What do you do?

Kathryn Smith took her experience playing and coaching college athletics and used it to start a business helping regular people improve their well-being. Here is the story of her business, Yoga Off East.

What inspired you to start your business?

I was a Division I college tennis coach for seven years, including five years as the Head Women’s Coach at Princeton University. I practiced yoga myself, and incorporated it into team practices occasionally. I was considering my long-term career and personal plans, and the idea of opening a yoga studio near my alma mater, Duke University, inspired me. It was a six-year journey from the initial idea to opening in our first location.

What makes your business unique in your industry?

I had practiced yoga at many studios around the country and began to understand the aesthetic and culture that I wanted to create. Yoga Off East brings ancient wisdom into modern-day yoga classes in an aesthetic environment built on connection and community. We joke about not being a “trendy studio”. Ultimately, we want to offer a timeless experience that honors the roots of yoga while also bringing substance and relevance to our students’ modern lifestyles.

What were some of the challenges you have faced and how did you overcome them?

We have had three unique locations in Durham during our nine years of existence. Each location has had its challenges that shaped who we are as a community. One particularly vivid challenge was being on the first floor below a dance studio. After a complete renovation of the space, we opened our doors and quickly realized that the hip-hop classes taking place upstairs were not compatible with our evening yoga classes. The situation required collaboration with our landlord, engineers, contractor, the dance studio owner, and our team of teachers and students. We ultimately created a viable solution to continue forward with our respective services and enjoyed nearly 6 years in that location on Ninth Street.

Growth and impact

How is your business going?

Great! It is truly a joy to be in the yoga studio and connect with our teachers and students. It’s hard to leave once I'm there! I’ve recently been reflecting on the working “in” versus working “on” approach to business ownership. We are now seven months into a brand new location in the American Tobacco Campus. My business partner, Kim, and I have both spent a lot of time recently in the studio supporting daily operations, and at home doing administrative tasks. And while I don’t always greet accounting tasks and financial reporting with gusto, I do realize there is an appropriate balance of being in the business and taking a step back to evaluate where we are. I'm currently inspired to cultivate more structure around how Kim and I manage the administrative tasks to create more time for each of us to mentor our team of teachers and to build our own offerings as yoga teachers.

How does your business impact you and the community?

The greatest impact on my life from owning Yoga Off East has been the relationships with our team of teachers and our students. I’m so touched by the level of care and commitment our teachers bring to the studio, and it’s an absolute delight to witness our students develop a personal practice in our studio that will serve them in their personal and professional lives. I’m also so grateful for fellow studio owners and teachers in the Triangle area who have lent advice, support, and friendship along the way.

Yoga Off East is a space to practice, reset, and connect. We encourage and support our students to build a connection to their physical selves and to the greater world around them. Ultimately, the work that happens on the yoga mat has an impact off the mat. We love to know that yoga is a practice that supports each of us in returning to our natural state of ease and peace. A quote that has guided me personally and extends to the studio is to do practices that build “a strong inner world and the capacity to share it with others”.

What’s next for your business?

Our goal is to be successful in our new location at American Tobacco Campus by integrating into the community of businesses and residents in downtown Durham and by offering high-quality yoga classes, events, and trainings. Reciprocity is a core value of mine as a business owner and I love this quote by author Robin Wall Kimmerer, “All flourishing is mutual.” Next up, we are launching our seventh annual Foundational Yoga Teacher Training in the fall. We also have a growing event calendar that includes several opportunities each month to explore an aspect of yoga deeper or simply to make time to try something new!

SCORE’s help

How did you find SCORE, and how has SCORE helped?

My accountant, Chris Arena, suggested I look into the services offered by SCORE when I was getting started. As a small business owner, and a solo entrepreneur for 8 years, I appreciate the value of free and local mentoring from SCORE. Early on I received support in determining business structure, goals, and pro forma financial projections. Most recently, SCORE helped in determining business development and expansion plans, including resources for business valuation, moving into a partnership, and relocating the business.

What specific resources or services from SCORE were most beneficial to your business?

I’ve most appreciated the conversations with experienced business people (like my SCORE mentors Mike and John!) around big and small decisions. The sounding board they have provided, resources, meeting recaps, and brainstorming have all contributed to the evolution of Yoga Off East.

Can you share any specific advice or feedback from SCORE that made a significant impact on your business or has helped you better define your business plan or goals?

I appreciated the feedback and advice to compare data from our previous location to our new location to better understand the business growth and reality of our new business model. It’s easy to skip over the details of accounting and reporting/KPIs when more urgent issues exist each day around the daily operations. Ultimately it’s important to have a holistic view of the whole business. The SCORE mentors ask questions about things I haven’t always thought of and the outside perspective is always needed and helpful!

What was a challenge that you faced in your business and how did SCORE help you overcome it?

Most recently, I moved into a partnership from solo entrepreneurship. My SCORE mentors, Mike and John, shared resources and asked key questions that helped guide the process of this really big decision. I was considering all options when I was first connected to them: close the business, sell the business, expand, or keep things the same. Ultimately, through conversations with them and utilizing suggestions they offered, I felt equipped and confident moving forward with the decision to partner and expand the business.