Sally
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Editors note: This is three-part series on the start-up of a new business. Follow Jill Gaupin as she prepares to open a yoga studio in South Walton ? locating a site, renovating the space and finding instructors.
By Joyce Owen
Jill Gaupin is a passionate yoga student without a facility. Traveling to Niceville for classes helped her realize there was a need for a yoga studio in South Walton. In the spring, she began developing an idea to bring a yoga studio closer to her home.
The process has not been without stresses, which is ironic considering the benefi ts that practicing yoga would bring.
?Every community needs a yoga studio,? she said. ?Holding yoga classes in a fi tness center is inauthentic.?
While she knows what she wants to provide for fellow yoga followers, there have been many obstacles to overcome.
?I?m not an instructor, but a small business owner with entrepreneurial spirit and everything in my life has converged on this moment,? Gaupin said. In a binder and on a laptop on a table in a small office at her mother?s bookstore, Gaupin made detail plans for her idea. She did a feasibility study on the cost per square foot for commercial rental space in South Walton. Gaupin has handled marketing for a local real estate agency and thought she knew the market, but she was surprised at the cost ? $21 square foot, the same cost for a prime location with plenty of foot traffic in San Francisco There are many ?for lease? signs in South Walton. However, between the cost and mostly out-of-the-way locations, nothing she found was right. Her mother, Lynn Nelson, owner of Kitchen Garden Books and Antiques in Santa Rosa Beach, made an offer. ?I have this room I don?t use. Convert it and start really small,? Nelson suggested. ?I said no,? Gaupin remembered. She had visions of a big space and the room in the back of the bookshop was so small it could only accommodate eight students. But she went to the shop and meditated. Gaupin had visited several yoga studios while vacationing earlier this year and remembered even at large studios there were usually two to five students in a class.
?Then I got the vision and realized this was perfect,? Gaupin said.
The cottage is located on a wooded lot just off U.S. Highway 331. A wrap-around porch gives students access to the studio entrance and provides a spot for Gaupin to set up tables and chairs for outdoor gatherings. There?s limited parking, but with the small number of students, Gaupin decided it would work. The mother and daughter worked out an arrangement. For Gaupin, it?s a gift. For Nelson, it?s an opportunity to help her daughter. Unfortunately, finding the location wasn?t her only problem.
Gaupin had to arrange financing, take a hands-on approach to some of the renovations and find teachers. When she posted information about her plans on a local Web site, www.sowal.com, she learned there were many willing students, but a major problem was scheduling enough teachers.
Although she has talked with several prospective instructors and hopes to get class descriptions and times lined up, she has pushed back the opening to Nov. 1 to give her more time to hire instructors and complete the renovations.
Next in the series: On Oct. 14 Jill Gaupin seeks help from family to complete renovations at studio.
By Joyce Owen
Jill Gaupin is a passionate yoga student without a facility. Traveling to Niceville for classes helped her realize there was a need for a yoga studio in South Walton. In the spring, she began developing an idea to bring a yoga studio closer to her home.
The process has not been without stresses, which is ironic considering the benefi ts that practicing yoga would bring.
?Every community needs a yoga studio,? she said. ?Holding yoga classes in a fi tness center is inauthentic.?
While she knows what she wants to provide for fellow yoga followers, there have been many obstacles to overcome.
?I?m not an instructor, but a small business owner with entrepreneurial spirit and everything in my life has converged on this moment,? Gaupin said. In a binder and on a laptop on a table in a small office at her mother?s bookstore, Gaupin made detail plans for her idea. She did a feasibility study on the cost per square foot for commercial rental space in South Walton. Gaupin has handled marketing for a local real estate agency and thought she knew the market, but she was surprised at the cost ? $21 square foot, the same cost for a prime location with plenty of foot traffic in San Francisco There are many ?for lease? signs in South Walton. However, between the cost and mostly out-of-the-way locations, nothing she found was right. Her mother, Lynn Nelson, owner of Kitchen Garden Books and Antiques in Santa Rosa Beach, made an offer. ?I have this room I don?t use. Convert it and start really small,? Nelson suggested. ?I said no,? Gaupin remembered. She had visions of a big space and the room in the back of the bookshop was so small it could only accommodate eight students. But she went to the shop and meditated. Gaupin had visited several yoga studios while vacationing earlier this year and remembered even at large studios there were usually two to five students in a class.
?Then I got the vision and realized this was perfect,? Gaupin said.
The cottage is located on a wooded lot just off U.S. Highway 331. A wrap-around porch gives students access to the studio entrance and provides a spot for Gaupin to set up tables and chairs for outdoor gatherings. There?s limited parking, but with the small number of students, Gaupin decided it would work. The mother and daughter worked out an arrangement. For Gaupin, it?s a gift. For Nelson, it?s an opportunity to help her daughter. Unfortunately, finding the location wasn?t her only problem.
Gaupin had to arrange financing, take a hands-on approach to some of the renovations and find teachers. When she posted information about her plans on a local Web site, www.sowal.com, she learned there were many willing students, but a major problem was scheduling enough teachers.
Although she has talked with several prospective instructors and hopes to get class descriptions and times lined up, she has pushed back the opening to Nov. 1 to give her more time to hire instructors and complete the renovations.
Next in the series: On Oct. 14 Jill Gaupin seeks help from family to complete renovations at studio.
The talented photographer, Rich, surprised me in this photo and why I have this smirky look. Anyhow, thank you for your support! Looking forward to seeing some of you SoWaller's at One. this fall!
We got a mention.
