Currently...

I run YogaAt.Com.

YogaAt.Com provides yoga-based corporate wellness to companies and yoga-based personal training to individuals to support their physical but also emotional and mental well-being. The service is simple - we provide the teacher and equipment. We go to our clients when it suits them. Our clients just need a room.

Our corporate clients find that yoga is a cost-effective way of creating a more pleasant working environment, lowering workplace stress and improving staff well-being and health. They see it as a part of their strategy to reduce absenteeism and improve talent retention. 

My main focus is ensuring we provide consistently high levels of service to our clients and that we keep adding new clients.

My second focus is making sure I manage to keep up a daily yoga practice, which is what brought me to the business in the first place.

Our clients include Bain, Omincom, HSBC Group and Quintessentially.

Before I escaped...

Before this I worked in the City for 10 years. I spent the majority of my time investing money into private equity funds or raising money for private equity funds.

My moment of truth...

I worked on a business plan for the second half of 2010 but was scared of making the move. One day I had a fall out with my boss and suddenly I was no longer in my job. The next day I realised it was now or never. I decided to do it. As soon as I made the decision, I knew it was the right one.

Planning for it...

I did lots of competitor analysis, market analysis and speaking to potential customers. I built a marketing plan and did some revenue and cost projections, but the main bit of planning was speaking to people I trusted and getting their views on whether it made sense.

Part of making the decision to start the business was to do with me making the decision to plan less and trust my instincts more.

The worst and best bits...

Worst bit: At the beginning, being in an office on my own, struggling to get clients and making a lot of miserable cold calls but never really getting through to people.

Best bit: At the moment. We've got lots of new clients starting, the new website is about to go live and there are so many really exciting development opportunities for the business.

Best advice...

It will take much longer than you think. Be prepared for that and accept that the first year will be difficult. It was initially slower to get going than I had expected but because someone I knew and trusted had given me this advice I didn't worry about it too much and business subsequently rapidly picked up.

Useful resources and information...

Mainly speaking to friends who have set up their own businesses or made a similar move.