When it comes to opening a yoga studio, dreaming big is only the first step. You need to make a plan. 

Just think about the journey you’re going on. With a map, you save time and headaches – and reach the finish line faster. The right blueprint sets you up for success and transforms your vision into a thriving reality. 

Here’s everything you need to know to create a yoga studio business plan and seven steps to get your clients rolling out their mats.

What Is a Yoga Business Plan?

A business plan for a yoga studio is a document outlining how your dream studio will come to life. It includes everything from your vision and ideas to your business goals and how you'll achieve them, including marketing strategies, service offerings, and staffing plans.

Here’s an example. If your goal is to offer specialized yoga classes for beginners, your business plan would include (but isn’t limited to):

• Your target audience and marketing strategies that speak to that demographic
• What classes you plan to offer now and later
• The hiring process for teachers and administrators
• Financial details and projections
• Potential roadblocks and solutions

A formal business plan is essential because it helps you anticipate challenges and make informed decisions, both at the starting line and throughout your journey. Plus, having a sharable document makes it easier to communicate your vision to potential business partners, investors, or employees.

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Opening a Yoga Studio: Business Plan Steps 

Here are seven steps to write a yoga studio business plan that takes your dream from concept to reality: 

1. Craft a Compelling Executive Summary

An executive summary is a statement that provides an overview of your business, target market, and plan. It’s usually just a paragraph or two, so you have to infuse as much impact as possible into those words. 

Include your studio's name, location, and unique selling proposition (USP), which is what makes your company different from all the others. This might be an eco-friendly environment or a unique style of yoga – whatever sets you apart. 

Then, add your mission. Explain why you're creating your studio, its intended impact on its clients, and where you see your business going (aka your vision). For example, you may want to make yoga accessible to all body types and skill levels, with the aim of scaling to multiple locations within five years.

2. Familiarize Yourself With the Yoga Market 

To say the yoga market is huge would be an understatement. It was worth about $15.8 billion in 2023, and that number’s only growing. But don’t let the size of the industry overwhelm you – market research, which is the process of finding information about your target market and audience, is easier than you think. 

Identify your target market, which could be anyone from beginners to busy professionals or even a combination of the two. Knowing who you’re marketing to lets you tailor your approach accordingly later.

Gather insights about prospective customers' needs through casual conversations, online surveys, and interviews. Create a post on your studio's Instagram or TikTok page asking for feedback to reach people directly, or host an online survey (SurveyMonkey and Google Forms are both great options) to collect as many opinions as possible. 

Another great place to figure out what works is to visit similar studios in your area for a competitive analysis. What do they do well? What sets them apart? And where is there room for improvement? Identify gaps your studio could fill, such as a need for more vinyasa or power yoga classes. This helps you carve out a niche in a crowded market. 

3. Create a Marketing Strategy

A marketing strategy focuses on big-picture goals and the message you want to convey about your yoga studio. It typically contains your brand's USP, target customers, overall messaging (the studio's vibe and values), and what you want to achieve. For a brand-new business, your main goal will most likely be to draw new clients.

But first, define your brand's voice and aesthetic – calm and serene, colorful and energetic, and inspiring and empowering are a few popular options. Use these adjectives to help you choose colors, fonts, logo, and messaging that match your voice, including on your website and social media accounts. This tells potential clients who you are at a glance. 

Then, map out your marketing plan. The steps you’ll take vary depending on who your audience is and how best to reach them, but starting with social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok is a great option. Share yoga tips, class schedules, and other engaging posts and short videos. Email and text message marketing is also an excellent way to update current and prospective members with special offers and new classes.

Offline, partner with local businesses to cross-promote services or host community events. These tactics raise awareness of your studio. For example, offer a free Ashtanga class in a local park or collaborate with a nearby coffee shop to offer discounts to people who visit both businesses. 

All of these steps sound like a lot – we get it. That’s why GlossGenius’ yoga studio software includes powerful Marketing features to streamline these efforts and make things easier for you. You’ll have more time and energy to do what you do best: inspire clients.

Sign up for a 14-day free trial with GlossGenius!

4. Define the Operational Aspects

Business plans for yoga studios also cover how you'll run the business day-to-day. While your schedule and admin methods change as you evolve and improve, having a general plan gives you something to follow and tells potential stakeholders what to expect.

Outline your class schedule, including which types of yoga and how many classes you'll offer daily and weekly. Consider which class timing your target market prefers, like early morning, afternoon, or evening, and whether to add one-on-one sessions as an option. 

At this stage, think about how you’ll manage client relationships as well. Emails and Google Docs can be hard to manage with lots of clients. GlossGenius' Schedule and Calendar, Online Booking, and Client Management tools can automate many of these tasks so you barely have to lift a finger. 

5. Develop Realistic Financial Projections

Estimate your yoga studio's revenue and expenses to draft a financial plan. This will show you whether your business is feasible with the capital you have and the income you plan on receiving.

Start by forecasting your revenue. Set your prices and estimate how many guests you think will attend your classes, including other revenue streams like special events, drop-ins, and memberships. This gives you a clear picture of your potential earnings for the month, quarter, and year. If you plan to offer 20 drop-in classes per week at a rate of $15 per class, your weekly revenue from drop-ins would be $3,000.

Also figure out what your expenses are. These should include:

• Rent
• Signage
• Equipment like yoga mats and mat cleaners
• Yoga instructor salaries
• Marketing 

Be thorough and include even minor expenses. Necessities like utilities and toilet paper can really add up, even if they seem like blips in your financial plan. 

Then, conduct a break-even analysis. This tells you how much revenue you need to cover your expenses and earn a profit. For example, if your monthly expenses are $4,000 and you make $10 profit per student after expenses, you'll need 400 students each month to break even (400 x 10 = $4,000). With this information, you can plan a class schedule that lets you reach your goals. Consider a few different scenarios so you can have different paths to break even (ie. higher class prices, more students).

When it comes to the math and accounting side of running a business, things get complicated fast. Keep track of it all with GlossGenius. Check out GlossGenius' Financial Tools for managing your studio's cash flow effectively, including a Business Loans Workbook to get you the capital you need to thrive.

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6. Choose the Perfect Location

Location isn’t everything, but it can have a huge effect on your business strategies and success. A studio on a busy, accessible street corner has different marketing and revenue needs than one in the quiet suburbs. The latter needs to put in a little more elbow grease to reach and entice potential customers. 

If you’re still figuring out where to set up shop, consider where your target audience lives, works, and socializes. Pick a spot that's convenient and accessible for these people. For example, if you're trying to attract office workers who might attend yoga classes during their lunch breaks, situate your studio within walking distance of office buildings. A location in a quieter residential area might be ideal if you want to reach families or retirees. 

The physical space is also important. Is it big enough to host your classes? Do you want to have multiple rooms? Are there any zoning laws or regulations that might affect your business, like a lack of parking for clients? Finding a location that suits your needs sets the tone for your brand and helps attract customers. 

7. Plan for Future Growth

Think about where you want your yoga studio to be in the next one, five, or even 10 years. Setting goals now gives you a clearer path to success later.

In the short term, you might want to add specialized classes or workshops like prenatal yoga or meditation. In the long term, maybe you dream about opening a second location or moving to a more expensive area.

Knowing what you want helps you set clear, measurable goals for these milestones. For example, suppose you want to offer meditation workshops starting in the next 12 months. In that case, your goals might include interviewing workshop leaders six months before you launch the program and starting advertising and opening sign-ups three months out. You’ll also want to think about any expenses associated. Focusing on the now is essential for getting your studio up and running, but remember to plan for tomorrow. 

Boost Your Yoga Studio Business Model With GlossGenius 

A well-crafted business plan lays the foundation for your yoga studio's success. It keeps you focused, organized, and ready to tackle whatever comes your way – and do so gracefully.  

If you want to take planning and managing your yoga studio to the next level, try GlossGenius' yoga software. We have everything you need to manage a business and put yourself on the path to success. 

Create a stunning online presence with our Custom Website Builder and process payments quickly and securely with our Point of Sale (POS) systems. We also offer Genius Loans, which provide access to fast, flexible financing so you can manage your cash flow and invest in your success. 

Sign up for a 14-day free trial with GlossGenius!

Let GlossGenius be your partner in building a thriving yoga studio. Sign up for a 14-day free trial today.