How to Take Your Business Outside This Summer

As the weather warms up, people are spending more time outside. While you could throw in the pool towel, summer is actually the perfect opportunity for your business to celebrate the outdoors with special events.

We’ve gathered up five ideas about how your business can head outside for the summer to get you started:

Move Class Outside: If your business offers classes, take the opportunity to conduct a special class outdoors. Host a Pilates session in a park, team up with a local hotel for rooftop yoga or teach a water-based boot camp at a local pool. Advertise the class on social media and your newspaper to maximize how many people attend — you might end up with a number of new customers.

If you do decide to hold an event, don’t forget about the details. Your club management software should be able to help you manage bookings and registrations for your event, as well as collect payments and waivers from participants.

Get Active in a Local Event: Does hosting your own event sound like a logistical nightmare? Then look into joining other events being put on by community organizations. From 5Ks to charity walks, summer is loaded with events where you can sponsor a team or host a booth. Some events even offer the opportunity for your business name and/or logo to be on a T-shirt, which gets your brand in front of potential customers and helps your community at the same time.

Don’t Forget About International Day of Yoga: Does your business offer yoga? Keep an eye out for local International Day of Yoga celebrations, traditionally celebrated on June 21. While the biggest event annually is in Times Square, cities and studios around the country take part — and if your local area isn’t planning anything, hosting an event is a great way to move your business outside for a day to increase visibility into what you do.

Get a Booth at a Farmers Market: Even if you focus solely on appointments, you could benefit from taking advantage of the season. Contact your local farmers market to find out if they have a wellness week, and if not, ask about having a booth to educate your community on living healthy. For example, if you run a physical therapy business, offer free consulting sessions to people who drop by. You never know who might turn out to be a valuable customer for you.

Go Back to Summer Camp: As you think about how to engage with your community, don’t forget to think about youth programs. Many summer or day camps will host guests to educate their students, so there’s a good chance a program near you will welcome you. Teaching at a summer camp offers you an opportunity to do community outreach and service at the same time.

The only limit to what you can do is your creativity — these five options are just a spark to get you thinking about your own ideas on how to get your business outside.

Meredith Simmons is a senior content marketing specialist at MINDBODY. Send your business management questions to MINDBODY at info@mindbodyonline.com or call 877.755.4279.