This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Got a crazy episode for you today. A story of graveyard yoga. Let's just leave with it. Let's just tell you what it is right up front. And also this is a segment that comes out in our Failure Friday series.
So you might know right away, okay, graveyard yoga, Failure Friday. This is an idea that didn't work out so well. In fact, I think I'm gonna title it, Graveyard Yoga Fails to Entice Living or Dead. So actually it didn't really work for anyone. So we're gonna hear from this yoga instructor who has the idea to start this new graveyard yoga series.
And yeah, it just doesn't take off at all. And so the reason we do this, if you are new to the Failure Friday, is I'm often talking about successes and we're hearing from people who have all kinds of ideas that are working well and they're trying to figure out how to grow their side hustle, how to make more money, how to manage competing ideas and manage their side hustle with their day job and how to pay taxes on the money they make and all these other things, which can be problems, but they're also good problems to have. And going back a couple of years, we kept getting feedback from people who said like, well, I'd like to hear a little bit more about the things that don't work. So I just decided let's try this series called Failure Friday. It's been very popular.
And you get to hear directly from a side hustler who has struggled to get something off the ground, lots of variation in these stories, but they usually begin with an idea and then idea meets reality, okay? So as mentioned today, you're gonna hear from a yoga instructor. Her name is Alison. She'll tell the story in a few action-packed minutes and I'll come back at the end with a quick wrap-up. We always wanna respect your time and get you something useful in less than 10 minutes a day.
That's what it's all about on side hustle school. So here is Alison. [Music]
Hey there, I'm Alison, a yoga instructor and personal trainer. My eccentric nature often leads me down unorthodox paths. And that's exactly what happened when I birthed the concept of graveyard yoga, a mashup of tranquility and terror.
It was like nothing I'd seen before and maybe there was a reason for that because it didn't really work. Believing this novel idea would bring in curious yogis and thrill seekers alike, I was confident I was onto something big with a bit of charmingly dark advertising. I set my class price at $25 per session, a premium experience at a reasonable cost. I planned a social media campaign that in my mind was sure to make Edgar Allan Poe proud. With the launch of my yoga from beyond campaign, I eagerly awaited an avalanche of bookings.
Also, the avalanche turned out to be more of a light dusting. My well-crafted puns like, "Stretch yourself to death," seemed to fall on deaf ears, leaving my dreams of a bustling graveyard of yogis unfulfilled. Still, the grave was not dug yet. A few brave souls did register for the course, intrigued by the novelty of it all. Excited, I thought I might still rise from the ashes, but faded other plans.
As the first session commenced, I quickly realized that my yogis were shivering more from the brisk winds and the chills of our spooky surroundings. My tranquil cemetery quickly became a desolate windswept tundra, leaving attendees to battle the elements more than their inner peace. I'd bet big on the novelty and intrigue of my concept, but in doing so, I'd overlooked the comfort and practicality that most people want from yoga. It was a harsh lesson, but one that would shape my future ventures. In the aftermath, I migrated back to the warm studio, a humbling return, but not without its silver lining.
Failure and its stark reality had imparted a valuable lesson. Knowing your audience is as important as the creativity of your idea. While the graveyard venture had been a mishap, I'm still standing. My classes are once again full, and my students seem happier for it, and as for me, I continue to dream up new ideas. This one wasn't the winner I'd hoped for, but I'll be back from the grave for something new before long.
Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. That's the theme of Failure Friday. That's what it's all about. Try different stuff. You know, listen.
You know, you don't know it's gonna work until you try. And who knows, maybe in some other market, graveyard yoga would go over. I don't know, you know? I don't know that I'd wanna do it, but who knows, maybe somebody somewhere. If not, at least Alison has learned, okay, not this one.
I'm gonna try something else. And as she said, knowing your audience is as important as the creativity of your idea. I agree with that. Listeners, thanks for tuning in today. Alison, thanks for sharing the story.
And if you have a question or an update about your hustle, sidehustleschool.com/questions. Today's notes, sidehustleschool.com/2442. I am excited to be on the road. Different city every day this week, in fact. So I am flying this morning to Miami.
Excited to be at Books and Books in Coral Gables tonight. It's been a long week, but it's simultaneously exhausting and invigorating to go out and meet lots of different readers and listeners every night on this book tour. So much more to come, a new episode tomorrow. My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.
[Music]
From the Onward Project.
