Elizabeth Nguyen is a yoga teacher and founder of Yoga Boss Babe, a subscription box to help yoga teachers grow a thriving business. This girl works with a stunning amount of dedication, authenticity and passion! She is in love with her business and life today but like all great creators, there was quite a bit of travelling to get to this leg of the journey. In fact, the first business she ever created was one that she didn't totally love. She eventually went with her gut feeling and searched for an idea that made her feel excited and passionate. One thing led to another and she came up with YBB! There are so many rich lessons in Liz's story including how to know when an idea is truly for you, what challenges to expect when you pursue what you love and what it takes to succeed. Plug in those headphones and get the idea juices flowing!
Key Nuggets:
- Liz's story highlights the many different paths that you can take your yoga career. She first founded Beyond Namaste to bring yoga to corporate workers but then realized that it didn't completely align with her passions. This didn't mean that her life as a yoga teacher was over. She kept searching and eventually came up with the unique idea of Yoga Boss Babe, a yoga box filled with tools to help yoga teachers in their businesses.
- One of Liz's favorite quotes is “Yoga isn’t about touching your toes, it’s about what you learn on the way down”. We were referring to how the quote helps new yoga practitioners take their practice in strides but this quote is also an important reminder to you that it's about the journey! So take your own personal journey in strides.
- One of the biggest transformations that Liz has experienced through her yoga practice is to have more conscious responses rather than reactionary. To take a step back, look at the big picture and understand the lens that the other person sees the world in. She’s also learned to let go when something doesn’t matter enough to hold onto.
- On that note, oftentimes when somebody has a certain response, it’s not about you. It’s a result of their personal situation
- Perhaps even reflect on this question yourself: “How has your yoga practice changed your approach to life?”
- Why Liz's first business wasn't the right one for her:
- Long process for approvals and pricing plans
- It didn’t feel right and she no longer liked to speak in corporate lingo
- She wanted to find a space that she felt more natural in
- How Liz created a business that worked for her:
- As she searched, Liz began to feel the desire to start a new business that would integrate her strength in curating products (shopping 😉). The idea continued to brew. She read Carrie Green’s book She Means Business and Liz decided that she wanted to do something online. The last piece of the puzzle was figuring out who she wanted to serve….and that came quite naturally as well. Liz wanted to serve yoga teachers! She understood that there are many teachers who come out of YTT with the desire to make a career out of yoga but aren’t sure how. That was how she felt too.
- With all the ingredients in place, it was just a matter of coming up with the right idea. On a car drive home one day, the idea came to her: Yoga Boss Babe! A subscription box that helps yoga teachers improve their businesses!
- After hearing Liz's story, here are the factors that led to Liz's success:
- Awareness that her passion (shopping) was also a strength
- Using the right resources (the book that led her to decide she wanted to do an online business)
- Keeping herself open to opportunities - once she had a sense of direction then the ideas could start forming
- Liz's story with her business is an inspiring reminder of the many paths that you can take a yoga career.
- Starting something is hard whether it be a business, new career, passion project or piece of art. Here’s more about her journey:
- She had completely different experiences when she launched Beyond Namaste versus YBB
- With Beyond Namaste, she had a lot of reservations, self doubt and doubting abilities to speak with upper management. Everything felt like work.
- With YBB, the idea first came to her on a drive to San Diego. Once the idea came she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She absolutely couldn’t wait to research it, buy the domain name and begin working on it. She felt so confident that she just launched and has never looked back.
- She had completely different experiences when she launched Beyond Namaste versus YBB
- Biggest challenges:
- The quote “build it and they will come” is not true. Liz learned how much hard work it takes to bring awareness to a business.
- Time management and being her own boss
- Need to be disciplined to do what you need to do
- Aligning expectations with reality (what you want to do versus what you can really get done are so different)
- Work life balance. Figuring out when to stop working and when to enjoy life
- Tips for the challenges
- Takeaway for yoga teachers is that you need to differentiate yourself from other yoga teachers. Do that by firstly finding your ideal student (the student who you just love teaching the most). Secondly, find what is unique to you and integrate it. For example, Liz found her "zone of genius" (that sweet spot where your skills meets your passion) for shopping and yoga with YBB. Kelsey Delane from episode 35 found her unique space through her passion for the Yoga Sutras. Most importantly, be authentic in what you do.
- Time Management:
- Liz is still working on it but her current strategy is to prioritize the most important items and then leave white space in her schedule to allow for unforeseen items (b/c not everything always goes as planned)
- She uses a whiteboard to capture her ideas so that she doesn’t get led in different directions
- Take times for breaks and prevent burnout!
- For me, the best advice I’ve received is to not stuff your schedule and only pick 3 things to accomplish in the day. Finishing 3 of the most important things will feel much better compared to doing 10 things that aren't high priority. If you don't do the most important items first then it's highly likely that you'll feel like you "got nothing done" by the end of the day.
- If you find something that you’re passionate about and you feel excited to do it everyday, then you need to find a way to do it
One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:
Trust your instincts and your gut. It will lead you to the right direction. For Liz, this knowledge served her well when she was running her first business and heeded to the deep feeling that it wasn’t for her. In the end, she launched a second business that she is wholeheartedly passionate about.
What is one nugget of wisdom that you would share with fellow seekers who are on this journey of growth and transformation?
Find your passion and what you love to do, then do it! Trust yourself to run with it when the great idea comes along.
Resources:
Books:
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz – inspired Liz to slow down and come up with more of a mindful response vs a reactive response; and to let go when it doesn’t matter enough.
She means business by Carrie Green – the book that helped Liz come up with the idea for Yoga Boss Babe
Episodes referred to (create hyperlink)
Episode 2: A Healing Journey with Alison DuRussel
Like Liz, Alison was interested in helping people via the healthcare system. And like Liz, she started to wonder if there was a natural remedy that could alleviate the number of pills that patients ended up relying on. Listen to Alison's story of how she went from pharm tech to massage therapist to yoga teacher and to sound bath healer.
Episode 3: Mastering the Business of Yoga with Amanda Kingsmith
There are so many paths that you can take your yoga career. Like Liz, Amanda is also helping yoga teachers flourish via their own unique path. Listen to this episode for the three key items that you need to have for a successful yoga career.
Links:
If you have any questions for Elizabeth or want to learn more, connect with her through:
Website: yogabossbabe.com
Email: liz@yogabossbabe.com
Instagram: @yogabossbabe