if you want to be seen as the go-to yoga teacher in your community, niche, or studio, you have to foster relationships -- real relationships with people like your students, potential students, fellow teachers, and even yoga "big shots". and, one of the easiest and best ways to network and build up a yoga community around your unique "yoga brand" is to pay-it-forward.

so, what does that mean exactly?

paying-it-forward is about connecting with people. it's about offering people something they need with no strings attached. it's about trusting in karma and what-goes-around-comes-around, and passing along things of value to the people that could benefit the most from it.

this could take shape in a number of ways...

just finished an awesome book about marketing your yoga biz? buy a copy for another teacher that you think would benefit from it.
read an interesting article about yoga and back pain relief? send it to that student who has chronic back issues.
watched a great yoga video on youtube? pass it along to a friend who would also enjoy it.
found a great yoga blog? reach out to the author and tell them you like what they're saying, send them a link to another yoga blog they might not know about.

this concept may not seem like much, but every little step you take to connect with your target market (i.e. your ideal students) and also with the other people that are serving them, the stronger the foundation for your yoga biz gets. every connection you make is like another brick being added, and if you reach out to these people consistently and authentically, you'll find that you develop real relationships that open up doors for you.

how has this worked for me?

i've used this pay-it-forward technique to connect with fellow business coaches and marketing gurus who also serve the yoga community. in our communication, i always made it clear that i wanted to help them; offering feedback, advice, and even helping to market their offerings.

now, many of those same people have reached out to me, asking to interview me for their audiences, offering me affiliate sales, and even asking me to speak to their community.

what goes around, comes around. what are you putting out there?...

YOUR CHALLENGE: the next time you read a great blog post (like this one...wink, wink), see an inspiring youtube video, or come across a cool website with tons of valuable information -- pass it along to someone else who also could benefit from what you've found. practice this consistently, and you'll soon begin to see how it opens doors for you in unexpected and wonderful ways!