fitDEGREE Blog : Fitness Studio Management Tips, Marketing Strategies, and Growth Insights

You might have the best fitness business around, but potential new clients are always going to want to try before they buy. It’s marketing 101 to have a great “hook” or offer to capture the lead and bring them into a business’ ecosystem. Intro offers have to be very unique for each individual fitness and wellness business, because there are a lot of variables at play. You’ll want to consider: What type of fitness or wellness do you offer? What kind of prospect are you trying to attract? What does your pricing menu look like following the intro offer? And that’s just the beginning of it! That being said, there are three main variables every business must consider when creating an intro offer: price, length and offering.

As a barre studio owner, there will be many business costs that need to be covered. But whether you decide to run a barre studio as a franchisee or open your own studio, those costs will vary. We’ve broken down the costs of running some of the major barre studio franchises and the costs of starting your own studio business so you can compare. 

“Going to the gym” means something completely different than it used to—there are just so many different types of ways to exercise now! Because fitness is becoming more and more a part of lifestylization—rather than just an interest for gym rats and athletes—there is an enormous variety of fitness practices to engage with. 

You built your business on caring for others. The work you do as a studio owner may provide healing to many– which is fantastic– but it can also take a lot of your energy. That’s the irony of a business that promotes self-care–– you often find that there’s little time to actually care for yourself. Yoga teachers practice mindfulness but need to be mindful of their own health and sanity. We teach self-love yet burn the candle at both ends. Knowing what you know as a yoga practitioner, simply neglecting your own self-care in favor of helping others is not a healthy nor sustainable way to live. The same applies to your business. 

Look, we all know that video is an incredibly effective tool for marketing. But did you know that Facebook Live videos get three times more engagement than a video that is no longer live? Plus, Facebook Live videos get five times the amount of exposure than photo posts. This presents a huge opportunity to promote your studio and business!

If you are serious about growing your yoga business, you need to be ready to harness the power of referral marketing. So how exactly do you do that? It’s not always as simple as just asking your customers to spread the word about your studio–– you need to motivate and incentivize people to help you grow your studio. 

In the fast-paced and busy lives we live, it can be easy to slip into a routine and lose sight of the things we're grateful for in life. Studies have shown that being able to consciously note what you’re grateful for and actively practicing the habit of thanking the people in your life can improve your mental and physical health. As a yogi, you’re aware that yoga isn’t just a practice of the physical body–– it’s a practice of the mind, body, and spirit. Every time you step onto the mat, you’re engaging in an energetic lesson that goes beyond just your muscles and breathing–– it’s a practice that can spark gratitude. And as many experienced yogis can attest, when you put out love and gratitude into the universe, it comes back to you. 

As a business owner, you know having a website is essential to growing your studio business. But simply having a site because you know you’re supposed to does not mean the universe is going to magically send you business because you’re checking it off a list of small business necessities. What you really need, to drive business to your studio, is a website with thoughtful intent–– intent to make your brand’s online experience as easy, engaging, and simple for the user as possible.

The reality of the yoga industry is that the market is saturated and starting a new studio business is expensive. Most successful studio owners didn’t have money fall into their lap to make their studio dreams into reality–– they either had to scrape together their personal funds, had help from very generous family or friends, or get loans from the bank with high interest rates. And there aren’t really investors putting money into yoga businesses in this market. The good news is that there’s another creative option available: crowdfunding.