Whether you are taking the first steps towards starting your own yoga or fitness business, or you have an idea on how to expand your current services, you will need to invest some of your time researching and gauging interest in your new offering. Gathering insights from your network will provide you with concrete and actionable information to include in your business plan, which always provides a foundation for your business. But, how to start ~ where can you start gauging whether your idea has potential? We’ve rounded up some suggestions to get yourself started.
- Talk to a mentor or trusted peer: If you have a mentor relationship, that’s great! This trusted advisor is the perfect person to start with when figuring out if your business idea has potential. Your mentor will be able to give you some immediate feedback and guide you in fleshing out the idea. If you don’t have a mentor that you can go to, you can tap into other trusted peers in your professional network. An accountability buddy or peer group (including outside of your industry) can be a good testing ground for any new ideas.
- Interview current and potential students: If you already have an established business, then you definitely want to get some insight from your existing students, especially anyone that’s been an active and loyal part of your community. If a student has been coming to your class for a long time, they will probably appreciate the opportunity to offer honest feedback and contribute to your growth. If this is your first foray into your new business, then seek people in your network that you could interview. Additionally, focus your interviews on people you think could and would benefit from your new business idea.
- Send a survey to your email list: Do you already have an email list? If so, try sending out a short survey in your next communication – or even send as a stand-alone email if you think this big idea warrants it. If it’s within your budget, you could also throw in an incentive like an entry to win a class pack.
- Offer a free trial: Invite your current students to try out your new class or offering for free. This serves several purposes. You’ll be able to gain some immediate feedback, and giving your students a “sneak preview” at an offering that’s not yet launched is a really great way to make your audience feel involved and that their feedback matters. This tactic might not work for everyone but if you have an idea that’s ready to try out, give it a try!
- Check the data: Do you have a website, social media or any other kind of online presence? We hope so! Look at the data for your website, social media, and email marketing. In particular, pay attention to any engagement trends, that is when people clicked on links or visited a particular section on your website. Taking time to look at data can give you some firm metrics to help discern whether your new offering has potential or not. For example, if you’re thinking about starting a new family fitness class for parents and their young children, then consider publishing some content that is relevant. Maybe share a one-minute video of you and your child practicing an exercise together or an article that talks about families that exercise together. If you notice that this content performs better than other content, then you have some indication that your family fitness class might have some potential.
Hopefully, these tips give you some actionable next steps in growing that idea and turning it into an additional offering!
Whether you’re working on your very first business plan or you’re expanding on your existing class schedule, having a strong online presence is a vital part of the outreach needed to grow your yoga or fitness business. Need a simple way to integrate your marketing efforts? We can help! Check out OfferingTree.com and see how our tools can simplify your tech and administration.
