So you’ve taken your Yoga Teacher Training and have decided to dive head first into a yoga teaching career. Congrats! This is an exciting stage as you set up your goals for your path toward success.

It’s true that it might be hard at first, there are some misconceptions about how much money a yoga teacher makes. If you are only teaching at a studio, you will be lucky to make over $30 per class, which means you will need to teach MANY classes per week and that can only lead to burnout.

Ideally, down the line, as you build your reputation as a yoga teacher, you will diversify your income stream and yoga offerings to not only make more money but to become more well know and respected in the yoga world or in your local yoga community.

You can build a side hustle or several while you are starting out as a new yoga teacher and these paths will also develop alongside your yoga career.

Let’s start with the skills or qualities a yoga teacher already has or has access to.

1. Opportunities at your Local Yoga Studio: Studio Assistant, Owner, or Front Desk Person 

This is an easy place to start. You might already have a teaching job at a studio, you could ask the owner for a few hours a week checking people in, or working at the shop. You could also help clean and tidy the place in between classes.

Ask your studio owner if they also need help with online marketing or any sort of admin. Since you will be having a website of your own and social media platforms, this should be something you are already good at, or at least should get practice in asap!

Starting a studio of your own or going in with a partner might also be a viable option if you have experience in owning a business.

2. Website Designer 

Every yoga teacher needs a website, whether you are brand spanking new in the world or a veteran. Having a website shows people you are professional and it’s a place card for all your talents and services that you can offer.

Since you will have experience in building your own website, you can offer this service to others. Web designers can make a good amount of money, one website can generate anywhere from $300 to $5000

• List yourself on freelancing sites
• Search Craigslist and freelancing sites for web design gigs.
• Educate yourself with online courses to further grow your capabilities as a web designer.

Udemy – is one of my favorite resources for educating myself on a topic that I’m interested in learning more about. The variety and amount of classes are amazing and the classes are affordable. Make sure to read the reviews.

Teachable – This website is relatively new but adds new content all the time, very similar to Udemy. They also have some free content as well.

Youtube – Of course one of the BEST free resources out there. You can find some truly amazing people out there creating top-notch content to help you learn. Try “searching how to create a website with WordPress” to get started.

3. YouTuber

So you will already be teaching yoga classes, why not record some of them and upload them to YouTube!

There are some YouTubers that do exactly this, they just record their studio classes (you would have to get permission from your students to record video.) You can also set aside some time and record in a staged area in your home.

Either way, YouTubing is a great side hustle as it can generate you money over time. Especially if you promote your videos on other platforms like social media and email marketing.

4. Teach Meditation or Yoga Nidra Classes 

To switch up your pace and avoid burnout, teach some meditation or Yoga Nidra classes, which are very popular nowadays.

People are also willing to pay top dollar for a relaxing experience. Incorporate sound bowls, bells, and essential oils.

If you are looking to teach yourself more about meditation or Yoga Nidra, you can use the online courses website I mentioned above, or if you are ready, invest in a training that can help you get officially certified.

5. Social Media Influencer or Ambassador

If you’re not sure what an influencer is, they are basically someone on a social media network that has a large following and promotes content to people in a way that is comfortable to their followers, companies LOVE influencers.

Right now large companies are dumping huge amounts of money into social media influencers because they are so effective at selling a product they truly love directly to their fan base.

An ambassador is someone who is promoting a certain product and thus becomes the company’s ambassador.

You should already be posting on social media to get your yoga out there, so why not turn it up and go for being a full-on influencer? Everyone loves beautiful yoga pictures, add in your own style by adding other things you are passionate about, food, fashion, travel, etc.

This is a great avenue for some extra money once you get enough followers as well as to market your yoga classes and future events like retreats or workshops. 

Having a large or active social media account can also make you more likely to get hired at a studio, you are basically showing the owner you are free advertising.

How to be successful at being an Influencer

• Take a course online to really dive into some social media know-how.
• Take top-notch quality photos, nothing blurry or with bad composition.
• Be yourself! It will be easier to create content and over time people will get to know and trust you.
• Reach out to brands you like and ask to be their ambassador, some companies offer a commission for every sale made through your link or with your code. Think yoga wear or other yoga lifestyle accessories.
• Stay consistent, post once a day or on the same days every week.
• Try to have a consistent theme and look for all your posts so your profile looks consistent.
• Have a great bio.
• Don’t neglect the captions, put something meaningful to you into the caption every time.
• Use hashtags! That way like-minded people can find you! 

6. Life Coach / Consultant

Being a yoga teacher, you will become a leader, a person in your community that people look up to. You will build relationships with your students, your students will come to you before and after class and tell you their personal issues, and you will become some kind of a therapist in a way.

It’s true that yoga is therapy and you will find many people on a deep journey to happiness and health within your classes.

With that said, you turn this position into a segway to being a life coach. See a need, fill a need, if you have students who are dealing with issues and you feel as though you can construct a way to help them, go for it. 

Start to advertise your services to them, or even sell them an e-book that’s geared towards getting their life back on track. There are lots of options and creativity to be explored in this category.

 

7. Podcaster

Podcasts are all the RAGE right now! It seems like everyone has their shortlist of favorites and is listening to one while they clean the house, drive, or go on a run, so that’s a lot of listening hours. So yes I would say there is room for one more podcaster! 

This is a great idea especially if you already built an email list on your website or have a bit of a social media following, you can turn those people into instant listeners and hopefully subscribers.

Over time if you build a good listener base, you can start to sell ads or even promote affiliate links on your podcast. This can both be a great hobby, a way to connect with people, and an extra income stream.

8. Blogging

Blogging is an awesome side hustle but not one of the easiest, it takes time and effort and can take up as much time as a part-time job if you want to take it seriously.

Commit yourself to blogging if you have something you are passionate about and enjoy writing, it doesn’t have to be connected to yoga at all, since this is a side hustle, blog about anything you want. Gardening, parenting, DIY crafts, fashion, beauty, and travel, are all great blog topics.

Before diving in, make sure you have the time to commit and are totally set, you will spend money on a domain, hosting, and a plethora of other tools, so I suggest you make this a hobby that can eventually turn into a side-business. 

Blogging can make you a lot of money if you are dedicated and set up the right monetization strategy like affiliate marketing and advertising.

9. Photography 

You’re going to be a yogi, you will host classes and perhaps travel and go on retreats. Bring that camera and take awesome photos!

Not only can you use these photos on social media but you can make some extra cash by selling them on stock photo websites.

Your photos have to be high quality (taken at least by a good digital camera or DSLR) and in demand. Check out the website you want to upload and sometimes they list photo types or themes that are in demand or that they might be lacking in their database.

Check out this list of the best websites to sell your photos on.

 

10. Selling Items 

Last but not least, you can sell stuff to your students! You have access to a studio and a steady stream of customers that flow from your class to the check-in desk or shop.

Ask your studio owner if you can sell your own goods in the store. They can be handmade by you or you can sell pre-made goods you buy in bulk and sell them for a mark-up.

Items to make by hand that would be perfect for yoga studios are bracelets, necklaces, sage sticks, homemade mat spray, homemade beauty products, yoga mat bags, or whatever else you like to craft! Let your imagination run wild! 

Ask a friend or your studio owner if the items you create are desirable before jumping into making a ton of them.

Items you can purchase online in bulk would be crystals or rocks, pendants, sarongs, incense, ethically sourced palo santo, candles, yoga clothing… I mean the possibilities are endless. Search online for bulk orders for some inspiration.

So there you go! Now get out there and make the most of your career!

Have you tried any of these side hustles? Or do you have an interesting side hustle not listed here? Share with our tribe below!