Building a successful new business has many moving parts. It is not is only about the kind of marketing you do, the business structure you have and how you run your classes. It is also about how you go about making your meditation business financially successful.
Another key aspect to running a successful meditation teaching business (or any business really) relates to building a healthy relationship with money. You need to be comfortable in charging for what you provide.
To charge or not to charge?
For some people it can feel strange to charge for sharing meditation. Since meditation is something everyone is inherently capable of and is so deeply enriching and relaxing and for many deeply spiritual, it may feel like you should be giving it away for free.
In many Buddhist communities, meditation is shared free of charge. Monks who devote their lives to their practice are fed and supported by the people in the communities that they support. There is an understanding that the monks provide something of great value to the community. The presence of the monks and the monastery in the community brings great abundance and protection to those living there.
I believe fully in the effectiveness of this structure in such a context and would love to live near such a community and have access to the incredibly beautiful energy and guidance provided by these masters. I also acknowledge that very few of us live in such communities.
When not charging for meditation works
This kind of donation based or free offering of meditation can work if as a teacher:
- You have another form/s of income: a trust, passive income other work that supports you.
- You are running a not for profit organisation that also has other forms of income such as sponsorship or paid activities. In such an organisation you would therefore be paid a salary for your work that may or may not involve students paying for their classes.
- You are prepared to live a simple or monastic lifestyle, free of modern comforts and conveniences.
- You utilise a non-paying group as a part of a range of offerings. The non-paying group serves as an introduction to other paid services that you offer.
- A non-paying group is again part of a range of offerings and comprises a way of giving back to the community, whilst other services are paid.
Be clear on your reasons for not charging
It may require some reflection to really examine why you do not feel comfortable charging for your services. It may be because:
- You want to feel free to teach without the pressure added by charging
- It doesn’t feel ethical or sit well with your values to charge for meditation
- You don’t want to teach, more just to share sitting time
- You want to use a non-monetary form of payment such as bartering; an exchange of goods or services.
If this is the case for you then you may have a strong case for not charging.
With that said, there might be some other reasons lurking beneath the surface that is causing some resistance to charge for your services. These might be:
- You feel like what you are offering is not good enough compared with others, or just won’t measure up.
- You feel ashamed or awkward about asking for payment.
- Money feels like something dirty, loaded or a source of conflict for you.
- You are afraid that people will not be satisfied with what you offer.
- You feel worthless and so are afraid to charge what your session is really worth.
If any of these apply to you, then I urge you to get to work on addressing these beliefs as they will hamper not only your meditation business, but your level of abundance in your life in general.
I would guess that most of us have at least some work to do on at least one of the points above. This is a topic that I find myself needing to address once or twice a year in my personal growth process and the kind of self-talk I hear arising from time to time.
A successful meditation business rests on your relationship with money
There are two complementary approaches that you can take to address your relationship with money and abundance:
>Release old scripts that no longer serve you
Writing in your journal is powerful. It provides a safe place to question the beliefs that you were brought up with around money, and can open up possibilities for healing. Without this process of examination we can find ourselves operating on automatic pilot, i.e. how we were brought up. This is great if your family of origin had a healthy relationship with money, not so great if they didn’t and there was fear and lack in abundance.
What were you brought up to understand about money?
How was money/finance talked about in your household growing up? Was it talked about a lot or not at all? What was the tone of the conversation?
Was your childhood abundant or was money a source of worry and tension in the household?
What has life experience taught you about the nature of your beliefs and how helpful or unhelpful they have been?
If the answers point to some areas that could do with some support, consider enlisting the support of a therapist or continuing to explore and journal these topics. Talk to trusted friends and colleagues about the topic as well.
The journalling elective is available as a standalone workshop if you would like support with your journalling practice.
>Replace the old with new and more helpful beliefs
Do some reading, listen to quality audios and watch quality videos that help you reframe your ideas about your worth.
We all have a great deal to offer. You are a trained meditation teacher who has earned an accredited qualification and you need to recoup training costs as well as making a living.
Many will have left the security of a paying job in order to follow their heart, so the income needs to be there in order to make the change succeed and for your business to grow and prosper.
It has been enormously helpful to me to reframe my beliefs around spirituality and money. It has taken a while to bring them together in way that feels comfortable, real and upholds integrity. John Randolph Price’s book and set of meditations in The Abundance Book was a game changer.
A successful meditation business in an abundant one
As your business prospers your reach and influence will increase. You will be able to make more and more of an impact with your work. You may like to do what we do at ACMM and set up regular donations to your favourite charities. Alternatively, you might include some voluntary work in your schedule. This is a great way to give back to the community and can only happen when you have an income-producing business.
An income is a necessity in today’s culture. Without it you may not even be able to teach. So, it is important to invite financial abundance into your vision.
For me, being able to create a stable income from my work has been a key stepping stone that has helped me develop a stable base to continue my work creatively and freely.
It is equally important that your work doesn’t become all about money. Nothing kills creativity and connection faster than pressure around money. So whilst you are starting your business it can be supportive to have another source of income.
Ideally, as you go along your journey you might find that sweet spot between purpose and prosperity, in an integrated, values driven and abundant business model built on integrity.
With love,
Lisa Forde
Main image Source credit: MNDFL, New York from beautydisclosed.com
