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

Kenna, appreciate you joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

My business is not a brick and mortar location at the moment, but it is my own self and the techniques I have to offer the world in person and online. I have always been happy being mobile in my business, spinning many different plates with many different groups of people. Ultimately, always coming back to my own self vs. a boss is incredibly self-empowering, and it can also be quite challenging having to make all the final says. I have often thought about what it would be like to work for one company, 9-5, with all the employee protections and benefits, weekends off and in the conventional mix of average workers. What simplicity that must provide… yet, as an artistic type, my innate need to create and carve my own path, be free to take on opportunities that arise and follow whims of inspiration/intuition make it tough to be tied down to one place/answerable to one model. That isn’t to say that creatives can’t have wonderful careers working for a regular company, I am sure many do: in the fields of yoga and dance, when one wants to be an innovator and entrepreneur, I think most find that eventually it serves them best to branch off on their own. This is where I have always been the most successful financially, satisfied with the content of my offering and its open sourced nature. So, having your own business means being very adaptable and comfortable putting yourself out there, having confidence to be your own self and know that what you have is unique and valuable, and no one can do it better than you. It means being a leader and motivating others. Perhaps, at some point, it does mean being tied to a physical location, but one that you choose and create from the ground up. It is not for the faint of heart! There are plenty of risks involved. However, for me it’s incredibly worth it and I appreciate the diversity of experience it brings to my life. I’m here going on year 15 of this career and it excites me to think about all that’s yet left to uncover regarding what I am capable of bringing to the table, in the way I think I can best deliver it.

Kenna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a yoga & barre teacher who danced professionally and toured the world from college into my 30’s. I got into my industry through being a performing artist; now, I teach some performance but more so embodiment practices and holistic techniques that support general fitness, health, joy and longevity. There’s a wide range of modalities I work in from classical Ballet to contemporary dance, Vinyasa to Yoga Therapy, Barre to Pilates, breath work to meditation. I have extensive experience in the world of movement arts and wellness and have worked with so many different populations that I can adapt a session to whoever is there; and even when it’s a mixed bag, I can find a medium to serve everyone. I believe in the healing capacity of human touch that is well-intentioned and informed, so I love to manually assist and adjust my students and I believe this is one of my clear strengths. Of course, that is not always an option. So, I also believe in the power of language, and I am highly skilled at communicating—in other words, teaching—verbally and through demonstration. A lifetime of working with the body, its anatomy, biomechanics and artistic capabilities means that I deeply know somatics and how to integrate life through the body and mind to greater understanding and knowledge. I am most proud of my community of students that have been with me for a long time and stay committed to the road of learning, growth and body/mind mastery. It is amazing to see their evolution over time. Their loyalty is proof that what I teach works, and that we’re all in it together.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Consistently showing up. For years and years, and even still, I am in the grind teaching daily classes and facilitating that hour or so of relief, joy, freedom, precious solo time for others. I think this keeps a teacher humble. It is not always the easiest, energy efficient, but it is crucial in connecting with your community, knowing them, fostering trust and sharing your gifts so that others know who you are, what you offer and that it improves their quality of life. I will always enjoy teaching classes. Of course, I also love the bigger ticket, fancier gigs like leading retreats and training courses, but I believe you fill those up through your daily work teaching classes and privates. This is how you make yourself accessible to a greater population, as well. Even now, as I have been traveling quite a lot, I still show up to my weekly online classes, because I want to stay connected to my community that I spent years growing and nurturing and will continue to work with into the future.

Another important aspect that helped build my reputation is my own continual studentship. I am a teacher but also a lifelong learner. My teachings don’t stale because I am tapped into the pulse of new information and revelation within my industry. I think some things will always work, but I also think people change and need new methods, so I do my best to add to my repertoire and continue evolving my teachings.

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

I just recently opened up my online Membership. Since all teaching went online in 2020, virtual classes never really stopped, even though the global pandemic and mitigation strategies shifted. That has been a gift that opened up new possibilities in my career. Through my website, having monthly revenue from an existing library of classes is my first foray into consistent passive income that I am excited to further develop. I am so grateful that my students have chosen to study/practice with me from their personal spaces. It’s important for individual teachers and small teams to provide competition to the big brands in this arena. Everything starts as a small seed, then grows with nurturance.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kennacrouch.com
• Instagram: @kenna_embody
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kenna.crouch.9
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenna-crouch-05a92714/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kennacrouch775

Image Credits
ToeSox Alessandro Sigismondi Karina Mirav