Thank you so much for these wonderful videos. Your messages were both informative and inspiring. You have such a lovely way of presenting information. It’s no wonder that you are successful in your business. Thank you for sharing these very valuable tidbits of information. I truly appreciate it. 🙂
I like when you say “meet students where they are” as opposed to where I think I know where they are. And holding space for them to feel/ connect with their bodies and perhaps with their mind. Your 3 videos spoke to my big time!! Thanks
I would really love to know what YOUR systems are for invoicing and dealing with cancellations. Guess that would probably be covered in the 20-hour training in November, though, huh. But I am curious. I actually am just starting the private end of my practice. Created a little yoga studio upstairs in my home, and have three students waiting for me to official ‘open’. I will need to have those systems in place before I open. Thank you so much Francesca. you have such a lovely, clear spirit in these training videos.
I enjoyed your presentation, The Art and Science of Profitable Private Teaching, at The Business of Yoga conference in Washington. Your video touches on some of the same material and I enjoyed both. Thanks for sharing your knowledge on the Business side of Yoga.
I agree with you that there are two (2) distinct parts of the Yoga Teaching–one is the actual teaching and the other is the business part. I set myself up as an LLC from day one (1). That was the best decision I made. As you said, the billing is very important to keep the cash flow going. All three videos were very informational. I am looking forward to the workshop in September.
Francesca, I really love and appreciate your videos! They are very clear and informative, sweetly presented with lots of self confidence… I have been a former dancer myself and run a small dance studio for 15 years. After all these years my greatest desire would be to slowly move my business from teaching dance classes to teaching private yoga classes, as this is where my true interest lies. I’m living in Austria/Europe, so I can’t easily come to your teacher training although I’d love to. But I wanted to thank you for the information you have already provided me with in your videos! Warm greetings!
Thank you for this series Francesca! It clearly establishes the priorities teachers have to stick to in order to find and keep private clients. I’ll be applying your advice.
Hey Frencesca, thanks again for some great tips. I am struggling with having clear guidelines for cancellations and for going over time. Which seems to happen a lot. Clients just keep on chatting.
Thanks
Ahhh. Yes. TIME. This is a big one. Something we talk about quite a lot in my teacher training. This has given me a great idea for a blog post, because I would like to answer the question more in depth, and allow the answer to reach more teachers. Right here I will say this: if your clients can’t stop chatting, it is up to YOU to {sweetly, lovingly} stop them. You have to stand strong in your role as leader and do whatever is necessary to end the session and get out of there on time. The boundaries of time {and money} are the most basic, and if those are sloppy or unclear, you don’t have much hope for the rest of the boundaries staying in tact. Stay tuned for more on this great question!
I hear you, Sandy! I have that same issue! So I created a pretty little document for my new students that I give when they are signing the waiver. It’s called Cour
tesy Guidelines. I have three bullet points: I will do everything in my power to fulfill the following guidelines (You can add your 3 priorities) and the second part of the doc. says: Your agreement to the following guidelines is respectfully requested. I included the same guidelines for both of us and they included. Behaving in a respectful manner, Arrive on time and honor the designated end time, giving at least 24 hours notice. But you could include your priorities.
Thank you for this series, Francesca. Full of great tips! I love that your initial mind-set for the business part is that it is an act of self-care. I had some business background when I started, which made it easier, but I think that I still don’t always connect the deep self-care mindset well enough with the whole thing. Thank you!
You are most welcome Pam! I am so happy that is something you came away with from this series. When I started organizing my business and holding clear boundaries as a radical act of self care, making decisions became a much more peaceful process. Love to you!
Hi Francesca, I am so happy that I have found you. These videos have been very helpful to me. You present everything in a very clear and concise manner. I have been teaching public classes in studios and I have been wanting to take the plunge to start teaching privates but I am having a hard time figuring how to get clients. I am very interested in your mentorship program as I live in Australia so the teacher training sessions are a bit hard for me to get to. In the mean time I will keep visiting here.
Thank you!
xx
I am so happy you found me as well Elise! Yes, keep visiting us here. We have a wonderful, active community, and I’ll be posting new blogs every week! Sending love…
Thank you, Francesca, for putting this video series together. I feel more confident with my private clients and my business. I look forward to exploring more opportunities to learn from you!
Hi Francesca, thank you so much for this. I’m really enjoying this series of videos – there’s a lot to digest and I look forward to exploring more. I’ve been working on developing my business skills and yoga therapist skills for the past year or so. Your videos are helping my confidence:)
Thank you for framing the business set-up as deep self-love. For someone who teaches self-care to others, it can, oddly, go unattended to in my own life. This, coupled with my fear of the business demands, has held me back from getting clear about systems, boundaries, offerings and so on. Time to get started. Thank you.
Hi lovely I too am a private yoga instructor and am living in CO. I have a few questions about your unique strategies that I’m struggling with and those are what I should be charging per hr and what policies to have about cancelations. Luckily I haven’t had any but for future set ups. Any ways I charge for locals $25 an hr and non locals i charge $5 for every 15 min of driving I’m not sure if I’m undercutting myself. Any suggestions, my new found lady I admire?
Hi Elizabeth, it is so very nice to meet you! Hmmm, just a quick answer here:: yes, if you are charging $25 for a private lesson you are undercutting yourself, as well as your sister yoga teachers. It depends how much a group class costs in your area, but if you are traveling to your clients homes, my guess would be $50 would be on the low end of what is appropriate for a private lesson. I think rather than charging by the minute for distance, I would just calculate the drive, and quote the clients that live far out a higher rate, no explanation necessary.
Also, I have a pretty iron clad 24 hour cancellation policy and I recommend you do too. Maybe I’ll have to write a blog post explaining that in more detail! Stay tuned! XO
Dear Francesca,
thank you so much for your work and the videos. Would you mind to share how you handle 24 hr cancellation you have to make (due sickness, weather craziness or emergencies for example)? Do you offer clients a discount for the next class?
Hi Kat, thanks for reaching out! I think I should write a full blog post about this…I wrote one about the 24 hour cancellation policy, {read that here: http://fcyw.wpengine.com/cancellation-policy/} but that was about clients cancelling on us. Of course, sometimes emergencies will happen for us too, but in my teacher trainings I talk a lot about the importance of consistency. It makes a big difference in the way our clients view us as professionals. I do think if we have to cancel on our clients at the last minute we could give them a free session, but I would make an effort {as I’m sure you do!} to make it a super rare occurrence. In almost 10 years of teaching full time, I can think of less than five times that I had to cancel at the last minute. This is a really great question, feel free to pop in here {https://www.facebook.com/FrancescaCerveroYogaWellness} with anything else you want me to address. Sending love…XO
Thanks for your quick reply! I would love to see a blog post from you about that topic 😉 I was thinking about giving them a free session, too, especially when having a strict 24 hr cancellation policy for them.
Great advice and it does make decisions easier to make when they come from self-care, thankyou! I still struggle with what to charge, finding a balance between an attractive offering that people will commit to longer term, or a fee people view as being a ‘treat’ or can only afford once a month. There are a number of gyms nearby where yoga classes are cheap, it’s set the standard that people think paying over $20 per class is too expensive. I am working to change the perception that not all classes are equal…but I still need to attract clients to me initially and it seems to be price driven.
Yes, I totally hear you Alexia. This is often one of the hardest topics us private yoga teachers work with. Here is one blog about finding new clients: http://fcyw.wpengine.com/fiveideasfirstclient/ and I’ve another one about coming up with pricing soon. Stay tuned!
“Meet them where they are…………….” – simple, and sooooooooo important! Thank you and looking forward to participating in an upcoming (?February) online course.
Thank you for your take on the most important strategy. Re: “it starts with clear and consistent branding,” do you have recommendations on who/where to go to for help with that? What might one expect to have to invest in getting that help? Thank you, thank you 🙂
You are welcome! We actually talk about this some in my online training. My recommendations will vary based on individual needs, so let’s wait and address it there, okay? Some people need (and can afford) a big branding process with a company and that can cost up to $10,000. Many teachers don’t need that so it’s worth drilling down to exact needs and getting specific strategy and plans there. 🙂
Love the phrase “meeting them where they are”. SO TRUE. I used to think OH Ill make a plan of Asanas for the lesson and I always get there and never even look at my notes. But assessing for the first 5-7mins is the bEST thing …some days theyre doing GREAT and others they just want a full 45mins of meditation …Im there for them …to make them feel well …love the videos …such great pearls of wisdom
Hello Francesca,
Thank you for these training videos! I have been teaching group classes for 4 years, but haven’t had many requests for private lessons, partially because I had not manifested the desire to teach them, I believe. I’ve been listening to your podcast and started thinking about teaching privately, and immediately after got a call from a client! You are my first resource for insight and advice on how to conduct myself and handle the different aspects of teaching private vs group classes. Thank you for all that you share, it’s been very helpful.
This feels so hard for me, though I definitely see the why and hear you 100%! Love referencing it as a part of self-care, it really is. Thank you for these videos <3
Hello Francesca.
Thank you for all of these videos and all the information that you are constantly providing. It has been a true gift. You have and continue to help my on this journey in such many ways. I have to confess it has not been easy at times but I am enjoying the journey and to have people like you to guide me along the way is for sure a blessing 🙂
It is such an honor to be on this path with you Carolina! I’m so happy you’ve found my work supportive during this tough time. I’m sending you lots of love!
Thank you so much for these wonderful videos. Your messages were both informative and inspiring. You have such a lovely way of presenting information. It’s no wonder that you are successful in your business. Thank you for sharing these very valuable tidbits of information. I truly appreciate it. 🙂
I like when you say “meet students where they are” as opposed to where I think I know where they are. And holding space for them to feel/ connect with their bodies and perhaps with their mind. Your 3 videos spoke to my big time!! Thanks
Yes, wonderful! Please stay in touch and let me know how your teaching is going! <3
I would really love to know what YOUR systems are for invoicing and dealing with cancellations. Guess that would probably be covered in the 20-hour training in November, though, huh. But I am curious. I actually am just starting the private end of my practice. Created a little yoga studio upstairs in my home, and have three students waiting for me to official ‘open’. I will need to have those systems in place before I open. Thank you so much Francesca. you have such a lovely, clear spirit in these training videos.
I enjoyed your presentation, The Art and Science of Profitable Private Teaching, at The Business of Yoga conference in Washington. Your video touches on some of the same material and I enjoyed both. Thanks for sharing your knowledge on the Business side of Yoga.
Hi Francesca,
I love that part about meeting them where they are:)
thank you
I agree with you that there are two (2) distinct parts of the Yoga Teaching–one is the actual teaching and the other is the business part. I set myself up as an LLC from day one (1). That was the best decision I made. As you said, the billing is very important to keep the cash flow going. All three videos were very informational. I am looking forward to the workshop in September.
Great videos, Francesca! I’m really hoping I’ll be able to join you on your next private yoga teacher training!
thank you so much… can’t wait find out more about your mentoring
Great tips and I look forward to practicing them!
Thank you!
Francesca, I really love and appreciate your videos! They are very clear and informative, sweetly presented with lots of self confidence… I have been a former dancer myself and run a small dance studio for 15 years. After all these years my greatest desire would be to slowly move my business from teaching dance classes to teaching private yoga classes, as this is where my true interest lies. I’m living in Austria/Europe, so I can’t easily come to your teacher training although I’d love to. But I wanted to thank you for the information you have already provided me with in your videos! Warm greetings!
Thanks so much for introducing yourself here Gerlinde. Is is so nice to virtually meet you! I’m wishing you well on your path.
Thank you, Francesca!
Thank you for this series Francesca! It clearly establishes the priorities teachers have to stick to in order to find and keep private clients. I’ll be applying your advice.
Fantastic! Let us know how it helps Myriam 🙂
Hey Frencesca, thanks again for some great tips. I am struggling with having clear guidelines for cancellations and for going over time. Which seems to happen a lot. Clients just keep on chatting.
Thanks
Ahhh. Yes. TIME. This is a big one. Something we talk about quite a lot in my teacher training. This has given me a great idea for a blog post, because I would like to answer the question more in depth, and allow the answer to reach more teachers. Right here I will say this: if your clients can’t stop chatting, it is up to YOU to {sweetly, lovingly} stop them. You have to stand strong in your role as leader and do whatever is necessary to end the session and get out of there on time. The boundaries of time {and money} are the most basic, and if those are sloppy or unclear, you don’t have much hope for the rest of the boundaries staying in tact. Stay tuned for more on this great question!
I hear you, Sandy! I have that same issue! So I created a pretty little document for my new students that I give when they are signing the waiver. It’s called Cour
tesy Guidelines. I have three bullet points: I will do everything in my power to fulfill the following guidelines (You can add your 3 priorities) and the second part of the doc. says: Your agreement to the following guidelines is respectfully requested. I included the same guidelines for both of us and they included. Behaving in a respectful manner, Arrive on time and honor the designated end time, giving at least 24 hours notice. But you could include your priorities.
Thank you for this series, Francesca. Full of great tips! I love that your initial mind-set for the business part is that it is an act of self-care. I had some business background when I started, which made it easier, but I think that I still don’t always connect the deep self-care mindset well enough with the whole thing. Thank you!
You are most welcome Pam! I am so happy that is something you came away with from this series. When I started organizing my business and holding clear boundaries as a radical act of self care, making decisions became a much more peaceful process. Love to you!
Hi Francesca, I am so happy that I have found you. These videos have been very helpful to me. You present everything in a very clear and concise manner. I have been teaching public classes in studios and I have been wanting to take the plunge to start teaching privates but I am having a hard time figuring how to get clients. I am very interested in your mentorship program as I live in Australia so the teacher training sessions are a bit hard for me to get to. In the mean time I will keep visiting here.
Thank you!
xx
I am so happy you found me as well Elise! Yes, keep visiting us here. We have a wonderful, active community, and I’ll be posting new blogs every week! Sending love…
Thank you, Francesca, for putting this video series together. I feel more confident with my private clients and my business. I look forward to exploring more opportunities to learn from you!
Hi Francesca, thank you so much for this. I’m really enjoying this series of videos – there’s a lot to digest and I look forward to exploring more. I’ve been working on developing my business skills and yoga therapist skills for the past year or so. Your videos are helping my confidence:)
I am so happy to hear that Donna! You are very welcome. Stay in touch, and keep putting one foot in front of the other on your path. <3
Thank you for framing the business set-up as deep self-love. For someone who teaches self-care to others, it can, oddly, go unattended to in my own life. This, coupled with my fear of the business demands, has held me back from getting clear about systems, boundaries, offerings and so on. Time to get started. Thank you.
You are most welcome Kate. As you know, we often teach what it is we most need to learn. Myself included. Sending love…
Hi lovely I too am a private yoga instructor and am living in CO. I have a few questions about your unique strategies that I’m struggling with and those are what I should be charging per hr and what policies to have about cancelations. Luckily I haven’t had any but for future set ups. Any ways I charge for locals $25 an hr and non locals i charge $5 for every 15 min of driving I’m not sure if I’m undercutting myself. Any suggestions, my new found lady I admire?
Hi Elizabeth, it is so very nice to meet you! Hmmm, just a quick answer here:: yes, if you are charging $25 for a private lesson you are undercutting yourself, as well as your sister yoga teachers. It depends how much a group class costs in your area, but if you are traveling to your clients homes, my guess would be $50 would be on the low end of what is appropriate for a private lesson. I think rather than charging by the minute for distance, I would just calculate the drive, and quote the clients that live far out a higher rate, no explanation necessary.
Also, I have a pretty iron clad 24 hour cancellation policy and I recommend you do too. Maybe I’ll have to write a blog post explaining that in more detail! Stay tuned! XO
Dear Francesca,
thank you so much for your work and the videos. Would you mind to share how you handle 24 hr cancellation you have to make (due sickness, weather craziness or emergencies for example)? Do you offer clients a discount for the next class?
Hi Kat, thanks for reaching out! I think I should write a full blog post about this…I wrote one about the 24 hour cancellation policy, {read that here: http://fcyw.wpengine.com/cancellation-policy/} but that was about clients cancelling on us. Of course, sometimes emergencies will happen for us too, but in my teacher trainings I talk a lot about the importance of consistency. It makes a big difference in the way our clients view us as professionals. I do think if we have to cancel on our clients at the last minute we could give them a free session, but I would make an effort {as I’m sure you do!} to make it a super rare occurrence. In almost 10 years of teaching full time, I can think of less than five times that I had to cancel at the last minute. This is a really great question, feel free to pop in here {https://www.facebook.com/FrancescaCerveroYogaWellness} with anything else you want me to address. Sending love…XO
Thanks for your quick reply! I would love to see a blog post from you about that topic 😉 I was thinking about giving them a free session, too, especially when having a strict 24 hr cancellation policy for them.
Great advice and it does make decisions easier to make when they come from self-care, thankyou! I still struggle with what to charge, finding a balance between an attractive offering that people will commit to longer term, or a fee people view as being a ‘treat’ or can only afford once a month. There are a number of gyms nearby where yoga classes are cheap, it’s set the standard that people think paying over $20 per class is too expensive. I am working to change the perception that not all classes are equal…but I still need to attract clients to me initially and it seems to be price driven.
Yes, I totally hear you Alexia. This is often one of the hardest topics us private yoga teachers work with. Here is one blog about finding new clients: http://fcyw.wpengine.com/fiveideasfirstclient/ and I’ve another one about coming up with pricing soon. Stay tuned!
ps. I love your website! <3
Francesca, these little video are wonderful and I am so happy to be a part of this supportive community! Thank you so much for all of this ❤️❤️❤️
“Meet them where they are…………….” – simple, and sooooooooo important! Thank you and looking forward to participating in an upcoming (?February) online course.
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed this series Jann! I’m so looking forward to continue supporting you with my other trainings! 🙂
Your information is so beautifully and clearly presented—simple, straight forward and so helpful. Thank you so much for sharing Francesca.
You’re so welcome Amy; thanks for being a part of our community here!
Thank you ! I like the short, concise messages… Very doable.
Your eyes are sparkly and wonderful!
Thank you for the tips.
Melani
Thank YOU Melani! Happy to have you here. <3
Thank you for your take on the most important strategy. Re: “it starts with clear and consistent branding,” do you have recommendations on who/where to go to for help with that? What might one expect to have to invest in getting that help? Thank you, thank you 🙂
You are welcome! We actually talk about this some in my online training. My recommendations will vary based on individual needs, so let’s wait and address it there, okay? Some people need (and can afford) a big branding process with a company and that can cost up to $10,000. Many teachers don’t need that so it’s worth drilling down to exact needs and getting specific strategy and plans there. 🙂
Love the phrase “meeting them where they are”. SO TRUE. I used to think OH Ill make a plan of Asanas for the lesson and I always get there and never even look at my notes. But assessing for the first 5-7mins is the bEST thing …some days theyre doing GREAT and others they just want a full 45mins of meditation …Im there for them …to make them feel well …love the videos …such great pearls of wisdom
Exactly Betsey! You’ve got it! So happy to be on this journey with you. 🙂
Hello Francesca,
Thank you for these training videos! I have been teaching group classes for 4 years, but haven’t had many requests for private lessons, partially because I had not manifested the desire to teach them, I believe. I’ve been listening to your podcast and started thinking about teaching privately, and immediately after got a call from a client! You are my first resource for insight and advice on how to conduct myself and handle the different aspects of teaching private vs group classes. Thank you for all that you share, it’s been very helpful.
You are so very welcome Talita! I am so happy to be on this journey with you. <3
“Setting up a well run and profitable business is a deep act of self care.” WOW!!! Soooo needed that perspective. THANK YOU Francesca!
You are so welcome Corey! I am so happy to be connected with you here. Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions that come up for you!
This feels so hard for me, though I definitely see the why and hear you 100%! Love referencing it as a part of self-care, it really is. Thank you for these videos <3
I know it can be really hard… just invite yourself to take one small step at a time. <3
Hello Francesca.
Thank you for all of these videos and all the information that you are constantly providing. It has been a true gift. You have and continue to help my on this journey in such many ways. I have to confess it has not been easy at times but I am enjoying the journey and to have people like you to guide me along the way is for sure a blessing 🙂
It is such an honor to be on this path with you Carolina! I’m so happy you’ve found my work supportive during this tough time. I’m sending you lots of love!