130: Make a Profit Teaching Private Yoga with Emily Sussell

Can you make a good living teaching yoga? A lot of us yoga teachers struggle with money mindset – we don’t like to talk about making profits, or think about sharing yoga as a business. However, that’s an important part of being able to bring yoga to others. You need to be able to sustain yourself first, before you can serve others. On this episode, Emily Sussell reveals how she makes $100,000 a year with her yoga business, and how you can too.

Emily is a successful yoga teacher, business coach, and entrepreneur. She became a certified yoga instructor in 2013, and founded Private Yoga Brooklyn, a premium private yoga service in NYC. As other yoga teachers noticed her success and reached out to her for help in creating their own private yoga businesses, Emily was inspired to start Abundant Yogi Coaching, a business coaching institute for yoga teachers worldwide. In addition to coaching and mentorship services, she offers educational resources and coaching retreats to empower yoga teachers with tools to thrive financially and become more impactful as healers.

Finding your niche is a common theme on the podcast. Emily explains how teaching private yoga can be a niche on it own, and how to make the leap from teaching group classes to private yoga. She explains how she found her ideal client avatar, set her prices and marketed herself using branding on her website and SEO. Her biggest piece of advice? Motion over meditation.

If teaching private yoga is something you’ve given even a little bit of thought to, or if you just want to be able to make a decent income as a yoga teacher, this episode is for you.

Key Takeaways:

[6:35] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode – Emily Sussell.
[8:30] Where did Emily’s yoga journey begin and how did she get to where she is today?
[13:56] What was the biggest thing for Emily that allowed her to shift from teaching group yoga to specializing in private yoga?

“I fell in love with everything about working 1:1 with somebody in their home.” -Emily Sussell

[15:38] What are some of Emily’s tips around starting to specialize in teaching private yoga?
[18:22] Emily shares some advice around just taking the leap and going for it.

“I realized that if I didn’t choose something and commit to it, then I was just going to stay in this space of vagueness.” -Emily Sussell

[20:42] How does Emily decide on the pricing for her yoga classes? She has a special equation!
[23:10] Emily believes it’s possible to make a good income teaching yoga and teaching private yoga. She shares her insights into what that might look like.
[25:29] What are Emily’s suggestions for attracting the right kinds of clients who can afford your fees?
[27:47] Shannon and Emily discuss niching down and specializing.

“When we’re creating marketing, we’re not trying to appeal to everyone.”  -Emily Sussell

[30:36] How do packages and discounted pricing play into Emily’s offerings?
[35:50] At what point did Emily transition from group to private classes?
[38:01] What is the most effective channel for Emily to get in front of her potential clients in terms of marketing and visibility?
[41:33] What does a 1:1 yoga session look like?
[45:38] What’s the first step to take if you’re looking to move in the direction of teaching private yoga classes?
[48:30] Check out the links for more information on insurance and waiver forms.
[49:18] Find out more about Emily’s work via her Facebook group and her coaching website, Abundant Yogi.
[50:29] Shannon shares some of her key takeaways – she’d love to hear yours too!

Links:

• Emily Sussell, Private Yoga Brooklyn
• Mastering the Biz of Private Yoga Facebook Group
• Abundant Yogi Coach.com
• Marie Forleo B School
• Four Agreements
• Yoga Student Waiver
• The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast Episode 105: Insurance for Yoga Teachers with Beth McVeigh
• Insurance for Yoga Teachers
• Yoga for Pelvic Health Meaford, Ontario

Gratitude to our Sponsors Schedulicity and Pelvic Health Professionals