If you want to keep your Yoga students coming back for more, you have to keep your classes interesting. Don?t keep doing the same thing every week. How would you feel if the restaurant you went to served you the ?usual? every time you sat down? Most of us would change restaurants, because it?s boring.
If you are bored, and feeling stale with the routine and lesson plans in the Yoga classes you teach, so are your students. This is time to develop alternate lesson plans. Look around your class to get a feel for the energy; if there is none, you have to make changes. Design Yoga classes with a slightly different emphasis to see if you can recapture some excitement or find a trend.
Monitor your drop out rate and know your stats. Are you losing more students out the back door, while focusing on bringing new students through the front door? This is very common, but many health clubs and Yoga studios make the mistake of taking repeat business for granted.
When you have a small number of Yoga students to track, you don?t have to drive yourself crazy with statistics. If you grow into a large Yoga studio, you have to pay attention on a weekly basis. Who is out? Why are they out? ?and so on.
I?m not telling you to hit the panic button every time your numbers drop. Some slow downs are seasonal and others just happen. What you are looking for are trends. Trends tell you the average life of a student / teacher relationship and why most of them leave.
Many of them leave, because they don?t feel like they are acknowledged. No one greets them or makes any small talk. Others leave because of the class atmosphere; they didn?t bond with the particular teacher, they didn?t like a student in the class, or the material covered went stale. Other reasons might be a job/family change. This is why you have to get to know your students, and if you don?t like it, find someone who will. A person who greets your students is important, no matter what size your business is. This person serves as a ?sounding board? and can head off a few disasters at the pass.
Sometimes you can guide a student gently into an alternate Yoga class. Without understanding and identifying trends, we would all fly blind. This takes a lot of guesswork off your back in the future. When the company grows, you will need to understand your direction and make corrections accordingly, just like any other business.
? Copyright 2006 ? Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html | |
