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Emerging Auckland Yoga Studio Wins National Small Business Grant


Yoga Within started by accident. Owner Jessica was looking to rent a room to offer Yoga Therapy to private clients and stumbled across what later became her Browns Bay premises.

“I first experienced yoga at the age of 19,” explains Jessica, “and after 20+ years of practising and teaching, it felt like the right time to take a leap of faith and open a studio.”

“The current popularity of yoga and my conviction about how valuable these practices are, gave me the confidence to sign the lease and get started.”

At 4 months in the business is flourishing, already with such a strong and dedicated community behind her that she was able to beat the other finalists and come out on top in BizCover’s national small business grant, BizGiver.

“I entered in a moment of spontaneity,” she confesses.  “I read about the small business grant and thought “I’ve got a few minutes spare right now… why not give it a go?!””

The win will allow Yoga Within to expand their class offerings by purchasing some much needed equipment.

“There were many items I would like to have purchased in the beginning but couldn’t quite afford so I’m going to spend some of the money on those which will help yoga become even more accessible and available to populations of people who may have felt they weren’t young enough, fit enough or flexible enough to do yoga before.”

Jessica also plans to continue her training in Somatic Movement Therapy, something that has become increasingly challenging with the demands of a new business.

“I LOVE my job!” she exclaims “Every day I get to be with people who are working to discover the best possible version of themselves and I get to facilitate and support my clients as they return to health, rehabilitate injury, increase vitality, find deeper meaning in their lives and learn to love, accept and support themselves in their daily lives.”

The leap from yoga teacher to business owner has been an interesting one, with

“To me being a business owner means having one foot in the world of ‘doing, achieving, growing and planning’ while the other foot resides in the world of ‘trusting, creating, feeling and sensing’.”

“The interplay between these two places and the weaving or dance that results is what gets me out of bed every day, encourages me to keep trying and fuels my passion for what I do.”

“Winning the prize comes at a time when I wasn’t sure how I would manage some of the things I needed to do to continue to grow and develop in my own personal development and studies as well as increase the services I can offer in the studio.”

“We’re constantly blown away by the dedication, sacrifice and commitment these unsung heroes’ put into their work and the BizGiver program aims to remove some of the simple barriers to growth that business owners face every day,” states BizCover Co-founder and Managing Director, Michael Gottlieb.

This prize will give Yoga Within a healthy kick-start, so that hopefully it can reach the greater heights dreamt by Jessica.

“My grandmother says “Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you’ll land among the stars!” I have plans for expansion when the time is right, to create a larger practice space and to add a wellness clinic to the studio”

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