Talia's Yoga Class
Who's Talia?
Talia grew up in Oxford and studied psychology in Sussex and American studies in California. She then transitioned into the business world, spending 8 to 9 years in a corporation in London. When COVID hit, she made a complete 180 and decided to pursue something more rewarding. She returned home to begin her master’s in occupational therapy.
What's Talia's enterprise about? How did she start her project?
Talia ran a yoga business and has loved yoga since her teenage years. A couple of months before the pandemic, she traveled to India for her 200-hour yoga teacher training. When she returned, she was made redundant from her job, prompting her to start teaching yoga online for NHS workers, care workers, and anyone feeling stressed. Once people were allowed to meet outdoors, she began teaching in parks and increased her marketing efforts. She then offered both private lessons and studio classes.
What was it like to start something new?
It was really difficult for Talia at the beginning because she felt she lacked the skills to teach others after just learning herself. However, she recognised that people needed stress relief during the pandemic, and she was determined to help others with her skills and knowledge. Once she made that decision, everything naturally fell into place. She started teaching, and people really enjoyed it. It began with Zoom lessons and blogs offering safety tips, and she even created a website. This snowball effect transformed it into a business. As Talia said, "The more structure you have, the more it makes you want to do better."
How did Talia grow her customer base?
With encouragement from her family, Talia began telling her friends about her yoga teaching. Through natural word of mouth, her business grew larger. When she felt confident teaching, she decided to promote it on social media, including her website, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Nextdoor.
What aspects of Talia's environment were facilitating?
To Talia, both the virtual and physical environments helped her. During the pandemic, being on Zoom was a novelty. Though people couldn't see one another physically, Zoom helped connect people to some extend. Once people could be outdoors, Talia, who lived right by the park, saw many people joined her classes as they were desperate for connection and to be in nature once again.
What were the challenges?
One challenge was the physical strain on the body. To maintain her income, Talia needed to teach a certain number of classes each week. Teaching 15 classes a week took a heavy toll, especially when they were online, where she had to demonstrate every posture herself so students could follow along. Another challenge was learning how to set up a business on her own. Using a mix of YouTube videos and advice from other business owners, Talia built her own administrative system. As she put it, "You just have to play it by ear and work it out."
What personal characteristics helped Talia?
Talia's resilience and ability to connect with others played a key role in building her business. At times, she felt frustrated when she put in a lot of effort but only a few people attended. However, it was her resilience that helped her push through those challenging moments. Many of her students kept coming back because they found her relatable and valued the connection she created. As Talia put it, "You have to build both a brand and a personality. People return for you, not just for the teaching."
What strategies did Talia use to take care of herself?
"You give a lot when you teach yoga physically and mentally, and you have to save a bit so that you can give back to yourself," a concept that Talia referred to as compassionate fatigue. Maintaining a balanced lifestyle was essential to her. She found relaxation by setting aside time for her own yoga and meditation practice, spending time outdoors and engaging in activities she enjoyed.
What made people come back to Talia?
Talia emphasised the importance of connecting with her students by asking questions and sharing about herself. She supported them emotionally and tailored her yoga lessons to meet their needs. Talia found it rewarding to see the impact she made, adding, "The more you learn about people and they learn about you, the more relatable you become. They see you as a person, not just someone there for an hour."
Did Talia feel her approach was driven by business strategy? How much was natural, and how much was planned?
Talia explained that both aspects developed in parallel. She started the business because she had the skills and the opportunity, but soon discovered that she genuinely enjoyed it. At times, she became too focused on the administrative side, and the financial aspects began to overshadow her passion. However, she eventually realised she was losing the joy it brought her. Now, it's all about enjoyment for her. As she put it, "Seeing others feel so good at the end makes me feel good."