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Resilience in Heart-Led Entrepreneurship with Dawn Staudt · The Heart-Led Business Show

• 0:01
  Speaker: Welcome to The Heart-Led Business Show, where compassion meets commerce and leaders lead with love.
• 0:09
  Speaker: Join your host, Tom Jackobs, as he delves into the insightful conversations with visionary business leaders who defy the status quo, putting humanity first and profit second.
• 0:20
  Speaker: From heartfelt strategies to inspiring stories, this podcast is your compass in the world of conscious capitalism.
• 0:29
  Speaker: So buckle up and let your heart guide your business journey.
• 0:36
  Tom Jackobs: Well, welcome to the Heart-Led Business Show, where we dive into delightful depths of passion-fueled pursuits.
• 0:42
  Tom Jackobs: Today we're soaring high with the enchanting Dawn Staudt, the mastermind behind Heart and Light Yoga.
• 0:48
  Tom Jackobs: Dawn embodies the essence of a free spirit.
• 0:51
  Tom Jackobs: So join us as we explore her journey of nurturing connection, growth, and all things yoga.
• 0:58
  Tom Jackobs: So step onto that mat with us and let's unfold the magic and stretch our hearts, learn more about heart-led entrepreneurship.
• 1:05
  Tom Jackobs: So Dawn, welcome to the show.
• 1:07
  Dawn Staudt: Thank you so much for having me.
• 1:09
  Dawn Staudt: I need you to do my intros all the time.
• 1:11
  Dawn Staudt: That was amazing.
• 1:12
  Dawn Staudt: Thank you.
• 1:13
  Tom Jackobs: So Dawn, I'm really excited for today's conversation because I love talking to other fitness entrepreneurs, so that's where I got my start, and especially yogis, because that is like the heart-led business that I know about that struggles the most with
• 1:31
  Dawn Staudt: business side.
• 1:32
  Tom Jackobs: I'm really excited to talk to you today about that, and i'm sure all the yogis out there that are listening as well are going to enjoy today's conversation also.
• 1:43
  Tom Jackobs: But of course, before we get started, what is your definition of a heart-led business?
• 1:49
  Dawn Staudt: I am really lucky that, my parents were entrepreneurs.
• 1:52
  Tom Jackobs: my dad started several businesses and took them to success.
• 1:57
  Tom Jackobs: And
• 1:57
  Dawn Staudt: so I had a really good training ground
• 1:59
  Tom Jackobs: of, even if you had a regular day job, you looked at it like you owned the company, and you put in 110% and you looked at it like it was yours.
• 2:08
  Tom Jackobs: But,
• 2:08
  Dawn Staudt: really everything my dad did, and my mom as well, was really heart-led.
• 2:13
  Dawn Staudt: Everything they did had to align with their belief system.
• 2:16
  Dawn Staudt: They didn't just start any random business.
• 2:19
  Dawn Staudt: They really tried to provide a service to the community.
• 2:22
  Tom Jackobs: and so that was really my training ground.
• 2:25
  Tom Jackobs: And I think that's why in corporate jobs sometimes I felt like I wanted to do more or I wanted to do things differently or whatever.
• 2:32
  Tom Jackobs: And so always I was searching for something that could be my own.
• 2:36
  Tom Jackobs: And it really wasn't until I went through yoga teacher training,
• 2:40
  Dawn Staudt: a few years later after teaching all around the Nashville area, it just kinda entered my heart that I wanted to own a studio.
• 2:47
  Tom Jackobs: I felt like there was things that I wanted to do or not do and, really provide a service.
• 2:52
  Tom Jackobs: And in the area where my yoga studio is, yoga is still fairly new.
• 2:56
  Tom Jackobs: There's a lot of yoga studios in Nashville, but there's not a lot on this side of town.
• 3:00
  Tom Jackobs: And
• 3:00
  Dawn Staudt: I really just wanted to create a safe space for, people who may not feel comfortable going to a studio, right?
• 3:07
  Dawn Staudt: so all ages and shapes and sizes, and just a safe space for people to really experiment and see if yoga was for them, and to really give them the confidence to do things
• 3:17
  Tom Jackobs: on their mat that they can maybe then take off that kind of confidence off their mat as well.
• 3:21
  Tom Jackobs: So for me that's really what it is.
• 3:23
  Tom Jackobs: yes, I own a brick-and-mortar business, so I do have to have a certain amount of income.
• 3:29
  Tom Jackobs: But really,
• 3:30
  Dawn Staudt: for me, it is really more about serving the community.
• 3:33
  Tom Jackobs: It is really more about
• 3:34
  Dawn Staudt: being a light for the community.
• 3:37
  Tom Jackobs: So sometimes we have a class with just one person in it, and if that's the one person that needs yoga, then we'll be there, right?
• 3:43
  Tom Jackobs: yes, we do try to do things and market and all of those things to keep the bills paid and keep the teachers paid.
• 3:49
  Tom Jackobs: but really
• 3:49
  Dawn Staudt: the decisions that we make is really how can we give our community the tools that they need to survive and thrive in this world.
• 3:58
  Tom Jackobs: That's great.
• 3:58
  Tom Jackobs: And what a good definition in terms of serving the community.
• 4:01
  Tom Jackobs: that's amazing too.
• 4:02
  Tom Jackobs: I don't talk to a lot of entrepreneurs that also have their parents being entrepreneurs and having that, that, support system, but also just growing up around that.
• 4:12
  Tom Jackobs: I...
• 4:13
  Tom Jackobs: it's different than,
• 4:14
  Dawn Staudt: Yeah.
• 4:15
  Tom Jackobs: having like my parents worked.
• 4:16
  Tom Jackobs: mom was kind of entrepreneurial, but, at the end of the day had a job, basically, a consultant job.
• 4:22
  Tom Jackobs: But, seeing them work and then trying to help when there's issues with the business is always but do you really understand what I'm going through.
• 4:29
  Dawn Staudt: Yeah.
• 4:30
  Tom Jackobs: Having your parents, like that would...
• 4:31
  Tom Jackobs: I bet that's been amazing.
• 4:33
  Dawn Staudt: People are like,"Oh, you own your own business, you can make your own hours." But understanding that those hours were 14 hours a day, right?
• 4:41
  Dawn Staudt: It was calls at 4:00 AM in the morning.
• 4:43
  Dawn Staudt: It was, cleaning at 12:00 at midnight.
• 4:45
  Dawn Staudt: like understanding that there was a lot that went into it.
• 4:49
  Dawn Staudt: But still just knowing that it was something that was yours and that you built and that you helped build this community.
• 4:54
  Dawn Staudt: And also, that you helped create jobs for the employees that you hire.
• 4:59
  Dawn Staudt: And, so for me, when I, graduated, graduate school and I went into the work world, I was like,"What do you mean I gotta sit at a desk?" what is this?
• 5:09
  Dawn Staudt: Like, no.
• 5:10
  Dawn Staudt: Wait, what?
• 5:12
  Dawn Staudt: So, yeah.
• 5:13
  Dawn Staudt: So it's just a, it's a mindset and I was lucky.
• 5:16
  Dawn Staudt: So as I face challenges and whatever in my own business venture, I know that it's not the end of the world'cause I watched my parents go through it.
• 5:26
  Tom Jackobs: Yeah.
• 5:27
  Tom Jackobs: and so what was that transition like for you going from sitting behind a desk taking direction from somebody and then opening up your own business?
• 5:37
  Dawn Staudt: to be clear, I still have a day job because the yoga studio is not super profitable yet.
• 5:42
  Dawn Staudt: and have to pay the bills.
• 5:43
  Dawn Staudt: But, so I do still have a day job.
• 5:45
  Dawn Staudt: I have a wonderful job with a wonderful team of people.
• 5:47
  Dawn Staudt: I work in marketing.
• 5:48
  Dawn Staudt: but really being able to have your own space and make your own decisions.
• 5:54
  Dawn Staudt: So if something works, you can celebrate that.
• 5:57
  Dawn Staudt: And if something doesn't, it's, it's my mistake, it's on me, right?
• 6:01
  Dawn Staudt: But I made it, right?
• 6:02
  Dawn Staudt: I was not at the mercy of someone else's decision.
• 6:06
  Dawn Staudt: And some things have worked and some things haven't, but at the end of the day, this is a space that I helped build, and we have such a wonderful community.
• 6:14
  Dawn Staudt: I created the container, but the community of people that have come and the teachers that have come to teach, is just this amazing community.
• 6:22
  Dawn Staudt: And, so I can't take credit for that.
• 6:24
  Dawn Staudt: I just created the space and, provided the safe space for everyone, and it's just such a lovely...
• 6:29
  Dawn Staudt: So even, if I have a working during the day and then I head to the studio, it's my happy place.
• 6:34
  Dawn Staudt: Like it refills my cup, to be able to continue to give back.
• 6:39
  Tom Jackobs: That's so great.
• 6:40
  Tom Jackobs: especially, and as I transitioned from corporate to owning my own fitness company, I was working day, know, during the day as well, and training people at night, and it was that training at night that just lit me up.
• 6:53
  Tom Jackobs: And it sounds like it's same for but I think you are-- you stated that your day job is great also.
• 6:58
  Tom Jackobs: Mine was not so much.
• 7:00
  Tom Jackobs: So it was, like, draining my soul, and I just needed to get out of there as quickly as possible.
• 7:05
  Dawn Staudt: I've experienced that.
• 7:06
  Dawn Staudt: I've just stepped into a new job, so I think it's been two and a half months, so it's a fairly new position.
• 7:12
  Dawn Staudt: and it's a remote job so that I'm able to be home.
• 7:15
  Dawn Staudt: My studio is half a mile from my house.
• 7:18
  Dawn Staudt: so it's, I could walk there.
• 7:20
  Dawn Staudt: I don't usually, but I could.
• 7:22
  Dawn Staudt: so you know, I'm right there in case there's any issues.
• 7:26
  Dawn Staudt: So it just allows me a little bit more flexibility, to focus also on my own business.
• 7:32
  Tom Jackobs: Nice.
• 7:32
  Tom Jackobs: And, and how long has the studio been?
• 7:36
  Dawn Staudt: So we are six years old.
• 7:38
  Dawn Staudt: We opened in a different location.
• 7:41
  Dawn Staudt: we shared a space with another fitness studio when we first opened in perfect timing, March of 2020, right before the tornado hit Nashville, and then the derecho, and then the pandemic.
• 7:53
  Dawn Staudt: it was a good way to dip my toe in the water.
• 7:55
  Dawn Staudt: but the- but then, that building got sold, and so they were going to, change whatever they had in there.
• 8:03
  Dawn Staudt: So we had to leave, and I had to make a decision, do I close?
• 8:07
  Dawn Staudt: Because at that point, most of the classes I had taught were virtual.
• 8:10
  Dawn Staudt: do I close or do I find another space?
• 8:13
  Dawn Staudt: and oddly enough, when I had first looked, started looking for spaces, I had looked at the space I'm in now.
• 8:18
  Dawn Staudt: It was actually the very first space I looked at, and it was a jewelry store at the time, and it needed a lot of work, and, we just couldn't come to an agreement as far as, money to do updates.
• 8:30
  Dawn Staudt: And so I passed on it, and out of nowhere, that real estate, property manager reached back out to me and said,"Hey, are you still interested in this space?" Now it was a fitness studio and,"Would you be interested in sharing the space or taking over the lease?" And so we actually renegotiated, but I felt like the space just kept calling to me.
• 8:49
  Dawn Staudt: aside from it being the perfect location, it just kept calling back to me.
• 8:54
  Dawn Staudt: And, so we've been in this space, this is our fourth year in the space where we are now.
• 8:58
  Dawn Staudt: And, it takes about four years to kinda get really established, and so we're starting to see, attendance increasing, for our events and our classes and, so we're starting to see a little bit of growth trajectory, so that's good.
• 9:10
  Tom Jackobs: Now, let's shift gears a little bit and talk more about the business side of running a studio, which is everybody's favorite, right?
• 9:19
  Tom Jackobs: where have besides your parents and watching them at, in their entrepreneurial journey, but where have you learned business skills and how to apply that to a small business?
• 9:29
  Dawn Staudt: Yeah.
• 9:30
  Dawn Staudt: So I've worked in marketing for many years, digital marketing, regular marketing.
• 9:35
  Dawn Staudt: and I felt like I was coming in with a pretty big background.
• 9:38
  Dawn Staudt: when you're working for a company and they have the budget for marketing and you have teams of people to help with things, it's a little bit different than applying that marketing knowledge to a small business with very little funds.
• 9:50
  Dawn Staudt: so I came in thinking,"This is gonna be easy.
• 9:52
  Dawn Staudt: No problem.
• 9:53
  Dawn Staudt: I got this." And, it was a little harder.
• 9:55
  Tom Jackobs: Yeah,
• 9:56
  Dawn Staudt: So yeah, so
• 9:57
  Tom Jackobs: $10,000 ad spend per month.
• 9:59
  Dawn Staudt: No.
• 9:59
  Dawn Staudt: Yes.
• 10:00
  Dawn Staudt: Yeah, probably not in the cards.
• 10:01
  Dawn Staudt: We did a lot of bartering, a lot of beg, borrowing, and stealing.
• 10:05
  Dawn Staudt: We did a lot of small social ads and things that were more affordable.
• 10:08
  Dawn Staudt: We have some local magazines here, that have pretty good rates.
• 10:11
  Dawn Staudt: So we did some print, we did digital advertising.
• 10:14
  Dawn Staudt: I did whatever I could.
• 10:16
  Dawn Staudt: We have some fitness magazines here that are both digital and print, and they're very kind in featuring me and/or the studio.
• 10:23
  Dawn Staudt: we did a lot of local events to set up a table, introduce ourselves.
• 10:28
  Dawn Staudt: I hired a social media manager, but, she, has moved on and so now I'm doing it myself, which, look, I have a background in it, but it does, it is time-consuming.
• 10:36
  Dawn Staudt: But, so all the necessary evils.
• 10:39
  Dawn Staudt: but really in something like a yoga studio, it is really word of mouth.
• 10:42
  Dawn Staudt: And so we focused really hard on just creating a space that, brings joy to people so that...
• 10:48
  Dawn Staudt: And we always ask for a review after every class.
• 10:51
  Dawn Staudt: so we have quite a few reviews on Wellness Living, which is the platform that we use to manage the studio, and also on Google.
• 10:59
  Dawn Staudt: and so that's what really drives.
• 11:01
  Dawn Staudt: And then, just from a class perspective, we try to offer a pretty wide variety.
• 11:05
  Dawn Staudt: we obviously have a lot of yoga classes, but we also offer barre.
• 11:08
  Dawn Staudt: We offer a sculpt with, which is yoga with weights, and we offer a Tai or a Qigong class, which is like Tai Chi.
• 11:16
  Tom Jackobs: Oh, nice.
• 11:16
  Dawn Staudt: so we try to offer a variety of times and classes.
• 11:19
  Dawn Staudt: And then for our events, we usually do three to four events every month, and we try to do a mix of yoga-related or yoga-adjacent type events.
• 11:31
  Dawn Staudt: but we also do just regular, like coming up at the end of the month, we have a book swap.
• 11:35
  Dawn Staudt: And so it's a free book swap for the community.
• 11:37
  Dawn Staudt: They can come, you can drop off books, you can grab whatever books you want.
• 11:41
  Dawn Staudt: We always bring a local author in to sign and sell their books.
• 11:45
  Dawn Staudt: We have a local baker, Literary Flour, that comes and sells her delicious treats.
• 11:49
  Dawn Staudt: And we do things like that.
• 11:50
  Dawn Staudt: We offer a lot of free, women's groups and, free gatherings like full moon gatherings.
• 11:55
  Dawn Staudt: We offer a, a lot of, community-related things.
• 11:58
  Dawn Staudt: We've done macrame classes and,
• 12:00
  Tom Jackobs: Oh wow.
• 12:01
  Dawn Staudt: Things like that.
• 12:02
  Dawn Staudt: So, try to make it accessible, to the community.
• 12:05
  Dawn Staudt: Some things have worked and some things haven't.
• 12:07
  Dawn Staudt: it's a struggle.
• 12:08
  Dawn Staudt: the marketing doesn't automatically hit.
• 12:10
  Dawn Staudt: It's not you put the ad out there and you immediately get the sales.
• 12:13
  Dawn Staudt: there's some, there's some lag.
• 12:15
  Dawn Staudt: And so and I just feel like I'm doing all the things.
• 12:19
  Dawn Staudt: I've talked to marketing consultants, I've talked to yoga, others yoga studio owners and,"What am I missing?
• 12:24
  Dawn Staudt: Where's the gap?" And, everybody's"Oh, you're doing all the things." But then you get a new student that comes in and said,"Oh, I never even heard of you before." You're like,"I'm trying to be everywhere,"
• 12:34
  Tom Jackobs: Exactly.
• 12:35
  Tom Jackobs: Where have you have been?
• 12:37
  Dawn Staudt: How do you not know?" So yeah.
• 12:40
  Tom Jackobs: having those community events, is so brilliant.
• 12:44
  Tom Jackobs: I know a lot of, fitness places that do that.
• 12:48
  Tom Jackobs: And they consistently get the comments back that, people come for the workout or they came for, to feel better, what have you.
• 12:56
  Tom Jackobs: they stay for the community because it's not just you as the business owner, but you...
• 13:02
  Tom Jackobs: you've curated that community.
• 13:05
  Tom Jackobs: And so by, by you saying you just created the box, I don't believe that.
• 13:08
  Tom Jackobs: I think you created the community as well, Doing that creates that loyal following that will talk more about you, and that's free.
• 13:15
  Dawn Staudt: Yeah.
• 13:15
  Dawn Staudt: We really wanna be a space of community, and that connector, right?
• 13:20
  Dawn Staudt: So we have, a lady who has chickens, and so when people need eggs, we're like,"Oh, just call us.
• 13:26
  Dawn Staudt: We can connect you." Or, when you know, whatever it is.
• 13:29
  Dawn Staudt: We have a person who has bees.
• 13:30
  Dawn Staudt: You need honey, great.
• 13:31
  Dawn Staudt: We have an herbalist on staff.
• 13:33
  Dawn Staudt: if you wanna learn more about herbalism or foraging, we have, One of our teachers is a PT, and we try to help support and, other small businesses, especially women-owned.
• 13:44
  Dawn Staudt: But really we try to be that connection.
• 13:46
  Dawn Staudt: if you need anything, I want your first thought to be,"We should call Heart and Light," or,"We should stop by there." We want it to be a space of community because especially during the pandemic, we were all very isolated, and that's not human nature.
• 13:59
  Dawn Staudt: human nature is to be in a tribe, is to be, together.
• 14:03
  Dawn Staudt: And, so we just wanna...
• 14:04
  Dawn Staudt: Even if yoga isn't your thing, we want you to come by.
• 14:07
  Dawn Staudt: We want you to be a part of our family.
• 14:09
  Dawn Staudt: we hope you'll try the yoga too because it'll be really good for you.
• 14:12
  Dawn Staudt: But, if not, we have a book swap or we have this or we have that you can stop in and join us.
• 14:17
  Tom Jackobs: Yeah, that, that's beautiful.
• 14:19
  Tom Jackobs: And that's gonna serve you very well.
• 14:20
  Tom Jackobs: And, but like you said, it's not like you're running an ad and you're getting, leads the next day.
• 14:27
  Tom Jackobs: That's the long haul, but I think it's gonna be the deeper ruts that will be, with those.
• 14:32
  Dawn Staudt: I hope so.
• 14:33
  Dawn Staudt: I hope so.
• 14:34
  Dawn Staudt: there's certainly times when, you're having a slow month or, attendance is dropping.
• 14:40
  Dawn Staudt: we are working on putting together our teacher training.
• 14:44
  Dawn Staudt: that's usually where studios make the money.
• 14:46
  Dawn Staudt: It's hard to maintain your, profitability with just classes.
• 14:51
  Dawn Staudt: but we're in the process of getting the certification for that, so it, it's taking a little while.
• 14:55
  Dawn Staudt: But, so there are times when it's just like pure panic because you're like, how am I gonna pay the rent and the teachers and the bills?" And, where can we trim the fat?
• 15:06
  Dawn Staudt: And there are times when you just have just that fear of that scarcity and that you just have to remind yourself that this is the long haul, that this is, my heart and soul, and that it's the long game.
• 15:19
  Dawn Staudt: You just have to trust the journey.
• 15:20
  Dawn Staudt: You just-- I'm a recovering control freak, so you know.
• 15:24
  Dawn Staudt: So you just have to kinda let go and let it be and do what you can, and whatever happens.
• 15:29
  Dawn Staudt: I'm lucky I have a really great staff, and they help to pick up the extra load and, keep the studio going.
• 15:36
  Dawn Staudt: We have some amazing teachers.
• 15:38
  Dawn Staudt: I might be biased, but I think they're some of the best teachers in Nashville.
• 15:42
  Dawn Staudt: And, you know, so they bring a lot of great ideas and so we're just hoping to continue to grow at a slow and steady pace.
• 15:48
  Tom Jackobs: Yeah.
• 15:48
  Tom Jackobs: and it sounds like you've set it up to, to be like that as well.
• 15:51
  Dawn Staudt: I hope so.
• 15:53
  Tom Jackobs: How do you handle those tough times?
• 15:55
  Tom Jackobs: Like when that panic and that scarcity mindset creeps back in?
• 15:59
  Dawn Staudt: Yeah, there's a lot of crying.
• 16:01
  Dawn Staudt: There's a lot of,"What have I done?
• 16:03
  Dawn Staudt: How do I get out of this lease?" There's a lot of venting to some other teachers that I'm very close with.
• 16:10
  Dawn Staudt: yeah, so I think, one of my yoga mentors, has a program and in the program there's one of the steps is to meet life where it is with no reaction.
• 16:19
  Dawn Staudt: And, that was a big one for me.
• 16:22
  Dawn Staudt: And I'm highly reactive, especially when I'm pulling out of my own personal savings to help keep the studio open.
• 16:29
  Dawn Staudt: like definitely there was a span of time.
• 16:32
  Dawn Staudt: and you really just have to work through that.
• 16:33
  Dawn Staudt: Like you just have to stop and breathe, and you have to like...
• 16:37
  Dawn Staudt: what I did was a couple of things.
• 16:39
  Dawn Staudt: yes, I journaled on it, yes, I cried.
• 16:41
  Dawn Staudt: but then, I pull out the spreadsheets and see the trajectory that every year that we've been open we have increased sales, we have increased the number of students that came in the door.
• 16:50
  Dawn Staudt: We have increased, it may be slower than I want it to be, but it is happening, right?
• 16:57
  Dawn Staudt: And so you just start to see, you change that mindset into looking at the positives and just being really grateful.
• 17:04
  Dawn Staudt: during the pandemic a lot of yoga studios, a lot of fitness studios in the Nashville area closed, and I am still here.
• 17:11
  Dawn Staudt: I am still standing.
• 17:12
  Dawn Staudt: We still have, our building and it's beautiful and, we have students coming through the door, and we have new students coming through the door.
• 17:19
  Dawn Staudt: And so all of that is good things.
• 17:22
  Dawn Staudt: And, so yeah.
• 17:23
  Dawn Staudt: it's just really changing your mindset,'cause you can get focused on the negative and you can spiral down that, rabbit hole.
• 17:29
  Dawn Staudt: But,
• 17:29
  Tom Jackobs: Yeah.
• 17:30
  Dawn Staudt: and I think it's good that you do.
• 17:31
  Dawn Staudt: Like I don't think you, it shouldn't be good vibes all the time.
• 17:34
  Dawn Staudt: that's not real life, right?
• 17:35
  Dawn Staudt: Like you have to acknowledge that things are hard, and then you have to make a plan, like what am I gonna do to change this?
• 17:42
  Dawn Staudt: can I run different ads?
• 17:44
  Dawn Staudt: Can I do this?
• 17:45
  Dawn Staudt: Can I do that?
• 17:46
  Dawn Staudt: Can I offer a student special?
• 17:48
  Dawn Staudt: Whatever.
• 17:49
  Dawn Staudt: what can I do to take action?
• 17:51
  Dawn Staudt: Because that action and that will help to change your mindset.
• 17:55
  Dawn Staudt: And then, you just keep trudging through.
• 17:57
  Tom Jackobs: that's such good advice.
• 17:59
  Tom Jackobs: the taking of action.
• 18:01
  Tom Jackobs: Especially when we're, depressed or we're facing some difficulties in business.
• 18:07
  Tom Jackobs: It's those little actions that move us forward that keep us sane, I think.
• 18:12
  Dawn Staudt: That's right.
• 18:13
  Tom Jackobs: Does that work for you as well.
• 18:14
  Dawn Staudt: Yeah, like action creates possibility because, for me, it gives me a sense of feeling like control.
• 18:21
  Dawn Staudt: The truth is I don't really have control over anything, but I can control my reaction to it.
• 18:25
  Dawn Staudt: And so just...
• 18:27
  Dawn Staudt: I'm a list maker, so I like to make a list.
• 18:29
  Dawn Staudt: And as I start to cross all those things off, as I start to see progress, even on a small scale, it makes me feel better.
• 18:36
  Dawn Staudt: And really it is true, bringing that negative energy, like I try not to bring that energy into the studio, right?
• 18:43
  Dawn Staudt: So like she called out to me, she wanted to be a yoga studio, like the universe kinda handed me my dream, and so I can't squander that, right?
• 18:52
  Dawn Staudt: so I try to, keep positive and, like I said, thankfully I have just an amazing staff of people that, continue to lift me up and point out all the good things.
• 19:01
  Dawn Staudt: And it, it makes a big difference.
• 19:04
  Tom Jackobs: Yeah.
• 19:04
  Tom Jackobs: And that's important to have the support system around you, whether that's other, employees or if it's other yoga studio owners as well.
• 19:13
  Tom Jackobs: So do you do a, like a normal annual planning or quarterly planning?
• 19:19
  Tom Jackobs: normal...
• 19:20
  Tom Jackobs: I say normal in quotes, but, the, the big business like coming up with your plans and all that.
• 19:25
  Tom Jackobs: And how does that, formulate your, your growth, do you think?
• 19:29
  Dawn Staudt: yes and no.
• 19:29
  Dawn Staudt: last year in 2025 I was unemployed for most of the year.
• 19:34
  Dawn Staudt: I had left a job that was, tiresome.
• 19:36
  Dawn Staudt: And thinking I could find another one really quickly, and, I didn't.
• 19:40
  Dawn Staudt: So I worked part-time, and I took the time to really lay out a plan, like planned literally from January through the end of December.
• 19:49
  Dawn Staudt: Usually the last four years I've had a plan, I've had a theme that built throughout the year, all of the things, laid out where the marketing would be, laid out social media posts, you know, 30, 60, 90 days in advance, all of that.
• 20:05
  Dawn Staudt: And, like I said, we've seen slow growth.
• 20:08
  Dawn Staudt: but this year I started the new job and I was super busy, and so I didn't do all that planning.
• 20:15
  Dawn Staudt: Things just fell into place, and it's almost better.
• 20:20
  Dawn Staudt: Like we're having better student...
• 20:21
  Dawn Staudt: I feel like letting go a little bit and not trying to control the outcome, really just being in the journey has made the difference.
• 20:30
  Dawn Staudt: I was even laughing with a teacher of mine last night that came to class.
• 20:33
  Dawn Staudt: I was like,"The more I step away, the better we do.
• 20:36
  Dawn Staudt: I don't know how I feel about that." I don't know if that's good or not.
• 20:40
  Dawn Staudt: I don't know how I feel about it.
• 20:41
  Dawn Staudt: but, We do have everything planned through July, and then now we're working on the second half of the year, like what we're planning as far as, events, and things like that.
• 20:51
  Dawn Staudt: We have made some class changes.
• 20:53
  Dawn Staudt: We've added some new teachers.
• 20:55
  Dawn Staudt: so I, I think it's something I probably should do, but in reality it, it almost works better when I don't.
• 21:01
  Dawn Staudt: And really, in the fitness world, once you have your classes set, like people don't want you to change them.
• 21:06
  Dawn Staudt: So like as long as they're being successful or they're working, like this is your class schedule and we've added some additional classes on top of that.
• 21:13
  Dawn Staudt: once it's set.
• 21:14
  Dawn Staudt: So it's really just a matter of the events and, trying to get the yoga teacher training to stand up,
• 21:20
  Tom Jackobs: Good.
• 21:21
  Tom Jackobs: Yeah, I think, doing the annual planning is a really good exercise, but I think a lot of people get too much into the minutiae of it.
• 21:28
  Tom Jackobs: And then that's when they're constantly in the spreadsheet versus being out and seeing the bigger thing.
• 21:36
  Dawn Staudt: And I think
• 21:36
  Tom Jackobs: that's
• 21:37
  Dawn Staudt: what really...
• 21:38
  Dawn Staudt: I think you're exactly right, and that's what I'm seeing.
• 21:40
  Dawn Staudt: I was very much in the minutiae, very much, in the spreadsheet every day or what are we doing or let's change this around and, all the things.
• 21:48
  Dawn Staudt: And I think that you get, you miss the forest for the trees.
• 21:51
  Dawn Staudt: You're like way in the weeds.
• 21:53
  Dawn Staudt: and it's just been a little bit better to just experience and, be agile enough to change with whatever's changing, at the studio.
• 22:01
  Dawn Staudt: not being so rigid into the plan, has served us better.
• 22:05
  Tom Jackobs: Yeah.
• 22:05
  Tom Jackobs: Yeah.
• 22:06
  Tom Jackobs: And that's really good advice too.
• 22:07
  Tom Jackobs: So listeners pay attention to that.
• 22:10
  Tom Jackobs: have the plan, but don't be so in the weeds of it that it's, taking you away from actually taking action,'cause that's what creates the growth, what creates the momentum,
• 22:20
  Dawn Staudt: Mm-hmm.
• 22:21
  Tom Jackobs: profit, like good stuff.
• 22:24
  Tom Jackobs: So Dawn, tell us, how can people learn more about you and your studio Yeah.
• 22:28
  Tom Jackobs: And potentially work with you?
• 22:30
  Dawn Staudt: Yeah.
• 22:30
  Dawn Staudt: you can go to heartandlightyoga.com, and that's all spelled out, so A-N-D.
• 22:35
  Dawn Staudt: So heartandlightyoga.com.
• 22:35
  Dawn Staudt: You can follow us on socials at Heart and Light Yoga dot com.
• 22:38
  Dawn Staudt: You can follow us on socials,@heartandlightyoga.
• 22:42
  Dawn Staudt: We are on Facebook and Instagram.
• 22:44
  Dawn Staudt: We also post on our Google My Business.
• 22:47
  Dawn Staudt: And if you're in the Nashville area, we do have a new student special, so you have unlimited classes for$50.
• 22:53
  Dawn Staudt: If you've never been to our studio before, you can sign up for that.
• 22:56
  Dawn Staudt: you'll find it under the pricing tab on, the website.
• 23:01
  Dawn Staudt: And if you just wanna come to our book swap or some of our other, events, you can go to the workshops tab on the website, and you'll see all of the, events through July right now.
• 23:10
  Dawn Staudt: so you'll see everything that we have scheduled.
• 23:12
  Dawn Staudt: And if you have any questions and you want to reach out to me, you can send an email to info@heartandlightyoga.com and it comes directly to me.
• 23:19
  Tom Jackobs: Oh, awesome.
• 23:20
  Tom Jackobs: I'm sure there's probably some yoga, instructors or yoga studio owners that are listening that might just do that and get some good advice from you as well.
• 23:28
  Dawn Staudt: Yeah, we're always looking for collaborations or any ideas for workshops, so please reach out.
• 23:34
  Tom Jackobs: That's great.
• 23:35
  Tom Jackobs: Cool.
• 23:35
  Tom Jackobs: So Dawn, thank you so much for joining us today on the Heart-Led Business Show.
• 23:39
  Tom Jackobs: I certainly appreciate you and your heart.
• 23:41
  Dawn Staudt: Thank you.
• 23:42
  Tom Jackobs: And the advice that you shared.
• 23:43
  Dawn Staudt: Thank you so much.
• 23:43
  Dawn Staudt: I appreciate the opportunity.
• 23:45
  Tom Jackobs: No worries.
• 23:46
  Tom Jackobs: Thank you.
• 23:47
  Tom Jackobs: And thank you, guests, for joining the show today.
• 23:50
  Tom Jackobs: We really appreciate you listening and tuning in.
• 23:54
  Tom Jackobs: So we're gonna put everything about Dawn down in the show notes, so the website and all her contact details there, too, if you want to get a, get ahold of her.
• 24:02
  Tom Jackobs: that will be down in the show notes.
• 24:04
  Tom Jackobs: And also, if you're down there in the show notes, there might be a button there to give a rating and review.
• 24:09
  Tom Jackobs: I would love it if you could do that.
• 24:12
  Tom Jackobs: It really just helps spread the word about the Heart-Led Business Show, and helps more entrepreneurs know that you can make a profit and be heart-led at the same time.
• 24:20
  Tom Jackobs: So until next time, lead with your heart.
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: You've been listening to The Heart-Led Business Show, hosted by Tom Jackobs.
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: Join us next time for another inspiring journey into the heart of business.