Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Penelope Persson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Penelope thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

After 758 days, I finally received my Greencard and I was able to stay and work in the US.

My dream was to start my own Yoga business. A big part of my dream was to be able to take my computer with me and teach from any place on the earth. This was a big step for me, knowing that I was brand new to Colorado and I didn’t know a lot of people. I also did not know anything about starting and running a business in the US, which is a foreign country to me.
When I moved, I knew I wanted to create something that was my own, I fell in love with yoga and meditation years earlier, so the choice was quite simple. The pandemic provided a lot of challenges for yoga teachers and studios, but it also opened a whole new world of online teachers. It was an easy and beautiful way to connect with people, all over the world. In the years when the pandemic was going on, I felt like I was one of the only people still traveling and I quickly learned, that I could teach from all over the world using my computer. A seed was planted, the ideas kept coming and I fully enjoyed this new found freedom of teaching, in the middle of a pandemic.

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

My name is Penelope Persson, Im the owner and founder of the online yoga and meditation platform, Moon Harmony. I’m originally from Denmark and have spent most of my life in Denmark, Greenland, and the US. My journey and dream of becoming a small business owner started many years ago, when I started learning to become a yoga and meditation teacher. I started down this path, trying to heal myself after the tragic loss of my boyfriend in 2016 to a sudden heart attack. On this journey I discovered and helped myself through grief and my built my own ability to help others heal and help themself through yoga and meditation. Prior to this, I worked as a nurse for many years. The work in pediatric oncology and the intensive care unit eventually became very stressful for me. I started to shift my career, in 2017. Here I made the choice to move to Greenland for a job in the fitness industry. This job opportunity, provided me with an education to become a yoga teacher and supported my health in many other ways. On my journey, more doors opened, and I learned about cacao ceremonies. I have hosted the most northern cacao ceremony in the world in northwest Greenland, several in Denmark, and after moving to Colorado Springs, Im slowly starting to host cacao ceremonies here.
When I teach, I look at the students in front of me, and ask them questions of how they feel today, what they are used to, and how their bodies feel. Then I look at how they move. This is to find out if they need more guidance or help, and I adjust my teaching to meet the person in front of me in the best way possible. This is a challenge with more people in a class, but it is a challenge I accept to meet everyone where they are at.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Moving to a new country, isn’t the easiest thing to do. Starting a new business on top of that, makes it very complicated. When I launched my business, I was so ready to start. I had been waiting for the moment since I first started my yoga journey. I was jumping with joy and I was proud of how far I had come over the years. Over the years in the pandemic, I provided my yoga classes for free and I grew a good following of members. At the launch of my online platform, I was confident that they would stay with me, even if they had to start paying for the services I provided. On June 1st 2022, I launched Moon Harmony, and had some really good membership surprises, but I also took some loss of members. I thought a lot about my approach to starting a business, I might have been too optimistic and excited about the start, but I finally realized that I didn’t know the people where I was living in Colorado. Most of my members that stayed were from Denmark and Greenland and I knew I needed a chance to put myself on the stage of the people in the local area. With that in mind, I started searching in Colorado for places I could teach. This new approach has built my reputation and has grown my clientele, by starting teaching in the studios around the area. Another thing I did was to start taking yoga classes in different studios, listening to the different teachers, learning how the studios built their clientele and how they grow their business.
Specifically, I want to mention one conversation a studio owner and I had. I was curious why she had chosen one of my workshops, instead of another person. Her answer was simple: because you are here right now and you invested in showing up to my class, over and over.
I also started to look for networking groups, to help expand and grow in the area. This has been a great tool to get to know other business owners and learn how they approach growing their clientele, share ideas, and hear their struggles when they started.

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

Showing up has been the biggest thing that has grown my reputation. Growing a business keeps me very busy, but I pay careful attention to fulfill the commitments I have made to my clients and my business partners. I show up for myself, because I love yoga, but also because it shows that I care and that I want to invest in the client, the studios, and other business owners. Living in a smaller community you quickly learn who is who and what people say about them. How they present them self and how they show up. Being open minded, curious, taking the time to be there, to ask the questions and just be who I truly am, a yoga teacher who loves to teach yoga.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.moon-harmony.com
• Instagram: @themoonharmony
• Facebook: @Moon-Harmony

Image Credits
I have so many amazing things to say about Anja Kathryn Photography, who has taking these amazing photos to help me grow my business. She is not only the sweetest soul walking on this earth, she is extremely talented when it comes to taking pictures.