I recently enjoyed interviewing Tara Stiles, Founder of Strala Yoga and author of her most recent book, Clean Mind, Clean Body: A 28 Day Plan for Physical, Mental and Spiritual Self-Care.
Tara Stiles is a wellness expert, bestselling author, and the founder of Strala Yoga. The Strala approach combines yoga, tai chi, and Traditional Chinese and Japanese Medicine to help people release stress, heal, let go of negative habits, and move more quickly through everyday challenges.
Tara Stiles
Jess Lock
Tara’s work has been used in a case study by Harvard University. She is a sought-after speaker on entrepreneurship, health, and wellbeing, and she has lectured at venues that include Harvard and New York University.
Tara works with The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, an initiative with the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation that combats childhood obesity to bring Strala classes to more than 30,000 schools around the United States. She also supports the BOKS program, which delivers Strala classes and wellbeing resources to educators across North America.
While speaking with Tara, I instantly noticed how she emphasized community, and that is how she built her successful business, one client at a time. Treating each person with kindness and acceptance increased the sense of community, which keeps her clients regularly involved and appreciative of the services that she offers.
Recognizing that these are essential attributes to building business success, Tara shares these tips on how to build a business while maintaining a sense of community:
1. Share information that genuinely helps people
People need more information that genuinely helps them improve their lives, and sharing this information creates a better and stronger community. When people feel seen, it makes them feel more accepted, creating a sense of belonging.
2. Being inclusive
Recognizing that no two people are the same and that everyone has their own unique needs is what Tara’s community is based on. All are welcomed on a level platform where there are no systems that value one person over another. Community is in recognizing that all members are equal.
3. Setting values and being true to them
Community leaders can set the core values of the community and encourage and hold others accountable for staying true to them. For example, as inclusivity is a significant value, Tara ensures that this is practiced regularly by all members, including leaders.
4. Be curious about others
Learn about others and see what it is they truly need. When you serve people based on their needs and not what you think they need, these people feel valued and appreciated. The clients are more likely to stay and continue with your services when their needs are being met.
5. Be true to who you are
When you lead a community, you need to show up as you are, as your authentic self. If you are not genuine, people will feel that ingenuity and things will feel off. They will likely move on to find somewhere else where they belong.
6. Don’t be afraid to monetize
Building and growing a community does not mean that you cannot make a business out of it, and businesses charge for their services to ensure survival. Your community-based business is offering a service that people need, and it’s ok to charge money for that service.
The bottom line is that a community-based business is an excellent way to build trust from your community while offering a valuable service. When you create a community-based business, these tips will help you make the community that keeps clients involved.
