Preparing a yoga business plan might seem like a daunting process but it doesn’t have to be difficult. Whether you want to open your own studio or become a freelance teacher, a basic plan will maximise your chance of success. By covering the essentials outlined below, you can create an impressive business plan quickly and easily.
In this article – we walk you through the 7 core sections of a professional yoga business plan, including examples, PDF templates, and a downloadable cheat sheet.
7 Elements of a Yoga Business Plan
Founding your very own yoga business can be an exciting yet overwhelming task. The best way to set yourself up for success is by having a solid plan from the start. This allows you to approach the venture in a strategic and step-by-step manner.
A professional yoga studio business plan will also help you to secure funding (if you need it). It’ll reassure lenders that your concept will be successful, making them more likely to lend you money. Having a well-prepared business plan is essential for accessing government grants for yoga studios or fitness equipment loans.
A good yoga business plan will include the following sections…
- Executive summary
- Market analysis
- Overview of the company
- Product and service summary
- Sales strategy
- Financial info
- Implementation plan
You can download our handy business planning cheat sheet as part of our Fitness Business Start-Up Kit… Now let’s explore what each of these should cover…
1. Executive Summary
Investors don’t want to wait until the end of a document to understand your business so get straight to the point. Why should they invest in your idea?
Include your purpose, key financial info, and unique selling points. While this section comes at the beginning of your plan, it’s usually easier to write at the end (once everything else is done).
2. Market Analysis
Are you tapping into a growth industry or is the market in decline? In this section, you’ll need to demonstrate the potential of your business and clearly identify the opportunity.
Will there be a strong demand for your yoga classes, services, or products? Reference yoga industry statistics, broader wellness trends, and market data, along with competitor info to build up a clear picture.
Everything you need to turn your fitness business idea into a reality!
3. Company Overview
This is where you summarise how the company will operate. Include your business objectives, studio location, form of ownership, legal status, structure of the team, and plan for operations. If you’re starting a freelance yoga business, then this section will be shorter than a studio’s.
4. Products & Services
What are you going to sell? Many people find this the most fun part since it’s where you turn all your yoga business ideas into reality.
Make a list of the products or services that you’re planning to offer, including the names, descriptions, and pricing. For example, this might be studio memberships, one-to-one sessions, teacher workshops, or merchandise.
You might also like… 35 Creative Yoga Business Names for New Start-Ups.
5. Sales Strategy
How are you going to attract customers to your business? This should cover all of the sales and marketing aspects of your yoga business.
Outline your branding ideas and include a marketing plan that explains how you’ll secure paying clients. This should include all of the yoga marketing activities you’ll do to launch successfully and keep the money coming in once you’re open.
Fitness Marketing Resource Library
Generate a steady stream of leads, sales, and revenue for your gym, fitness studio, or personal training business.
6. Financial Info
This section is the crux of a good yoga business plan – will you really make money? Plot out all of your figures on spreadsheets so that potential investors can see how you arrived at them. It’s also helpful to visualise some of the key info on charts and graphs.
Include a breakdown of all your yoga studio startup costs, plus cash flow, profit & loss, and breakeven figures. Project your figures 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years ahead so it’s clear what the long-term potential is.
7. Implementation
This is where you explain how you’ll turn the plan into a reality. It should include a list of all the actions you’re going to take, along with deadlines (Gannt charts are ideal here).
Why Business Planning Matters
If you’re still not convinced that you need a yoga business plan, then here’s the reality – it’s actually essential to your success. Without it, you won’t be able to secure funding or business loans so it’s worth taking the time to prepare one.
It’s not just about having the piece of paper to show people – it’s about the process of creating it. Planning forces you to conduct research and weigh up whether your idea is really viable. This can save you a lot of time, money, and heartache in the long term, as well as setting you up for success in the future.
“Business plans double your chance of success.”
There’s compelling research showing that founders who create a business plan are almost twice as likely to grow their business or secure capital successfully. It’s fundamental to ensuring that your yoga business becomes profitable as quickly as possible.
Yoga Business Plan PDF Downloads
If you’d like a yoga business plan template to follow, then here are a few PDFs that can help. Some are more general fitness studio examples since many yoga studios also offer other types of classes. They will give you plenty of useful ideas for developing your very own plan.
- Ibis World produced this thorough 60-page sample, which is a great source of financial projections.
- The Yoga Lunch Box offers a comprehensive yet easy-to-read yoga business template.
- Launceston City Council created this all-singing and dancing health club business plan.
- Fitness Texter has a nice little guide that includes helpful questions to ask yourself.
- Dragon Fitness Training provides an interesting plan for one-to-one instructing or training services.
- Catalyst Fitness created this business plan with detailed risk assessment.
Creating a yoga business plan is totally worth the extra time and effort. It’ll be the blueprint for your business for the next 3-5 years, as well as helping to secure bank loans or investor funding. Putting some thought into exactly how you’ll promote your services and manage cash flow, will ensure you’re prepared for life as a yoga business owner.
Business Planning Download
We’ve found that the best way to approach business planning is to work on it in small chunks. Trying to get the whole document done in one go is the quickest route to overwhelm. Instead, we recommend working on just one section each day. This will enable you to complete the whole thing within a week, without stressing out.
To simplify the process, we created a cheat sheet for preparing your yoga business plan. It walks you through 7 simple sections that’ll result in a killer document, without the stress. You can download it as part of our Fitness Business Start-Up Kit…
Everything you need to turn your fitness business idea into a reality!
