In a world where the rhythm of the work day is set by the incessant clacking of keys, where the scenic route to the water cooler is alongside a sea of grey cubicles, and the word “efficiency” is drilled into our brains ad nauseam, it’s no wonder that stress is driving us all to an early grave. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Yoga instructor Jessa Messina, a WeWork Charging Bull member, is on a mission to bring change into your life.
Messina, who founded YoJo, which stands for “yoga for the Co.,” brings yoga to you. She shared with us the ups and downs of starting a company the importance of having a sense of humor, and maintaining balance through it all.
WeWork: Tell us a little bit about YoJo.
Messina: YoJo is a mobile yoga studio that takes away all barriers to entry and brings yoga and meditation right into the workplace. We create customized programs that are tailored to the personality of the company and make them fit into their daily lives.
WeWork: What was the largest class you taught and how did it feel?
Messina: I once taught the entire Florida State University football team. It was early in my teaching career, so I remember walking in there thinking, “Oh boy.” It worked out well, and I cherish the experiences that make me nervous. I like to push myself in situations that feel uncomfortable.
WeWork: What were some challenges you faced in starting YoJo and how did you overcome them?
Messina: One of the challenges in developing YoJo was figuring out how to communicate the message of the company. In the beginning, I didn’t know how, so I let the company reform multiple times. Initially, YoJo was structured completely differently from the corporate setting we’re in now. YoJo has had a constant metamorphosis, but I’m happy with the progress. I let the business tell me how to take care of it.
WeWork: Did you have any mentors to guide you along the process of starting your own business?
Messina: I have a tremendous amount of yoga teachers and mentors, but I didn’t have many mentors in business. A lot of my guidance has been through making mistakes. Starting a business requires a lot of patience and being good at picking yourself up, over and over again. I would say it is really hard to be an entrepreneur if you don’t have a good sense of humor—it’s a requirement. You just have to laugh at your mistakes and learn from them.
WeWork: What advice would you give a budding entrepreneur?
Messina: Part of being an entrepreneur is that there’s an art to it. What you’re trying to create in the world is so close to your heart. It’s a very vulnerable thing, to put something out there in the world that could potentially be faced with mass rejection. You have to allow yourself to get completely rejected, sometimes even crushed, and still continue to persevere. You get up and keep going because you think that what you’re doing is something that needs to exist in the world.
WeWork: Have you ever felt burnt out by it all? How do you deal with those moments?
Messina: Even as a yoga teacher, I’ve absolutely had those moments of burnout, of frustration, of just feeling upset and down. I don’t think there is an entrepreneur out there who hasn’t gone through moments of burnout. There are highs and lows, and you just have to ride out the waves.
To combat those moments, I actually practice what I preach. Everything I tell people to do is what I literally do for myself. It’s so easy for me to sell it because it works. At YoJo, I go in to see clients who are often in similar situations that I’ve been in, so I can speak about it from a place of empathy rather than sympathy.
YoJo will be at WeWork Chelsea on June 18th for anyone looking for an after-work pick-me-up.
Photo credit: Lauren Kallen