Collaboration with another yoga teacher. How do you navigate this?
I've been teaching yoga since 2022 and recently started an outdoor park class on Sunday afternoons. It's new but gaining traction. I have around 20 people in my community group and two people showed up to the very first class which I consider a win.
Another yoga teacher reached out to me. She graduated last year and doesn't have much experience yet. She had been doing casual classes in the same park and wanted to team up, she'd teach Saturday mornings and I'd continue Sundays and we'd cross-promote and support each other under my brand. I got excited and agreed quickly, maybe too quickly.
After our first meeting I started having second thoughts. I was worried about brand ownership, trust, money and whether her Saturday classes might overshadow mine since Saturday mornings are a more popular time slot. I also realised I barely know her and had already given her too much access to my community.
I pulled back a bit and suggested a slower approach. She responded really maturely, offered to build her own separate brand for Saturdays and has been nothing but respectful throughout.
I'm now trying to figure out what the right move is and would love to hear from people who have been in similar situations:
- Is partnering with someone this early a good idea or does it create more problems than it solves?
- Does having another teacher at the same park on a different day hurt your attendance or can it grow the local yoga community overall?
- How do you build trust with a fellow teacher before collaborating more formally?
- Any experience with revenue sharing or brand sharing arrangements that went well or badly?
Would love honest opinions!