Business Overview

Sian Haestier has been teaching yoga for almost a decade and practising for nearly two.  Following the pandemic, and having a child, she returned from maternity leave into an uncertain landscape of online classes while studios remained closed.  In the subsequent five years, she resolved to build her business, Sian Haestier Yoga, to offer a range of yoga and related offerings based in her local community of Walthamstow and the surrounding area.

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Sian Haestier Yoga specialises in perinatal yoga, from pregnancy yoga classes, to in-person and online mother and baby sessions postnatally. She also runs bi-monthly baby massage courses and teaches regular sessions at community yoga, wellness and fitness studios.  She explains, “I work more generally through open level and restorative yoga classes, focussing on embodiment, mobility, and nervous system regulation. As well as weekly classes, I offer workshops, mini retreats, antenatal birth preparation, and work with clients 1:1 through private, tailored sessions.“

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Challenges

Sian joined the LONDON E-Business Support Programme with Enterprise Enfield in October 2024, seeking to enhance her understanding of digital technology and incorporate more automated systems into her business to enhance efficiency, save time and increase sales.  She knew what she wanted to achieve, but lacked the know-how to use and implement the digital technology she needed to attract new customers and streamline her operations. She was keen to:

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• implement a booking system on her website to allow visitors to book and pay in advance of sessions

• move from accepting cash and paypal to accepting digital in-person payments

• develop her website to represent her work and make online sales

• understand how to boost SEO and optimise her website content

• use QR codes for marketing purposes and in-person sales 

• boost confidence with producing creative social media content on Instagram

 

Digital Support

Sian was introduced to E-Business Adviser, Nadya Quintanilla who supported her to make the first small changes which included, “helping me create QR codes which I can display at in-person sessions and helping me integrate the digital services I was using so that I understood how to do it myself. This was a game changer. Some simple fixes took a massive amount of admin off my hands and freed me up to be able to focus on some of my bigger goals.” 

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With further advice and support from her Adviser, Sian was able to implement the digital tools and technology she needed - meaning that customers could find her online more easily, follow her on various platforms and sign up to her mailing list with a QR code which linked to email software embedded on her website.  Sian quickly stopped taking cash at her sessions, as her customers could either book online or pay in person via a link.  This meant less admin, no trips to the bank - with easier registration, and better record keeping and data capture.

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“With help from my Adviser, I achieved my main goal of implementing a booking system onto my website meaning that I no longer needed to use a third-party site to handle bookings and removing a step from the process of enabling customers to book. “

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Business Growth

The result of 5 months of regular 121 advice, guidance and support under the programme has meant that Sian’s confidence has been boosted significantly in areas such as: branding, graphic design, social content creation and website building.  Her turnover has increased and she has launched two new services. She says:

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“I have gained a huge amount of understanding on how to keep improving my business positioning, my online presence, and my obligations and the legal side of working for myself. What I've learned from my Adviser will keep me moving forward for a while yet - seeing what's possible has given me some extra clarity on where I want to take the business next and what my drivers are for building this growth.”

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More details about Sian Haestier Yoga:

https://www.sianhaestier.com/

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About the LONDON E-Business Support Programme

The LONDON E-Business Support Programme is a fully-funded package of support including: 121 expert advice, guidance and webinars aimed at helping business owners in London make better use of digital technology to enhance their online presence; attract more customers; increase sales and improve the efficiency of their business operations.  The programme is funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and is delivered by Business for London.  For more details.