I want to take you back to 2017, when both Emma and I did our first Teacher Training. I completed my first Yoga training and Emma completed her first Pilates training. It was at this same time, where we hit a strange time in our business.
When we first started The Merrymaker Sisters back in 2012, it brought us so much joy. This has and always will be an indicator to us that we are on the right path. We are always checking in. Of course, some aspects of business are not always joyful but on the whole, our projects need to be filled with joy for them to be deemed a success to us. For some, this isn’t a business value… for us, it’s a driver.
In 2017, the joy was starting to fade. We no longer felt the buzz from creating new recipes. We also realised that our work may be part of diet culture… the very thing we had been trying to un-learn personally and within our programs.
So we stopped.
We took a break from creating new things.
Instead, we focused on our studies of Yoga and Pilates. We had fast been falling in love with these methods of movement again (our first classes we ever attended were with our Mum when I was 13 and Emma was 15!). If we weren’t at the beach, we were at the Studio practising. If we weren’t practising, we were talking about Yoga and Pilates!
It was very clear that our bliss, our joy, was shifting. Here’s us at the old Studio we used to practise at!
Once we became certified, we didn’t think we’d bring it into the business. We just wanted to keep practising and learning for the fun of it. HOWEVER, we were both invited to teach at the Studio where we trained.
This was exciting. Something new and fun to focus on. Something we loved to do, that would allow us to bring in some extra income. Remember, we’d stopped working on the business, so some extra income was looking pretty good (and very much needed at this point!).
I ran a profit and loss report just last week and compared it to the last 12 years of business (note: should do this more often!). I was surprised to see that in our first year of gaining our qualifications we brought in an extra $9915.28 to the business. The following year, we 10x that when we launched the MerryBody program.
What I really want to focus on is the $9915.28.
I realise how game changer that was for us back then. It gave us almost $200 extra a week. That paid for our groceries, our petrol and some coffees each week.
It took a lot of stress away while being something we enjoyed each and every week.
We taught just 1 permanent class each a week, as well as some covers when required. It didn’t take much time away from other parts of the business but it truly added so much joy to our lives, while also being a little cherry on top for our bank accounts.
Now, that $9915.28 would be even more, as wages for Yoga teachers, industry wide, have increased. Not to mention the demand for Yoga teachers has also increased!
This is our story and how it began for us as Yoga/Pilates teachers.
Now, we are honoured to be teaching the Yoga Teachers of the future with our Online MerryBody Yoga Teacher Training.
If you’d like the opportunity to create this for yourself…
- An extra income stream…
- A creativity and passion outlet…
- Add something to your week you absolutely love…
The first step, is gaining your certification. The best thing about this, is that gaining your certification is a life experience in itself. It’s not just a tick and flick and here’s your certificate.
During our Yoga Teacher Training you will experience moments that will shift the gears of your life. You will gain wisdom and knowledge from expert teachers that will allow you to dive deeper into all that is you.
We run our 200 Hour Online Yoga Teacher Training Program just once a year. This allows us to give our Trainees an amazing experience. Our Online Training is what we call ‘hands-on’ for us and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
This is why we see our Trainees, now graduates, out in the world Teaching, following their bliss and generally just being their amazing selves.
Learn more about our Online Teacher Training here (yes, it’s certified with Yoga Alliance) and find out when our next cohort begins!
If you have any questions or need more information, you can always email us. Your email will go to our personal inboxes and we will personally get back to you.
Always merrymaking,
Emma + Carla
P.s here’s a behind the scenes shot of when we first started creating MerryBody Classes!
