Transporting yoga gear isn’t as easy as it might seem.
The mats are bulky and don’t fit in most standard bags. And if you have water and other gear to carry along with it, it can make going to yoga classes a real chore.
But that’s where the Yoga Sak comes in.
The product was invented to solve one simple problem — carrying yoga gear.
Read more about Yoga Sak and how the business got started in this week’s Small Business Spotlight.
What Yoga Sak Offers
Sells bags for carrying yoga gear.
Daniel Meyers, owner of Yoga Sak told Small Business Trends, “The Yoga Sak is a unique backpack-style bag purpose-built for yogis to transport their yoga mat, yoga block, towel, shoes, wallet and keys, with built-in compartments for a water bottle and smartphone. The adjustable straps and backpack style make the Yoga Sak a perfect solution for comfortably transporting an otherwise cumbersome mat easily, and enables wearers to take their mats on their bikes, on hikes or just down the street without bumping into anyone.”
Business Niche
Incorporating customer feedback into new products.
Meyers explains, “When customers’ phones got larger, so did the phone compartment on the Yoga Sak, for example. Our goal is simply to make people happy; customer service is the lifeline of our business.”
How Yoga Sak Got Started
With a dream of business ownership.
Meyers says, “I was tired of ‘working for the man’ and had a dream to start my own business. I had done yoga years before and realized there was a gap in the market for an all-purpose bag that allowed yogis to transport their mat and gear all-in-one — so I dreamed up a design and started working with a manufacturer to turn my dream into a reality!”
Biggest Win for Yoga Sak
Getting the product found easily in search results.
Meyers says, “Thanks to GoDaddy’s Search Engine Visibility (SEV), Yoga Sak is the first result (after Amazon) when Googling ‘best yoga bag.’ This has been so, so huge for our business — and drives traffic to our sites from consumers, as well as distributors in Canada, Japan, South Korea who have been able to find us online so easily.”
Biggest Risk
Placing a bulk order that didn’t turn out.
Meyers says, “Placing a large order with a manufacturer is always a risk, but one I didn’t truly realize until after something had gone wrong. A company placed a $6,000 order to have their logo embroidered on the Yoga Sak — and my embroiderer messed up hundreds of Saks with the wrong logo. Of course, the company did not want those incorrectly monogrammed bags and I was forced to eat the cost. This was a huge learning experience for me. So yes, I took a risk without realizing what a risk it was, but it taught me a lot when it comes to bulk orders in the future.”
How They’d Spend an Extra $100,000
Hiring.
Meyers says, “I would hire a triple-threat employee to do marketing, PR and sales. Right now, it’s a one-man show.”
Favorite Quote
“Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.” – Andy Warhol
[“source-smallbiztrends”]