Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Bethany Miller, owner of Sukha Yoga, located in Novato, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I am the owner of Sukha Yoga. We offer yoga and spiritual wellness classes. We create a sanctuary to help you feel better in your body and calmer in your mind.
Sukha is a yoga Sanskrit term that means ease, happiness, bliss, and good space. It is our mission to create a community that fosters these qualities through offerings of yoga, workshops, and spiritual wellness classes. We welcome all yogis, from those new to yoga looking to improve flexibility and health to those advanced practitioners wanting to deepen their physical and spiritual practice.
Tell us about yourself
I opened Sukha Yoga to offer a space in Novato (my hometown) where people can practice yoga, experience different healing modalities, and be in a spiritual community. I have been a practicing psychologist for the past 21 years but felt isolated in private practice. I followed my vision to open a yoga studio and healing center to create a sanctuary where students, teachers, and healers can come together to uplift, inspire and support one another. It warms my heart every day when students tell me how grateful they are for Sukha and for all the ways being a part of the community has changed their lives for the better.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
When a big-brand yoga studio opened in my town just six months after we opened, many of my teachers left to teach at the corporate place, and others told me we should just give up teaching yoga because we couldn't possibly compete. Instead, I got hyper-focused on our mission and how we could differentiate ourselves from the competitor. We added a book club, yoga parties, Kirtan, and the more spiritual aspects of yoga that were not happening at the corporate place. We did lose some customers to the new place, but we began to attract more of our ideal clients. Later the big-brand studio went out of business, but we are still here eight years later.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
As a small business owner, you have to be a creator, marketer, teacher, mentor, boss, supply manager, scheduler, etc., and you can't really share with anyone of your employees or students about some of the stresses and obstacles that have to be dealt with on a daily basis.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Get very clear about your vision and mission. If your mission and reason you want to create the business don't bring you extreme joy, then don't do it. You need that strong desire and intention to carry you through all the difficulties and ups and downs that inevitably come with running a business.
- Have a group of other business owners (ideally in your same business) that you can get support from and bounce ideas off one another.
- Especially for heart-centered businesses like yoga, don't forget that it is a business. Be clear about the value you are offering and set your pricing accordingly. Similarly, be clear about your employees' expectations and ensure their actions align with your mission and what is best for the business.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Learn how to delegate!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.sukhayoga.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sukhayogamarin
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sukha.yoga/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarafinabethany
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethany-miller-625a7b29/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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