We recently connected with Sage Miller and have shared our conversation below.
Sage , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you manage your own social media?
I do my own everything! From creating and filming classes, to the editing, designing, marketing, I am my own team essentially! Social media is a very effective form of free marketing, which is a MUST as a small start up with very little capital. I have learned that you gotta use it right though. If you are going to do your own social media marketing you have to fully understand who you are marketing to, and what they want to see. It needs to be a good mix of content but also follow guidelines that you set to match your branding and voice. While it can be VERY time consuming creating content for social media and being in charge of all your own social media marketing, it really is a great way to connect with your market and clients. It helps make your business feel more personal and welcoming. And as a Yoga teacher its incredibly important for me to connect with my clients and potential clients. So spending time doing my own social media is a great way for me to make that happen!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Sage, and I am a Yoga teacher who owns a virtual Yoga studio called Sage Online Yoga Studio!
People don’t always have the time to take studio based Yoga classes, and a lot of people are not even comfortable with going to a studio at all. I wanted to make Yoga more accessible for those who just aren’t able to get into a studio environment but still have the passion for Yoga. Just like a normal studio, there are different types of classes, for all levels of Yoga, and there’s even the option to either pay per class or join a membership program for a low monthly fee to get unlimited classes.
The biggest difference is, well of course you are taking the class at home (or wherever you want to take it, like the beach maybe?), and that all the classes are prerecorded. So that way people can take the classes at any time they want or are able to, even if it’s 2 in the morning! Recently I have also been offering classes that go “beyond the mat” where we focus on the other limbs of Yoga and learn more about Yoga history and philosophy.
Yoga goes far beyond just the poses and it is one of my missions to expand what the western world thinks of Yoga. Like did you know, that modern postural Yoga is only about 100 years old? And that one of the most commonly known asanas, Sun Salutation, was created in the 1930s? Yoga is such a beautiful ancient tradition, and so many people only really know about the modern rebirth which is postural Yoga. One of my biggest goals is to share more about the actual practice of Yoga, while still creating a safe and accessible space for people of all backgrounds to enjoy the asana based practice as well!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
This is not my first business, actually this is my *counts on fingers* 3rd business. My first business was a Yoga clothing company I called Rebelle. Back then I LOVED Yoga just as much as I do now, but becoming a Yoga teacher at that time was out of my grasp. So I thought selling Yoga clothes would be a cool thing to do in the meantime, and maybe one day my sales could fund my teacher training! Yea.. no. I discovered I REALLY loved Yoga, but I really did not love having to constantly come up with new designs and sell clothing.
After about a year and some change of doing that, I decided to try something else. I took all the lessons I learned from that experience, and made the choice to do something I actually found fun in hopes it would be more rewarding. I started a small side business called Black Hex, I just made things that made me happy! I started with little vegan leather goods, some cute basic jewelry, and then I moved on to making wire wrapped crystal pendants. I LOVED every second of creating these beautiful works of art. I was making sales, and getting commissions, for a little side hustle everything was going great!
Then the Universe gifted me with an opportunity to take a Yoga Teacher Training with 2 Yoga teachers I had admired and looked up to for quite some time. I knew I had to take the opportunity so I did without even fully thinking about it. When I started my training, I realized, this is going to take ALL of my time and then some. I spent almost 2 years going through my training, creating and selling crystal pendants when I had the time. When I finally graduated I threw myself headfirst into starting Sage Yoga. I knew the whole time that this is what I wanted to do, start virtually and one day move on to owning an in person studio in addition to the virtual one. I took EVERYTHING I had learned about branding, marketing, business planning, all my failures and lessons, and I created Sage Yoga.
AND I’M STILL LEARNING AND MAKING MISTAKES!! I had to learn a whole new social media strategy, because the one I had just wasn’t working effectively. I have redone my website to make it more user friendly about 100 times by now. But I never give up, and I won’t ever give up! I am extremely lucky to have a husband who sees my potential and believes in me more than I believe in myself sometimes. He helps me get through the days where I am just.. not very resilient. He tells me to keep going, to keep trying. Every little win, every tiny bit of growth is a celebration for us. Its one step closer to achieving our goals! And as of June 7th I officially got my LLC for my little virtual studio!
Don’t give up on your dreams. Yes pivot, yes embrace change, yes learn from your mistakes! But always be dedicated to your own potential and don’t ever give up on yourself!
How did you build your audience on social media?
I decided right away a social media strategy that I was going to stick to! And then I changed it… and kept changing it until I saw some progress. Be flexible, experiment, find out what works best for YOU and your business! Just because one strategy works for someone else does not mean it’s going to work for you! Be diligent with posting, keep a general branding/tone/ voice to your content. And when you find what works, STICK TO IT. Growth doesn’t happen overnight. I am STILL growing my studio’s account. Be consistent! But also interact with your audience and potential clients. Like and comment on people’s posts AUTHENTICALLY. People can tell when it’s a copy paste type of situation. Not all your posts need to be a sales pitch. Be helpful to your niche and community, Teach things, be kind, share ideas! And overall be your authentic self!
Contact Info:
- Website: SageOnlineYogaStudio.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/sageonlineyoga
- Facebook: facebook.com/sageyogaonlinestudio