We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chelsea Gifford. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chelsea below.
Chelsea , appreciate you joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
I never intended to own a yoga studio, however, I come from a yoga lineage. My mom started yoga studios in Nashville, TN so I had been around the industry. She is an Iyengar instructor and had taught at the Iyengar Yoga Studio before it was the Yoga Center of Denver. The owners were moving to Europe and asked my mom about her interest in taking over the studio. She was done with her studio days and not living in Denver and suggested they speak to us about it. We looked at the business and the location and were interested in the space and the future of that area. I also had a personal passion for sharing Iyengar yoga with a younger audience who may have never heard of it before. We had a vision of creating a space where people could practice various modalities and lineages of yoga, enjoy wisdom of long standing Iyengar instructors, and enjoy a 7,000 square foot space for events. We added various styles, massage rooms, a 200 and 300 hour teacher training, workshops, and event rentals. We also did massive renovations on the building to provide the oasis feeling in the city. We bought the business during the pandemic, went through tech and software updates for a streamlined experience for the client, navigated city mandates, team dynamics, having a baby, moving, and more. It is really beautiful to see how the vision has turned into reality.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I have had many pivots in my career so far that have contributed to the vision of the Yoga Center. The business is DBA under One Colony LLC inspired by my book on honeybees and colony collapse disorder that I wrote as a thesis during my undergrad at CU Boulder. I wanted to create a One Colony vibration. Through a series of life events, I went to Naropa and received a Masters of Divinity, graduated during the pandemic, and then became a Sophia Code Circle leader. Some of the inspirational design elements of the studio are connected with the Ascended Masters in the codex. My partner designed the space and enjoyed bringing his various skills to the project. I found out I was pregnant one week after we took over the studio and we were commuting from Boulder at the time. We did renovations between classes, improved tech, added many varieties of yoga, and learned so much along the way with a move, a newborn baby, and many new skillsets to learn. I had this vision of being a womb to tomb space and now we have prenatal classes to senior classes. I love seeing pregnant people, young kids in aerial class, all ages in vinyasa classes, and Iyengar classes with practitioners who have been practicing together for the whole 23 year history of the company. It is a beautiful sight to see.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
I have started a few businesses, but nothing like having a brick and mortar business with over 30 contractors. I did not really know what we were getting into. I felt like it was a dharmic mission to do this and my partner knows how many modalities he needed to heal from various injuries. We hired a mentor at the beginning and then lived and learned constantly. I then started getting into the business coaching through Grant Cardone’s company, doing trainings, offered trainings to my team, travelled to conferences, and hired a business coach. It was a very interesting journey to merge traditional business coaching with a yoga studio. It was not necessarily always embraced, but my partner and I learned how to up level the business, which is necessary with a high cost operation. There are still so many steps that could be taken to maximize the reach of the company and impact and I am also proud of how much we have grown as people along the way personally and professionally. Now we have a beautiful building and baby who has grown up in a yoga studio, just like I did when I was a young girl. We are always continuing our learning.
Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?
There have been many close calls and it was honestly a stressful experience. It is quite a responsibility to keep the building, contractors, and overhead bills all paid for. We always managed to get everything paid and we certainly had to get crafty along the way. We also got in deep with initial loans and properly organizing finances. There was a moment that was super intense for me when the lights went out because we did not pay the bill. I sat in the dark office, while nursing my baby, on a zoom, crying thinking this was all it. My partner was able to handle it quickly before anybody was affected. We sold our house that was three blocks from the studio, got a solid team in place, created more automation for check ins, and have been seeing the systems start to work more efficiently. The whole area is under construction and the parking lot of the business has been blocked yet people are still finding their way to the studio! The ride has not been easy and I am grateful for this experience, grit, and perseverance throughout the process.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://yogacenterdenver.com
- Instagram: yogacenterdenver
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yogacenterdenver
Image Credits
@bodhi.glow