We were lucky to catch up with Janelle Lanier recently and have shared our conversation below.

Janelle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

My hope for Namaste In Love Yoga Studio’s legacy is to be known as a safe place that people come into feeling welcomed and leave feeling loved, valued and a sense of belonging.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am Janelle Lanier, Owner of Namaste In Love Yoga Studio in Columbus, Ohio.

I’ve been a student athlete from 8 years old through college, so fitness has always been apart of my life. I even received a Masters in Exercise and Nutrition Science because I love it so much.

I’ve been practicing yoga since 2012, but I can say yoga didn’t become more than a physical activity until 2018, where I hit my rock bottom. Long story short, yoga created a space for me to be raw, real and open with God and myself. As a Christian, experiencing God on my mat, when I didn’t want anything to do with Him, changed my life. One beauty about yoga is that it allows you to deepen whatever faith or spirituality you practice.

About a year later, after receiving counseling and personal healing, I decided to pursue my yoga certifications and started teaching yoga. I completed my 500- hr just this year!

I am a firm believer that you have to learn how to love yourself, so you can love others well. I tried to take that same value and message in everything I do. I taught christian and non-christian yoga classes sharing that same message.

It’s always been in the plan to open and own a yoga studio, but that was going to be ten years down the road.

In September 2021, my husband and I were on our way to our first midwife appointment to confirm our pregnancy. As we were traveling down this cute suburb in Columbus, I mentioned that this would be the perfect area to have a yoga studio. Then as I was looking around I saw there was already a yoga studio (Namaste In Love) there. So, we continued on about our day.

Fast forward to April 2022, one month before having our baby, I saw a message on the Yoga Instructors of Columbus Facebook Page that this woman wanted to sell her yoga studio. If she didn’t sell it, she was going to close it. One thing the said that caught my eye was “to not let finances be the reason you do pursue the opportunity because there were options”.

After talking to my husband, we agreed to proceed with inquiring more information. Now, a little back story, we were not in a financial situation to buy a studio. We just bought a house in March 2022, having our baby in May 2022, and they wanted to close the yoga studio deal June 2022. When I tell you, we kind of knew we wouldn’t get approved for anything since we just bought a house, I didn’t have my heart set on it. I just wanted to see what the process would be like to own a studio, so that we could be prepared when time was ready.

The previous studio owner messaged me, set up a Zoom call and set us a studio tour. On our way to the studio, my husband and I both looked at each other and realized this was the exact same studio we seen back in September. Then we knew this may be destined for us. But we still proceeded with caution.

Long story short, the previous thought we would be a perfect fit to take over the studio and we were approved for purchased. How? I still don’t know today!

But here we are six months in on owning a pre-existing studio.

The craziest thing about this studio is that it match up with my life’s mission…. to help people love themselves, so that they can love other’s well and that’s what Namaste In Love is all about!

Our brand continues to love on every member that walks into our studio. Lead them in a flow that helps them to love themselves as we love each other. And offer that same love in different community events.

Can you talk to us about your experience with buying businesses?

Yes, we bought Namaste In Love Yoga Studio from the previous owner. I bought the yoga studio because the mission aligned with my personal mission, and it was the same studio I had my eye on when we first drove by the are. I didn’t belong to a yoga studio yet, and I wanted a place to practice and build community. After meeting with the previous owner and running the numbers, we thought it was too coincidental that this opportunity basically fell in our laps to not pursue it.

We proceeded forth with gathering all necessary financials, and officially Closed on June 1, 2022. Since then, the previous owner has remained a part of the studio as an Instructor, as well as a helpful voice when feedback was needed.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing our membership clientele is follow-up. Follow-up can happen several different ways. Every person that takes our class gets a “Thank you for visiting” personalized postcard, hand-written from the instructor in the mail. One of the best strategies worked for us is what we call drip email marketing. We invested in software that allows us to set up automated campaigns. After a potential member visited our studio, that will end up getting several emails throughout the next 30 days of their mini membership program, sharing the what our studio, classes, etc are all about. At the end of the 30 days, they will get a membership offer.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.namasteinlove.com
• Instagram: namasteinloveyoga
• Facebook: Namaste In Love Yoga Studio
• Yelp: Namaste In Love Yoga Studio

Image Credits
Photographer: Dajsha Avery