaching.”

Mitinsky yoga in numbers

RUB 5.1 million it was worth opening a yoga studio in Mitino on an area of ​​150 sq. m

600-700 rub.- the cost of a one-time group lesson

80% visitors are women

1.5 thousand visits per month - the studio needs such attendance to break even

4-5 years— return on investment in opening a yoga studio

Source: Yoga Practice

The main thing is the room and the teacher

The opening of any center begins with the choice of premises. The hall for group classes should have an area of ​​​​at least 60-80 square meters. m, says Ulmasbaeva, as well as several windows. The room should not overlook a large street: many teachers prefer open windows to air conditioners, and during class, students should not be distracted by outside noises. The second, small hall, 15-20 sq. m, can be used for individual lessons - they are paid separately and bring additional profit to the center.

The second important criterion is location. The center should be located in a residential area (closer to customers) and no more than a 10-minute walk from the metro. Proximity to the metro is important due to the fact that 80% of yoga practitioners (based on the experience of Yoga Practice) are women aged 25-45, most of whom prefer to attend classes after work. “Only the bravest girls will walk 20 minutes through dark alleys at eight o’clock in the evening in winter to do yoga,” Yushko said.

The main part of the costs of opening a yoga center will go to repair and equipment of the premises, says Ulmasbayeva. According to her, on average, it takes 30-40 thousand rubles. per 1 sq. m. This figure includes not only the floor made of natural wood and cork on the walls, but also inventory - blankets, chairs, ropes, straps for performing asanas. “Of course, you can save money, for example, by buying blankets on the market, but given the frequency of their use, you will have to throw them away in a month or two,” complains Yushko. “We have them quite ordinary, produced by the Orekhovo-Zuevsky plant, but so durable that Western guests have repeatedly said: these are the best blankets they have ever had to deal with.” The same with chairs - they should not have any special characteristics, except for strength: students perform exercises on them, including upside down, and if the chair folds or breaks at this moment, injuries cannot be avoided.

franchise yoga

An additional income for Yoga Practice was the sale of a franchise to open a studio under its own brand. Now the lump sum is 470 thousand rubles, royalties — 8.5 thousand rubles per month. A fixed monthly fee allows the main office not to depend on the profits of franchise centers. “When we interview a future franchisee, we first try to explain that you cannot count on significant profits, and you will have to invest a lot of time and effort,” says Elena Ulmasbayeva. “And only if a person is ready to do something like that, we move on to a more substantive conversation.” The entrepreneur does not disclose the number of franchises sold; RBC managed to find only two commercial concession agreements for the Yoga Practika trademark in the Rospatent database.

The hardest thing for a yoga center is finding teachers, Ulmasbayeva said. “Until now, there are people with dreadlocks on the market who, having gone to Goa for six months and “enlightened”, decide that they can teach, says Yushko. “Without experience, it’s quite difficult to recognize such coaches.” The only chance: to recruit a good team is a personal acquaintance with teachers and / or the ability to teach yourself, advises the co-owner of Yoga Practice. He has cases when the teacher calls half an hour before class and says that he will not come. “An entrepreneur who has a teaching certificate will be able to conduct the class himself,” Ulmasbayeva says. According to her, many yoga teachers in Moscow have left high-paying office jobs for their hobby and expect more freedom from the new profession. “It is very difficult to get them interested in money, something that a person has already refused,” says Yushko.

The schedule of classes in the future center must be formed three to four months before the opening. “The correct schedule is our main business product,” says Yushko. To fill the center as much as possible, you need to derive the optimal number of classes for different levels of training, distribute them by day of the week and attach a teacher to each class.

Economics of Yoga

The largest operating expense for a yoga center is rent. For example, for 150 sq. m of the center in Mitino "Yoga Practice" pays 187 thousand rubles. per month (1.25 thousand rubles per 1 sq. m). For studios in the city center, the rate can be twice as high, which, of course, affects the cost of services. About 130 thousand rubles are spent on salaries, this figure can vary from month to month, since teachers (there are six of them in Mitino) do not receive a fixed salary, but pay for each lesson. Expenses for utilities and household needs (updating inventory, minor repairs, tea for visitors) are usually small. Yushko advises to lay about 20 thousand rubles. per month to promote the new center. Yushko advises advertising about the new yoga center on stands inside residential buildings, negotiating this with management companies - this is an inexpensive and quite effective way to contact the target audience.

Studios in Mitino need about 1,500 visits a month to pay off, says Yushko. Now there are 1 thousand. According to Yushko, on average, one visit brings the studio 450 rubles. One-time classes are more expensive - 600-700 rubles, but if a person decides to study, then he buys subscriptions for 4-8-12 classes, as a result of which the cost of each visit is reduced. Additional income is brought by individual lessons with a teacher (2-3 thousand rubles per lesson), as well as massage (a license for medical activities is required, from 1.5 thousand rubles per hour), as well as consultations of a psychologist and an astrologer (from 3 thousand rubles per hour). All these services are provided on the basis of income sharing between the center and the specialist (the company does not disclose specific figures).

The revenue of a yoga studio is subject to seasonality: in spring and autumn it will be much higher than in summer and winter. The ideal time to open the center is in early spring and autumn. Hall occupancy to recover operating costs should be within two to four high seasons (ie one to two years after opening).

Most often, entrepreneurs at the start are undermined by rental prices, says Vladimir Afonin, managing director of Yoga Federation yoga centers: “If the rental rate is not exorbitant, then you can count on payback in two to three years, and only if you are completely immersed in the business ". According to Afonin, 9 out of 10 centers opened as side businesses close within a few years: “I know an example of a serial entrepreneur who invested impressive funds in opening a yoga club “for the soul”, and three years later opened a grocery supermarket.

Ulmasbayeva confirms that it will not work to make a lot of money on yoga, and it will be possible to bring the business to payback only if you personally participate in the business. “The specificity of the opening of the center lies in the basis of yoga – spirituality. If a person does not perceive yoga as his own way, he is unlikely to be able to build a profitable business on this, - echoes the president of the Yoga Federation of Russia Sergey Repin. “Although there are quite a lot of such amateurish centers today, such “businesses” do not live for a long time.” “Yoga is not for those who just want to invest extra money somewhere and make a small profit,” sums up Yushko. According to him, to return the invested 5 million rubles. In 2013, Yoga Practice hopes to open a center in Mitino in four to five years.

Yogo figures

According to the Yoga Journal, the expenses of Russians for yoga classes in 2014 amounted to 41 billion rubles(This figure does not include spending on clothing or accessories.)

According to the TNS marketing Index survey, in the second half of 2014, 1.37 million adult Russians attended yoga classes. Assuming that at least half of these people attended yoga classes regularly (twice a week) during the past year, and the average cost of a class was 500 rub., then the income of various yoga studios could be about 35.6 billion rubles.

Currently in Russia there is a huge variety of activities in which a businessman can be realized. The organization of any business requires a direction in a certain direction: the company should focus either on the sphere of mass consumption of goods and services, or on a certain target audience. Moreover, both options in the case of competent planning can bring significant profits to their owner.

If, nevertheless, it was decided to choose the second way of business development, then it would not be superfluous to know how to open a yoga center. There is always a high interest in the services of such fitness organizations, which will provide a stable income.

Any private entrepreneurial activity begins with registration as an individual entrepreneur or legal entity in the legal form of a limited liability company (LLC). To avoid mistakes at this stage, it is advisable for a novice businessman to either use professional legal assistance or familiarize himself with the regulatory framework. The main regulatory acts are the Federal Law of August 8, 2001 N 129-FZ "On State Registration of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs", as well as the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. In parallel with the start of registration, it is worth starting to create a yoga studio business plan.

yoga center business plan

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Premises selection

You always have to start your business with finding the location of the company. At the initial stage, a competent choice of premises is, perhaps, the main guarantor of future success. In addition, without it it is impossible to formalize your activities as a legal entity.

A suitable place for a yoga center can be any of the prosperous areas of the city. If the city is small, then naturally, it is worth orienting towards the central and busiest territories; in megacities, the criteria are the same, but there will be many more options.

The yoga center needs a fairly large area - at least 60 square meters. m with the smallest turnover of visitors and small groups. Typically, these can be found in basements in new buildings or, for example, in large sports centers. You should not pay attention to too cheap options, since most often you have to invest a lot of money in their reconstruction, bringing them into proper shape. The room must be equipped with two changing rooms, as well as showers. When renting a professional gym in a fitness center, the issue of changing clothes and hygiene is naturally removed.

To avoid significant problems during registration, it is necessary to choose a hall that already meets the requirements of the SES of Rospotrebnadzor and fire safety services (MES).

If violations are revealed by the indicated bodies, legal registration and the imminent opening can be forgotten until they are qualitatively eliminated.

The price of renting a separate room on average in the country is 30-50 thousand rubles per month. It is much cheaper to rent a fitness room in a sports center - it will cost an entrepreneur 20-25 thousand. It is better not to consider the option of acquiring even a very good hall for ownership at current prices, otherwise the yoga studio will not pay for itself for a very long time even at maximum turnover.

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Recruitment

The specifics of the activity of the yoga center is that its main staff consists exclusively of experts in yoga methods or fitness trainers. However, since by law a legal entity in the form of an LLC must have a director, the best solution in terms of saving money on salaries would be to appoint one of the trainers as a manager. Naturally, this person must be found at the stage of registration, since without his participation it is impossible to carry out the legal registration itself.

The director should be chosen based on his professional qualities as a manager and as a fitness trainer, as well as on his personal qualities. At present, it is not so difficult to find such a person, since the labor market is presented in all possible formats. It is worth hiring him only after a preliminary interview.

Together with the person appointed to the position of director, it is worth selecting the remaining employees. Since the manager has skills and knowledge in yoga and the fitness field, it will not be difficult for him to evaluate people who come for an interview, as well as give his opinion on the resume of job seekers.

The main positive characteristics in the resume are, of course, the experience of working as a fitness trainer or yoga trainer, participation in various events aimed at professional development. There are no uniform criteria for this type of professional activity, so the founder needs to be guided and rely on the opinion of the director when concluding employment contracts.

As for the salary, its fixed minimum size should fluctuate for the manager within 15 thousand, for other coaches - 10-12 thousand. Long-term fitness and yoga practitioners won't be put off by such a low salary, as the bulk of their payroll will depend on the number of sessions and number of clients. Such a small "official" salary will help the business owner save a lot on taxes and other mandatory contributions to the state.

On the basis of a civil law contract, it is necessary to hire a cleaner and an accountant. The cost of their wages will be negligible, since their permanent presence at work is not required. An accountant can perform his immediate duties remotely.

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Necessary conditions and equipment

If a fitness room has become a rented room, then there is no need to include any significant costs for specific equipment in the budget. Of the necessary, only training rugs and mats can be distinguished, the rest - at the request of the coaches.

If the room was not equipped initially, then you will have to spend money on creating the right conditions. In particular, you will have to hire a company that creates floors for fitness classes. The services of such an organization will cost a businessman about 60 thousand rubles, and the work itself is usually carried out within 2-3 weeks.

Of the equipment that does not directly belong to the fitness industry and yoga, but is mandatory for purchase, it is worth noting sofas or chairs for relaxing and waiting, booths and benches for locker rooms, mirrors for the hall and locker rooms, hair dryers. In addition, you will need to purchase a cash register, laptop and printer for financial activities.

YOGA PRACTICE- the first and largest federal network of specialized yoga centers in Russia. Today, our project is the most famous and successful among all presented on the market. Starting its development in 2005, today the YOGA PRACTIKA network has 24 centers in Moscow and Moscow Region, as well as centers in Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan. Every year, we open 2-3 new YP centers.

Flexible terms of cooperation, combined with the professional work of the entire Yoga-Practice team, allow us to successfully implement a variety of projects in all regions of Russia - whether it is the organization of a new center from scratch in Kazan, or the opening of the Yoga-Practice hall in the center of Moscow.

If you are interested in the development and dissemination of high-quality and safe yoga, want to open a new center or raise the status, recognition and quality of an existing one, we invite you to join our network!
Below is a description of a typical project for the applicant center to join the federal YOGA PRACTIKA network.

1. Basic requirements for the centers of the YOGA PRACTIKA network:

1.1. Yoga teacher qualification requirements

All yoga teachers at YOGA PRACTIKA centers must be trained at the Iyengar Yoga Center or the Yoga Practice Training Center. Teachers must be certified to teach yoga or be trained to become certified.

1.2. Training of administrators of YOGA PRACTIKA centers

It is highly desirable that the administrators of the YOGA PRACTIKA network centers practice yoga. Since the administrator is the main link between the center and clients, we recommend training for administrators with a qualification test. Students get acquainted with the basic functions of the administrator, rules, work with a computer program for attendance records, receive recommendations on answering standard questions, etc.

1.3. Premises and equipment of YOGA PRACTIKA centers

A typical yoga center of the YOGA PRACTIKA network has a large hall (60-80 m²) for general classes and a small one (15-20 m²) for individual classes. The halls are equipped with a ventilation/air conditioning system. Space should be provided for placement of materials for yoga classes and auxiliary equipment. YOGA PRACTIKA centers should contain elements of corporate identity, such as a signboard, an information stand, a reception area, flyers and subscriptions, designed in accordance with the requirements of the brand book. The use of YOGA PRACTIKA branded materials and equipment is recommended, in the case of using alternative materials, the appropriate certificates and the permission of the Yoga Practice Federation for use are required. In addition, the yoga center includes a reception area, a small cloakroom, men's and women's changing rooms with toilets and showers, a staff room and a tea room (optional). The minimum total area of ​​an autonomous yoga center is 100-120 m².

1.4. Required materials for classes

On the eve of the opening of the Yoga Center, an additional necessary amount of materials for the halls and for sale, as well as books, DVDs, clothes for yoga practice, are supplied.

2. The main stages of interaction when the center is included in the YOGA PRACTIKA network

2.1. Assessment of the methodological and material and technical base of the applicant center

At the first stage, an assessment of the methodological and material and technical base of the candidate center for the safe teaching of yoga is carried out, including: inspection of the yoga room, auxiliary materials used, analysis of the proposed training programs and their compliance with the level of students and teachers, recommendations are made on the equipment of the room and completing the necessary materials.

For regional centers, the first stage can be implemented in the form of a field "installation" 2-3 day seminar, which the teacher of the YOGA PRACTIKA network conducts on the territory of the applicant center.

2.2. Training of teaching staff

An assessment and control of the level of training of the teaching staff of the applicant center is carried out, a plan for training, advanced training and certification of the teaching staff is outlined.

Currently, the training of teachers of the YOGA PRACTIKA network can be carried out in the courses "First Step" and "First Step-Regions", as well as Full-time or Correspondence Teacher Course. An intensive teacher training program has also been developed for the new centers of the network.

2.3. Conclusion of contracts and inclusion in the YOGA PRACTIKA network

An agreement on joining the network is concluded, a program for the maintenance, development and promotion of the yoga center within the network is developed and approved. Support provided under the contract includes:

• advising on the methodology and organization of the process of teaching yoga at the stage of preparation, opening and functioning of the center;
• provision for use of the YOGA PRACTIKA trademark and corporate identity elements: signboards, subscriptions, booklets, flyers, recommendations for the design of halls and reception (counter, showcase, information stand), etc. All original layouts are transmitted in the form of a brand book in electronic form ;
• provision of services of certified teachers for conducting classes on the territory of the franchisee center;
• providing a computer program to record visits to the center;
• placement of information about the center on the site www.site - in the sections News (announcement), Our centers and on the personal page of the Center;
• participation of the Center in network events - seminars, master classes, training programs - at special prices;
• sale of materials, methodical literature, educational DVDs, etc. with a 25% discount;
• information support in the media, including the world's leading yoga publication Yoga Journal (Russian edition).

3. Approximate budget of the project for joining the YOGA PRACTIKA network

Naturally, the project budget can vary within the widest limits, depending on the degree of readiness of the applicant center to join the network (see paragraphs 1.1-1.4). In this budget, only non-reducible expenses are shown and items of expenditure that may require additional investments are indicated.

Today, yoga is a popular and trendy fitness direction. For many, yoga has become not just a hobby, but a way of life. More and more people are striving to lead a healthy lifestyle and exercise regularly. Opening a yoga studio can be not only a pleasure for the soul, but also a very profitable business.

Market analysis

Due to the emergence of a large number of yoga lovers, and, accordingly, a serious demand for this service, every year there is an increasing number of studios, cents offering classes in this direction. The first small yoga studios were mainly opened by professionals in this field, but over time, due to the popularity of this fitness area, entire yoga centers began to appear with the attraction of large investment investments. In this regard, the competition in this business area is quite high.

When planning the opening of a yoga studio, it is necessary to take into account the fact that in the autumn-spring period there will be much more visitors than in summer.

We can say that in this area of ​​business there is a certain seasonality, since in the summer there will be not so many people who want to attend classes. However, this situation exists in many sports and health facilities.

In order for the planned business to become successful, before opening a yoga studio, it is necessary to conduct a marketing analysis:

1. Determine the number of competitors in the region of interest.
2. Determine the average cost of one lesson.
3. Determine the demand for this service.

Having collected all the necessary information, it will be possible to determine how much this direction is in demand, find out the degree of market saturation, and form the pricing policy of the studio. Only then can you start registering and organizing your business.

Registration and organization of business

After conducting marketing research, it is necessary to register a business. To open a yoga center, it is enough to register as an individual entrepreneur by choosing a simplified taxation system. To do this, you must register as a taxpayer with the tax office and obtain an IP certificate.

The next important step to take is to decide on the direction of yoga that will be taught in the studio. There are the following types of yoga:

• raja yoga;
• hatha yoga;
• kundalini yoga;
• prana yoga;
• ashtanga yoga.

The most popular type of yoga in Russia and Europe is hatha theory. This direction combines a whole system of healthy eating, proper relaxation and breathing exercises.

Location, room and interior

Before you decide on a place to open a yoga studio, you need to analyze the presence of competitors in the immediate environment. It can be not only studios or centers, but also fitness complexes, gyms.

It is advisable to open this business near:

• office buildings;
• residential buildings;
• park area.

It is important to understand that in yoga classes it is necessary to observe silence, calmness in order to properly relax and perform all the exercises.

Therefore, you should not choose a place for a studio in a noisy area, for example, near a bus station or a market, as well as in an area with a high concentration of transport and entertainment facilities. It is also necessary to take care of the availability of parking spaces for studio clients in advance.

The yoga room should have:

1. Good ventilation.
2. Air conditioning system.
3. Warm floor.
4. High ceiling.

For the comfort of clients, the area of ​​the studio with the hall and additional rooms should be at least 50 sq.m. It is not necessary to build a center, you can rent the necessary square footage in a separate building or in a complex with other institutions.

The yoga studio space should include:

• reception;
• bathroom;
• locker rooms;
• spacious training room;
• recreation area.

It is important to create a comfortable, soothing environment in the yoga center that is most conducive to relaxation. For this you need:

1. Choose the right background music.
2. Arrange scented candles and sticks.
3. Buy fresh flowers, and hang thematic paintings, posters on the walls.

It is desirable that the training room has a lot of light, windows and an even, pleasant color of the walls.

Equipment and equipment

Yoga classes cannot do without the use of special equipment, accessories and equipment. The most important element during training are yoga mats. It is desirable to purchase them in two types: thin and thick, since each person has his own threshold of sensitivity. The required number of rugs must be calculated from the expected intensity of attendance and the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe hall.

Equipment list:

Organization of the studio

For the purpose of the proper functioning of the yoga center, it is necessary to correctly distribute duties among the staff, establish a mode of operation, and develop rules for customer service.

A very important point in the work of a yoga studio is the creation of a comfortable home environment.

To do this, you can equip a small cafe or bar in the establishment where you can relax and drink relaxing herbal tea or create a relaxation corner where you can drink a healthy drink (for example, smoothies, green cocktail, fresh juice, herbal tea).

Staff

If the future owner of a yoga studio is not a professional in this field, then it is imperative to hire qualified instructors, and at least three. In addition to trainers, you need to select the following staff:

1. Administrator.
2. Accountant (possibly with a free schedule).
3. Cleaning lady.
4. Client Relations and Engagement Manager.

Marketing

The success of the studio, the stability of its work, the prestige of the institution and income depend on the effectiveness of the marketing policy. When opening a studio, in order to attract potential clients, you can conduct several free trial workouts. You should also inform as many people as possible about the launch of a new yoga center. To do this, it is worth placing printed materials (leaflets, business cards, discount flyers) in places of accumulation of future customers. It can be:

• Beauty Salons;
• sports shops;
• cafes, restaurants offering menus for a healthy diet;
• clothing stores.

Effective marketing tools to promote a yoga studio:

• conducting seminars and trainings by experienced instructors;
• organization of festivals and lectures on health and religion;
• tea drinking is an indispensable ritual of any yoga center.

In the process of developing the studio in order to increase the profitability of the business, it is worth taking care of additional services. For example, you can open:

1. Massage room.
2. Shop selling natural cosmetics, tea, yoga products.
3. Bar or tea area.

It is worth coming up with pleasant little things for visitors. It can be free sweets, cool water, the opportunity to look through an interesting magazine or a specialized book.

The financial component of the business

The yoga studio will bring the main income directly from the number of training sessions. The main task of the business owner is to make the establishment as empty as possible. To do this, you can organize "happy hours", make discounts for students, reduce the cost of classes for group visits, develop a system of discounts in the summer season.

Cost of opening and maintaining

Initial business expenses will range from 50,000-250,000 rubles. Everything will depend on investment opportunities, region, equipment level, rental cost.

The main current expenses include:

• rent and utility bills;
• employee salaries;
• consumables (rugs, disposable products, candles, replenishment of the tea zone);
• replacement or repair of inventory.

Size of future income

The average profit per month is from 40,000-60,000 rubles, given that the cash desk per day will be from 1,500 to 2,000 rubles. Increasing profits will allow additional services, work in two shifts, as well as an increase in the prestige of the studio.

Payback period

Payback is estimated at 9-18 months. Everything will depend on the qualifications of yoga instructors, the level of service, the effectiveness of marketing and advertising policies, the attractiveness of programs for classes and the general atmosphere.

Yoga classes allow people not only to keep their muscles in good shape and have a toned body, but also are a certain philosophy and way of life. Business in this area will always be profitable and in demand.

After leaving X5 Retail Group, financier Elena Milinova decided to create her own business. Elena's husband, a qigong teacher, needed a place to teach followers about health and longevity, so the entrepreneur decided to open a yoga studio and got her first business experience on her own mistakes. It turned out that not only amateurs can teach the system of Indian practices: instructors also want to become better. Less than a year later, the studio "BREATHE" managed to grow to a turnover of 1.5 million. Entrepreneurs told Inc. why teach potential competitors how to earn money and how to build a business that does not need a leader in six months.

After working for 10 years as a financial director - first at Kamaz, and then at X5 Retail Group - Elena Milinova decided to radically change her life and open her own business. “Behind any business there should not be a goal to make money - I have already done this. I needed a place where I wanted to grow old,” she says. The idea to open a yoga studio was born thanks to Elena’s husband: Vladimir Sidorov is a professional qigong teacher with 30 years of experience, a multiple champion of Russia and Europe in tuishou and taolu (Chinese wushu exercises - Inc.). Elena decided that her husband needed a place where he could teach people how to become healthy. At first, the businesswoman intended to focus only on teaching qigong. But Muscovites love Chinese gymnastics less than yoga: they search for it ten times less often in Yandex.

Her brother, Artem Khabeev, came to help Elena start a business (before the opening of the studio, Artem made sportswear under the KAMAZ sport brand). In the spring of 2016, they began to look for premises and teachers for the studio. The founders decided that the hall must be in the center of Moscow. We proceeded from the fact that about 2% of the population is engaged in yoga, which means that in order for a business to live, at least 50 thousand people must live within a radius of two kilometers from the studio.

Elena immediately decided that it would not be possible to build a business on only one style of yoga: it is difficult for clients to raise interest in a particular style from scratch - simply because people are hard to perceive the new.

It's easier to lure to your teacher. “If someone thinks that he will promote his hobby and make a business out of it, then he is mistaken, because, perhaps, they will go, but the conversion (into the purchase of a subscription - Inc.) is too small,” Milinova explains.

Entrepreneurs found a suitable place in a residential complex between Mayakovskaya and Novoslobodskaya metro stations. Basement of 350 sq. m was rented for 250 thousand rubles a month. At first, the creators of the studio thought that the premises were too big (they were looking for 250 sq. m), but now they are going to expand it at the expense of neighboring areas.

The economy of the start of the studio "BREATHE"

thousand rubles- rent (per month).

thousand rubles-partitions.

million rubles- floor.

million rubles out of 15 million rubles of starting capital - only for repairs.

million rubles were set aside "for the first time."

Yoga Studio "Breathe" in numbers

source: company data

270

thousand - net profit per month.

1,6

million- revenue per month.

14

employees in the state (10 teachers, 3 administrators, director).

66%

expenses is payroll.

Looking for a guru

The studio needed a teacher leader to take on the job of recruiting and training a team of yoga instructors. To look for such a guru in the summer of 2016, entrepreneurs went to the Free Spirit festival near Moscow. There they met Ruslan Kleitman, a Russian yoga teacher who taught his own course Akhila Yoga in the USA. “We didn't want a local teacher - locals usually have their own studios in Russia. We needed a visitor, but preferably one who spoke Russian,” Elena recalls.

How to teach yoga

The founders of "DYSHA" are sure that the openness of business improves the image,

so they started a video blog "Business Yoga". In it, entrepreneurs tell how to open a studio, make a website, find teachers, and much more. The videos are filmed and edited by Elena and Artem themselves, uploaded to the channel once a week. Artyom and Elena have almost 130 videos in the plan. The target audience of the blog is teachers who dream of their own business.

At the festival, Ruslan Kleitman participated in the round table "Yoga as a business", where they discussed whether it is possible to take money for yoga classes. According to some professional teachers, this is not necessary, because yoga is aimed at improving the spiritual state. However, Kleitman just believed that work should be paid - for the philosophy of yoga it is important to "create a circle of happy people", and if the teacher was not paid, then he is unhappy.

After the festival, Elena wrote a message to Kleitman on a social network with an offer that he could not refuse (2% of the proceeds from his classes - teacher programs, as well as employment for instructors who completed his course). We agreed that Kleitman would conduct two monthly courses for teachers, and the studio staff would be supervised remotely. He turned out to be an excellent teacher, entrepreneurs say, but it was not possible to organize the work of the studio, being thousands of kilometers away. “Ruslan is a good teacher, a teacher with a capital letter. But in order to organize the work of a yoga studio, other competencies are needed: the ability to select teachers, build motivation, create a schedule, etc.,” says Elena.

Akhila yoga was supposed to be the second style (after qigong) that the studio planned to specialize in, but it soon became clear that Kleitman's style was completely unknown in Russia. “Therefore, it was very difficult to attract clients: seeing only Akhila yoga in our schedule instead of the usual and popular Hatha, Kundalini, Iyengara and Ashtanga, they did not want to go to the studio.” Elena says. Now the studio has Hatha, and yoga for pregnant women, and meditation, and Akhila.

Ruslan Kleitman continues to teach a course for teachers. The training of yoga instructors is necessary, as Elena Milinova explains, to move to a new level of recognition, as well as to fill the studio during the daytime. According to entrepreneurs, they will reach full load (500 subscriptions, now - 300) in six months - a year.

Maxim Yushko

partner of the network of yoga centers YOGA PRACTIKA

The market is in a state of stability close to stagnation. Until 2014, the number of studios grew, and then the crisis came. And at the same time, a balance has been established in the market between large fitness centers and yoga studios.

In our opinion, this is not a profitable business, because it is a mono-service that requires a specialized approach, equipment and conditions, while the cost is low. The business turns out to be low-margin.

Mistakes of the studio "BREATHE", according to Artem Khabeev

We have invested a lot of money in the site. We paid 300 thousand rubles and waited 11 months to get a business card site, which turned out to be no better than the one we assembled on the constructor ourselves for 2 thousand rubles.

When ordering the production of expensive things (floor, partitions), we did not look at the reviews of counterparties and almost lost 1.5 million rubles.

Expected payback before nine months of work.

We prepared the schedule for the holidays and weekends on the last day. Lost money.

Andrey Stekachev/Inc.

Alexandra Gerasimova

co-founder of Fitmost

Yoga studios were among the first to develop the studio market (the fitness market consists of traditional fitness clubs and studios where one or two directions are preferred). And if many trends like