Speaker 0:01

Welcome to The Heart-Led Business Show, where compassion meets commerce and leaders lead with love. Join your host, Tom Jackobs, as he delves into the insightful conversations with visionary business leaders who defy the status quo, putting humanity first and profit second. From heartfelt strategies to inspiring stories, this podcast is your compass in the world of conscious capitalism. So buckle up and let your heart guide your business journey.

Tom Jackobs 0:36

Well, welcome to the Heart-Led Business Show, where we dive into delightful depths of passion-fueled pursuits. Today we're soaring high with the enchanting Dawn Staudt, the mastermind behind Heart and Light Yoga. Dawn embodies the essence of a free spirit. So join us as we explore her journey of nurturing connection, growth, and all things yoga. So step onto that mat with us and let's unfold the magic and stretch our hearts, learn more about heart-led entrepreneurship. So

What Heart-Led Means

Tom Jackobs 1:06

Dawn, welcome to the show.

Dawn Staudt 1:07

Thank you so much for having me. I need you to do my intros all the time. That was amazing. Thank you.

Tom Jackobs 1:13

So Dawn, I'm really excited for today's conversation because I love talking to other fitness entrepreneurs, so that's where I got my start, and especially yogis, because that is like the heart-led business that I know about that struggles the most with

Dawn Staudt 1:31

business side.

Tom Jackobs 1:32

I'm really excited to talk to you today about that, and i'm sure all the yogis out there that are listening as well are going to enjoy today's conversation also. But of course, before we get started, what is your definition of a heart-led business?

Dawn Staudt 1:49

I am really lucky that, my parents were entrepreneurs.

Tom Jackobs 1:52

my dad started several businesses and took them to success. And

Dawn Staudt 1:57

so I had a really good training ground

Tom Jackobs 1:59

of, even if you had a regular day job, you looked at it like you owned the company, and you put in 110% and you looked at it like it was yours. But,

Dawn Staudt 2:08

really everything my dad did, and my mom as well, was really heart-led. Everything they did had to align with their belief system. They didn't just start any random business. They really tried to provide a service to the community.

Tom Jackobs 2:22

and so that was really my training ground. And I think that's why in corporate jobs sometimes I felt like I wanted to do more or I wanted to do things differently or whatever. And so always I was searching for something that could be my own. And it really wasn't until I went through yoga teacher training,

Dawn Staudt 2:40

a few years later after teaching all around the Nashville area, it just kinda entered my heart that I wanted to own a studio.

Tom Jackobs 2:47

I felt like there was things that I wanted to do or not do and, really provide a service. And in the area where my yoga studio is, yoga is still fairly new. There's a lot of yoga studios in Nashville, but there's not a lot on this side of town. And

Dawn Staudt 3:00

I really just wanted to create a safe space for, people who may not feel comfortable going to a studio, right? so all ages and shapes and sizes, and just a safe space for people to really experiment and see if yoga was for them, and to really give them the confidence to do things

Tom Jackobs 3:17

on their mat that they can maybe then take off that kind of confidence off their mat as well. So for me that's really what it is. yes, I own a brick-and-mortar business, so I do have to have a certain amount of income. But really,

Dawn Staudt 3:30

for me, it is really more about serving the community.

Tom Jackobs 3:33

It is really more about

Dawn Staudt 3:34

being a light for the community.

Tom Jackobs 3:37

So sometimes we have a class with just one person in it, and if that's the one person that needs yoga, then we'll be there, right? yes, we do try to do things and market and all of those things to keep the bills paid and keep the teachers paid. but really

Dawn Staudt 3:49

the decisions that we make is really how can we give our community the tools that they need to survive and thrive in this world.

Tom Jackobs 3:58

That's great. And what a good definition in terms of serving the community. that's amazing too. I don't talk to a lot of entrepreneurs that also have their parents being entrepreneurs and having that, that, support system, but also just growing up around that. I... it's different than,

Dawn Staudt 4:14

Yeah.

Tom Jackobs 4:15

having like my parents worked. mom was kind of entrepreneurial, but, at the end of the day had a job, basically, a consultant job. But, seeing them work and then trying to help when there's issues with the business is always but do you really understand what I'm going through.

Dawn Staudt 4:29

Yeah.

Tom Jackobs 4:30

Having your parents, like that would... I bet that's been amazing.

Dawn Staudt 4:33

People are like, "Oh, you own your own business, you can make your own hours." But understanding that those hours were 14 hours a day, right? It was calls at 4:00 AM in the morning. It was, cleaning at 12:00 at midnight. like understanding that there was a lot that went into it. But still just knowing that it was something that was yours and that you built and that you helped build this community. And also, that you helped create jobs for the employees that you hire. And, so for me, when I, graduated, graduate school and I went into the work world, I was like, "What do you mean I gotta

From Corporate to Studio

Dawn Staudt 5:07

sit at a desk?" what is this? Like, no. Wait, what? So, yeah. So it's just a, it's a mindset and I was lucky. So as I face challenges and whatever in my own business venture, I know that it's not the end of the world 'cause I watched my parents go through it.

Tom Jackobs 5:26

Yeah. and so what was that transition like for you going from sitting behind a desk taking direction from somebody and then opening up your own business?

Dawn Staudt 5:37

to be clear, I still have a day job because the yoga studio is not super profitable yet. and have to pay the bills. But, so I do still have a day job. I have a wonderful job with a wonderful team of people. I work in marketing. but really being able to have your own space and make your own decisions. So if something works, you can celebrate that. And if something doesn't, it's, it's my mistake, it's on me, right? But I made it, right? I was not at the mercy of someone else's decision. And some things have worked and some things haven't, but at the end of the day, this is a space that I helped build, and we have such a wonderful community. I created the container, but the community of people that have come and the teachers that have come to teach, is just this amazing community. And, so I can't take credit for that. I just created the space and, provided the safe space for everyone, and it's just such a lovely... So even, if I have a working during the day and then I head to the studio, it's my happy place. Like it refills my cup, to be able to continue to give back.

Tom Jackobs 6:39

That's so great. especially, and as I transitioned from corporate to owning my own fitness company, I was working day, know, during the day as well, and training people at night, and it was that training at night that just lit me up. And it sounds like it's same for but I think you are-- you stated that your day job is great also. Mine was not so much. So it was, like, draining my soul, and I just needed to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Dawn Staudt 7:05

I've experienced that. I've just stepped into a new job, so I think it's been two and a half months, so it's a fairly new position. and it's a remote job so that I'm able to be home. My studio is half a mile from my house. so it's, I could walk there. I don't usually, but I could. so

Opening Through Chaos

Dawn Staudt 7:24

you know, I'm right there in case there's any issues. So it just allows me a little bit more flexibility, to focus also on my own business.

Tom Jackobs 7:32

Nice. And, and how long has the studio been?

Dawn Staudt 7:36

So we are six years old. We opened in a different location. we shared a space with another fitness studio when we first opened in perfect timing, March of 2020, right before the tornado hit Nashville, and then the derecho, and then the pandemic. it was a good way to dip my toe in the water. but the- but then, that building got sold, and so they were going to, change whatever they had in there. So we had to leave, and I had to make a decision, do I close? Because at that point, most of the classes I had taught were virtual. do I close or do I find another space? and oddly enough, when I had first looked, started looking for spaces, I had looked at the space I'm in now. It was actually the very first space I looked at, and it was a jewelry store at the time, and it needed a lot of work, and, we just couldn't come to an agreement as far as, money to do updates. And so I passed on it, and out of nowhere, that real estate, property manager reached back out to me and said, "Hey, are you still interested in this space?" Now it was a fitness studio and, "Would you be interested in sharing the space or taking over the lease?" And so we actually renegotiated, but I felt like the space just kept calling to me. aside from it being the perfect location, it just kept calling back to me. And, so we've been in this space, this is our fourth year in the space where we are now. And, it takes about four years to kinda get really established, and so we're starting to see, attendance increasing,

Marketing on a Budget

Dawn Staudt 9:04

for our events and our classes and, so we're starting to see a little bit of growth trajectory, so that's good.

Tom Jackobs 9:10

Now, let's shift gears a little bit and talk more about the business side of running a studio, which is everybody's favorite, right? where have besides your parents and watching them at, in their entrepreneurial journey, but where have you learned business skills and how to apply that to a small business?

Dawn Staudt 9:29

Yeah. So I've worked in marketing for many years, digital marketing, regular marketing. and I felt like I was coming in with a pretty big background. when you're working for a company and they have the budget for marketing and you have teams of people to help with things, it's a little bit different than applying that marketing knowledge to a small business with very little funds. so I came in thinking, "This is gonna be easy. No problem. I got this." And, it was a little harder.

Tom Jackobs 9:55

Yeah,

Dawn Staudt 9:56

So yeah, so

Tom Jackobs 9:57

$10,000 ad spend per month.

Dawn Staudt 9:59

No. Yes. Yeah, probably not in the cards. We did a lot of bartering, a lot of beg, borrowing, and stealing. We did a lot of small social ads and things that were more affordable. We have some local magazines here, that have pretty good rates. So we did some print, we did digital advertising. I did whatever I could. We have some fitness magazines here that are both digital and print, and they're very kind in featuring me and/or the studio. we did a lot of local events to set up a table, introduce ourselves. I hired a social media manager, but, she, has moved on and so now I'm doing it myself, which, look, I have a background in it, but it does, it is time-consuming. But, so all the necessary evils. but really in something like a yoga studio, it is really word of mouth. And so we focused really hard on just creating a space that, brings joy to people so that... And we always ask for a review after every class. so we have quite a few reviews on Wellness Living, which is the platform that we use to manage the studio, and also on Google. and so that's what really drives. And then, just from a class perspective, we try to offer a pretty wide variety. we obviously have a lot of yoga classes, but we also offer barre. We offer a sculpt with, which is yoga with weights, and we offer a Tai or a Qigong class, which is like Tai Chi.

Tom Jackobs 11:16

Oh, nice.

Dawn Staudt 11:16

so we try to offer a variety of times and classes. And then for our events, we usually do three to four events every month, and we try to do a mix of yoga-related or yoga-adjacent type events. but we also do just regular, like coming up at the end of the month, we have a book swap. And so it's a free book swap for the community. They can come, you can drop off books, you can grab whatever books you want. We always bring a local author in to sign and sell their books. We have a local baker, Literary Flour, that comes and sells her delicious treats. And we do things like that. We offer a lot of free, women's groups and, free gatherings like full moon gatherings. We offer a, a lot of, community-related things. We've done macrame classes and,

Tom Jackobs 12:00

Oh wow.

Dawn Staudt 12:01

Things like that. So, try to make it accessible, to the community. Some things have worked and some things haven't. it's a struggle. the marketing doesn't automatically hit. It's not you put the ad out there and you immediately get the sales. there's some, there's some lag. And so and I just feel like I'm doing all the things. I've talked to marketing consultants, I've talked to yoga, others yoga studio owners and, "What am I missing? Where's the gap?" And, everybody's "Oh, you're doing all the things." But then you get a new student that comes in and said, "Oh, I never even heard of you before." You're like, "I'm trying to be everywhere,"

Tom Jackobs 12:34

Exactly. Where have you have been?

Dawn Staudt 12:37

How do you not know?" So yeah.

Tom Jackobs 12:40

having those community events, is so brilliant. I know a lot of, fitness places that do that. And they consistently get the comments back that, people

Community First Strategy

Tom Jackobs 12:52

come for the workout or they came for, to feel better, what have you. they stay for the community because it's not just you as the business owner, but you... you've curated that community. And so by, by you saying you just created the box, I don't believe that. I think you created the community as well, Doing that creates that loyal following that will talk more about you, and that's free.

Dawn Staudt 13:15

Yeah. We really wanna be a space of community, and that connector, right? So we have, a lady who has chickens, and so when people need eggs, we're like, "Oh, just call us. We can connect you." Or, when you know, whatever it is. We have a person who has bees. You need honey, great. We have an herbalist on staff. if you wanna learn more about herbalism or foraging, we have, One of our teachers is a PT, and we try to help support and, other small businesses, especially women-owned. But really we try to be that connection. if you need anything, I want your first thought to be, "We should call Heart and Light," or, "We should stop by there." We want it to be a space of community because especially during the pandemic, we were all very isolated, and that's not human nature. human nature is to be in a tribe, is to be, together. And, so we just wanna... Even if yoga isn't your thing, we want you to come by. We want you to be a part of our family. we hope you'll try the yoga too because it'll be really good for you. But, if not, we have a book swap or we have this or we have that you can stop in and join us.

Tom Jackobs 14:17

Yeah, that, that's beautiful. And that's gonna serve you very well. And, but like you said, it's not like you're running an ad and you're getting, leads the next day. That's the long haul, but I think it's gonna be the deeper ruts that will be, with those.

Dawn Staudt 14:32

I hope so. I hope so. there's certainly times when, you're having a slow month or, attendance is dropping. we are working on putting together our teacher training. that's usually where studios make the money. It's hard to maintain your, profitability with just classes. but we're in the process of getting the certification for that, so it, it's taking a little while. But, so there are times

Scarcity and Staying Calm

Dawn Staudt 14:57

when it's just like pure panic because you're like, how am I gonna pay the rent and the teachers and the bills?" And, where can we trim the fat? And there are times when you just have just that fear of that scarcity and that you just have to remind yourself that this is the long haul, that this is, my heart and soul, and that it's the long game. You just have to trust the journey. You just-- I'm a recovering control freak, so you know. So you just have to kinda let go and let it be and do what you can, and whatever happens. I'm lucky I have a really great staff, and they help to pick up the extra load and, keep the studio going. We have some amazing teachers. I might be biased, but I think they're some of the best teachers in Nashville. And, you know, so they bring a lot of great ideas and so we're just hoping to continue to grow at a slow and steady pace.

Tom Jackobs 15:48

Yeah. and it sounds like you've set it up to, to be like that as well.

Dawn Staudt 15:51

I hope so.

Tom Jackobs 15:53

How do you handle those tough times? Like when that panic and that scarcity mindset creeps back in?

Dawn Staudt 15:59

Yeah, there's a lot of crying. There's a lot of, "What have I done? How do I get out of this lease?" There's a lot of venting to some other teachers that I'm very close with. yeah, so I think, one of my yoga mentors, has a program and in the program there's one of the steps is to meet life where it is with no reaction. And, that was a big one for me. And I'm highly

Mindset and Taking Action

Dawn Staudt 16:24

reactive, especially when I'm pulling out of my own personal savings to help keep the studio open. like definitely there was a span of time. and you really just have to work through that. Like you just have to stop and breathe, and you have to like... what I did was a couple of things. yes, I journaled on it, yes, I cried. but then, I pull out the spreadsheets and see the trajectory that every year that we've been open we have increased sales, we have increased the number of students that came in the door. We have increased, it may be slower than I want it to be, but it is happening, right? And so you just start to see, you change that mindset into looking at the positives and just being really grateful. during the pandemic a lot of yoga studios, a lot of fitness studios in the Nashville area closed, and I am still here. I am still standing. We still have, our building and it's beautiful and, we have students coming through the door, and we have new students coming through the door. And so all of that is good things. And, so yeah. it's just really changing your mindset, 'cause you can get focused on the negative and you can spiral down that, rabbit hole. But,

Tom Jackobs 17:29

Yeah.

Dawn Staudt 17:30

and I think it's good that you do. Like I don't think you, it shouldn't be good vibes all the time. that's not real life, right? Like you have to acknowledge that things are hard, and then you have to make a plan, like what am I gonna do to change this? can I run different ads? Can I do this? Can I do that? Can I offer a student special? Whatever. what can I do to take action? Because that action and that will help to change your mindset. And then, you just keep trudging through.

Tom Jackobs 17:57

that's such good advice. the taking of action. Especially when we're, depressed or we're facing some difficulties in business. It's those little actions that move us forward that keep us sane, I think.

Dawn Staudt 18:12

That's right.

Tom Jackobs 18:13

Does that work for you as well.

Dawn Staudt 18:14

Yeah, like action creates possibility because, for me, it gives me a sense of feeling like control. The truth is I don't really have control over anything, but I can control my reaction to it. And so just... I'm a list maker, so I like to make a list. And as I start to cross all those things off, as I start to see progress, even on a small scale, it makes me feel better. And really it is true, bringing that negative energy, like I try not to bring that energy into the studio, right? So like she called out to me, she wanted to be a yoga studio, like the universe kinda handed me my dream, and so I can't squander that, right? so I try to, keep positive and, like I said, thankfully I have just an amazing staff of people that, continue to lift me up and point out all the good things. And it, it makes a big difference.

Tom Jackobs 19:04

Yeah. And that's important to have the support system around you, whether that's other, employees or if it's other yoga studio owners as well. So do you do a, like a normal annual planning or quarterly planning? normal... I say normal in quotes, but, the, the big business like coming up with your plans and all that. And how does that, formulate your, your growth, do you think?

Dawn Staudt 19:29

yes and no. last year in 2025 I was unemployed for most of the year. I had left a job that was, tiresome. And thinking I could find another one really quickly, and, I didn't. So I worked part-time, and I took the time to really lay out a plan, like planned literally from January through the end of December. Usually the last four years I've had a plan, I've had a theme that built throughout the year, all of the things, laid out where the marketing

Planning Versus Letting Go

Dawn Staudt 19:58

would be, laid out social media posts, you know, 30, 60, 90 days in advance, all of that. And, like I said, we've seen slow growth. but this year I started the new job and I was super busy, and so I didn't do all that planning. Things just fell into place, and it's almost better. Like we're having better student... I feel like letting go a little bit and not trying to control the outcome, really just being in the journey has made the difference. I was even laughing with a teacher of mine last night that came to class. I was like, "The more I step away, the better we do. I don't know how I feel about that." I don't know if that's good or not. I don't know how I feel about it. but, We do have everything planned through July, and then now we're working on the second half of the year, like what we're planning as far as, events, and things like that. We have made some class changes. We've added some new teachers. so I, I think it's something I probably should do, but in reality it, it almost works better when I don't. And really, in the fitness world, once you have your classes set, like people don't want you to change them. So like as long as they're being successful or they're working, like this is your class schedule and we've added some additional classes on top of that. once it's set. So it's really just a matter of the events and, trying to get the yoga teacher training to stand up,

Tom Jackobs 21:20

Good. Yeah, I think, doing the annual planning is a really good exercise, but I think a lot of people get too much into the minutiae of it. And then that's when they're constantly in the spreadsheet versus being out and seeing the bigger thing.

Dawn Staudt 21:36

And I think

Tom Jackobs 21:36

that's

Dawn Staudt 21:37

what really... I think you're exactly right, and that's what I'm seeing. I was very much in the minutiae, very much, in the spreadsheet every day or what are we doing or let's change this around and, all the things. And I think that you get, you miss the forest for the trees. You're like way in the weeds. and it's just been a little bit better to just experience and, be agile enough to change with whatever's changing, at the studio. not being so rigid into the plan, has served us better.

Tom Jackobs 22:05

Yeah. Yeah. And that's really good advice too. So listeners pay attention to that. have the plan, but don't be so in the weeds of it that it's, taking you away from actually taking action, 'cause that's what creates the growth, what creates the momentum,

Dawn Staudt 22:20

Mm-hmm.

Tom Jackobs 22:21

profit, like good stuff. So Dawn, tell us, how can people learn more about you and your studio Yeah. And potentially work with you?

Dawn Staudt 22:30

Yeah. you can go to heartandlightyoga.com, and that's all spelled out, so A-N-D. So heartandlightyoga.com. You can follow us on socials at Heart and Light Yoga dot com. You can follow us on socials, @heartandlightyoga. We are on Facebook and Instagram. We also post on our Google My Business. And if you're in the Nashville area, we do have a new student special, so you have unlimited classes for $50. If you've never been to our studio before, you can sign up for that. you'll find it under the pricing tab on, the website. And if you just wanna come to our book swap or some of our other, events, you can go to the workshops tab on the website, and you'll see all of the, events through July right now. so you'll see everything that we have scheduled. And if you have any questions and you want to reach out to me, you can send an email to info@heartandlightyoga.com and it comes directly to me.

Tom Jackobs 23:19

Oh, awesome. I'm sure there's probably some yoga, instructors or yoga studio owners that are listening that might just do that and get some good advice from you as well.

Dawn Staudt 23:28

Yeah, we're always looking for

Where to Find Dawn

Dawn Staudt 23:29

collaborations or any ideas for workshops, so please reach out.

Tom Jackobs 23:34

That's great. Cool. So Dawn, thank you so much for joining us today on the Heart-Led Business Show. I certainly appreciate you and your heart.

Dawn Staudt 23:41

Thank you.

Tom Jackobs 23:42

And the advice that you shared.

Dawn Staudt 23:43

Thank you so much. I appreciate the opportunity.

Tom Jackobs 23:45

No worries. Thank you. And thank you, guests, for joining the show today. We really appreciate you listening and tuning in. So we're gonna put everything about Dawn down in the show notes, so the website and all her contact details there, too, if you want to get a, get ahold of her. that will be down in the show notes. And also, if you're down there in the show notes, there might be a button there to give a rating and review. I would love it if you could do that. It really just helps spread the word about the Heart-Led Business Show, and helps more entrepreneurs know that you can make a profit and be heart-led at the same time. So until next time, lead with your heart.

Speaker 2 24:24

You've been listening to The Heart-Led Business Show, hosted by Tom Jackobs. Join us next time for another inspiring journey into the heart of business.