Opening your own business in a Crisis Market - Heather Anderson

My name is Heather Anderson, yoga instructor and owner of Yogalinda hot yoga in Barcelona. I first came up with the idea of opening a hot yoga studio when I was having lunch with a colleague. I introduced my colleague to hot yoga while working together in Barcelona and she thought there could be some money in opening a studio. I had been practicing yoga for almost 10 years at the time with most of my experience in hot yoga in Toronto, Canada. After my friend and I calculated some numbers and did some competitive research we decided that opening a hot yoga studio in Barcelona would be profitable. 

I always wanted to get my instructors license so I quit my job which was very stressful at the time and went off and got my certification.  Coming back from getting my license I was excited to get started but I had no idea what I was getting myself into:

• Budget – Finances
• Architects
• Location
• Construction
• Licenses
• Marketing
• Insurance

The list was endless, with each category ending up causing me stress, time, frustration, joy, annoyance and finally completion. 

Budget – Finances

First I had to figure out the costs of running the studio including fixed and variable costs. Then I calculated my break-even numbers and with that I was able to figure out what I could feasible pay for rent. I was lucky enough to have some money put aside to open a new business so I didn’t need to look for a bank loan. What I didn’t realise down the road is that you think you have enough money to cover everything but then you realise you need to pay the real estate agency, the deposit, the licenses, the architect fees, the engineer fees, the contractor, and the suppliers.  It becomes easy to be out €10,000 in your budget.  

For individuals who do not have their own finances the options are as follows:

Barcelona Activa

You present your project to Barcelona Activa following their business plan template. After they approve it you can then ask La Caixa for up to a €25,000 microcredit. You have to speak to the bank to organise everything as most La Caixas are unaware of the scheme. Lou Keohane, co-owner of Babelia, Books & Coffee said that “the business plans you have to present to Barcelona Activa are very detailed and it took us at least two months to do”.

Lou also noted that, "Barcelona Net Activa is a great resource and they help you with other loans too. If you already have an aval and want a normal ICO loan they will check your paperwork and help you negotiate with a number of different banks."

Click here for more information on the Barcelona Activa loan, and here for information about Heather's hot yoga studio in Barcelona called Yogalinda.