Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Traci Bateman, owner of Bliss YogaSpa, located in Edmonton, AB, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Bliss YogaSpa is a unique concept combining the wellness of yoga with a luxury spa. Hot yoga studio, full-service spa plus laser, body contouring, injectables & holistic treatments including acupuncture & RMT Massage.

At Bliss, we want to transport you to a place that hasn’t existed in Edmonton before. A place that provides you with a sense of peace, harmony, and well-being. Our 8000 square foot facility is designed to flow from our hot yoga studio to our 11 treatment rooms, including two couples massage rooms, two medical laser rooms, and acupuncture treatment rooms. Our Mani/Pedicure room will envelop you in warmth with our heated massage chairs. We have stocked lounges and locker rooms with amenities for both the yoga & spa patrons and a complete retail offering.

Tell us about yourself

I knew what I wanted to contribute from a young age after losing my mother to breast cancer at 14 years old, a lifelong wellness journey. Wellness comes in many forms. Pursuing a desire for education, I graduated from the University of Calgary with a degree in economics in 1988. Two decades later, I returned to my studies at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco for Interior Architecture and Design. In 2021 I enrolled in the Health Coach Institute’s Health and Life Coaching program.

My childhood loss lit a lifelong fire within me on how not to die. Live life. Live it fully. Live for yourself and live for others. Love influenced me in every action, from winning nine club championships on the links to laying down roots in Edmonton to being with the love of my life, Mike, my two stepsons, and two golden doodles. A life well-lived is a life of change.

I have rebranded myself professionally multiple times. I owned businesses from golf accessories, marketing, and interior design. I recently opened Bliss YogaSpa in 2012, an ambitious resort-style spa that melds yoga with beauty. I'm continually in pursuit of wellness for the mind, body, and soul. With my extensive business background, life experiences, and acute ability to listen, I have an extraordinary capacity to help and heal. I truly believe in what I have put into the world.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Growing our business from the ground up when no one knew what a YogaSpa was.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Covid was very hard, and hiring and maintaining quality staff is the hardest!

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Find a mentor and ask for help.
  2. Budget for contingency because things will go wrong.
  3. Hire people who are smarter than you.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I have an amazing business partner who complements me and runs the day-to-day operations, and I could not have done this without her.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.blissyogaspa.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlissYogaSpa
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blissyogaspa/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/blissyogaspa
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bliss-yogaspa/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.