Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health & wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Diestene Williams, Founder & Mindful Movement Coach of Yoga Kinship, located in Atlanta, GA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
My company is Yoga Kinship. A yoga mindset company with a mission to provide healing, trauma-informed wellness practices that can be used on and off the mat. We believe that everybody is a yoga body. We do not need to adhere to any preconceived and ill-founded notions of requiring any particular body type. My clients are usually seeking an accessible and intuitive practice that can be used to empower and heal during a time of flux, disconnection, and uncertainty.
Tell us about yourself
Yoga came to me during a personal time of practical, emotional, and mental instability. Frustrated, exhausted, and lacking clarity, I needed to heal. Both my personal and professional life were in flux, and I was thoroughly and inexplicably exhausted. As an educator, I have taught and led schools around the world in London, New York, and South Korea. My final position was teaching and leading a team in Atlanta during the peak of the 2020 pandemic. I found myself searching for something that would help me to rebalance and ground. I had been advised against yoga following a serious and almost fatal accident some years ago, but I had some early experience with the practice and felt drawn to return. I started practicing again daily and, as a gift to myself, started my 200hr training without any real idea as to where it would lead. I felt myself falling deeply in love with the practice.
I noticed a slow but steady increase in strength and flexibility to both my mind and body - what I now call a 'yoga mindset on and off the mat' - and felt an overwhelming sense of joy when I taught others. The version of yoga I was surrounded by often felt exclusive and inaccessible. I wanted to humbly pay homage to tradition with a more holistic offering and create something that felt authentic, genuine, and personal. I wanted it to be relational and relatable, with a connection to self and each other at the heart of what we do. My first offering was 'Yoga for our People,' a weekly online practice for educators that had been affected by the pandemic. At the end of that academic year, I quit my teaching post and started Yoga Kinship.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
There are many things I am proud of. I love that I have been able to craft a business outside of the regular parameters of a studio, allowing me to work with underserved communities such as undocumented young people, refugee children, and survivors of domestic abuse. One of my early accomplishments in the first couple of months was designing a Black History Month yoga program for Spotify. This allowed me to really tap into my creativity and passion for developing a very unique and bespoke practice.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
I didn't have any business experience and was doing this alone. Sometimes the hardest part is just that, being alone and responsible for decisions that often feel outside my skillset or comfort. Juggling roles such as marketing, social media, technology, etc., which are not my areas of expertise, can definitely be overwhelming at times.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Take a leap of faith. What's the worst thing that can happen?
- Celebrate your successes, big and small, and do not dwell too long on your failures.
- Your growth is certain.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.yogakinship.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YOGAKINSHIP/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theyogakinship/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yogakinship/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@yogakinship
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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