Why Hosting a Workshop May Help You To Take your Studio to the Next Level

Sometimes, even our serene, blissful yogic life can get touched, or even overwhelmed by the stress and daily responsibilities that our studio requires.  You can get stuck in this loop of classes, schedules, bills, and we all well know that it can be hard, at times, to stay inspired and light-hearted throughout the day. As a result, this lack of inspiration can badly affect not only your mind but also the environment around you and in the worst-case scenario, even your business.

Maybe you haven’t realised it yet, but perhaps what you and your studio need is a little twist, just to shake off the old dull routine and find a new exciting way to stay motivated and inspired. 

Have you ever thought about hosting a yoga event or a workshop at your studio for example?

Organizing events at your studio can indeed be a thrilling experience: they can spice up your weekly schedule and they can be a great opportunity for us to grow as teachers. Hosting a workshop means in fact, that you have the chance to learn more, to focus on specific concepts or poses that you like, allowing you to develop and expand your knowledge and stay in the loop.

Ideally, it should be something you’re both knowledgeable and passionate about, but remember to always hear your students’ needs and interests as well. 

Expand Your Network

Workshops can also be useful tools to build new connections, as they can attract new potential clients into your space, and they can help you strengthen old ones too, that will now feel more included in your studio’s community. 

They can be a fantastic resource that you can offer to your students, renewing the excitement around their practice and deepening their interest in yoga and closely related fields.

Low Budget? No Problem!

On the other hand, you might wonder: “How can I cover the costs of a workshop? I don’t want more problems”...

Well, let me just tell you that workshops can ease your life because they are an efficient marketing strategy: organising a workshop doesn’t take a huge investment, but they can bring some additional revenue – for you and your teachers. 

And there’s more, they’re even far more profitable than regular classes, as they usually have fees that are sensibly higher than regular studio classes (they’re normally at least double the price of a single class). 

How To Efficiently Plan A Workshop 

Now you’ve made up your mind but still struggling to find the right one for your studio? 

Don’t worry, I’ve got your back! 

A great way to start planning your first workshop is obviously to choose a topic you’re particularly interested in. I know that this decision can be tough, considering that the outcome of your workshop mainly depends on the topic you choose. A good way to start is to try brainstorming some ideas and find something that could work as a theme. Ideally, it should be something you’re both knowledgeable and passionate about, but remember to always hear your students’ needs and interests as well. 

It’d be great to introduce them for example, to something you haven’t already offered in your regular classes like:

• Ayurveda yoga
• Partner yoga or Acro Yoga
• Yoga+Aromatherapy
• Chakra System & Meditation
• Gong Bath Meditation

Trust me, it only takes to get creative with hosting events, so feel free to express yourself: remember that it’s always nice to give a personal touch to your workshop!

Team-up With Other Teachers

If you’re still uncertain about the right theme, or you simply need help with planning, try to ask another yoga instructor to team up with you. You could choose someone, who’s maybe an expert on a specific topic or has already run a workshop before and ask them to team up with you.

This is a great way to build a strong connection with your co-workers and it may help you minimize the risks of failure: just give it a shot and see if there is something unique you can offer to your students!

How To Promote Your Event

Having found the right topic, your next step is promoting your event; 

The good old way is, of course, to print flyers and stick them around your city, but if you want to save some paper and cash, you can also try advertising your event online. 

Here are a few tips that can guide you through this:

• Start creating a Facebook event 
• If you use Momoyoga, you can create a event that your student can book
• Use the share function within Momoyoga to share the link of the event
• Post the event on your Instagram page/Linkedin or other social media platforms and remember to use a hashtag to spread out the news
• Create a mailing-list for your students 
• Get in touch with other teachers and ask to promote your event
• If you want to properly invest in your event you can even pay for advertising your event on social media
• Remember, visibility is the key: the more visible you are, the easier it gets to attract clients to your event. 

Gather Feedback From Your Students 

Once the workshop is over don’t forget to gather up feedback from your students: it’s always good to know what they think, because their opinion can help you improve. A nice idea would be to leave a bit of time at the end of the workshop, offer some snacks and refreshments, and try asking them their thoughts about your event. Otherwise, if you want to keep it lowkey, you can simply e-mail them asking to write a review on your website.