We were lucky to catch up with Emily Moore recently and have shared our conversation below.

Emily, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I was lucky enough to step into business with a partner and an already established business. My boss (owner of the studio at the time) called me into the office for a meeting and I was sure I had done or said something wrong and was so beyond nervous. She took me completely off guard when I realized she was asking me to step into business with her and become a co-owner of Peacebank Yoga studio. I was shocked and excited to implement my ideas. Originally we had three spaces, am at leisure wear retail, a lobby, and one yoga studio. The yoga part was thriving and the retail just getting by. So my idea was to turn the retail space into a second studio. As we were cleaning out the studio we ran our first Teacher Training group in that space which helped fund the project, we changed over the space within one week so that we offered new classes right away, and we doubled our evening offerings. This allowed us to offer both flow and relaxing classes at the same time. A few months in we ran our first January Challenge which brought in the most profit to date and inspired community connection, trying new classes, posting on our social media, and get everyone excited in a new way for our growth together. It did not double our revenue right away, but over a few years we did double our intake and had more and more to offer to our community.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Peacebank strives to be far more than just a place you can escape and turn to upgrade your body and mind. It is a place you can meet new friends, build community, grab coffee with an instructor and your fellow students, improve your health and wellbeing, connect with people going through similar journeys (prenatal, postnatal, low back care, need to jam, meditation, etc). Our studio started as a small mediation as a sanctuary for those who were fostering negative self talk to clear out through movement and mediation. The yoga studio grew and thrived and we started offering flow and relacing classes, workshops, and community classes like hikingYoga. Over the almost 15 years we have been in business we have watched babies grow up together from moms meeting in prenatal yoga, best friendships formed from those teaching together – working the front desk- and students of the studio. When you move from outside the area as an adult it is so hard to make new and deep friendships and we have countless stories of students connecting and thriving in our community. We are not a studio that requires you wear the most fashionable attire or that you can rock a handstand, we are a space that lets you escape the hussle and bussle, gift a few special moments to yourself, to grow and evolve through learning about the body and mind, and to connect with a group of like minded local friends. We work to not only take our yoga off the mat, but take our connections off the mat with hikingYoga, Yoga in the Park, special workshops, posture clinics, free music jam sessions, teacher trainings, and coffee post class. We are a home away from home.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Often we will look back to the year of 2020 of how we showed resilience, and in our case it was not only resilience but the instructors and the students that kept our community alive. I had just given bith to my second child in Jan of 2020, and at two months old I was dealt with closing down a studio and possibly putting my instructors out of work. So the first 2-3 days of the lock down I partnered with 5 of our current instructors and we got our virtual studio up and running. Within a few weeks we had a full virtual calendar with about 10 teachers offering classes via zoom. Students could stay connected to their practice, their mentors and each other. Soon after I spend hours on the phone we the city we located two parks where we could hold outdoor classes in-person! These two offerings not only saved the business, but they kept a community going when so many of us were desperate for connection and mental health.

How’d you meet your business partner?

As a new yoga instructor I knew I had to offer something different and something special to grab the attention of a studio owner. So I walked into my current studio to ask for the owners email address and she happened to be there. She asked me a few questions and right away I mentioned that I guide for a company call Hiking Yoga – and she had just been at a conference and met the owner. We immediately hit it off and she asked if I would be interested in guiding a hiking yoga group for Peacebank, and of course i answered with a big Yes. Two weeks later we were on a hike with 15 community members signed up. At the end of the hike she shared that she liked my energy so much that she offered me three classes. Two 6am classes and one beginners Friday night class. Not the most ideal times, but as a new teacher I always tell my trainees say YES to everything to get your foot in the door. 5 years later we became business partners and a few years after that I took over most o f the business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.peacebankyoga.com
• Instagram: peacebank_yoga
• Facebook: peacebank yoga studio