Breathe in, breathe out and relax
When your teenage daughter is driving you crazy, your choices are to let yourself get just as crazy or let go by doing yoga. That”™s how Doreen Foxwell dealt with her daughter”™s terrible teen years.
Foxwell found inner peace through the classes “and got enough relaxation out of it to cope with the stress of raising a teenager… so much so that now, my now adult daughter and I are working together.”
Foxwell started the Children”™s School for Yoga in 2004, “because there were no yoga classes anywhere in the area for children,” said the entrepreneur. “I got so much pleasure from it and I love working with young children and think it is a great benefit to them. Classes for children, as well as parents and children together, are a great way for them to connect with each other ”“ and themselves.”
Foxwell and her partner, daughter Francesca Paglia (now a mom herself) have 10 instructors working for them, giving group and private lessons. “It”™s been a tremendous success,” said Foxwell, so much so that she”™s been working to make it a franchise. Â Â She hopes to be completed with the necessary paperwork and roll out the program in early 2012.
“I looked into franchising The Children”™s School of Yoga before the Recession, and the costs were astronomical. In one sense, the financial crisis has brought many prices down. What would have cost over $100,0000 before the market crashed is now less than $10,000, which is reasonable for me,” said Foxwell. “I got all my accreditations ”“ it”™s the paperwork that seems insurmountable.”
New York state is not exactly the most business-friendly atmosphere to work in, said Foxwell, but “I”™m dealing with it. The endless forms you must file and then re-file because laws are changed can be exhausting. It is one area where the state can really help small business ”“ make it easier to build a business. There are just too many layers of regulations and constant changes in them. You don”™t know from month to month what to expect. That”™s why I have a franchise consultant, a franchise attorney and a franchise accountant. It is such a specialized industry, there are few people who can handle the paperwork and make sense of it.”
In the end, Foxwell says, she is encouraged by the fact that she”™s got expert help at a price within her budget. “I worked from home originally and then rented my own studio for a while. It really did not work out. I found it best to rent space in various locations and work with community centers, schools and other venues that offer flexible times. I do the paperwork at home. That is the business model we”™re following and the one I”™ve found works best.”
Miss Claire”™s Music Cupboard in Montgomery is one of the venues Foxwell uses for a weekly yoga class. She gives private and group lessons to parents and their children. “I think the best part is working with the kids,” said Foxwell. “They get a lot out of it and it”™s something parents can do with them ””even their teenagers. It”™s a good way for tweens and teens to connect with parents and if you”™ve ever been the parent of a teenager, I don”™t have to say any more than that.”
What gave Foxwell the idea to start a yoga school for children? “Because there weren”™t any, it”™s that simple. They are in California and in other states, but there was none here. Our focus is really on the children.”
Despite the Recession, Foxwell has seen her business grow to more than 30 locations in 10 counties.  “Yoga has become so mainstream now ”“”“ it”™s not ”˜foreign”™ to Americans anymore. And once people come and experience it, for the most part, they love it. It”™s a great way to relax and children really get enjoyment out of it. That”™s the best part.”