Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Steffany Moonaz, Founder of Yoga for Arthritis, located in Baltimore, MD, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

One in four adults lives with arthritis, and research suggests that yoga can improve arthritis symptoms. Still, most yoga classes aren't safe or appropriate for people with arthritis. We provide courses and classes for yoga professionals to better serve this population and for people with arthritis to keep themselves safe in any yoga class.

Tell us about yourself

I am a doctor of public health, and my dissertation research at Johns Hopkins focused on studying the effects of yoga on people with different forms of arthritis. The findings were profound, yet the yoga landscape wasn't a situation to translate the research into practice. I founded Yoga for Arthritis to change that.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

We have trained hundreds of yoga teachers and yoga therapists around the world who are bringing the tools of yoga to people in their communities, hospitals, and online spaces.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Deciding where to focus the business for optimal impact and what to prioritize. I have a dozen ideas weekly, but we can't do everything. It's a small business with a small staff, so I want to direct our energy toward the projects and offerings that best serve this population.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Get help. Get a business coach or a mentor or someone you can call who understands the type of business you have and can offer some wisdom or another point of view.
  2. Hire for your limitations. If you are a subject matter expert, hire staff who has the skills you are lacking. In my case, that's things like social media, website management, and keeping the books.
  3. Be genuine in your marketing. Marketing feels yucky to people in businesses like mine. Still, it's the only way people can learn about what we offer and benefit from it. Our whole staff is passionate about what we do and who we serve, so we want to share it in a way that feels authentic and reaches those who might even realize that yoga can reduce pain or that not all yoga classes are the same.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

My role as an active research scientist differentiates us from the general yoga marketplace. All our programs are evidence-based because I insist that anything we put into the world has that orientation. People come to our courses and classes who want an evidence-based approach. Being clear about what differentiates your business is essential for the right people to find you.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.arthritis.yoga/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Yoga4Arthritis
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogaforarthritis/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/yoga4arthritis
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/yoga-for-arthritis/

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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