Shout out to small business owners in the Foreign Service.

For anyone who has started their own business, I tip my hat and bow to you. It's legitimately hard work that requires boundless motivation and diligence. I mean, I always knew it was hard work, especially since I watched Mark & Co. start up a bike business from scratch nearly 10 years ago. But until I spent small amount of time (I'm talking maybe 16-20 hours) researching the intricacies of starting an LLC, taxes, personal insurance, and branding, I really had no idea the amount of time and energy involved. In short, to small business owners: y'all are amazing. 

Normally I blog about shenanigans and travel. Today, I write this non sequitur blog about for a two reasons: 1) I don't remember anything unless I write it down and someday I might need this information. 2) To share the information to Foreign Service spouses interested (specifically in reference to teaching fitness classes) in earning an income as non-government-related-overseas-employment. 

Background: I am a yoga teacher and have been for about 5 years now. When we were posted to Bucharest (2011-2013), I decided I needed a project to "give me purpose," as if raising two children and churning out embassy newsletters wasn't enough. Having been a yogi-wannabe for nearly 15 years, I figured becoming an instructor might be entertaining.  Without the ability to speak fluent Romanian and the patience to wait until we got to the U.S., I found an online program presented by Aura Wellness Center based in Massachusetts: a 300-hour yoga certification hilariously called Yoga in a Box. 

Study, write, and teach I did, begging anyone from the embassy to endure my free hour long classes in exchange for a couple of booty shots of them doing yoga for my final video submission. I spent many long hours completing assignments, taking exams, and recording videos. I turned it all into one pretty package and boom: I became an instructor. Interestingly, turns out there's a whole netherworld of nay-saying-creeper-yogis against any online methodology. I mean, I get it. Considering how westerners have molded their own versions of yoga, thus taking away the authenticity of traditional practice, it can be downright offensive for me, a nobody, spending "a few hours" doing an independent study for "a few dollars" (737 USD to be exact) versus someone who shelled out thousands of dollars, travelled thousands of miles, or studied for thousands of years to do the same thing. In my defense though, I put my heart, soul and brains into the project and I have zero regrets. 

If my opinion counts for anything, yoga is what you make of it. This program contained the essential learning blocks: the poses, the history, and how to do the "simple" act of standing up and teaching in front of people. It got the job done and I loved it. I mostly loved it. I could write an entire blog dedicated solely to the writhing anxiety attacks and subsequent reactive GI activity that I dealt with before teaching. Every. Single. Class. Regardless, I taught in Bucharest, Falls Church, Recife, and now I teach in Windhoek. With exception to Falls Church where I was a paid instructor, all of the classes are free and taught in the manner of friends working out together. One friend would lead a tabata class, another would lead a dance class or TRX. Oddly enough, I also enjoy clogging, but no one ever took me up on it.

Anyway. Leading classes has been fun and more than a few people have encouraged/egged me on to make a go of earning an actual income. I gave it serious thought, but I knew there'd be a mountain of research to do before going down that rabbit hole. I say rabbit hole in total levity because by training, I am a nurse. I'm all about blood and guts, shots and medicines. Not business, logistics, or accounting. The proverbial rabbit hole is especially nuanced with rules for eligible family members (FS spouses and kids in most instances) for working on the local economy or creating a home business. Rightfully so too: we need to avoid things like conflicts of interest (like running afoul of the Vienna Convention) and abusing or profiting off of government property.

In full disclosure, my findings are likely riddled with holes, and my list is certainly not the only way to go about starting a fitness business, but it's at least a start...

First, I needed to decide if I wanted to get a work permit and work locally. This process needs to be made with permission of the embassy at post. Never EVER leave them in the dark. Post's HR is a great place to start: they can hook you up with the necessary applications, and where to go to file them. Obviously, some countries are easier to navigate than others, and some don't even have bilateral work agreements. 

I spoke with a few studios in Windhoek about the antics of working for them and the process is pretty simple: they get a cut, you get a cut, and liability insurance is covered by the local studio. In Namibia, yoga classes vary in price, anywhere from 100-200 NAM (or 7.64-15.27 USD).  Yoga workshops are typically 450 NAM (34.36 USD). Marketing your talents would require going door-to-door action much like finding a job, but at least the people here are super freaking nice. I got the feeling that most studios would be happy to hire.

Second, I needed to decide if I wanted to teach exclusively to the American diplomatic community. Again, get permission: talk to management. Share your hopes and dreams! If they say yes, give them your business and liability information, and go forth and teach. If you haven't created your own official business, this is where the real work begins.

The first thing I did was email FLOAskEmployment@state.gov. FLO is the Family Liaison Office, an integral part of the FS. They responded with this:

 "... liability insurance is a must have in order to better insulate your personal finances. You may also want to look into a sole-proprietorship LLC or other business protection to ensure you are properly financially protected. There are a slew of companies that specialize in liability insurance for yoga and fitness instructors, and I would leave it up to you to decide which is the best...

So long as the classes are taking place in your residence or a mission facility (both of which the Management Counselor must approve), and your clientele are part of the diplomatic community, then you do not need a work permit. Please have a discussion with the HRO at post for the official definition of diplomatic community at your post..."

Okay then. Insurance wise, I had to figure out a company that would cover me INTERNATIONALLY. Easier said than done, and just to prove that I truly did my homework, I called or emailed the following companies: State Farm, Philadelphia, Sadler Sports Rec, Brock Norton, Hands On Trade, Payne West, Be Yogi, Fraser and Hoyt, Alliant (Canada). None of them offer international liability insurance, though Philadelphia does cover up to 30 days out of the country. 

I spoke with local insurance carriers such as Outsurance and Hollard, which are based out of South Africa.  I presented the scenario: a diplomat-teaching-yoga-in-the-backyard-type-of-insurance. They could do two things: offer insurance easily if I had a work permit and teach locally, or a basic indemnity coverage could be created just for my needs - but the company needs to be home based in Namibia. "Perhaps the company Welwitschia or King Price would work" the suggested. I inquired but never heard back, but I didn't press the issue either. By this time I was too frustrated and too alone. I wanted someone to hold my hand and do it for me. Well guess what? No one's gonna.

I emailed international yoga teachers to see how they protected themselves. The ones who responsed said they utilize the 30-day coverage with  Philadelphia insurance, plus most sponsoring international yoga studios cover them as well. Incidentally, Yoga Journal, Yoga Alliance, and 90 Monkeys are in partnership with Philadelphia or Payne West as well. None of the big wigs wanted to answer me back with exception to 90 Monkeys' owner Amy Ippoliti (she's so famous!) who was kind enough to engage my weird-ass questions and banter. 

Bored of reading this dead end story? Fine. I DID find one company that provides international insurance for yoga. Write this down and don't ever lose it: Alternative Balance. They contract with Lloyd's of London and the process to apply is very neat and tidy. I did enter the realm of Lloyd's website directly to find out more details and almost drowned in there. The company is huge. Huuuuuge.

I found usable, international liability insurance! The feeling was magical. Next up, forming an LLC: a limited liability company. I googled "how to form an LLC" and landed on How To Start An LLC.com. Go figure. To sign up you choose the state in which your LLC will be based, and then follow the prompts. I realize now that the setup seems straightforward, but at the time my head was swimming in numbers. How many classes would I have to teach to pay for the insurance and the LLC registration? What would my taxes for next year look like? How much do I charge for classes? What the heck is overhead? These logical questions quickly spiraled into: How can I make ends meet? Will anyone even come to my classes? Why don't I have any friends? What's wrong with me!? 

And so on, and so on. I needed to take a deep breath and let it go. Starting a business indeed is a serious undertaking, but not the least bit impossible. I am so glad I did the research. In the end, I chose not to pursue teaching yoga "professionally" because I had already accepted an embassy job, so for now, I wait. But at least I could pass on the information to you and do a little yoga in the meantime.

How professional yoga photos are done.