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How Much Does It Cost to Start a Yoga Studio Business?

Yoga Studio Business

Do you want to start a yoga business and want to know the cost breakdown? If YES, here are 8 factors that determine how much it cost to open a yoga studio.

Yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual practice or discipline that focuses on breath control, flexibility and strength. Note that yoga studios in the United States have a few different pricing structures, but they all make money by charging participants for classes.

There are studios that charge on a per – class basis, offer a set number of classes at a discount or have a monthly membership fee.

A monthly membership fee may entitle students to as many classes as they want, or they might get to attend a certain number of classes for free and receive a discount on any additional classes they go to.

How Much Do Yoga Classes Make Yearly?

These studio businesses charge an average of $12 per class when participants pay on a per – class basis. Also note that big studios in large cities charge up to $16 per class.

Participants who pay for multiple classes at once usually pay between $9 and $15 per class, and monthly memberships can run around $190 per month.

However, the revenue that a yoga studio business brings in can be significant. A single class of 10 students, for instance, may bring in $100 if each student pays just $10.

If a studio has three classes a day that average 10 students each, it may be able to generate weekly revenue of $2,100 – or more than $100,000 annually.

Nonetheless, from this revenue, a yoga business is expected to pay all of its operating expenses and overhead. The actual profit of a yoga studio business will depend largely on how much it pays for space to teach classes, as this is the largest ongoing expense.

Howbeit, yoga studio business owners can grow revenue by offering additional types of classes. They may provide hot yoga classes, outdoor classes or classes for aspiring instructors.

Estimated Cost Breakdown to Start a Yoga Studio Business?

These are the key expenses you are expected to make when starting a medium scale but standard yoga studio in the United States of America;

  1. The total fee for registering the business in the United States of America – $750.
  2. Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits (Health department license and business license)and permits (Fire department permit, Air and water pollution control permit, and Sign permit et al) as well as accounting services (CRM software, Payroll software, P.O.S machines and other software) – $15,300.
  3. Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of the yoga studio in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of $3,580.
  4. The cost for hiring a business consultant (including writing business plan) – $2,500.
  5. The cost for insurance (general liability, theft, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $30,400.
  6. The cost for leasing a standard facility in a good and centralized location – $350,000.
  7. The cost for remodeling the facility and construction of a standard yoga studio – $100,000.
  8. Other start-up expenses including stationery ($500), phone and utility (gas, sewer, water and electric) deposits ($6,500).
  9. The operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $60,000
  10. The cost for start-up inventory and yoga studio equipment (studio floor, sound system, DVD players, Pianos, Flat Screen TVs, computers, printers, projectors, markers, pens and pencils, furniture, telephones, filing cabinets, electronics, noticeboard and staff uniform et al) – $200,000
  11. The cost for store equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $13,750
  12. The cost of purchase and installation of CCTVs: $5,000
  13. The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Telephone, printing machines, computers, tables and chairs et al) – $25,000.
  14. The cost for building and hosting a website – $600
  15. The cost for an opening party – $8,000
  16. Miscellaneous – $10,000

You will need an estimate of one million Dollars ($1 million) to successfully set up a medium scale but standard Yoga Studio in the United States of America. Please note that this amount includes the salaries of all the staff for the first 3 months of operation.

Starting a small scale but standard Yoga Studio that can only service a handful of clients per–time and with fairly used yoga studio equipment in the United States of America will cost about two hundred and fifty thousand Dollars to five hundred thousand Dollars ($250,000 to $500,000). Please note that this amount includes the salaries of all the staff for the first 3 months of operation.

When it comes to starting a standard and large scale yoga studio with several outlets in key cities in the United States of America, a yoga studio that can accommodate over twenty clients per-time and a company with the intention of selling franchise and also offering complimentary services, then you should look towards budgeting well over three million Dollars ($3 million). Please note that this amount includes the salaries of all the staff for the first 3 months of operation.

Factors That Determine the Cost of Opening a Yoga Studio

The analysis below does not consider the operational costs of running a yoga studio. The operational costs are related to the day – to – day running of your yoga studio.

The startup costs are related to the initial set up of your yoga studio. For example, a commercial lease for your yoga studio is part of your startup cost. However, yoga teacher wages are not taken into account as they are part of your monthly operational costs.

1. Lease/Rent

In this business, the normal path of a yoga studio owner who comes from the yoga industry is as follows: Yoga student => yoga teacher => yoga studio manager => yoga teacher trainer => yoga studio owner.

If you have followed this path, then you ought to be quite conversant with renting a yoga studio space by the hour to run your yoga classes.

Nonetheless, in this article, we will consider the monthly rate of renting or leasing a studio space. Since this is a commercial lease, you will be expected to pay 6 – 12 months of rent as a deposit.

Also, you will be required to pay rent for the month upfront. So you are typically looking at 7 – 13 months of rent upfront before you even get to run your first yoga class.

2. Refurbishments

The standard refurbishments of a new leased yoga studio include things such as removing pillars, adding appropriate flooring, artwork, lights, sound system, and décor. Note that some of the standard refurbishments include:

  • Painting the walls and ceiling
  • Artwork
  • Flooring
  • Accessories – These include signage, lights, sound system, etc.

3. Equipment

After the cost of rent and refurbishments, the rest of the costs are minimal when compared to the above. The final touch to the yoga studio before opening is to provide students with the equipment they need. Although some students tend to bring their towels and yoga mats, the majority rely on you to provide the right equipment.

  • Non – slip yoga mats (30) – $800
  • Yoga blocks (30) –  $400
  • Bolsters (15) – $600
  • Blankets (15) – $600
  • Yoga strap (30) –  $400
  • Total Cost Of Yoga Equipment –  $2800

4. Member Management Software & Website

In the United States, you can choose to start your yoga studio without a website and membership management software in place. However, not having membership management software in place will make your business management more stressful.

Membership management software is more or less the backbone of yoga studio operations. It provides the pages where your students can buy class – packs and memberships and register for your classes. It allows you to take electronic payments.

In addition, membership management software is very crucial in the early days as you don’t have to worry about storing student information securely.

The software does that for you automatically. The software helps you grow your yoga studio business and incorporates tools such as automated emails and reminders.

5. Insurance & Legal Fees

Before opening a yoga studio, it is pertinent you get the right certifications and insurance in place. As a yoga teacher and yoga studio owner, you will require public liability and professional insurance in addition to the employer’s liability and personal accident insurance.

Insurance covering you professionally as a yoga studio owner should cost you around $130 for the year. In addition, you will need to have contracts in place for your yoga teachers and vendors.

You will also need a legal review of your lease contract and terms and business registration. Inevitably you will need to hire a lawyer to help you. The total startup cost to set up the relevant insurance, business registration, and to get the necessary legal assistance will be $650.

6. Marketing

Marketing is very important to get you the first few students for the studio. If you are an established yoga teacher with a strong following of students, then you don’t have to spend as much on marketing. You can use your contacts and invite your old students to attend your new yoga studio.

Nonetheless, if you are a yoga studio owner starting from scratch, then you are expected to spend on marketing to attract your initial student base.

The marketing you do at the start of your yoga studio will be different from the marketing you do later on. In the very beginning, you will need to focus on channels that drive immediate results.

Your focus will be less on ROI and profits, but more on acquiring the initial base of students for your yoga studio. The three major channels that will offer immediate results for your yoga studio are Google ads, Flyers, and Facebook ads. Once your yoga studio has an initial base of students, you can shift focus on word of mouth marketing and referrals.

7. Branding

In the United States, consumers have adopted the concept of boutique fitness studios. Coupled with this rapid consumer demand comes intense competition. Cities like New York and Las Vegas have yoga and fitness studios in every corner.

The only thing that separates one from another is branding and business offerings. Note that consumer loyalty is minimal in this industry. From day one, a new yoga studio should focus on building a brand. To begin, you can hire a freelancer to create your logo and brand identity.

This branding work will be sufficient at the start-up stage of your yoga studio. Note that you can also get a package for logo design and brand identity design for anywhere above $350. You can also hire the services of the right brand specialist, and this will cost you $2000 for logo and brand identity design.

8. Opening the Yoga Studio

After you must have done everything mentioned above, the final thing you need to spend on is the launch event to announce to the world that you are open for business. Note that launch events are significant to introduce your yoga studio to the members of the local community.

It is also necessary for inviting local journalists and influencers. The amount you spend on the launch event will depend on the number of people you invite.

  • Staff/Manpower

When it comes to starting a standard yoga studio on a large scale, you would need the services of the following professionals;

Based on the above analysis, the total cost of opening a 1000 sq. ft. yoga studio in the United States serving 30 students per session will be, on average, $70,000.

How Much Does It Cost to Buy a Yoga Studio Franchise?

In the United States of America, the Average Cost of Purchasing a Yoga Studio Franchise is $100,000. Examples of 3 Well – Known Yoga Studio Franchising Companies in the United States of America are;

  • YogaFit Studios
  • Bikram Yoga®
  • CorePower Yoga
Can a Yoga Studio be Bootstrapped on a Lean Budget Right from Home?

Because of the nature in terms of size and cost of the machines and equipment involved in starting and operating a yoga studio, it is obvious that it cannot be bootstrapped on a lean budget from home.

As a matter of fact, the business is open to the general public and you would not want complete strangers to continue to storm your house on a regular basis and at different times of the day simply because you want to pick membership in your yoga studio.

On the other hand, if you want to start a personal yoga studio in your house and you want to generate income from the yoga studio, you can decide to only accommodate your friends and neighbors as members. With that, it is possible to bootstrap a yoga studio on a lean budget right from your home.

Please note that in order to cut cost, you would have to go for fairly used yoga studio equipment; they are cheap and affordable.