We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kelsey Moore a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kelsey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start on the operational side – do you spend more of your time/focus/energy on growing revenue or cutting costs?

I think this is an interesting question because most of the unsolicited advice I get is how I should expand my business. Well-meaning friends and family always come up with suggestions and ideas about how I can grow my business, as if that is the ultimate goal. But for me, I prioritize work-life balance, which means maintaining the business where is it at the moment, and possibly expanding in the future. I happen to have a fairly low-expense business structure – no overhead costs like rent or utilities or a large payroll. This was my saving grace during Covid, I didn’t have to pay for expenses when my income was lost. Now, my expenses have risen slightly as I’ve increased payroll. I just recently hired a manager to mange the daily tasks of the business, freeing my time up to stay at home with my 2 year old and my newborn. Once my children are in preschool, I will have more time to spend on the business, and perhaps I will capitalize on having a manager to use my time to look into expanding or franchising.

Kelsey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Kelsey Moore. I grew up in Canada, but moved to Hawaii in my 20’s. I moved for a 1st grade teaching position, but really came for the ocean and outdoor lifestyle. I also fell in love with yoga, as it kept me sane after long days with high-energy kids. I had the opportunity to try a SUP yoga class at a yoga festival that came to the islands, and I was instantly hooked. During a blissful savasana, I decided I wanted to feel that sense of peace and wonderment every day. So I made the decision to leave teaching and start a SUP yoga business. Two years later, I taught my very first class with Yoga Floats.

Yoga Floats offers yoga on paddleboards on the calm, warm waters of Honolulu. The majority of our customers are brand new to SUP yoga, coming with varying degrees of experience with both paddleboarding and yoga. We offer classes suitable for all levels, so our instructors give lots of options within a class so each person can work at their own ability level. Our classes offer a challenge to your balance and a great core workout, but they offer so much more than just a physical workout. Clients are able to meditate on the water, tapping into the feeling, the sound, the smell of the ocean. Hawaii offers many blue sky and sunny days, but it’s also special to take a class with raindrops falling around you. Practicing yoga on the ocean is a truly magical experience.

One of our most popular classes is our ‘Light up the Night’ class, where we put LED lights under the boards to illuminate the water beneath us. As the sun sets, the beach empties out and stillness falls upon the evening, The city lights up and the stars emerge. Every Friday night we are able to watch a fireworks display as we close our class.

The thing I am most proud of in my business is that we just make people happy. The feedback and reviews we get is so overwhelmingly positive, it feels so good to know that we are brightening people’s day by offering this expereince.

Any advice for managing a team?

My goal is to keep my employees happy, as they are the face of my business. I do my best to make sure they are trained well, and that they feel confident in what they are doing. I also try to pay them well and make them feel valued. Any time I receive a review that names them specifically, I share it with that employee and thank them for doing a great job. I also try to do some staff parties and get-togethers so that the instructors can meet one another, since they don’t necessarily get the chance to meet at work!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think being consistent has really helped build our reputation. We have been at the beach almost seven days a week for 6 years. Locals see us on the water, they see our van, they start to know us and trust us. We try to provide a consistent quality across all of our classes and teachers. The online reviews show that people have had a very positive experience.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.yogafloats.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogafloats/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YogaFloatsHawaii/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5CbrO4_CxyXIyLK83GxMVw
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/yoga-floats-honolulu

Image Credits
Deborah Kolb