Latest / The Side Hustle Career Podcast with Fexingo: Second Income, Freelancing While Employed / How a Yoga Teacher Built a 12K Monthly Side Hustle in Corporate Mindfulness
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, I want to talk about a side hustle that is booming right now, and it starts with a yoga teacher named Priya who lives in Austin, Texas. Luna: I'm listening. Yoga teacher... so we're talking wellness, corporate wellness maybe? Lucas: Exactly. Priya had been teaching yoga for about four years, mostly evenings and weekends at a local studio. She had a full-time job in marketing during the day, and she loved the yoga but it only brought in about eight hundred dollars a month. Lucas: Then in early 2025, a friend who ran a small software startup asked if she could lead a ten-minute guided meditation for their team meeting. She did it for free, just as a favor. But one of the co-founders came up after and said, 'We would pay you to do this every week.' Luna: That's the classic 'free sample leads to a paid gig' story. So what did she do next? Lucas: She said yes, but she didn't just wing it. She created a simple one-page website called 'Mindful at Work' — just a Squarespace page — and she wrote a very specific offer: 'Corporate mindfulness sessions for teams of 10 to 50 people. $150 per employee for a 60-minute session, minimum 20 participants.' Luna: So $3,000 for a one-hour session with a minimum group of 20. That's a pretty strong price point. Lucas: It is. And she didn't just guess it. She looked at what other corporate wellness vendors charged. She found that large consulting firms charge anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 for a half-day workshop. She wanted to be accessible but still position herself as a professional, not a hobbyist. Luna: Did she have any certifications? I feel like that's the first question listeners will have. Lucas: Great question. She had her 200-hour yoga teacher training, which is standard. But she also completed a six-week online certificate in workplace mindfulness from a recognized program — it cost her about $400. She put that credential right on her LinkedIn headline. Luna: So for under $500 in additional training, she had a credible offering. What happened next? Lucas: She used LinkedIn strategically. She posted one article titled 'Why Your Team Needs a Five-Minute Reset' and she tagged a few HR managers she knew. One of them, at a regional bank with about 400 employees, reached out. That bank became her first big client. Luna: And she went from zero to a bank contract. How did she price that? Lucas: She started with a pilot: one session for 25 managers. The bank paid her $3,750. After that session, the HR director surveyed the participants and — this is the key — 92% said they felt more focused. The director then asked Priya to design a six-month program, one session per month for four different teams. Luna: That's 24 sessions at $3,000 each? Wait, let me do the math... that's $72,000 over six months, right? Lucas: Exactly. But Priya didn't charge full price for the volume. She offered a package deal: $50,000 for the full six-month program, which brought the per-session cost down to about $2,080. The bank saved $22,000, and Priya guaranteed $50,000. Luna: That's a win-win. So what's her monthly average now? Lucas: After that first year — which ended around June of this year — she was averaging about $12,000 a month. She only does about 10 to 15 hours of live sessions. The rest is prep, follow-up emails, and a little bit of content creation. Luna: She's essentially earning $800 to $1,200 per hour of live delivery. That's higher than most lawyers. Lucas: And she still works her marketing job. The side hustle is all evening or early morning. She does most sessions over Zoom, so she can do them from her living room. The only in-person ones are for local clients who specifically request it. Luna: I love that she didn't quit her day job. She used it to fund her certifications and website, and the stability let her take her time. Lucas: Right. And that's the model I want listeners to hear. You don't need to go all in. You can start small, test your pricing, and scale only when you have proof of demand. Luna: Speaking of scaling — how many clients does she have now? Lucas: She has four recurring clients: the bank, a tech company with 150 employees, a law firm, and a nonprofit. That's her sweet spot. She doesn't want more than five because she values the personal touch. Luna: And what about the HR directors — what metric did she use to prove ROI? Because that's always the hurdle. Lucas: She used a simple pre- and post-session survey on stress levels. On a scale of 1 to 10, participants reported a 23% drop in stress after her sessions. That number — 23% — became her headline stat. She put it on her website and in every proposal. Luna: She knows her numbers. That's what separates someone who's serious from someone who's just hoping. Lucas: Absolutely. And I think there's a bigger lesson here. A lot of people have a skill — yoga, coaching, cooking, whatever — and they think, 'I could never charge for that.' But Priya proved that if you package it professionally and show measurable results, companies will pay. Luna: You know, this episode really gets at the heart of what we try to do on this show. If we've helped you think through a career move or a side hustle idea, that's exactly why we keep making it. Listener support is what keeps The Side Hustle Career Podcast ad-free and independent. If you find value in episodes like this one, you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, and it's a small gesture that goes a long way. We don't run ads, so it's really just listeners who want to keep this resource available. Any amount helps, and we appreciate every single one. Luna: Exactly. Now back to Priya — one more thing I wanted to ask. Did she ever face pushback from her full-time employer? Lucas: Great question. She checked her employee handbook and made sure she wasn't violating any moonlighting policies. She also never uses her work computer or work hours for the side hustle. That's non-negotiable. Luna: Smart. And her boss actually knows and is supportive, right? I think I read that in her LinkedIn post. Lucas: Yeah, her boss found out through a mutual connection and was impressed. It actually led to her being asked to lead a wellness initiative at her own company, though she declined because she wanted to keep boundaries clear. Luna: Boundaries are key. So for anyone listening who teaches yoga, meditation, or any wellness practice — what's the first step you recommend? Lucas: Do what Priya did: offer one free session to a small business in your network. Record the feedback. Then build a simple website and a LinkedIn post around that feedback. Don't wait until you feel ready. Just start. Luna: And price at $150 per employee for a 60-minute session, at least 20 people. That's a concrete takeaway. Lucas: And if that feels too high, remember that companies spend a lot more on traditional training. Mindfulness is a legitimate productivity tool now. The data backs it up. Luna: Well, I'm feeling a bit calmer just talking about it. Maybe I'll try a five-minute reset after this recording. Lucas: I think you should. And maybe we'll have Priya on as a guest one day. Until next time, keep building that side hustle.