Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kayla Weber. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Kayla, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
The biggest risk I’ve taken so far in my life was jumping off the metaphorical cliff and buying my current business.
Since 2017 I had been gathering certifications in the mindfulness realm and doing side work for my LLC in the areas of forest bathing, nature education, and grief support. Over the years I got certified as a nature and forest therapy guide, Grief Recovery Method specialist, yoga 200hr teacher, Mindful Grieving facilitator, sound healing practitioner, and AcuDetox practitioner. With all of these modalities I was working with people up and down the Vail/Eagle valley in Colorado and it was getting to be a lot. I was doing my own programs as well as partnering with others to collaborate on events and although it was fulfilling, it was exhausting. I was doing all of my own outreach, marketing, execution of events with travel and setup/break down, and behind the scenes accounting. My good friend and I started to look for a space where we could host events and have other healers rent space from us so we could have a collaborative healing space. Life took us on a journey of searching but we came up with nothing.
I had recently reconnected with the owner of the yoga studio I had started at a decade prior and was hosting some grief groups in her space and collaborating with her and other teachers for sound healing events. We had connected on our faith and started going to church together. One day after church during one of our extended-goodbyes she casually mentioned it was time for her to sell the studio. She had owned it and ran it successfully for over 10 years and even kept it afloat during the pandemic. She was ready for her next chapter but knew she wanted to studio to go to someone who held community as a value as dearly as she did. It wasn’t just a business, wasn’t just a yoga studio, it was a staple in the community for healing. I didn’t think much of it in that moment but on the drive home my brain would not stop swirling with ideas. I journaled about it and everything came pouring out of me for a business plan. Owning a yoga studio was never part of my plan, but being of service has always been my guiding light so this seemed to be an amazing opportunity for the community to stay in the hands of someone looking out for the overall wellbeing of the members and community at large.
The next day I asked her if she would consider selling to me. She was over the moon with excitement and we started the planning process of how it would go. Through some deliberation and back and forth we came to an agreement and started the sale process. Everything lined up so seamlessly that I knew this was divine. I took the reins on January 1, 2023 and have been learning and working hard ever since. It has been an incredible growth journey for me and also so rewarding. I’ve been able to shift the focus of that studio from a mostly power focused class schedule to one that brings in much more variety to the classes and teachers. We’ve added a lot more workshops to the schedule to add enrichment outside of yoga asana and have different healing modalities in our second studio space as well. I’ve added monthly sound healings to the schedule and will be offering my grief services again starting in 2025.
The risk was huge because the cost of the studio was significant to me and the risk of taking on the monthly overhead in that space was scary. Fear crept up many times but I didn’t let it win. Imposter syndrome also stayed with me as a constant companion for a long time, and it’s finally starting to subside. The learning curve for me was steep and I had many moments of, “What was I thinking?” In those moments I just needed to tap back into my initial Why, lean into my tools, and believe in myself. I have had the great fortune of inheriting a small team of people who knew the ropes and helped me figure it out. I made many changes and I’m so thankful to the team and community for being supportive and willing to change with me. Two years into owning the business I’m finally starting to feel solid, but I know there is still so much to fully understand and wrap my head around.
I’m so grateful for the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of my community members and for the opportunity to grow as a person, business owner, and team leader. The studio is thriving and I cannot wait to see what’s in store for the future. For now, I’ll do my best to stay present with what is and to nurture the projects I have in front of me.
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?
My name is Kayla Weber and I own Revolution Power Yoga in Avon, CO. My journey really started with grief, which led me on a long path of certifications and working in the mindfulness realm. I lost my dad in 2006 and my older brother in 2014, both drug related deaths, so I decided I needed to shift course to help people realize that there is healing after loss and there are SO many paths to healing. I am certified in nature and forest therapy, The Grief Recovery Method, Mindful Grieving, yoga 200hr with a focus in yin, sound healing, and AcuDetox auricular acupuncture. I combine these modalities in various ways to help my clients find acceptance and healing, leading to more peace and joy in their lives.
January 1, 2023 I bought a yoga and wellness studio to be a home for all of my modalities. I am proud to say that now, on top of a full yoga class schedule, I offer acudetox auricular acupuncture, sound healing, and grief support in my studio as well. I also travel for private sessions and events and will work with each individual to craft an experience that is right for each person in that moment. Revolution also has a practitioner offering reiki and astrology readings and personal coaching to help you be the most optimal version of you.
Let’s talk M&A – we’d love to hear your about your experience with buying businesses.
Yes, I purchased a yoga studio January 1, 2023. It has a full yoga class schedule as well as offering many workshops, courses, and sound healing events. It also has a smaller studio in the back for private sound healing, reiki, personal coaching, grief groups, and yoga privates. I bought it because I know the previous owner and she really cares about the community. She didn’t want someone unfamiliar to the community that valued profit over people to come in and buy the studio. I was looking for a place to host all of my modalities and when she mentioned she was ready to sell the studio my mind would not stop thinking of the possibility. With things falling seamlessly into place, there was no denying this was the right move. We did it as an asset purchase because the space is rented not owned. I took over the existing lease after proving my financial position and proving I had collateral. The assets were broken down into physical equipment, intellectual property, and the business assets like client list and contact information. After our lawyers looked over the documents we sat down with the commercial lease holder and they signed over the lease to me. It took a while for the software company to switch licensed users so that was a bit of a pain at the beginning. I had to open all of my own accounts for utilities, insurance, music licenses, business license, tax licenses, hire new accountants and get my CPA up to speed. It was a LOT of work in the beginning. Untangling finances, accounts, and main contacts was a bit of a nightmare but we did it!! Once everything was transferred correctly things began to run more smoothly. Just have a lot of patience in the beginning.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
My husband at the time and myself had been saving up to eventually buy an investment property but the market was way too hot and everything was way too expensive. I had also saved up a decent sum to cover the cost of our boiler needing to be replaced in the near future. When the pandemic hit we stopped travelling and going to social events so it was way easier for us to save instead of spend at the time, leading to a great excess of funds in savings. Once I started thinking about buying the studio I started applying for business funding just to see what rates would be. It didn’t make sense to take out a loan since we had most of the money sitting in savings. I realized it was going to be REALLY tight with capital funding to keep the place running during the first couple months so I worked out a deal with the previous owner to pay her the remaining 1/3 of the price over 6 months. Having that cushion really helped in covering costs for the first few months as I built up a savings for the business. I also did not pay myself for the first 10 months of owning the business in order to build up a solid foundation in operating funds and reinvesting back into the business in ways like repainting and redoing the lobby area.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Revolutionpoweryoga.com
- Instagram: @nurturedbyfrequency
- Facebook: Revolution Power Yoga
Image Credits
Chad Ronald Photography, Nevada Lee Furrow, Holly Mandarich, Jennifer Weintraub