Reflections of a Lakewood Business Owner

Almost one year ago to the date, I opened my first business, Pink Lotus Yoga, in Lakewood.

This Saturday we celebrate.  Please join us for our first birthday party and open house at the studio--18103 Detroit Avenue, next door to Breadsmith.  We'll be there from 10:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m. offering free classes, hourly drawings, refreshments, and the opportunity to purchase our services and products at one-day only special prices. Stop by to chat with and meet our amazing instructors, take a class (mats available for borrow), and meet our growing yoga community.

And what a community is it.  Here’s why.

First, the studio would have never opened without the unstoppable help of so many family, friends, advisers, fellow teachers, artists, designers, and students. I opened just seven weeks after  taking possession of the space; a part-time job I’d lined up to help buffer the storm of opening a business fell through, so I went into the fast lane getting the studio ready to open. Those seven, intense weeks gave me the first inkling that my yoga space was a community-based one, for our quick opening created an immediate, and tight, circle of collaborators.  My gratitude goes to all those who worked tirelessly a year ago to help Pink Lotus Yoga open its doors.

Another reason the PLY community is one I’m proud of is, simply put, the yoga. This last year I have met the most amazing, kind, talented, and interesting people who have come to the studio to take class, buy a gift card for a friend, or enroll in a workshop.  Because of my nearly daily contact with people I’ve met this year, I can say without hesitation that I LOVE my job.  Even though I do not LIKE all aspects of my job (e.g., I don’t like accounting very much!) I get the job done because all tasks involved in this business lead to one thing:  the beauty of yoga and its many, many benefits.  

The third reason the studio’s community means so much to me is that it is a small business within a larger, vivacious one:  Lakewood, where I have lived  almost seven years here and proudly call my home.  But until I became a business owner in this city, I had only a small understanding of Lakewood’s strong community sense.  Case in point:  Our studio held a fundraiser for Beck Center for the Arts’ Creative Arts Therapies Programs on September 29th this year and on the same day dedicated two yoga-figure bike racks for public use. For the fundraiser, over 50 local businesses (most of them Lakewood businesses) donated goods and services.  On the big day, our studio was graced by the presence of so many supportive individuals:  students, friends, neighbors, family, Beck staff, and local and state dignitaries.  I am so terrifically happy I opened my yoga studio in my hometown.

I am so looking forward to my second year as a business owner in Lakewood.