Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and fitness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Carolina Vivas, Co-Founder of yourBuddhi LLC., located in La Jolla, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
büddhi is a yoga and fitness brand with both an in-person and online presence. My partner Amanda Mccarroll and I own a physical yoga studio in La Jolla, California, and two membership websites that will soon be consolidated into one. The first one is yourBuddhi.com, which has over 400 on-demand yoga classes and daily live stream options from our studio. The second site is FlowLIFTfitness.com - a workout we created in 2017 using ankle and hand weights. Our workout is extremely popular in both Southern California as well as Mexico. It's unique, fun, and very effective. The best part about it is the compound moves and nonstop flow, similar to the way a vinyasa yoga class is seamlessly sequenced. On average, our customers are both men and women ages 20-55, but of course, we get clients younger and older than that. The beauty of yoga is that you can do it no matter your age or fitness level.
Tell us about yourself
We started yourBuddhi.com in 2011 because our yoga students wanted to have our classes available to them when they traveled. At first, our site had downloadable audios of our classes that we sold for $10 each. Over time we developed the site into video content, and when the pandemic hit, we were one of the few studios that were ready with online classes. We love the combination of yoga and FlowLIFT and firmly believe in the importance of both to maintain a healthy body and mind. Showing up to our studio to teach in person is very rewarding, and hearing from our online members about how much it's helped them maintain their sanity over the last two years makes us extremely happy. Practicing what we preach keeps us motivated every day, and we know that the combination of these two modalities will keep us feeling young and healthy for many years to come.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Our biggest accomplishment thus far has been creating our online site for yoga long before everyone jumped online. It felt so good to be completely prepared for the challenges of in-person classes during the pandemic. Having our online membership site in 2011 really gave us a competitive advantage and eased a lot of the hardships with our physical yoga studio. Creating this amazing workout has also kept our passion for teaching alive. We've been yoga teachers for almost twenty years, and having this new creative outlet inspired us to stay in the game and keep growing.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The hardest thing for us has the yoga studio. It's very challenging to find high-quality teachers, deal with the overhead that's required to run a studio, and never have time off. We feel like we're constantly working, twenty-four-seven. Teachers often call in sick or can't make it for whatever reason, so we're always on a call dealing with subs and schedule changes.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Do your research and be sure you know your competitive landscape.
- Do it because you truly love it and not just because you're chasing income.
- Find something truly unique to offer to your customers so you can differentiate yourself from the competition.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://flowliftfitness.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buddhimoves
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flowlift/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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