Julie Nogueira is the owner of Blue Lotus Yoga Studio in Annapolis, and when she’s not managing the business or teaching a yoga class herself, she’s the mom of three sons — a 19-year-old college student and twin 15-year-old high schoolers. She’s been running her studio since 2018, and the past seven years have been a rewarding period of balancing entrepreneurship alongside the many activities that go along with parenting.
What are the big challenges of balancing parenthood with business ownership?
Time. It’s nice not having a typical 9-to-5, but being really efficient with time has been a [No. 1] thing for me. I have to work smart and efficiently — when they’re at school or when they go to bed. Now it’s different because they’re older, but it’s not necessarily easier. Teenagers need you just as much, just in different ways. I feel like the emotional load is almost greater when you’re parenting teens versus younger kids. I try to be very present when I’m working and present when I’m with my family.
What are some ways you think being a business leader has made you a better parent, and vice-versa?
I manage a team — I think we have about 29 employees right now. It’s a small business, but we have quite a few folks doing lots of different jobs: There’s the studio manager, seven front desk associates and 20 or 21 teachers at varying times. We have barre instructors, yoga instructors, Pilates instructors, and none of them really overlap or teach more than their specific format, so there are a lot of people. Being a parent definitely has prepared me for management, and managing people has helped my parenting style because it all comes down to listening more than talking. Whether I’m with my employees or my kids, I make sure I’m listening to them.
I have an amazing team, and they’re all juggling a lot too — the vast majority of my instructors have day jobs and families, and there honestly wouldn’t be this business without them. I wouldn’t be able to teach all these classes by myself. So, I need them to be happy and motivated and wanting to work there. So, you have to keep people motivated and feeling like they’re part of a community.
What does a typical day for you look like?
It starts with email. I have a couple of different email accounts for the studio, so that’s the first thing I’m doing in the morning, to see if there’s anything that needs to be responded to immediately. I also like to see how many people we have registered for classes and if anything needs to shift with regard to a teacher is sick or they have a request for a last-minute sub. I teach two in-studio classes a week, so I’m doing a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff — marketing communication, emailing clients and planning our retreat.
Do your kids do yoga?
They have done yoga, but they don’t do it regularly. It’s come up in our family because my sons recently made a big adjustment switching to a new school. The workload is intense, and yoga could be a way for them to reduce stress. They’ve also been telling me that sitting is hard, and I think they could benefit from some flexibility, too. I said, “Are you interested in taking classes at my studio? It doesn’t have to be with your mom,” and they were both interested, so we’re going to start working that into our schedule. But funnily enough, no, they haven’t been really practicing yoga regularly.
They definitely support my business in other ways. Two of my sons built PT furniture for me last year when they had the day off, and I bring them in to organize the prop room every now and then. They come to events, and they help to set up and break down.
I was a stay-at-home mom for nine years and started teaching yoga in 2015. I opened Blue Lotus three years later. It’s been really good for them to see their mom working for the family as well. And they think it’s pretty cool that there’s an actual brick-and-mortar location that I own.
Family Favorites
Food: Pasta, but everybody takes it different — spaghetti and meatballs is a common one in our house.
Local Spot: Grump’s Cafe
Vacation Spot: Outer Banks
Family Activity: Boating
Game: Anything with cards
