What Happens When You Sell Memberships Before You Have a Lease with Heather Dana

Heather spent 15 years in a public school classroom. She was good at it. She loved the kids. And she was completely, utterly done.

Not in a dramatic way—more in the quiet way where you spend an entire summer being happy, watch your grandfather pass after months by his side, and realize you simply cannot go back to the structured calendar, the overstimulation, the choosing between teaching a yoga class and putting your kids to bed.

Her kids were three and four. Her husband was supportive. And there was a hot yoga studio sitting in a plaza between two major shopping centers in Cortlandt Manor, New York—half the rent of its neighbors, right on a major road—that kept pulling her back every time she browsed spaces online.

So she did it. She opened Lila Within Hot Yoga. And inside three months, she went from zero revenue to $13,100 a month.

Here's the deal: this isn't a "she got lucky" story. This is a strategy story. And if you're sitting on a dream right now, waiting for a sign, this episode is the sign.

The Moment She Knew

Heather's yoga story isn't a straight line. It started with a shavasana in middle school gym class, continued through college hot yoga sessions that were mostly about looking good (her words, not Jackie's—and Jackie will be the first to tell you that's a totally valid reason to come in the door), fell away during the chaos of young motherhood, and then came rushing back after her second child.

After a hard postpartum stretch—28 days without leaving the house, medication that felt completely foreign to her naturally happy personality, a husband away at pilot training—she found a hot yoga studio five minutes from her house and didn't stop.

And that's when it shifted. It stopped being about how she looked and started being about having one hour where nobody needed her.

Sound familiar?

That shift—from yoga as workout to yoga as lifeline—is exactly what she now guides her own students through. She doesn't hide the fact that some people walk in wanting to sweat. She welcomes them. Because that's how they get in the door. And once they're in the door, she can show them everything else.

That's good marketing. That's also just good teaching.

Selling Before She Had a Lease

Let's talk about the part that made Heather want to "throw up all over everybody."

Jackie told her to start selling founding memberships before she signed her lease.

Heather balked. She was afraid. She was building a new business, every penny felt sacred, and the idea of selling something she didn't technically have yet felt like too much.

Jackie's response: What's the worst that could happen?

Heather: I don't sign the lease.

Jackie: Then you refund the money. Or you find a different space.

Heather: ...okay.

So she emailed her small list. She got on social. She ran a simple meta ad—a graphic that said "Hot Yoga Cortlandt Manor: Coming Soon," a $5-a-day budget, and a landing page collecting emails. No video. No fancy creative. Just clear, consistent, and running.

And the memberships started coming in.

She sold 13 founding memberships before her lease was signed. By the time she opened on January 21, she had 60 founding members locked in—some at $99/month, then $109, then $129, all locked for life. She also ran a short early-access window from New Year's Eve to opening day, which added another 10.

She opened with enough monthly recurring revenue to cover rent, loan repayment, and coaching.

Not enough to feel comfortable. Enough to feel confident.

There's a difference. And it changes everything about how you show up in those first few months.

The $5-a-Day Secret

Y'all, Heather is not running complicated ads. She is not spending thousands of dollars. She is not making Reels with trending audio and studio tours with cinematic B-roll.

She spent roughly $300 on meta ads over two months.

In March alone, she had 151 new accounts created.

At $35 for an intro offer, that's thousands of dollars in potential revenue from a $300 investment.

If you're not seeing that kind of return right now, we need to audit your ad setup—but let's be honest, the first question is: are you running ads at all? Because "I need to learn more before I start" is fear wearing a productivity costume.

You don't need perfect. You need running.

Why She Stayed Focused on Memberships (Even When It Got Boring)

Here's something Heather said that stuck: at some point, she felt guilty reopening her early access membership during grand opening week. Like she'd already sold that offer and now she was doing it again and it felt repetitive.

Jackie's response: that's exactly what you're supposed to do.

Membership studios don't have a three-week launch window. They have as many years as they want to keep selling memberships. The work is staying trained on the thing that matters—even when your brain is pulling you toward the next shiny thing.

Heather wanted to talk about the intro offer. Jackie kept redirecting to memberships. They had that conversation many times. And now Heather has a studio with recurring revenue that gives her room to breathe, optimize, and grow—instead of chasing new revenue every single month.

That's what focus does. It's not glamorous. But it's what builds a real business.

The Funnel That Warms People Up Before Asking

Heather also built something every studio owner needs: an automated email sequence for intro offer buyers.

Two weeks. Starting with logistics—here's how to find us, here's what to bring, did you book your next class?—and moving slowly toward the membership ask. By the time the emails get to "become a member," the reader already knows Heather's story, understands the studio's values, and has taken a few classes.

She started with six emails. Jackie said make it more.

She's working toward 10-12. Her conversion rate has ranged from 18-35%, and she knows there's room to grow.

Here's what I want you to know about email funnels: strategy is the easy part. Sitting down and writing 12 emails about the same offer, without feeling pushy or repetitive, is where most studio owners stall out. That's a mindset problem, not a copywriting problem. And it's fixable.

What Actually Changed

In February, Heather brought in $8,800. In March, $13,100.

Three months after opening.

But here's what the revenue number doesn't capture: she gets her kids on and off the bus now. She's off on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. She booked a paddle board retreat with friends. The camping season's coming and the camper is ready.

Her body is tired. Her mind isn't.

That distinction—working hard without feeling depleted—is what she didn't know to expect. And it's what makes all the difference between a business that sustains you and a job that doesn't.

She's not at the finish line. She's still optimizing conversions, still thinking about teachers, still figuring out how to get off her Monday schedule. But she opened with a foundation instead of a prayer, and that's what coaching gave her.

What Heather Would Tell You

If you're on the fence about selling before you're "ready"—do it anyway. The worst case scenario is refundable.

If you're scared to run ads—start at $5 a day, use a graphic, collect emails, and let it run.

If you're thinking about the Grow Mastermind but the money feels scary—Heather couldn't imagine opening without it. The coaching, the community, and the road map changed the quality of every decision she made.

And if you just want to put your kids on and off the bus?

Build the business that lets you do that.

Ready to build a studio that gives you the revenue and the freedom? The Grow Mastermind is where studio owners like Heather get the strategy, accountability, and community to make it happen. Learn more and apply at [link].

Or if you want to connect with Heather directly or come take a class at Lila Within, find her on Instagram at @lilawithin, check her website at www.lilawithin.com in Cortlandt Manor, New York.

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