How OfferingTree helps yoga teachers build sustainable wellness businesses

For many yoga teachers and wellness professionals, teaching is only part of the work. The rest often happens behind the scenes: scheduling classes, taking payments, building a website, answering emails, promoting offerings, and trying not to burn out along the way.

That quiet administrative load can become the thing that pulls teachers away from the work they actually came here to do.

OfferingTree was created to address that tension between purpose and sustainability. Originally inspired by a donation-based yoga studio in Minneapolis, the platform was built for wellness professionals who needed business tools that could support community-based work without making it feel cold or corporate.

In this YOGI TIMES interview, OfferingTree co-founder Chris Appiah speaks about yoga business burnout, marketing, online teaching, hybrid wellness models, and why systems matter for teachers who want to keep serving long term.

The conversation is less about software alone and more about what it takes to build a yoga business that can last: clarity, boundaries, community, and the right support behind the scenes.

For readers who want a practical look at how the platform works day to day, we also published our full OfferingTree review, covering its scheduling, website builder, memberships, pricing, email tools, and overall user experience.

You originally studied mechanical engineering and transportation systems before co-founding OfferingTree. Looking back now, does it surprise you that your career eventually led into the wellness world?

Honestly, it does and it doesn’t. On the surface, mechanical engineering and yoga software don’t have a lot in common. But throughout my life I’ve been interested in the technical problem solving world and the wellness and fitness world. In my college years while I was studying engineering, I was part of a student-led meditation group at the University of Minnesota.

That is where I met Alex Haley, one of my co-founders at OfferingTree. I was also always playing a sport and moving my body. So the wellness thread was always there, running alongside the technical work. What drew me to engineering was building a better understanding of the world and making it a better place through solving problems. OfferingTree isn’t that different at its core.

We’re trying to help wellness professionals get where they’re going and have a sustainable business while doing work they love.

The set of problems I’m solving have changed, but the underlying motivation really hasn’t. I think that’s true for a lot of people whose careers take unexpected turns. The throughline is usually there if you look for it.

Growing up around meditation and mindfulness, did you realize early on that those practices would eventually influence the mission behind OfferingTree?

I think I realized I was open to more because of it. My dad practiced transcendental meditation when I was growing up, so it created a sense of normalcy for me around mindfulness. It wasn’t this weird thing for me that it was for a lot of people before it became more mainstream in the last 15 years.

Personally, it wasn’t until college that meditation really landed for me when I started going to my roommate’s student-led mindfulness group. As I mentioned earlier, that’s where I met Alex, my co-founder.

When Alex and I started shaping OfferingTree in the early days, the mindfulness community was definitely in focus. Ensuring that OfferingTree was accessible to the teachers and the students was very important to us.

We built donation based and sliding scale pricing and similar capabilities that didn’t exist in other booking platforms to better align with the values and demands of the mindfulness community. So in a roundabout way, my dad’s practice led me down a path that made OfferingTree what it is today.

Before creating OfferingTree, what frustrations were yoga teachers and wellness professionals quietly tolerating with existing software platforms?

The word I’d use is “duct-taped.” So many teachers had cobbled together four or five different tools: one for scheduling, one for payments, one for email, maybe a separate website, and none of them talked to each other cleanly.

They were spending real time and energy just managing the technology stack, which was time they weren’t spending with students or on the work they actually cared about. And beyond the logistics, a lot of the existing software felt like it was built for gyms or corporate fitness chains, not for independent teachers or small community studios.

The culture didn’t fit. The pricing didn’t fit. There was this whole community of wellness professionals who were being asked to squeeze themselves into tools that weren’t designed for them.

For wellness professionals still juggling multiple tools, OfferingTree’s yoga business software brings scheduling, memberships, email marketing, websites, and payments together in one platform:

“So many teachers had cobbled together four or five different tools, and none of them talked to each other cleanly.”

The original inspiration for OfferingTree came from a donation-based yoga studio in Minneapolis. What specifically felt broken or misaligned about the software options available at the time?

Alex was managing this studio, and because it was walk-in and donation-based, basically nothing on the market worked for them. Every platform assumed you had a fixed class schedule, paid memberships, or drop-in pricing that fit a fixed structure.

This studio operated on trust and community. People showed up to class and they gave what they could. That model didn’t fit any of the available booking software, and when they tried to implement a software, it broke the whole vibe.

The check-in process was taking forever, the flow, and the customer relationships were breaking down. When we started talking to more teachers and studio owners, we kept hearing versions of the same thing: “Software is clunky and it’s complicated to get everything I need.” So we set off building something that would be easy to use and powerful enough to run their entire business in one place.

Teachers looking for more flexibility can explore OfferingTree’s yoga scheduling software.

Was there a particular moment when you and Alex realized OfferingTree could become more than a side project?

Alex was managing this studio, and because it was walk-in and donation-based, basically nothing on the market worked for them. Every platform assumed you had a fixed class schedule, paid memberships, or drop-in pricing that fit a fixed structure. This studio operated on trust and community.

People showed up to class and they gave what they could. That model didn’t fit any of the available booking software, and when they tried to implement a software, it broke the whole vibe. The check-in process was taking forever, the flow, and the customer relationships were breaking down.

When we started talking to more teachers and studio owners, we kept hearing versions of the same thing: “Software is clunky and it’s complicated to get everything I need.” So we set off building something that would be easy to use and powerful enough to run their entire business in one place.

OfferingTree was bootstrapped in the early years instead of taking venture capital funding. Why was it important to build the company that way?

Raising venture capital creates a specific kind of pressure. You have to grow fast or fail, hit certain metrics by certain dates, return a multiple for investors. That’s a legitimate path for some businesses. But it shapes every decision you make, often in ways that aren’t good for your customers or your culture.

We wanted to build something sustainable and something on our own timelines and success criteria. We also wanted to align our outcomes closer with our customers rather than chasing growth numbers. Starting with our own money meant we had to be thoughtful about every decision.

And honestly, I think that discipline made us better. The teachers and studio owners we serve are also trying to build sustainable, values-driven businesses. It felt right to try to model that ourselves.

Many tech companies focus heavily on rapid growth and investor expectations. Did you intentionally want OfferingTree to grow differently from the typical startup model?

Yes, and no. Honestly, we were pretty naive in thinking we would grow faster than we did. And like probably the other 99% of business owners out there, we would have done a few things differently. But we did want to grow at our own pace and not be beholden to other stakeholders in the early decisions of the company.

I think that was important, and we might have failed if we took investment too early. Growing at our own pace let us stay close to our customers, improve the product meaningfully, and gave us control over our destiny.

After working with thousands of wellness businesses, what do you think most people misunderstand about building a sustainable career as a yoga teacher or wellness professional?

I think a lot of people underestimate how much the business side matters. There’s sometimes this feeling that focusing on money or marketing is somehow at odds with the spirit of what they’re doing, and that it’s not very “yogic” to think about conversion rates or pricing. But if your business isn’t sustainable, you can’t keep serving people.

The teachers and practitioners who have the most long-term impact are the ones who took the business side seriously, not because they became obsessed with profit, but because they understood that financial stability gives you the freedom to keep doing the work.

Getting comfortable with the business fundamentals isn’t selling out. It’s what lets you keep showing up.

For readers curious about how the platform actually performs in real life, read our hands-on review of OfferingTree, where we look at its scheduling, website builder, memberships, email marketing, pricing, and online class tools.

“If your business isn’t sustainable, you can’t keep serving people.”

What patterns have you noticed among wellness professionals who successfully build long-term businesses versus those who eventually burn out?

The ones who sustain it tend to have a few things in common. They know who they’re for, and they have a clear sense of their community and what they’re offering, rather than trying to be everything to everyone.

They’re not afraid to charge fairly for their work. And they’ve figured out what to say yes to, what to say no to, and put systems in place that don’t require them to be always on.

The burnout pattern usually looks like the opposite: overextended, undercharging, trying to serve everyone, no processes or systems, and no boundaries on time or energy.

It’s also worth saying that the teachers who last continue to invest in their own practice and themselves.

“The teachers who last know what to say yes to, what to say no to, and put systems in place.”

Beyond being skilled teachers, what qualities tend to help wellness professionals thrive long term on platforms like OfferingTree?

Consistency matters more than most people expect. Not just showing up for their students, but showing up in terms of communication: sending the newsletter, posting with some regularity, keeping their booking page current.

It sounds small, but it builds trust over time and keeps people coming back. I’d also say adaptability. The teachers who’ve done well over the long haul are the ones who keep making subtle improvements: updating their website over time, trying new marketing tactics, experimenting with different classes, and trying new things without abandoning what is core. And genuine relationship-building.

The technology can handle the logistics, but what keeps students coming back is feeling seen and valued by the teacher. That part can’t be automated.

Some people worry that technology can make wellness feel less human. How does OfferingTree approach the balance between automation and genuine human connection?

It’s a real tension, and I think about it a lot. The goal for us has always been to automate the administrative stuff: the scheduling, the reminders, the payment processing, so teachers have more time and energy for the human parts of their work.

Technology should be handling the things that are tedious, not the things that are meaningful.

The mistake is when automation starts to substitute for connection rather than create space for it. A good automated reminder is freeing. A poorly written automated email that sounds like a robot can actually damage the relationship.

We try to build tools that get out of the way and let teachers be present with their students. That’s the goal: less admin overhead, more human presence.

Teachers building online memberships or recurring revenue streams can also explore OfferingTree’s memberships and packages features here.

“Technology should be handling the things that are tedious, not the things that are meaningful.”

Do you think modern yoga teachers are now being forced to become entrepreneurs, marketers, and business owners in addition to simply teaching?

In a lot of ways, yes, and I understand why that feels like a burden. It wasn’t necessarily what people signed up for.

But I’ve also come to see it differently over time. When a teacher learns to market themselves well, it means more people find them who need what they offer. When they understand their finances, their business can actually last.

The skills aren’t in conflict with the mission; they serve it. That said, I don’t think every teacher needs to become a full-stack entrepreneur. Knowing the basics, having the right tools, and building simple habits around the business side can go a long way. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming if you build it piece by piece.

We’re also has published a YOGI TIMES guide to the best yoga studio software platforms for teachers, studios, online classes, and wellness businesses.

OfferingTree is known not only for software, but also for support and education. Why was creating educational resources for wellness professionals such an important part of the company’s vision?

Because software alone doesn’t solve the problem. A tool is only useful if you know how to use it, and more broadly, if you understand the context around it. A lot of wellness professionals come to us with amazing skills as teachers but without a lot of background in running a business.

If we just handed them a platform and said good luck, we wouldn’t really be helping them. The education piece: the blog, the webinars, the resources, is our way of saying we’re invested in your success, not just your subscription.

When our customers build thriving businesses, that’s what we’re actually here for. The software is the vehicle. The success of the people using it is the destination.

Their educational hub for wellness professionals includes marketing, SEO, website, and business-building resources here.

During the pandemic, many wellness professionals suddenly had to move online. What did that period reveal to you about the resilience of the yoga and wellness community?

It was a remarkable thing to witness. Studios closed overnight, and within days, teachers were figuring out how to bring their classes online, how to stay connected to their students, how to keep going in completely new circumstances.

It was a really difficult time with the loss of physical community, but there was also this incredible adaptability. What it revealed to me was that what teachers had built weren’t just locations.

They’d built real relationships and real communities, and those things traveled. The medium changed, but the connection didn’t. That resilience was already there. The pandemic just made it visible in a way it might not have been otherwise. I think people have a lasting appreciation for community and for wellness in ways they didn’t have before it.

Was there a moment during 2020 when you realized OfferingTree was helping teachers continue serving their students in a genuinely meaningful way?

There were a lot of moments, but what stands out most are the individual stories: emails and posts on social media of teachers writing about how they were using OfferingTree to keep their income going when everything else shut down.

We built the platform with the option to do online offerings, but we had no way of predicting that would be the main use case during the pandemic. It was so amazing to see how quickly everyone pivoted and we felt very grateful to be of service during that time.

For teachers expanding into digital offerings, OfferingTree also supports on-demand yoga content, video libraries, and online courses.

You’ve spoken about perseverance being a competitive advantage for founders. Was there ever a difficult moment where you questioned whether OfferingTree would succeed?

Many times. In the early years we were working nights and weekends alongside our day jobs, iterating on a product, trying to find product-market fit, not knowing if it would ever become what we hoped it would.

There were stretches where growth was slow and you just had to keep going on belief. And then the pandemic brought its own kind of stress. I think the most pivotal time was when we decided we needed to make this a full-time project or bust. It was early in 2022 and we were seeking a small amount of funding to bring us all on full-time and build the team we needed. That was a decision we made that created a bit of uncertainty.

I think we were prepared to make some tough decisions if we didn’t get what we needed financially, but ultimately we were successful in raising the money and we were able to join full time. It’s been mostly no looking back from there.

For wellness entrepreneurs trying to grow sustainable businesses without burnout, OfferingTree also shares educational resources around systems, growth, and business strategy here.

As a founder, husband, and father, how has your personal definition of success changed since the early days of building OfferingTree?

I don’t think it’s changed my thinking very much. Being a husband and father has changed a lot of things in my life, however. I think I leave a lot more space for my family and need to do a lot of prioritization over my time. It’s very similar to how a yoga teacher needs to avoid burnout.

Creating systems, having more discipline in my schedule, and checking in with the people in my life are things I’ve had to put more focus on.

Wellness business owners often struggle with overwhelm because there are so many directions they could go. What have you personally learned about the importance of focus?

This is something I feel deeply, because we’ve made exactly this mistake at OfferingTree. The temptation to do more: more features, more audiences, more channels, is constant, and it feels productive because you’re always busy. But diffusion kills momentum. What I’ve learned, honestly through some hard lessons, is that the most important word in building a business is “no.” Not “no, never,” but “no, not right now.”

Knowing what you’re saying no to, and why, is what lets you go deep on the things that actually matter. The teachers I’ve seen build the most sustainable businesses are the ones who picked their lane and got really good at it, rather than constantly chasing the next thing.

“The most important word in building a business is ‘no.’ Not ‘no, never,’ but ‘no, not right now.’”

That balance between sustainability and growth is something many yoga teachers are also navigating today as they build online offerings, memberships, and wellness businesses.What changes do you think wellness businesses and yoga studios will need to adapt to over the next five years?

What changes do you think wellness businesses and yoga studios will need to adapt to over the next five years?

A few things come to mind. The online and hybrid space isn’t going away: teachers who build a digital presence alongside their in-person work are going to have more resilience and reach. I also think the community piece is becoming more important, not less. People have more options than ever for wellness content, so what keeps them loyal is a sense of genuine belonging and relationship with a specific teacher or community.

I also think there’s a real opportunity for niche: teachers who go deep on serving a specific population rather than trying to serve everyone broadly. And on the business side, the wellness professionals who invest in understanding their numbers and building systems early are going to have a significant advantage as things get more competitive.

For teachers exploring hybrid business models, OfferingTree includes tools for online classes, memberships, websites, scheduling, and on-demand content.

Many yoga teachers feel uncomfortable with marketing or selling themselves online. What advice would you give them today?

Start by reframing what marketing actually is. If you think about it as persuading strangers to give you money, it’s going to feel uncomfortable. But if you think about it as helping the people who need you find you, that’s a different thing entirely. Someone out there is looking for exactly what you offer, and they just don’t know you exist yet. Marketing is how you close that gap.

The most effective thing most teachers can do is be specific and genuine: talk about who you’re really serving, what you actually believe, why you teach the way you teach. People don’t connect with generic. They connect with real. You don’t have to be everywhere or post constantly. You just have to show up authentically in a few places, consistently over time.

For readers comparing platforms, YOGI TIMES has published our guide to the best software for yoga teachers, comparing booking systems, memberships, websites, email tools, and studio management platforms. (link to listicle)

“Marketing is helping the people who need you find you.”

For readers exploring software platforms for yoga studios, what do you believe matters most beyond just features and pricing?

Trust and support. Features matter, of course; you need the tools to actually do what you need them to do. But over time, what makes the biggest difference is whether you feel like the company you’ve partnered with is actually invested in your success. Can you get a real answer when something goes wrong?

Do they understand your world: the culture of wellness, the specific challenges of running a small studio or solo practice? Do they listen when you give feedback?

The relationship with your software provider is more like a long-term business partnership than a purchase. Make sure the people you’re partnering with actually care about what you’re building.

Readers who want to explore OfferingTree directly can learn more about their yoga studio software and features here.

If someone reading this has an idea that could genuinely help their community but feels afraid to start, what would you want them to hear?

Start small, and start before you feel ready. You will never have enough certainty, enough money, enough time, or enough confidence: not at the beginning, and honestly not at most points along the way. What you do have is the thing that sparked the idea in the first place: a real understanding of a real problem, and a genuine desire to solve it.

That’s more valuable than it sounds. We started OfferingTree as a nights-and-weekends project with no guarantee it would work.

We just kept taking the next step. The fear doesn’t go away, but it becomes less of a reason not to move. The communities that need what you’re building don’t benefit from you waiting until conditions are perfect. They benefit from you starting.

“Start small, and start before you feel ready.”