We were lucky to catch up with Christy Maskeroni Price recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Christy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.
Throughout the last 20 years or so in the wellness industry, my work has taken on a few different creative forms and ideas around health and wellness. Establishing an LLC, however, has been the hardest and also most gratifying. I didn’t have a lot of knowledge on how to do it or what I needed to do to start it. I just knew it is something I needed and wanted to do. Thankfully, there are a lot of free online resources to walk you thru the steps to start. I am also incredibly lucky to know so many entrepreneurs and business owners that were able to help me along the way. The biggest challenge was setting up all the formal details — from registering your business, to receiving your tax ID — there are a lot of little details. I highly recommend using part of your “start your business funds” to higher a lawyer to help set you up properly, establishing any legal guidelines you need for your business. Also, a small business accountant is incredibly helpful (at least for me) to make sure you are saving, paying, and accounting for everything (and everybody) properly. For me, I didn’t want to go into debt to start a business so I made sure I had enough funds to get me started. And, as much as I wanted to be in a more “prime” location, I opted to be a little further out so that I could afford the rent without too much stress. This was a difficult decision to make but in the end, a very smart one.
If I was to do it differently, I would have budgeted for some marketing support knowing that this isn’t my strongest capability.
I opened up my brick and mortar 6 months before the pandemic hit. A LOT has shifted since then. I am not sure I would change how it is transformed though — i am really happy with where it has brought me.
My biggest advice is to be adaptable – be open to the shifts and changes that will happen – especially in the first few years. And, have as much support as you can around you — friends or family that support your vision has been key to the growth and survival of my business. It is what has kept me going thru it all!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I have worked for myself most of my career – it is something that is innate for me. I had a very short career in fashion design before realizing it wasn’t where I needed to be. I had family members that had health issues and I really wanted to help them. I, too, had some problems that doctors didn’t quite seem to know how to support. So, I decided to go back to school and get my Masters in Nutrition and Applied Physiology. Since then, I have been able to build my education around natural modalities that help support, empower, and heal. Launching ALULA COLLECTIVE in 2019 gave me a space to do it. The idea of an integrative wellness space is something that I had for years. I even wrote a business plan 5 years prior to starting. I wanted to create an inclusive space that really took health and wellness to the next level. Not just a yoga studio. A space where people could come together as a community and learn techniques that empowered their health and well being. A place where people could find more joy. More connection. Our business has pivoted over the last couple of years, like many, but my drive to continue to provide this to people has not changed.
ALULA COLLECTIVE is a place where we empower others to use their own abilities and more natural modalities to heal, support, or connect to themselves. We practice yoga as a community — we talk about the poses, what it is supporting in our bodies, and how we can utilize this to support an organ, an emotion, or an area of tension. When we sell our apothecary products, we are showing how nature provides for us without the use of ingredients and products that have a negative impact on our health. My customers are those that are looking for ways to support themselves, heal, or just feel better thru an integration of techniques like movement and breath. They are people that want to connect back to the more simple ways or just slow down from their busy life for a moment or two. The organic garden we hope to create soon will be an incredible support to them as well so that people can come, take a class, and go home with some nutrient rich herbs or plants that can continue to support them outside of their time in the studio. Or take a natural dye class where they can understand some of the creative ways we can use nature. Or they can come to a sound meditation and find a more relaxed state in their body to support healing, release tension, or sleep better. The more in tune we are with nature, our body, our breath the more joyful our state of being.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
I think one of the most effective strategy for growing a clientele is authenticity. Developing your business around what feels authentically you — not what others want you to do. I think when you are able to find that for yourself, it creates ease in both business and life.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
I think knowing where I am strong in business AND not so strong is incredibly powerful. Expanding in the areas I may lack or asking for help in those areas supports the growth of myself and my business — this has a huge impact. Being a business owner doesn’t mean you have to be good at EVERYTHING.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alulacollective.com
- Instagram: @alulacollectivealula
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/alulacollectivealula
- Linkedin: n/a
- Twitter: n/a
Image Credits
Samuel Solomon Jill Elliott
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