Five Systems Every Yoga Studio Must Have

“You don't rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” - James Clear

I love this quote, and is has been proven true time and time again.

Does your studio business feel hard? Do you feel like you just can't get ahead? Do you find yourself doing the same things in your business every single day?

Yes? The solution isn't sexy new software, or a marketing manager, or yet another staff meeting or yoga training.

It’s much simpler than that. You need great systems in every area of your studio business.

What do I mean by system? Simply put, a system is a way of working, organizing, or doing something which follows a fixed plan or set of rules or steps. Kinda like a habit. Honestly, systems in your business don’t necessarily require fancy software or hiring a bunch of people. What it does require is some thought and writing them down, so that they is repeatable by someone who is not you.🙂

I have no doubt you offer amazing yoga. But are you able to deliver it consistently, sustainably, and profitably, day after day and month after month?

It doesn’t depend on how many hours a week you work, or how many classes you teach yourself.

It does depends on how things operate when you are not there, or when you are having an off day because a teacher quit. Or when you (gasp!) go on vacation.

It depends on your systems. Full stop.

I am going to share with you the 5 systems that I believe are critical for success in your yoga business. The Fab Five, so to speak.

Once you have these five systems in place, you will be able to work smarter, not harder.

So here are the five systems that you need to have a profitable business that supports you, allows you to take time off, and delivers an excellent experience to your clients, consistently.

First things first, you need an Attraction system in your studio to bring in new clients. If you want to grow, you need to be able to increase the number of members that you have or at minimum replace the members that you’re losing from regular attrition. And guess what? A facebook page and a website are not a system. A system is your lead magnet, referral strategy, intro offer, free class, etc that leads your client to register for a class for the first time, show up, and then move through your sales journey. The system is the series of steps that produces the clients. In my studio, I used Google ads that led to an intro offer, as well as a referral strategy, but you can use something else if you get better results for your studio.

Next, you need a system to Nurture your clients that you brought in with your Attraction system.  It’s not enough to offer great classes and have clean spaces. Everyone does that today, it is expected, not exceptional. You actually have to have a plan to nurture your clients for their entire time with you...I call this path they are on the client journey, meaning the time from their first awareness of you to their last class, and beyond.

The Nurture system, or client journey in a lot of ways is the cornerstone of your business. If clients aren't coming in on a regular basis, converting to members, and sticking around for longer than a season, you are never going to get ahead.  And there are a lot of steps in this system, so until you break them down and write them down, it can be very hard to see what is happening, or not.  The system that you’re actually building here is a series of conversations, touchpoints and personal touches over time that follows the client from intro to membership and beyond. This Nurture system should create awareness, conversion, transformation and retention. 

For example, what happens when someone clicks on your Google ad or on the Intro Offer on your website? What happens before, during and after their first class at your studio? What happens at the end of their intro offer? What happens when they have been a member with you for 3 months, 6 months, a year? What happens when they haven't been to class in a few weeks?

You may need to get really granular here...and think about each step. But once you have the communications, touchpoints and personal touches dialed in, you can easily pass them off to someone on your team to execute or manage. Think personal touches in studio, newsletters that aren't just selling something, automated emails, client goal check ins, invitations to special events, member appreciation events.  All of these things can serve as markers on the client journey.

Next is a system where you are putting yourself out of a job. (Yes, really). I call it Delete, Delegate and Automate. When you first opened your studio you likely did ALL. THE. THINGS. You taught the classes, you answered the phone, you took out the trash, cleaned the floors, and went to Costco for toilet paper. Nevermind all the time you spent learning new things. So much, right?

But if nothing changes nothing changes, and if you don't have a system to offload these low value tasks over time, you will always be doing those tasks, and those tasks don't make you any more money or free up your time. Your work day will always have the same number of hours, and you can fill it with high value work or low value work. You can build a business or do busy work. It is up to you.

When you build a system to Delete, Delegate, Automate you are going to break down every task you do and every hour of your time spent in or on your studio business. Rank them in order from most time consuming to least, and highest skill needed to least. As an example...the trash going out each day is very important to your business, but there is no value reason that you need to be the one doing it. Same with working the desk. If you are sitting at the desk checking in members, you are not spending time on creating high value programs. Start with the roles that are the cheapest and/or easiest for you to replace yourself, and begin to offload those tasks (delegate). Or maybe, they don't need to be done at all (delete), or a few extra bucks a month, you can automate whatever it is.

Pro tip: I see so many studio owners that are not fully utilizing the automations that are built into their software to connect with clients, collect payments, manage wait lists, follow up after a first class. These are already being paid for and it well worth your time to get them set up and running. You will save time and make money, guaranteed.

The fourth system that you need is a system to Measure, track and review your KPIs each and every month.

I’m sure that when you opened your studio you didn't just cross your fingers and hope for the best. You had a plan.....this space is perfect and it is this much in rent. I need 100 members to to make it work. Or I need more space for services. Whatever....you had a plan and knew what you needed to do for the plan to work. But if you are Measuring your studio metrics on a regular basis, you have no idea if you plan is working, if you need to pivot to something else, add a revenue stream, or give everyone a big fat bonus.🙂

You need to review your results on a regular basis. Ignoring them doesn't make them better.  You can run fancy reports out of your software, check an app each morning with your coffee, or write them down on a napkin once a month....just do it. Create a system that reminds you to do it, without fail. this is not a task to delegate. This one is yours, my friend.

And last but not least, you need a system to Compensate yourself.

Maybe your are running your studio as an expensive hobby, and don't need the paycheck, but for many of you, studio ownership has replaced another job, and working for free won't cut it. You have to be able to pay yourself, or your studio can't last. (And also, when the time comes to move on, you can't sell a business that can't pay its owner). There are a lot of woe-is-me studio owners out there, but frankly, the scarcity stories are getting old and are unnecessary, as there are solutions. You’re not a more heart-centered yoga teacher because you can go without a paycheck longer than the next guy.

This is the first question I ask my clients when onboarding. Are you paying yourself? Nothing else matters as much. Create a system to pay yourself a regular amount on a regular basis. And just as you wouldn't skip paying the rent, don't skip paying yourself, either. Even if it is just $100 a week to start, get it going and don't stop. Don't give yourself a pay cut on a whim when you decide that the studio needs something. Be consistent.

I used to only pay myself if I deemed that there was "enough" left over each month, and if I felt like I deserved it. That seems so silly now, but back then I didn't value my time. Once I started regularly paying myself, the whole game changed. And then I was able to give myself regular raises and bonuses, too!

Try it, it works.

So there you have it...my top 5 systems that every yoga studio needs to have in place to be successful. I can help you create these in my Barefoot Boss Studio Strategy Program, but you can do them yourself, too. And the best part? When you implement or improve any one of these systems, the rest of them improve, as well. When you attract new clients, you make more money. When you free up your time, you can plan programming that brings in new clients, and makes more money. And on and on.

The new year is right around the corner. Take some time this month to create, implement or review your systems and set your studio up for success in the new year!

I am rooting for you, Boss!