BRANDING - DID YOU JUMP IN THE DEEP END?

O.k. So you've done your YTT. What now?

Apart from the job hunting (well, at the time I'm writing this, we're currently in lock-down from Covid-19, so maybe not that. But it was certainly on the agenda previously and will be again) or thinking of starting your own yoga teaching business, where do you actually start?

You start with your brand identity. But don't jump straight into your website or even your logo just yet. The business of yoga starts with knowing your passion, your purpose and your people. All these combine to identify your niche - what you are passionate teaching, why and to whom.

It all starts with your passion because you can't teach something you don't believe and you can't just regurgitate what you've learned either, because that's not your voice.

What you package as classes, aka, your offerings are based on this developed passion in a specific area that is grounded in your beliefs and experiences. This is your purpose.

The combination of these two is what will help you identify your niche - your people. Niching-down is identifying a specific population sub-set or group. They would have a specific need that your offerings address. Essentially, you've identified a particular pain that your particular yoga teaching helps with.

Why is this important to developing your brand identity?

Because they reflect each other.

Your brand should reflect who you are as a person, who you are as a yoga teacher and who you help or else it (your brand) will be generic, however pretty.

This first step is the bedrock of the rest of your branding which includes everything from your name, logo, colour palette and fonts, to your website layout, language and over-all content including your social posts.

Now, this is a massive topic and we have just scratched the surface of how to niche-down. But know that I am here for you and we'll go through these step by exciting, adventurous step.

Hang on a minute! What if you've already started?

That's ok! It's always good practise to review your brand identity. We change as people, so maybe the direction of our businesses or teaching has changed as well.

In my courses and coaching, I guide you on how to flesh-out your 3Ps, but let's start with this task...don't say I didn't warn you!

Your Branding Task for this blog: Write down what pain/s yoga helped with (or still does) in your personal practise?