What do you want?
"The road to success is always under construction." - Lily Tomlin
What do you want?
My dear humans:
I am writing today because I need your help.
I need your help in steering my business - because several of the things I’ve been trying lately simply aren’t working.
I don't mean to sound overly dramatic. To be sure, there have been some things that have been working wonderfully - things that I do not want to discount:
Growing my YouTube channel and blog, hosting a donation-based Backyard Yoga series this summer, staying more connected with y'all through email… These things have been delightful and nourishing to the soul! My weekly classes have also been holding strong, surviving through a pandemic, through technical difficulties, through the hottest of summers… I mean it when I say that I love my classes, and am extremely thankful for all the students who come!
and
A YouTube channel, blog, and weekly classes do not a sustainable living make. (At least, not until I have a lot more followers, or teacher-pay drastically increases…)
So this year, I tried to support myself with some other, bigger things:
~ In the spring, I was so excited to unveil my mentorship program for new teachers. I Reeled about it, wrote about it, and did everything I could to get the word out. But no one signed up and I had to cancel.
~ For this fall, I scheduled a 200-hr Immersion & YTT at the Breathe Building. I wrote about it, posted about it, and did what I could to get the word out. But only 1 person signed up, so that, too, will be canceled.
~ Also for this fall, Alex and I scheduled a Couples Retreat in Ashland. We were pumped!! We wrote about it, spoke about it, and did what we could to inform the masses! But as of now, only 1 couple has signed up, and our final deposit is due in 3 weeks. So unless 5 more couples sign up real quick, that will also be canceled.
~ I also scheduled a 40-hr Advanced YTT in Sayulita, Mexico for this December. But, as it turns out, I simply don’t have the bandwidth to advertise two international retreats within two months of each other - so that has been canceled, too.
~ On the plus side (and speaking of international retreats), I am still very excited about my weeklong retreat in Yelapa, Mexico next February! As of now, I trust there is plenty of time to get the word out, and enough eager students who will sign up (please, help prove me right!).
So, to sum it all up:
4 of the 5 events I was so excited to offer are either canceled, or on the verge of being canceled. And it’s a big bummer.
Thankfully, I have been teaching long enough and am confident enough in my skills that I am truly not taking it personally. I know I have the ability to rebuild and try again.
and
It still kinda just sucks.
I’m telling you all this, not to garner sympathy, or to make anyone feel bad for not signing up for stuff, but to ask, with genuine curiosity:
What would you sign up for?
What do you want me to offer?
I’m not looking to totally “redefine myself,” but I am trying to figure out, with a little more specificity, what my place is in this yoga/ movement/ wellness/ community-building world - what it is that I'm good at, and how I can share it more effectively.
So, I’d love to hear: What do you want?
Because seriously, really, truly: I cannot do my life’s work without you. And I love my work. A lot.
Thank you so much for reading, for caring, and for responding. I look forward to hearing from and collaborating with you.
Love,
Abby