One of the most common issues a business owner will face is deciding when to expand and how to finance the expansion. Local entrepreneur Kelsey Rardon faced this very issue when she was evaluating the success of her business, Breathing Space Yoga + Meditation, which offers group and private yoga classes and well as meditation sessions.
As the owner of Breathing Space, Rardon manages the careful balance of steady financial growth and respect for the mission of the business: making yoga accessible and affordable to everyone who walks through her door. She accomplishes this through a pay-as-you-can pricing strategy. While it took some time to fine-tune, she’s found the best structure is to offer traditional membership packages while also providing an affordable drop-in rate. Pay-what-you-can is cash only and card charges are a flat $17. With this process, yoga classes become more like yoga communities because there’s no judgement on who’s a member or a first timer.
Kelsey has always listened to the needs of her customers. As more classes began filling up, she saw the need for a bigger space. Due to the lack of collateral that yoga studios have, traditional banks loans were difficult to attain. After submitting her business plan and application for a Business Ownership Initiative (BOI) small business loan, her dreams of expanding became a reality. Kelsey stated it was a “really incredible testament to this being exactly what I should be doing. Not just teaching yoga – but running a business.” The BOI loan supported her studio expansion and also allowed her to further her mission of accessibility within yoga through including plus sizes in her new retail space.
To other entrepreneurs, Kelsey says “you’ll find a way to make it happen if you’re passionate about it and if it’s meant to be. If it’s meant to happen and you’re doing what your purpose is, there’s no way you can fail or doubt yourself.” Kelsey is happy she took the jump to become a business owner, and she’s even happier that it was within the Indy area. To her, Indy is just big enough and just small enough that it has created an incredible community. She loves supporting local vendors and promoting them within her studio. To her, Indy is all about helping each other grow.
To learn more about Breathing Space Yoga + Medition, visit their website.
To learn more about BOI’s small business loan program, visit www.indychamber.com/lending.
