Don't quit your day job. Too late.

In 2006, I set the “audacious” goal to grow my average class size by 5 students. I began tracking my attendance. Literally. For four years I’ve maintained data for every class I teach and plot my class attendance and trends.

Success. In fact, in 2007 I averaged 6 more students per class, not just meeting but surpassing my goal that first year. I’ve continued to set a new goal every year since, and every year I have not just met, but crushed it.

I do this because I’m not a “build it and they will come” kind of girl. Sweat lodges and affirmations aren’t my thing. I believe intention is necessary, but not sufficient to attract prosperity. I believe in planning and accountability, identifying indicators that predict outcomes, accounting for mediators and knowing your moderators and importantly, objectively measuring results.

I began setting these goals partly because I saw myself teaching better to bigger groups. Something about the energy in the room nourished me. Something about the silent dialogue that ensues between a teacher and a mass was energizing. Maybe something about the ego boost fed my confidence. I don’t know, but I was definitely having more fun, and so it seemed, were my students.

This year, I up the ante. I turned down a consulting offer in “my other career” that would have set me back on track after my baby making hiatus. Instead, I launch 2010 with the intention of making a living as a full time yoga teacher. I set the goal of increasing my class size to an average of 30 students per class. It’s going to be tough.

I’ve added three more classes to my teaching schedule. I now teach once every day. All classes are at the same yoga studio. Keeping just the four classes I was teaching, I could only expect incremental growth in my income; $10 to $25 per class. The only way to grow significantly is to add more classes. But this is a risky wager.

By adding classes I become my own competition. For example, students can now choose either Saturday or Sunday. I run the risk of diluting my current large classes by spreading the same students across more days, rather than adding students or having students come more often than they do now. Importantly, new classes take time to build, and low attendance in the beginning of the year will reduce my annual mean class size, even if my long standing classes are doing as well as or better than last year.

How does it look so far? In January I averaged 29 students, and January typically has a “New Year Resolution Bump.” So this is not promising. January usually makes up for the summer dip.

What will take me from where I am now to meeting my 2010 intention of making a living teaching yoga, and meeting my goal of 30 students per class? Not one to leave it up to the universe, I will spend this coming week identifying my priorities and defining action steps. Stay tuned.