Niching down and narrowing your focus as a yoga teacher is scary, but it will also help you make more money.
Dominique Gauthier shares how she became more successful by specializing. If you’re thinking about niching and would like to make more money, read on!
A yoga niche success story
Dominique is a Founding Member inside my Membership. I’ve watched the process of her niching down and really stepping into this area of specialty.
Dominique is a success story; she has niched down AND made more money because of it. She’s in love with what she does and who she serves, and you can tell by the way she talks about it. Her passion and how she’s truly stepped into her niche has truly amazed me, and her story is full of inspiration.
Niching is like a magnet - it both repels and attracts
“People will always be offended; they're not your people.” - Dominique
There is a strategic statement at the top of Dominique’s about page (the bit about vaginas)...
“I'm Dominique, popcorn lovin' personal trainer and yoga teacher from London (Lambeth if you wanna talk specifics), Ontario who talks about vaginas... a lot.” - Body Mind Fitness
She chose to do that to avoid wasting time; if talking about vaginas turns a client off, they won't align with her class content. It’s necessary for Dominique to address pelvic floor issues in detail, and for those who need her help - she is communicating that.
“When you're honest up front, it actually creates a much better relationship with you and the student. Because if they're coming to class and they don't want to be there, because it wasn't what they expected, you're getting that energy too… and it creates this really weird, strange dynamic.” - Dominique
Don’t be afraid of polarizing yourself - it’s this way that you’ll also find the clients who LOVE and are looking specifically for what you do.
“If I have something wrong with my foot, I am going to a foot doctor, a very specific doctor that focuses on one thing.” - Amanda
How to make money with niche websites
“After you niched down, you made more money.” - Amanda
“Yes!” - Dominique
Dominique started the journey by using words on her website that talked about pelvic health. She stopped shying away from terms like pelvic floor, pelvic health, pelvic floor dysfunction. It not only helped her to focus, but it also meant that she had far more words to give to her web guy (her husband), to create results with her Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
For more information on SEO, check out Google’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO) starter guide.
“It became his mission to figure out all the terms that he could use to make sure that my website was popping up more frequently… That that was around May, June, that I started adding those things in. And then flash forward to July… I had my highest earning month, in almost three years of business.” - Dominique
And it didn't stop there. Dominique continued to thrive in business after she niched down.
To sum up, Dominique decided on her niche, and got really clear with the words on her website. And doing those two things were the winning combination; together they drove more traffic to her site and she started getting busy (in a good way).
Find your niche, fill your classes
“I had people from the opposite side of the city coming to my studio because they wanted to work with me. They liked the small class aspect because it was limited to seven people, and they liked the pelvic health stuff.” - Dominique
For speciality offerings people will:
Drive further to get to you
Pay you more for speciality offerings
Get more out of the classes, as it is tailored for them
Enjoy smaller class sizes
Feel more connected to you
You can afford to keep class sizes small when you niche down, which is what Dominique does for her pelvic floor work. This helps your students to avoid feeling overwhelmed or uncomfortable with big classes.
Advice from Dominique to yoga teachers
Simplify the idea of your ‘ideal student’
When Dominique was starting with niche work, the idea of the ideal student was a big struggle for her. She found herself making up fictional people, and there was a disconnect with that. And then I tried doing it with people I knew, and there was kind of a disconnect with that too. And her solution came to her...
“One day it clicked that my ideal student was me three years ago… and all I really have to do is know more than that person who is my ideal student.” - Dominique
Tune into your feelings
Dominique has been in a situation where she didn't want to go and teach ‘that class tonight’, despite it being well attended. She just wasn’t feeling it anymore, and it was a good decision for her to drop the class. Her advice is this:
“Take stock at what you love doing, what you don't love doing, because the things that you love doing are the things that are going to fill your cup.” - Dominique
The more that people know that you're the go-to person for your speciality (that you also love) the more people are going to start coming to you.
Word of encouragement to beat your fear about niching
Dominique avoided advertising her niche for a long time as she was scared that she wouldn't appeal to enough people.
When she left her 'big box gym' job, Dominique tried teaching a little bit of everything. It turned out to be a lot of work and there were certain classes that she resented teaching. However, as her area is full of yoga and fitness studios, niching down helped her to become a sell out success.
"It took less effort. And I kept hitting milestones, including making the most amount of money in one month in July! That doesn't happen!” - Dominique
Niching down for Dominique has been life changing, and it can be for you too!
What if no one shows up? (you say)
There was another yoga teacher that I interviewed… and she said, ‘Teach the class that you would want to teach, even if no one showed up.’
I think this is perfect. And if at first, you niche down and no one shows up, don't get discouraged. If no one shows up, they just didn't know. And then it comes back to the assistance we offer at Marketing Yoga with Confidence; What did you do to promote that class?
Your next step
Download Fill Your Classes in 3 Simple Steps, the guide to getting more butts on mats so you can declare your niche.
Even if you aren’t sure what you want to focus on yet, take one step that makes you a little uncomfortable. Say it to someone today and see what happens. Just try it. Take one step, and then another, and then another. Baby steps remember. And start today.
Until next time, give yourself permission to niche down and grace along the way! Talk to you soon!
More about Dominique Gauthier
Dominique is a yoga teacher and personal trainer who helps women build and reclaim their strength and confidence from the inside out. She specializes in managing and preventing symptoms of core and pelvic floor dysfunction that go way beyond your mama’s kegels.
She helps women to lead an active lifestyle with education and a body-positive sustainable approach. Because we all want to be our best selves.
Links:
Download your FREEBIE: Fill Your Classes in 3 Simple Steps
Dominique's website: Body Mind Fitness
How well do you know your dream student?
Get my free guide on niching down to learn more about your dream student so you can have her/him filling your classes or workshops or online offerings!