We recently connected with Leah Zaccaria and have shared our conversation below.

Leah , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers

I owned two yoga studios in Seattle WA for about 10 years. I decided to move to Venice CA. I did not plan to open another yoga studio, but the universe had other plans for me. I was not finding a community driven yoga studio that I heard existed in LA. In fact, there was a yoga studio called Exhale that was pretty famous, but closed. No one seemed to replace that energy. So, I said, “I am going to be the next Exhale”. I wanted to bring a community driven, dynamic and creative yoga studio to Venice Beach. After about a year and a half of saying this and exploring the LA area for potential locations and getting a feel for the yoga scene in LA, I decided to do a workshop to get my feet wet teaching. A woman came to my workshop and afterward, came up and told me I should visit the place she manages because it used to be Exhale (it was now a cycling studio that had a few yoga classes)! I had to go see the space and feel the energy. So I went 3 days later. I took a yoga class in this nostalgic place and I loved the space. I hopped back on the plane to Seattle the next day. When I stepped off the plane, I got a message from that space that it was closing!!! Oh my goodness, I literally manifested the exact spot of Exhale. I thought I was 2-3 years out from opening a space, but I had to take this opportunity! I called the woman who invited me to the space and she connected me to the landlord. Fast forward one year, after lease negotiations and raising money, I signed the lease on February 14, 2020. On March 18, 2020, I was on a plane to LA to do the grand opening of shefayoga Venice, and we went on lockdown for COVID. While it was the most challenging time in my life, I did whatever it took to stay open (online yoga, outdoor classes etc), it ended up being perfect timing. I persevered and now have realized the dream I manifested: an amazing community driven yoga studio! I am so grateful.

Leah , 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 was a CPA for 15 years. I have a Masters in Taxation. I was living the “American Dream” but I was completely unfulfilled. I started practicing yoga and it changed my life. I took the leap and opened my first yoga studio, hauteyoga Queen Anne. I was not yet a teacher but I knew business and was great at building community. Within 2 years, I left my corporate job, became a teacher and began the process of opening a second studio, shefayoga Roosevelt. I wrote a memoir called SEEN then moved to LA to open my 3rd yoga studio, shefayoga Venice. I plan to open 10-12 more studios through boutique franchising.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I came to LA to open shefayoga Venice and we went on lockdown, I had to do a complete pivot. The space I was leasing was giant and I could not have anyone in it! I had to do whatever it took to stay afloat. We created an online platform that was not Zoom. It was high quality production that served all 3 of my studios. Which ended up becoming a wonderful on demand library of online classes post pandemic.

We also moved classes outside. There was a park 3 blocks away. It was risky and I was not sure people would go, but they did! At one point, I had 4 yoga classes going at once in the park.

I truly had to let go of my plans and adapt to one of the wildest times in the history of the world.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

For my 3rd studio, I had to raise a lot of money. I did not really know how to do that. But I believed in myself and my mission and I put it out there to the world. I ended up getting loans from 7 of my yoga students who believed in me and my mission too!

Contact Info:

• Website: Leahzaccaria.com, shefayogavenice.com, shefayogaroosevelt.com, hauteyogaqueenanne.com
• Instagram: @leahzaccaria, @shefayogavenice, @shefayogaroosevelt @hauteyoga
• Facebook: Leah Zaccaria
• Linkedin: Leah Zaccaria
• Youtube: Leah Zaccaria
• Yelp: shefayoga Venice, shefayoga Roosevelt, hauteyoga Queen Anne

Image Credits
Sullivan&Sullivan