Molly Kranovich: Building a Heart-Led Yoga Studio & Retail Shop at Lumi Studio Shoppe

Molly Kranovich, owner of Lumi Studio Shoppe in Mount Prospect, Illinois, joins Todd McLaughlin for an honest and inspiring conversation about what it really takes to build a thriving yoga business.

In this episode, Molly shares her journey from stay-at-home mom to successful studio owner. She created a unique multi-functional space that beautifully combines yoga classes, a retail shop featuring local artisans, and a warm community event hub just outside of Chicago.

Molly opens up about the real challenges and victories of small business ownership — rethinking studio layouts, negotiating leases, balancing family life with entrepreneurship, supporting local makers, and standing out against big corporate studios. Her story is filled with heart, creativity, and a deep commitment to building authentic community through yoga and wellness.

You’ll hear:
• How she transitioned from managing her home and children to running a thriving studio
• The power of blending yoga, retail, and community events in one welcoming space
• Practical strategies for overcoming early business setbacks
• How she balances family life while growing her business
• Why supporting local artisans matters in today’s wellness world

Whether you’re a yoga teacher, studio owner, aspiring entrepreneur, or someone who values heart-led businesses, this episode will uplift and motivate you.

Visit Molly at: https://lumistudioshoppe.com/

Thanks for listening to this episode. Check out: 👇
8IN8 Ashtanga Yoga for Beginners Course Online- Learn 8 Limb Yoga in 8 Days - Get FREE coupon code for a limited time only (Regular price $88) https://info.nativeyogacenter.com/8in8-ashtanga-yoga-for-beginners-8-limbs-in-8-days/

Practice with Native Yoga Online - New classes EVERY day - Use Code FIRSTMONTHFREE https://nativeyogacenter.teachable.com/p/today-s-community-class

Subscribe to Native Yoga Center and view this podcast on Youtube.

Thank you Bryce Allyn for the show tunes. Check out Bryce’s website: bryceallynband.comand sign up on his newsletter to stay in touch. Listen here to his original music from his bands Boxelder, B-Liminal and Bryce Allyn Band on Spotify.

Please email special requests and feedback to info@nativeyogacenter.com

https://info.nativeyogacenter.com/8in8-ashtanga-yoga-for-beginners-8-limbs-in-8-days/

Transcript

Todd McLaughlin: 0:33

Welcome to Native Yoga Toddcast, so happy you are here. My goal with this channel is to bring inspirational speakers to the mic in the field of yoga, massage, body work and beyond. Follow us at Native Yoga and check us out at nativeyogacenter.com. All right, let's begin. Hello, welcome to native yoga Todd cast. My name is Todd McLaughlin, for those of you first time listening, welcome to the show and for our longtime supporters, thank you so much. We love you. Thank you. I have special guest today, Molly Kranovich, she is the owner of a yoga studio in Illinois. She her website, Lumistudioshoppe.com, link in description. I'm going to spell it though, just because if you look, if you're just listening and you want to check it out yourself, it's L U, M, I, Lumi studio. And then shop is spelled S, H, O, double, P, e.com, same handle on Instagram. She's a mom, she's a studio owner, she's a yoga teacher, she's a community builder, all of that and more. Let's go ahead and get started. I'm really happy to be here with Molly. Kranovich, did I say that right? Molly,

Molly Kranovich: 2:02

you did.

Todd McLaughlin: 2:03

Yay. Thank you. How are you feeling today?

Unknown: 2:06

Good. I'm so happy to be here.

Todd McLaughlin: 2:07

I know I'm really excited about this opportunity, too. I know you own a yoga studio called Lumi studio shop, and that is in, am I right when I guess Springfield? No, it's

Unknown: 2:20

in prospect Illinois, which is a suburb of Chicago, got

Todd McLaughlin: 2:24

it Mount Prospect Illinois? How far outside the city center are you?

Unknown: 2:28

We're about 30 minutes on the train. Give or take more with traffic, yeah, so

Todd McLaughlin: 2:33

it looks more suburban where you are not, yeah, big tall buildings, more like strip malls and homes and

Unknown: 2:43

yeah. So we're suburban, definitely more strip malls and homes. We're in a strip mall, but we are. We're in the downtown of our town, and we have a bunch of new big apartment buildings that just came up near us since we've opened, which has been great,

Todd McLaughlin: 2:55

nice. How long have you been open?

Unknown: 2:59

Three years as of next month. So we're just your anniversary. Congrats.

Todd McLaughlin: 3:05

How does that feel?

Unknown: 3:06

Great. I feel like I had a three year lease initially, so it felt like we'll try it for three years and see. And I'm working on a five year lease because now I'm like, I want to be here. This is great. Yeah,

Todd McLaughlin: 3:15

amazing. That's so cool. I'm so happy to hear that. Have you heard I'm sure you heard of all the business statistics that point out how next to impossible it is to open and maintain a small business being like they say, if you make it three years only, like 30% out of a small business. I don't even know what the stats are, to be honest, but it's something like really bleak, like, in the first three years, 70% will go out or something like that. If you make it to five, you're, like, in the in 10% and then if you go past five, you're in a very small percentage of people that actually make it that long. Have you heard all that?

Unknown: 3:51

I have heard that, and it does make three feel kind of like a milestone, because, like, I've heard from a lot of people too, like, three years is when you start, you know, hitting profitability and stuff like that, especially when you do a build out. How long have you had your studio? So

Todd McLaughlin: 4:03

my wife and I celebrate our 20 year anniversary in this building, and then we were we were studio co owners in San Diego for close to four years prior to opening here. So we've been running a business or yoga studio for almost 25 total, but in this specific location, it'll be 20 years on April 17, 2026 Yeah. So

Unknown: 4:28

thank

Todd McLaughlin: 4:28

you. I know I remember at the three year mark feeling, ah, we did it. Holy cow. We made it. We can do this. We can do this like. We made it like. So I remember feeling so excited around the three year mark that, like, yeah, we're doing this. This is happening.

Unknown: 4:44

Definitely.

Todd McLaughlin: 4:45

Yeah, yeah, cool. Well, then my next question is, I have two questions I want to ask your highs and your lows. Let's start with lows. What's been some of the biggest challenges you faced? Actually, before I ask you this question, can I ask you other questions? And are I already know the answer to this. Are you a mom?

Unknown: 5:04

I am a mom. I have four kids. My youngest is going to be eight this week, and my oldest is almost 14, and I opened right around when my youngest went to full day

Todd McLaughlin: 5:15

school. So

Unknown: 5:16

seemed like a good time to take on a fifth child, which is what I call Lumi.

Todd McLaughlin: 5:19

Yeah, totally. And then I guess I'm curious, what have been some of the challenges that you've faced in the last three years as a business owner? And I asked this with the intention of maybe somebody listening is really excited about opening a business. So I think the more we can educate people, you can be we can be successful if we get some information, if you do a little research prior to opening a business, you can actually pull it off. So I'd love to hear maybe some of the challenges that you didn't foresee, and now that you've been open for three years, you're realizing that you were able to jump a hurdle or two.

Unknown: 5:53

Yeah, for sure. Well, the first challenge I had started before I even opened, so I went on the day I went to sign the lease for the place. They decided to give the space to someone else. So that was my first hoop to jump through. And then, but it really made me realize I wanted to have a space, whether it was that one or not, and where I landed is much better than where I was originally going to be. It has a better fit for me. So that was my first one. But then it really kind of lit the passion to me, like I can do this, I can, you know, there'll be setbacks, and then I think managing people is always really tough. I never managed people in a role, in a professional role before this. But then one of my friends said, Yeah, but you manage tiny humans every day and babysitters in your house? That with me. But, you know, just there's so many different personalities from front desk staff to teachers to and just making sure I'm have the capacity to help them grow and navigate when they leave and changes in staff and stuff, that's been definitely a challenge to work through. For sure.

Todd McLaughlin: 6:55

Understood your I went to your website and I saw, well, actually, let me also say thank you to your mom, because I met you through your mom came here to practice, and she mentioned she had a daughter that has a yoga studio. And hence I said, Oh my gosh, I have a podcast, and I like interviewing people that are in the in the field, so I'm so excited that I'm getting a chance to meet you through your mom. That's been really cool to have her here. Can you, can you talk a little bit about what it's like when I looked at your website, your studio is pretty big, and you're combining studio with retail. Can you talk a little bit about what you've learned from the managing a teaching schedule, and then what you're learning from managing a retail space?

Unknown: 7:37

Sure. So the reason we have that is kind of my whole goal with Lumi was really to build a community where people could find their people could find feel a little lighter when they came in. So we have the yoga studio. It fits about 1516, mats. We also have an event space where we do everything from like sourdough bread workshops to kids birthday parties. And then we have the retail shop, which is mostly local makers. We have about anywhere between 25 and 50 makers at a time who sell clothes, candles, jewelry. So kind of part of the reason I did that as the multiple streams of revenue, part of it is just to really be a space in the community where people could come and it's been nice to have people start. Maybe they're not so comfortable with yoga, but they come in the shop and then they realize, Oh, I could try a class. So that's been a fun way to kind of get people into the practice and learning more about yoga, and just type of space where you could do all those things. That's

Todd McLaughlin: 8:37

cool. That's awesome. Which one of those three categories, because you're right, that's almost like three separate businesses in and of themselves. But I'm a big fan of doing what you're doing as well, where you combine elements to get the whole thing to work. What of the three feels like it's doing the best?

Unknown: 8:58

I would say yoga and retail is pretty much been equal since we began, as far as profitability goes, and then the events are kind of more of like a supplement. Often, we'll do events that help lead people to the yoga or the retail, and it changes for me. You know, I love to teach yoga, but I also love to curate a gift for someone and I so it's nice to meet those different parts of my personality. So I would say it's kind of equal between the yoga and the retail.

Todd McLaughlin: 9:30

Very cool. How did you get inspired with the idea to host artwork from local artesians Instead of well, this might be an obvious question answer already, but like offering things that are available on Amazon,

Unknown: 9:47

yeah, we try not to do things that are available on Amazon. We do wholesale some things from other companies around the country, rather than all hyper local. But it really kind of goes with our motto. Or. Our vision of being a part of the community. And I, you know, there are so many local business owners that have helped me along the way, and so like to have them be a part of the Lumi experience is just so amazing for me. So that's kind of how it's grown. A lot of how we find our vendors is through word of mouth or going to local markets and meeting them. So it's just been fun. I love to get to know people and their stories, and so that's kind of how it all ties in cool.

Todd McLaughlin: 10:30

What about consignment based goods versus you purchase, you sell? What have you found works the best there?

Unknown: 10:38

We started with almost all consignment, and now we have, I would say, maybe equal wholesale to consignment, maybe even a little more wholesale. So I think it was a great way to start. It's definitely not the road to the most profitable, like profitable way, but it was great to get products in here when we were beginning. And I, you know, I the consignment model that we had gave more to the maker than to us, which I think is important, because the work that they're doing is worthwhile, and you want them to be valued for their work. So,

Todd McLaughlin: 11:14

yeah, very cool. What is it like to as a wholesaler? I'm not really I like in my read, in our in our studio, I have very limited, very small amount of retail, like the basic things, like a yoga mat, Yogi toes, towel, couple books, that type of thing. What are you finding? Like, if you were to give me some suggestions as things that you found you're successful with in this field. What, what is really working

Unknown: 11:44

we I think anything that's giftable is what works really well for us. Like people come to us for gifts for themselves or others. But I also think what's

Todd McLaughlin: 11:55

an example of, like, a gift pack that you've put together recently? Like, what are we talking about here? Like,

Unknown: 12:00

we have some now that, like, have Palo Santo, and then they have crystals, and they have, you know, kind of like everything you would need to set yourself a little corner, a little altar, BB I'm looking for. But then, like, we have these blankets that are for everyone, that are bought. They donate one to a shelter, and like, so those have a meaning and a purpose. You Could you roll it out on your yoga mat, or you could bring it to a picnic, or put it on your couch, and it's a local couple that owns it. So it's like, kind of like a couple fold, right? It's a good gift, and it has a good story, and it gives back, like, that's the kind of products we love to nice, sell here, promote here,

Todd McLaughlin: 12:36

amazing.

Unknown: 12:37

Yeah.

Todd McLaughlin: 12:38

What is your forte in relation, are you doing some of the party stuff? Like, are you who's doing the sourdough bread? I love sourdough, so I'm glad you brought that up. Are, is that your thing? Or you just, you have a friend who's a big time sourdough person, because that's not easy to do. So where are you saying like, like, to get it to actually rise the right way and cook it and all that. So I'm curious, um, do you have an oven in there are you

Unknown: 13:00

don't know. So those like are just like, you'll get a starter. And then we have a local baker who comes in and teaches you how to make it. I do a lot of the birthday parties, Girl Scout troops, like yoga type parties. And then we have a lot of workshoppy type things like that. Myself or other teachers will teach depending on what they're feeling inspired by, like, you know, we had a meditation in mantras and mudras class recently. We have teachers who are doing, maybe like, we have some weights classes. Some not so we might have some workshops around. Here's how to, you know, lift the weights properly before you come take the class. So some are more alignment based and yoga based, and then some are more inspiration, you know, whatever? We're gonna have a Mahjong workshop soon where people can learn to come play Michelle, bit of everything that's

Todd McLaughlin: 13:50

so cool. Yeah. And are you feeling that that's working in terms of creating the community vibe? Are you feeling like people are coming in with a little bit of a buzz and excited to be

Unknown: 13:59

there? Yeah, definitely. I think we've got a really great group of people who come and they like I think they like that. They can come for a workout class, but then or for the yoga practice, for kind of like the mind body, but then they could also come on a night or a weekend, and, you know, be in community with others and learn something

Todd McLaughlin: 14:16

nice. What is your demographic there? I know it's impossible, because you'll have someone who's young, you'll have someone who's elderly, you'll have someone who has this, has that. But what would you if you had to classify like your main demographic? What are you noticing?

Unknown: 14:32

I'm noticing we are mostly women, although we have a few male teachers and a few, you know, like you said, a few male students, but primarily women. And I would say our age range kind of maybe be like the 30 to 60, like, in that kind of middle range. And then there's some we have a 93 year old client so that, you know, but,

Todd McLaughlin: 14:55

yeah, amazing. I know

Unknown: 14:57

that's so

Todd McLaughlin: 14:57

cool. That brings so much energy. Too, because I feel like when people are complaining about I can't touch my toes, and I'm 22 and I can't do yoga. And they look over and they see a 9393 year old person doing things that they can't do. They're like, what you know? What I mean, like, what's going on here? I don't know what you're how you're active. Your 93 year old student is but she's

Unknown: 15:22

amazing. She keeps saying, I'm working up to the weights classes.

Todd McLaughlin: 15:25

Oh, that's so cute.

Unknown: 15:27

I'm like, I love your mindset, that you're still working towards things at 93 I hope I'm like,

Todd McLaughlin: 15:31

that. Oh, awesome. Me too. I agree.

Unknown: 15:33

Is your clientele primarily older or no,

Todd McLaughlin: 15:37

you know where we are is like, so we're not a city, although it's becoming more city like, but like in relation to, like our closest city, big city, well, West Palm Beach is like only 20 minutes away, but then Miami's like an hour and 15 minutes away. So I feel like in those city centers, there's a much more vibrant, like youthful type of thing going on here, where we are is a little more retired and and kind of established crew. So I want to say we have a really wide range, but we do have folks that I'd say the majority is probably like 40 to 7040, to 70, you know, around that range. And we have some 80 year olds, and some do I have any 90s right now? I had, I had a 90 in Thai massage, but um, not in yoga lately. I think 80s is where we're at right now. But, um, that's super fun. And then this weekend I had, this was actually really cool for me. I had a friend who we started practicing together, or we were practicing the same studio together. 26 years ago, she had a baby, and I had not seen her baby. The baby was like six months old the last time I saw her with her daughter. And then she called up on Saturday and said, My daughter wants to come in with a group of friends for a birthday, part for her birthday, and she wants to bring 10 of her friends, and she's 17 now, and I was like, Oh my gosh, I haven't seen you since your mom was holding you like this. And she looked like her mom. She had the best vibes, all of her I put her in the front, I put all of her friends behind her. And that class I heat. So it was a hard class. And I you know, when you got, when you have a group of 1017, year olds that are all getting their butts kicked a little bit, you know you're like, You got to hold it together so they don't want to bail on you. So I was like, trying to crack a few jokes and kind of make it light hearted. But for me, it just felt really neat to see someone's daughter who I had not seen for 17 years. Want to carry the torch of yoga.

Unknown: 17:41

And

Todd McLaughlin: 17:41

for me, that felt like it just was, it felt really positive. Like, wow, our kids are taking this up, and they're wanting to do it, and that just, and that felt really good.

Unknown: 17:53

I love that.

Todd McLaughlin: 17:53

Yeah. Well,

Unknown: 17:54

I think that's part of, like earlier when you asked, What are the highs? I think it's some of the stuff like that, right, when you see the community you've built kind of trickling down, or

Todd McLaughlin: 18:02

somebody

Unknown: 18:03

that comes in and says, like, I hate yoga, but I'm taking this class for whatever, and then all sudden they're like, best client. You're like, you don't hate Yoga, you just didn't try it in this way before

Todd McLaughlin: 18:14

I agree. What types of yoga Well, let me back up. What was your first yoga class?

Unknown: 18:22

My first yoga class I took was when I was pregnant with my oldest, and it was a prenatal class,

Todd McLaughlin: 18:28

cool.

Unknown: 18:28

And I just fell in love with, like, the ability to turn my brain off even just a little bit. Yeah.

Todd McLaughlin: 18:34

And

Unknown: 18:35

then after having three kids in three years, I was like, I need to do something for me. So that's when I started teacher training, and I did my training through yoga fit, which is a combination of Hatha and vinyasa. And I really liked the way their program was structured, because you could do it a little at a time, and with three young kids and my husband's busy work schedule, it was nice to be like, I'm going to take a training this weekend, and then I'm going to take a little time off, and then I'm going to jump back in, rather than committing to a certain, you know, packing it all in in a certain amount of days. Yeah,

Todd McLaughlin: 19:07

amazing. What did you I start? You mentioned prenatal, and that was like your first love. Do you have? What other styles do you feel or style do you feel like right now, if today, if you could just pick whichever class you want to walk into, or style of practice. What do you think would speak to you the most? Right now,

Unknown: 19:28

it's so funny how the journey, like, how it changes throughout what where you're at, but right now, in this moment, I love, like a VIN and Yin, like a combo, where I'm gonna flow a little bit and then I'm gonna, like, restore a little bit.

Todd McLaughlin: 19:39

Very cool, awesome. Do you have a couple of those classes at your studio?

Unknown: 19:43

Yes, yeah, I do, and I love that, yeah. What about you? What's your favorite to take or teach?

Todd McLaughlin: 19:49

Well, thank you for asking. And I the VIN and Yin idea, though, is so cool. And we started doing that. I had a class that was not really working attendance wise, and I had. And have you heard of, Oh, my goodness, Cassandra Reinhardt. She's on YouTube. She's a really big, well known YouTube teacher, okay, and I had an opportunity to interview her for the podcast. She was kind enough to make some time and and then I saw her doing Vin Yin on YouTube, and I'm like, Ah, that's a good idea. And so this one class that was not working busy wasn't busy, and I thought, well, let's just try the VIN and Yin. And it just completely switched to where now people love that and are coming, and it seems to suit a nice middle ground of like those that want to be active and those that want a more chill experience, so that that has been working out. So that's so cool to hear that you're you're noticing that that's working as well for you. I'm a trained initially in Bikram yoga, hot yoga, and then in Ashtanga Yoga with patabi Joyce and Mysore in India. And then now I hold down traditional Ashtanga Mysore six days a week in the morning, and then I teach vinyasa flow and and then I've branched into going gentle and doing therapeutic and stuff that I can really cater to the clientele that want to just do a very easy, approachable, accessible type of yoga,

Unknown: 21:23

amazing. Yeah,

Todd McLaughlin: 21:24

yeah, it's so fun. I feel like I'm more in love with it now than I was when I start like, you know? I feel like every day is Whoa. This is so cool.

Unknown: 21:35

It is cool. It's cool to see how the journey changes too at different points you need different things, and then you learn different modalities and add it in and stuff. That's cool,

Todd McLaughlin: 21:44

for sure. So your significant other, all you know, behind every great woman is a great man, and behind every great man is a great woman. How has your husband been able to support you in this endeavor?

Unknown: 21:57

That's a great question. He's such a good supporter. He is an actuary, so he assesses risk for a living, and clearly opening a yoga studio is a lot of risk. So I give him a lot of credit, because he will often crunch numbers for me or and then cheer me up while he's questioning my ability to just chase the next thing and dream big. That's

Todd McLaughlin: 22:18

awesome. That's cool.

Unknown: 22:20

But he's, you know, we've adapted. He's done a great job of adapting really well to having me doing something that takes a lot more time away from the kids, but it also brings me so much joy. And I think in that way, it's helpful for our family, too, the kids to see what I'm doing and for me to feel fulfilled. Obviously, trickles down at home too, right? Yeah,

Todd McLaughlin: 22:40

for sure, are you bringing your kids into the studio?

Unknown: 22:44

Yeah, they definitely come in. It's funny. I used to teach a lot of kids yoga, kids camps and stuff before I opened Lumi, and we still do some stuff. And they were always a part of it. And now they're in that middle, you know, 1213, age, where they pretend they don't love it, but I think they'll get back to it, and they see it, and they definitely come help me at the shop, and they love to ring people up and stuff like that. That's

Todd McLaughlin: 23:05

cool. Yeah, I think it's incredible. Personally, my wife and I have two children, and so for them to kind of watch us work as hard as we have over the last few years, that they really value what hard work, it or like, you know, consistent work is so I think it's an amazing way to raise kids, personally,

Unknown: 23:26

definitely, and do your kids take yoga classes? Or where are they in their yoga practice? So

Todd McLaughlin: 23:30

my son is 19. He's up in college now. He has he's traveled with us to India. He's practiced in really interesting situations when he was really young, starting, like, age 4567, and then I feel like as he got into more teenage years, he got interested more in, like, classic fitness from the gym style. And my daughter definitely loves it. She's super gymnasticy orientated kind of person, so she loves it. But we don't pressure them at all ever to come in like we'll invite them and say, Hey, do you want to come take class? And if they say, No, okay, no problem. That's cool. We never, because I feel like, for me, my hope is that they'll want to one day of their own volition. And if I the less I push, the more maybe they'll want to.

Unknown: 24:20

Yeah, I agree. What

Todd McLaughlin: 24:21

do you think from a parenting angle, what are you finding?

Unknown: 24:24

Yeah, I definitely think. I mean, that's kind of the dance you do with all the parenting things, right?

Todd McLaughlin: 24:29

My

Unknown: 24:31

seven year old told me recently, I'm gonna own Lumi one day, but I'm not going to be a yoga teacher. I'm just going to

Todd McLaughlin: 24:36

own it. Love it.

Unknown: 24:37

Well, we'll see where your road takes you. You know,

Todd McLaughlin: 24:40

I love that. That's so awesome. What does Lumi mean? And how'd you come up with that?

Unknown: 24:44

So Lumi means bringer of light, and one of my friends who taught yoga here for a while, she helped me come up with it. I was kind of looking at all these names, and she used to be an editor, and is really into words, so she brought me the idea, and I just loved the idea. Of Lumi being a spot where people find light in any way that that means for them,

Todd McLaughlin: 25:04

nice, awesome. What other sort of spiritual or non spiritual sources of inspiration Are you drawing from?

Unknown: 25:17

That's a good question. I don't know. I'm trying to think like, I feel like I'm a person who just kind of follows their gut as far as inspiration goes. And so I like, I like my teachers to do that too. I don't have, like, a set way I want them to teach. Not all my teachers are trained in the same methods or the same background. So I kind of, that's kind of my approach to everything, like you bring your intuition, you bring your own self, you share yourself with our community, and then we can all grow from learning from each other and each of our backgrounds and stuff like that.

Todd McLaughlin: 25:52

That's cool. That's awesome. What are you noticing with your teachers in relation to their own personal development and growth. What are you witnessing?

Unknown: 26:04

I think what I've learned about teachers that work well at Lumi, or that like to be at Lumi are ones that have a more spiritual practice, or really want that community too. We've had some teachers throughout our time at Lumi that I think are more used to teaching in gyms where it's like you're just clacking and clacking out. You're teaching the class, but you're maybe not staying before and after and mingling and doing it. So I think that's what I've kind of learned, is what works well for us. Does that answer that question? It does. It does

Todd McLaughlin: 26:38

what that made me think of that's really that's actually a really good answer, and that makes perfect sense. I think I remember there was a Bikram yoga studio in San Diego, when my wife and I were living there that had the teacher kind of hidden. When people were coming in and coming out, they had this very strict the whole Bikram yoga thing is just wild. But the they had this very strict, bullet pointed list of like, when you come you do this, you don't ask people for contact information, or don't talk about business while you're here. This is for your practice. Try it like it was like, almost like, anti community in a way, like, or, let's control the way the community interacts with each other, and they kind of kept the teacher hidden in a back office so that they wouldn't mingle with the students. Then everybody goes in the room, and teacher comes in, leads the class, and then had to be disappeared back into the office. And as when I experienced that. I thought that's so interesting. I was gonna say weird, but then I decided she was interesting, and said, like, because, yeah, thank you. So I kind of thought, like, well, maybe the idea, because, What? What? I don't know if you've noticed this, but what can really happen with the yoga studio when you have a teacher is that the students, it takes, it takes a lot of time to develop a following, to have people trust you want to take your class, get to know you, and then if that teacher leaves, it's really challenge. It takes work to fill that void and retain your current clientele and not have them. Then follow that teacher wherever they go. Now I think that's great. Follow the teacher. We can't control that. Like, I don't want to be such a control freak that says, oh, you can't go hang out with that person. You know what I mean? Like, that's just not my style. But I thought, well, maybe they're doing that because they were more out of fear of the fact, if the students got to know the teacher, then, then if, when the teacher goes, if you know. So there was that thought ahead, and I don't know if that plays into it. And then the other thing that I noticed, that's kind of also a little strange with that approach, but again, I should say interesting, is that it builds this mystique around the teacher, which I'm not all about, that I think I want to be, I want you to know that I'm a human too. I have problems, I fall, I get up, you know. I want you to see. I want you to know that I'm I have pain too. I I'm challenged. I didn't sleep good last night or whatever, right? So

Unknown: 29:22

I think

Todd McLaughlin: 29:23

it's important. I'm glad you brought attention to that the student, the teachers that actually want community as well, are the ones that really work. So it's really refreshing to hear that,

Unknown: 29:33

yeah, it's interesting. I saw, like on a yoga studio owners board or something recently, this discussion around are the students the yoga studios students, or are they the teachers, students? And I didn't respond on it, but I was thinking about it after like, I think we're all in relationship, right? So I don't know that it has to be they're individuals, just like we're individuals. I think they can be both, right? They could be the teacher's client and the studio. This client. I don't think it needs to be so pigeonholed into like, yeah, who has ownership? They? Nobody has ownership over them, right? Great

Todd McLaughlin: 30:06

point. Good point. That's where a lot of the challenge in the yoga role can come in when you get into that culty kind of vibe. Do you know what I mean? It's almost like we own you now, you know, or like you can't go anywhere else. Or, you know, oh, my God, you went somewhere else. Oh, how dare you, you know, I'm gonna shun you now because you you know. And I think that's that gets weird,

Unknown: 30:26

yeah, and I want my teachers to teach other places. I also allow my teachers to take each other's classes for free, because I want them to have learn from each other. Like, I think there's so much benefit in that,

Todd McLaughlin: 30:38

yeah,

Unknown: 30:39

sharing the practice. Great

Todd McLaughlin: 30:40

point. Fill me in on your marketing and social media strategies.

Unknown: 30:49

That's a good question. We're always evolving. I have a retail manager who does our social media as well, and she's amazing. But as far as marketing strategy goes, I would say we're like 95% word of mouth and community events as a way to bring people in. And then 5% will run an ad here or there on meta or something. But we don't do a lot of you know, I think we could benefit more from having more of a plan. And then that being said, I use Walla for my software for the studio, and they have a marketing suite that I just added, and they that helps a lot. They do a lot of journeys and stuff like that that are kind of already in their system. So it's sort of stuff that I don't have to be spending a lot of extra time on, and that's been really helpful.

Todd McLaughlin: 31:35

Nice, nice,

Unknown: 31:36

yeah.

Todd McLaughlin: 31:37

How are you able to actually be at the studio as a mom? Are you all? Are all of your kids in some sort of school, such situation during the day? Are you able to be in the studio at night, when, typically it's hard to be a parent and be in the studio when we should need to be at home? How are you managing that?

Unknown: 31:53

Good question. So I'm here a couple days a week while the kids are in school. They're all in full time school. And then the way we structured our schedule is that we leave Wednesday nights open for events, so we do most of our events on Wednesday nights. And I'm certainly not here every Wednesday night. And I think I'm here, I'm here a few days a week, and then on the weekends, it's like, as needed, I try to really let my teachers and employees do their thing. They have keys. They can come and go. So I'm not here because I like to be home as much as possible. And I think my being a little type B helps with that. I'm not like feeling like I have to be here every second. I trust the people that I have on my team to do to be here when I'm not. So, yeah, I think I have a pretty good mix of being here, not in it. It changes every season. I do think there will be a part of my journey where I could teach more, and right now, I teach one or two times a week, whereas, you know, I would love to be teaching more, but between running the business and having four kids, yeah, that's where we're at for this phase of life. Yeah,

Todd McLaughlin: 32:56

understood, that's cool. We have a very seasonal shift here in Florida, because we have a lot of snow birds that come between November and April, and then we have a very distinct summer hurricane season where it's a little quieter. What type of seasonal shift? Obviously you're much further north, where you have things like snow and ice, and then you have things like beautiful summers and awesome weather. So what have you noticed seasonally and how that has affected the attendance and what kind of patterns are you noticing?

Unknown: 33:30

Yeah, great question. I would say June and July, January, like the J months, I've heard that term before for retail are definitely slow and yoga similarly, although January can sometimes be busy with, like, New Year's resolutions, but this year, we kind of saw it trickle more into February. But in the summer, we do try to take our yoga outside a bunch to try to hit that. You know, we lose people when the weather is beautiful and I under get that. So we try to do some yoga outside in the community to get people to stick with but, yeah, I think, you know, hitting year three, I can start to see some of those patterns. We also have similar but in reverse, to use some snowbirds who leave us for the winter. So we've kind of gotten into knowing when we're going to pause people's memberships and then they'll come back with us when they come back in town. So,

Todd McLaughlin: 34:18

yeah, very cool. What other if you could, if, if you could take it a certain direction. Now, after having three years under your belt, what do you dream of? Because it sounds like you, you're the visionary, and you have your husband kind of saying, Go or maybe not. Yeah. So I'm curious what, what kind of vision do you have as you continue on this track? What do you what are you hoping toward?

Unknown: 34:44

Yeah, great question. I mean, one vision I have is to kind of change the space a little bit. So when I opened, I kind of did a third, a third, a third, a third retail, a third yoga and a third event space, thinking that maybe the event space in yoga space could be used simultaneously, but it. Just doesn't work that way with noise. So I think I'm thinking about, do I just expand the studio, make it a little bigger so we could fit some more mats and stuff like that? And so that's kind of one vision I have. I don't have any visions to open a second studio or anything like that. I think it's all like continuing to build the community that I have right here in this space, and then, like I said, I hope as my kids get a little older, I'll be able to teach a little more too,

Todd McLaughlin: 35:27

for sure. Yes,

Unknown: 35:28

and the style of classes is changing. It's interesting. When I opened we had, like, no weights classes. Now we have a decent amount of, like, strength with weights, or yoga with weights, which isn't necessarily my practice, but so it's like, kind of leaning in and listening to what? And now we're adding a couple Pilates so it's like, I think, you know, it's just opening my mind to, like, there's not one specific thing that needs. It doesn't all have to be the type of yoga that I teach. We can kind of try out different things and learn as we go. So adapting my schedule in that way is something I hope to continue just listening to my clients and seeing more of what they need and changing it

Todd McLaughlin: 36:05

up. Yeah, that's a really good point. Have you had any exposure to, quote, corporate yoga? There's a lot of chains out there. I won't use any names. Do you have you had a chance to go into any, say, corporate yoga centers? And are you, well, let me just stop there. Have you had a chance to do

Unknown: 36:24

that I did before I did my teacher training, I did spend some time in one of some corporate yoga studios, and then when I did my training, I was like, Oh, wow, there's like, a whole different world out there. But yeah, I think I, you know, I lean into my vision being different from that, in that some of the ones that are near me, the more corporate ones, have a very specific format, right? The classes are similar. And so I think if I can keep leaning into my vision of being really letting the teachers teach from their heart, and having each class be a little different based on who's leading it and stuff like that. It'll help differentiate me from those more corporate studios.

Todd McLaughlin: 37:07

Yeah, good point. It's interesting, isn't it? Because it's like there's a reason why the corporations do work, but then you have this lack of creative sort of ability, and then, but the challenge of being able to exercise creativity is to actually get it right. You know what? I mean? Like, it's easy. Like, I'm like, I like to dream up all these really great ideas, and then I'll be like, go to try it. And I'm like, that really is not that great of an idea that did not work, you know? So it's well,

Unknown: 37:39

and that being said, to it's, it's, I feel like it's a dance too, for leading with the creative, but also honoring the history and the science and the, you know, like the Yoga, you know, it's like, I also don't want it to be too watered down. I also want to offer you, it's hard.

Todd McLaughlin: 37:57

You're fine. You're fine. I turned your microphone down so you can just let her rip and get a little cough out there, and I'll just keep talking for a second, and then now I'm gonna turn your microphone back up. Are you ready? Okay? You ready? Okay, we're back on.

Unknown: 38:57

You're good at that? Yeah.

Todd McLaughlin: 38:59

Every now and again when I have to cough, I'm like, oh, slide it down and I can let it rip. And then I don't have to have the listener have to hear all that. No, I'm kidding. Thanks, Molly. Yeah, it is. It is challenging. I remember my wife and I with, with having a corporate yoga center. I was in relation to Bikram yoga, where it's like, you can't do anything else. You get to teach one class. It has to be this one class with 26 poses and two breathing exercises, and you're not allowed to bring anybody else in. You're not allowed to have a yin yoga. You cannot do a VIN in Yin you're it had to be like this structure, exactly the same and so. But the good thing about that is that then, as people are traveling around, they know exactly what they're gonna get when they go in. So that's has a magnetic pull to it, in the sense of, like any franchise, it's like, you know what you're going to get when you walk into any franchise, because it's so stock standard in the same so I think it's, I personally think it's a little harder to be the boutique studio. As much as I really love that I can do whatever I want, and I didn't want to trade that anymore. I got tired of trading that, but now I realize I have to work a little harder because I don't have a big corporate name, but at the same time, I think it's better, because now I can follow the trends, I can move with the trends, or I can choose to not follow the trends if I don't want to, if I can make what I really love work. What do you think?

Unknown: 40:21

Yeah, I definitely agree. And I think then it's a little bit more heart led, right? And people who get to know you then realize they can come, you know? And, yeah, but it's hard because you obviously, when you asked about marketing and stuff, you can't compete with the marketing budgets and all that from some of those corporate studios, right? So I think I really tried to. Lean into the fact that I am a small business, and I do a lot of work to meet other small businesses in the community and to learn from them. And because if I try to compete with those big, giant corporations, I'm just not gonna you know, it's a different it's a different

Todd McLaughlin: 40:59

entity. Oh, when you look at the world right now, and if you turn on the news, can you talk to me about why you think yoga is extremely important?

Unknown: 41:12

Good question. I mean, I think, right, that's why there has so many years of history and science behind it, because it's been important through all the phases. But yeah, especially now, I think, can you imagine what it would look like if, if everyone took stopped and took a few deep breaths and stretched their body every morning before they made decisions, or before they had all the things they have to say on social media? You know, I think that turning down the noise for me is what's so amazing about yoga, even the fact that you come into the studio and you put your phone down or your watch down for 50 minutes or an hour. Like and how much benefit that could have to everyone look at our teenagers, and I mean on up to official, elected officials, right? If everyone just had a few minutes to clear their head,

Todd McLaughlin: 41:57

oh, man, I agree. Thank you. Where I like the fact that you said that you don't want to open a second location, I feel the same way. I just want to focus on having one. If you had a satellite situation, what do you think you would How would you try to satellite? I know you're not going to and I'm not going to either, but

Unknown: 42:22

yeah, like, if you franchised or or went online or, like, Well,

Todd McLaughlin: 42:26

yeah, okay, that's a good point. Do you have an online program going?

Unknown: 42:31

Not really. I mean, we do have, when we started, we had an online presence as well as in person, and then all those classes went into, like, a library that you have access to if you're a student here, but really, I think what we found is that people wanted to be in person and community, and that's kind of was our goal. So then we slowly moved away from having the camera in the studio and doing that,

Todd McLaughlin: 42:54

yeah, got it very cool. I know that stuff is way harder now than it was right after covid. It felt like right after covid, it was so essential, and now I feel like it's a little trickier.

Unknown: 43:09

Yeah, I mean, and you learned covid, so that's amazing.

Todd McLaughlin: 43:14

Yeah, that was tough.

Unknown: 43:16

I can't, I can only imagine, yeah, yeah, but yeah, I don't know. I mean, I think if, if I had a satellite, I think the only thing I think about is, like, I don't have any, at this point, any dreams to franchise or anything like that. But I do think that every community could benefit from a place like Lumi that has this, you know, local artisan piece, and has this event piece where you can learn things that just make you feel good at the end of the day, and then has the yoga piece. So I think I would love for similar businesses like this to be accessible to everyone. Yeah,

Todd McLaughlin: 43:54

awesome. You may mention you hit three years you were negotiating for five are you in that negotiation process, or have you been able to pull it off?

Unknown: 44:01

I'm still negotiating. I mean, I don't think it's not going to happen. It's just like a matter of, you know, landlords and lawyers and stuff takes time. And so I'm hopeful that soon I will have a five year lease, and then I can kind of dream about what changes I want to make and what I want to keep the same for the next five years. And then I figure by then, my oldest will be in college, and who knows what my life will look like? Yeah,

Todd McLaughlin: 44:25

great point.

Unknown: 44:26

But for the next five I'm here, right? Because my kids are here and there.

Todd McLaughlin: 44:29

Yeah, yeah. I feel the same way. I look at it in terms of, like, when will my last one be out of college? And that's how much longer I need to push really, really hard, and then maybe different doors will

Unknown: 44:44

open. What's your favorite part of owning your studio?

Todd McLaughlin: 44:46

Oh, I mean, oh my gosh, that's a really good question. I have to think about like, because like favorite, I think that number one community. It is so fun to have a group of people that I feel extremely comfortable around, and I feel like they feel comfortable. And so when that combined comfortability niches in that to me, feels so special that it just I can't imagine doing anything else. So I think the satisfaction that comes from feeling like Yoga does help people getting feedback from them, hearing that they actually feel like they are Ben. Fitting just feels so symbiotic and essential. So I feel, I feel like it's an essential item for humanity, and whereas maybe when I first started, I thought I'm going to be doing something that isn't essential. What is essential food, clothing and shelter. So if I'm a builder, everybody needs a house. If I'm a cook or a food person, a farmer or a restaurant owner, everybody's going to eat. Someone's going to but, and then clothing, obviously too. But so I feel like people posited to me, well, that's going to be a really difficult business Todd, because it's not essential. People don't have to buy it. If they're in tough times, they're going to let their yoga go, and they're going to make sure they can pay for their mortgage, their house, their rent, whatever, their food, their and so and I agree, but I also feel like I can play a part in it becoming an essential ingredient for for people and I, and I really, truly believe it is an essential ingredient. So that would have to be my answer. I was like, that's, that's my favorite part. I feel like I'm playing a role in the future of humanity, which is very lofty, but I actually feel that way I do. Yeah,

Unknown: 46:58

amazing,

Todd McLaughlin: 46:59

yeah. Thank you, Molly. Oh boy. What other questions do I have for you? Thank you for asking me a question that that took me into a different space. But what about you? What do you what is your most favorite thing? I know you gave me a lot of you gave me a lot already, and I feel like you've already answered that. But if I posit the question, back at you, what are you?

Unknown: 47:20

I think similarly, it's the community and building the community and being a part of something bigger than myself, that's creating good, right?

Todd McLaughlin: 47:29

Yeah, thank you. I agree 100% Well, if you could go on retreat tomorrow, step away from it all and just totally take care of yourself. Your husband hangs your husband and your mom said, We're gonna watch the kids Molly, and we want you to go away and just do something for yourself for a whole week. What is it? What's your dream? One Week Retreat?

Unknown: 47:52

I think I'd go go to India and do some yoga training and stuff. I have never been and it's on my bucket list, and it's a when my kids get a little older, I'll do it. So I think that would be probably first thing that comes to

Todd McLaughlin: 48:05

mind. Yeah, very cool. And

Unknown: 48:07

if that was not accessible, I'd probably be on a beach reading a book somewhere. Well,

Todd McLaughlin: 48:11

then on that note, what are you reading right now?

Unknown: 48:15

Oh, good question. I'm actually not reading anything right this minute, but I just finished the well trained wife, which is about Christian patriarchy. It was interesting and difficult to read, and maybe not my favorite, but I kind of switched between reading for fun and reading for business.

Todd McLaughlin: 48:32

What was that last one?

Unknown: 48:34

It was called a well trained wife. It was about a woman who left, kind of like a Christian patriarchy type situation.

Todd McLaughlin: 48:44

Very cool. Check it out.

Unknown: 48:45

Yeah.

Todd McLaughlin: 48:46

What about Yeah? Tell me Yeah. Gonna

Unknown: 48:48

say one of my favorite books I've read recently is many lives of mama love, which is about a true story about a woman who was a drug addict and got clean. Just interesting story. So

Todd McLaughlin: 49:02

many lives a mama loved,

Unknown: 49:05

love, yeah,

Todd McLaughlin: 49:07

many lives of mama love, interesting, cool, cool, all right? Well, yeah, I got to keep the list. Got to keep freshening up the list. That's awesome.

Unknown: 49:16

There's always something, right?

Todd McLaughlin: 49:18

There's always something. Well, I am so grateful Molly to have this opportunity to meet and speak with you. I It's been an honor to meet your mom, and I'm really grateful for her to introduce me to you. And I'm so excited to hear that you have three years under your belt, and that you're doing such an amazing job in your community. Is there? You're welcome? Is there? And I heard that you're going to be able to come to Florida and visit so I might actually get a chance to meet you in person, which I can't wait that's gonna be, I know

Unknown: 49:46

I can't wait to come see your space. Yeah,

Todd McLaughlin: 49:49

thank you. Is there anything that you would like to conclude with that we could offer up as like, motivation, inspiration, anything that comes to mind?

Unknown: 50:00

I mean, I guess if, if anyone listening is thinking about opening a yoga studio or just opening it and feeling like, Will I ever get there? Like, keep going and just give it a try, right? We're all learning. I often think about where you start is not where you have to end. And so I try to remind myself of that, like it's all a journey, and just keep, keep trying all the things.

Todd McLaughlin: 50:22

Yes, I agree, Molly, oh my gosh. Well, thank you so much. I look forward to seeing you, and I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy day. Thank you.

Unknown: 50:32

Yeah, thanks for having me on the podcast.

Todd McLaughlin: 50:34

You got it? Thanks, Molly.

Unknown: 50:37

Bye.

Todd McLaughlin: 50:45

A native yoga Todd cast is produced by myself. The theme music is dreamed up by Bryce Allen. If you like this show, let me know if there's room for improvement. I want to hear that too. We are curious to know what you think and what you want more of what I can improve. And if you have ideas for future guests or topics, please send us your thoughts to info at Native yoga center. You can find us at Native yoga center.com, and hey, if you did like this episode, share it with your friends, rate it and review and join us next time you.