Well, my savasana continued throughout the week.  It was just hard to get motivated about the next step in this journey.  It was one of those weeks where opening day for Yoga-urt felt miles away.  

The good news is I have some new motivation today.  My Saturday pilates class is near a possible Yoga-urt location that I’ve been eyeing for a few months now.  I think it would be a great space for the first store.  I can’t walk or drive by it without picturing people sitting outside, talking and relaxing with their community.  It made me start to think about a Kickstarter campaign.

Kickstarter has been mentioned to me from the very beginning (1 and 1/2 years ago) as a way to raise money.  I have always resisted because it seems to me that this isn’t the typical business/project that gets funded.  I usually see music, film, or art projects on there.  Would anyone really care enough to pledge money for Yoga-urt?  Did I really want to put it out there for the world to see?  Could I raise enough?  In my dreams, it spreads like gangbusters and my friends, family, and yoga community pledge all the money I need and more. However, that is just one scenario.

I’m now at the point where I think it’s worth a try.  Why wouldn’t people want to help?  This is a business that will make people feel good.  My intentions are good.  I have a plan.  I think it’s time to work on my Kickstarter campaign.  See what I come up with and if it is strong enough, then I’ll go for it.  I want to make sure that I have no regrets and tried all that I could to get the money to start this thing.  I’ll never know if I don’t try.

I’m so happy that I got to take a great yoga class today after a 2 week hiatus.  I don’t usually go 2 weeks without a class, but that’s what happened due to a slight setback in the healing of my ankle (sprained it 6 months ago) and being out of town last week for work.  The best part of class for me today was Savasana, a resting or corpse pose for all you non yogis out there.  This is the last pose and you don’t do anything.  You just rest.  After an exhausting week of travel and then having dealt with preparing for the pitch competition the week prior, it was just what I needed.

I also took a Savasana this weekend from Yoga-urt.  Although I have a lot of little things to do like update my business plan, contact a few people, research a few investor groups, etc., I took the weekend off.  It’s a little hard to get motivated after the pitch competition, but seeing the Facebook posting below from a fellow yogi (that I never told about my business), was a step in the right direction.  

I signed up for a pitch competition through a venture association in Los Angeles.  This is something way out of my comfort zone, but they offered free coaching and I knew my pitch needed help.  For the last month, I’ve been working with a wonderful coach.  We met in person a few times and did weekly Skype calls to work on my pitch.  Her input was invaluable.

The semi-finals were today and only 5 people were going to be selected to be in the finals.  I didn’t make it.  Was I bummed?  Yes.  Was I relieved?  Yes.  I know that I have a really good pitch and I know that I delivered it well.  Why wasn’t I chosen for the finals?  I’m not sure.  I’ve requested some feedback from the coaches who did the voting in this round.  What I’ve been told so far is that the main reason is that I have a retail business and the type of investors invited are more tech oriented.  Not sure what to make of that.  Kind of makes me mad because it’s a pitch competition, not a what kind of business are you pitching competition.

Oh well!  It was still a great experience.  I now have a great pitch and accompanying slideshow, as well as a great coach who may still introduce me to potential investors.  All I can do is try and give it my best and I know that I did just that.

Slideshow Intro

Someone mentioned that I should start a blog about my journey to start my business, Yoga-urt.  At first, I dismissed it.  I’m not a writer.  I don’t even keep a journal (although I know I should).  Then the more I thought about it, the more excited I got.  I am on a journey.  Not sure how it will end, but it’s got ups and downs and twists and turns.  A blog will be a great way for me to share my experiences, good and bad, and maybe inspire someone along the way.  Now I wish I had started it a year and a half ago when the idea of Yoga-urt was born, but it’s never too late.  More to come soon!