Where fitness meets fun!

Where fitness meets fun!

Zooga Yoga is the brainchild of Antonia KIng. It is the premier kids franchise today in the US. It is the only yoga studio dedicated to babies, kids, teens, expectant moms, parents, and families. It started out in the Los Angeles area and is now expanding nationwide.

Antonia, tell us about yourself and how you came up with the Zooga idea.

I am the founder and owner of Zooga Yoga, mother of three, wife, television and film producer, businesswoman, and entrepreneur. After graduating from the University of Southern California with a BA in Film/Television (Magna Cum Laude), I enjoyed a career as an executive producer in film and television for more than 15 years with an emphasis on youth content, including a variety of animated feature films for Pixar, Disney, Fox, and Sony, as well as writing, directing, and producing programming for MTV. However, my passion for the arts started well before that. I had a lifelong love of dance and performance. My background includes childhood ballet, contemporary dance, musicals, and the occasional TV and print acting job. As an adult, I studied dance, Pilates and yoga for more than 20 years with some of Los Angeles’ best yoga instructors, including Bryan Kest and Steven Earth. In addition, I am certified as a children’s yoga teacher. In 2012, I combined my love of children, yoga and entertainment to create Zooga Yoga, a unique brand of yoga studio and yoga program for kids and family. The name Zooga was created by blending together “zoo” and “yoga.” Many of yoga poses are animal names, especially when teaching yoga to kids!

Today, I continue to run my Los Angeles- -based studio, while working to expand Zooga Yoga across the US. Along with my company-owned studio in Culver City, I currently have two franchises in West Hollywood and Redondo Beach. In my free time, I continue to practice yoga, enjoy seeing movies with my husband, having lunch with friends, and playing sports mom to my three kids, Hudson, Mila, and Oliver. With my husband Chris, we are truly living our dream being entrepreneurs, parents, and students of life, always trying to learn and be better – the same philosophy that will continue to fuel my entrepreneurial success. Great teachers are at the heart of all success, both business and personal.

How long did it take to get Zooga to the franchise market?

It took four years from inception to take Zooga to the franchise market. From the beginning, I was looking to expand our brand and create a nationwide company. My influences were successful producers in the entertainment industry. I was trained to see the big picture, and that is exactly what my mission with Zooga is. After opening the doors in 2012, I quickly learned the need for a kids’ yoga and a family center was a desired and appreciated commodity in our community. Within one year, the classes were packed. We were doing mobile units in schools all around Los Angeles and we were growing rapidly. We knew we had something special. Within three years of opening, we were asked to go on the TV show Shark Tank. The goal for going on the show would have been to gain funding and a strong, experienced partner to help grow a national franchise. To prepare for the show, I researched franchise companies and hired iFranchise to consult. After much thought and research, it became apparent to everyone involved that we had a great business model for franchising. We also realized the cons of giving up what would have inevitably been a huge portion of our business far outweighed the potential upside of our appearance, and we decided against Shark Tank. Instead, using the profits from my current studio, I hired a franchise consultant and registered Zooga Yoga as the first nationally available kids yoga studio. In 2016, I was officially a franchise, and on that exact date, I sold my first franchise!

What were the main challenges?

As an emerging franchise, we are still learning every day. Some of the biggest challenges are taking it slow and maintaining brand standards, learning the franchise business, not expanding too quickly, and qualifying the best candidates for ownership. We continue to always do research on our space in the industry, create new materials and products, and strive to be the best-managed and most profitable franchise we can be. I never stop putting time and creativity into the business model, and it can be challenging to stay one step ahead at all times, but that is what we require of ourselves to know that we are not just the first but always the best. There is definitely a learning curve to being a business owner of any kind, learning about real estate, contracts, national and local law, marketing ideas, leadership, being an effective boss and quality control. The challenges are limitless, but I think that is why people like me and my franchisees get in the game. The greater the challenge, the greater the rewards.

What mistakes have you made and learned from?

One mistake that I made in the beginning was not managing initial expectations of the franchisee better. It is easy for our excitement to boil over and cause a new franchisee to think the path is going to be paved with roses. Setting a professional tone for your franchisee relationships and creating hard, logical goals is a must. With two franchises under my belt, we have now created a better onboarding process for managing franchisees, their expectations, and what it takes to mentor a franchisee to success.

What is unique about Zooga?

Zooga Yoga opened as the only yoga studio in the Los Angeles area dedicated to babies, kids, teens, expecting moms, parents, and families. Today Zooga Yoga is the ONLY premiere kids franchise available in the United States. What makes us unique is our branded experience, atmosphere, and our products. Zooga has a playful and unique approach to yoga. Zooga couples traditional yoga poses and elements with fun themes that include animal poses, animal adventures, games, and props to create a specialized brand of YogaPlay. This approach is designed to foster confidence, creativity, and imagination while keeping true to the goal of whole mind and body health that is inherent in the practice of yoga. This combination of process, learning, and fun is our unmistakable brand.

Zooga’s locations are also eco-friendly, featuring green building techniques, including recyclable materials, acoustic ceiling tiles, floating bamboo floors, energy efficient LED lighting, and low volatile organic compounds paint. Zooga Studios are bright, fun, and creative! Zooga not only offers our signature Kids Yoga classes, we offer a variety of classes for all ages including Kids Dance, Kids Music, Parent and Me fitness, Messy Arts, Soccer, Kickin’ Ninjas, Baby Sign, Teen, Adult, and Pre-Post Natal classes. If that’s not enough to keep you coming back for more, we offer specialized parenting workshops, babysitting drop-off nights, studio and home privates, kids teacher trainings, and school and camp programs too. Plus, you can plan your next celebration with us! We provide unique, one-of-a-kind birthday parties, baby showers and group private parties– at the studio and at your home or location of your choice.

In addition to classes available for all ages, Zooga also offers a kids yoga retail component, including many Zooga-branded products only available from Zooga. Yoga mats, yoga cards, CDs, DVDs, books, apparel, tote bags, eye pillows, and water bottles are just some of the items available.

Our mission is to inspire fun and promote fitness for kids and families through yoga and much, much more. Created and perfected at our flagship location in Culver City, California, our approach is completely unique! Guided by yoga principles and designed for maximum entertainment, Zooga Yoga is truly one of a kind. Our Om is your home.

Who is your target audience?

Our target audience is kids and families. Zooga is a multifaceted mind-body fitness studio catering primarily to children ages zero to 18.

How many franchisees do you have now?

We currently have two franchisees and one company-owned location, all in Southern California.

How do you select franchisees and locations?

During the selection process, we carefully select prospects with like-minded visions who have a desire to cater to kids and families in a healthy environment. We are looking for passionate, caring, patient, and creative people who can absorb the details or our business from our training and manuals and recreate it in their hometown. We often find wonderful candidates who have a career, then after having children, find themselves looking for a new, more fulfilling opportunity in life, something that allows them a more manageable life/work balance and a more flexible schedule. Since this is an owner-operated franchise, we are looking for prospects with work experience who can multitask, enjoy the studio environment, with rigid attention to details, and demeanor that keeps clients happy and coming back again and again.

Do you provide any training for the new franchisee?

Zooga Yoga offers a proven business model and a system that works. In addition, Zooga is the only franchise in the kids yoga market, making this one of the few opportunities to be the first in your market. Zooga offers both social and financial rewards that will increase your quality of life beyond most investment opportunities.

● As a franchisee, you will be given all the tools to duplicate the system— the

training, the name, use of the trademarks, the market research, and the support to maximize your success in every facet of the business.

● We will assist you in picking the best location(s) in your desired territory and help you design and use your space to its maximum effect.

● Immediately upon signing the franchise agreement, you will have access to not only the system and policies but our strategies and guidance as well. We take your success personally and will provide preferred vendor lists, personal assistance, and advice in every area of your business.

● You will have continued access to our growing list of retail and service products.

● You will enjoy the benefits from our name recognition and marketing experience. You will be part of the Zooga network of successful franchisees.

What are your plans for the future?

Zooga Enterprises has a lot of exciting plans for the future. We are working on a new online platform, bringing Zooga into homes across America, which will raise brand awareness. We are developing new Zooga-branded products and curriculum, and we plan to open 10+ locations in the next two to three years. Next steps after expanding nationally are to hit the international market, where we are already gaining interest. Soon Zooga will be a household name. Namaste! w

For more information: (310) 839-6642 info@zoogayoga.com www.zoogayoga.com/culvercity