Yoga Teacher, Brand Partnerships Manager, Los Angeles, CA
Describe your career. What do you do for a living?
My career has continued to take shape & unfold over the last few years, so right now I am a business owner of my own yoga brand where I am a Yoga Teacher & Retreat Leader, and a Brand Partnership Manager for a logistics start-up. Before this, I spent 8.5 years working as a Sales Manager for a large wine company & a large e-comm retailer. I say right now, because I’m open to how my career path continues to unfold!
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I had a million different ideas - nail artist, librarian, teacher, hair stylist, fashion designer, magazine editor.
What did you study? How much schooling do you think is required to get into your role? What could you have skipped?
I have a B.S. in Business Admin with an emphasis in Marketing. For my yoga teacher certification, I have 250 hour Yoga Alliance certification. Right after I graduated from college I went into a company that required a degree (any degree, didn’t need to be business related) & because of my degree I was able to start at a higher pay rate & eligible to move into management positions. I spent 7.5 years with that first company, received 6 promotions during my time there - working at that company with the upward trajectory definitely wouldn’t have been possible without the degree, so for that I’m grateful I was able to graduate with a BS.
I loved my education & felt like my university (CSU, Chico) did well in preparing me - however I do feel like I gained invaluable education from the activities I pursued outside of the classroom. I also worked multiple part-time jobs while going to school (sales associate at my school bookstore and at family-owned boutique & inside sales development rep at a start-up) and those also provided me with great professional insight and education for the working world. So overall, it was not just going to university classes that prepared me, but the activities accessible to me through my university. However, that being said, I have met many fantastic professionals throughout my career that do not hold a degree & are still very good at what they do successful. In sales specifically, I believe you can learn many necessary skills through working or just through lived experience - customer service, learning how to communicate & (truly) listen to others, connecting with people from all backgrounds. The things I learned in the classroom that I still use are - excel skills, formal business communication, presentation creation, & public speaking.
Alix’s College Graduation. Fun fact- Alix was my sorority president for EK.
For my other role as business owner / yoga instructor / retreat leader - there are many different opinions about certification needed to be a qualified yoga instructor. Because yoga is an ancient practice (most likely originating 5000+ years ago) that originated in the Eastern World, there are many highly qualified, safe, and practiced teachers (many of whom were raised understanding the practice of yoga) that don’t hold a “certification.” But as a Western practitioner (I live & teach primarily in the US), and one without an upbringing of yoga, I chose to seek formal education so I could have a deep understanding of yoga history and philosophy. I also wanted to ensure I aim to eliminate harm as much as possible in the spaces where I exist and teach - so I sought out a trauma-informed & functional anatomy certification so I could feel confident and bring deeper value to my students. As a business owner, I am leaning on many of my business related skills that I learned working in my corporate roles and in my university education as I previously discussed.
Was your path hard or smooth getting to where you are in your career? (Can you briefly describe what it was like on your journey so far?)
I started working at a restaurant when I was in high school because I thought I wanted to be a chef. I quickly realized I didn’t love that environment. Applying to colleges I thought I wanted to go into fashion merchandising or potentially PR/journalism. I went in Undeclared and tried out those plus event management. I knew business and marketing was an option and ultimately chose it because I wanted to stay open to what I would do after college. I thought I would potentially go to fashion school after college. I worked at a couple clothing boutiques during college & them had a Retail Management Internship at a larger fashion retailer & ultimately decided that didn’t sound good to me either. As a senior I thought I wanted to go into creative marketing - I liked the idea of creating stories and understanding why people make the decisions they make. I got advice from a professor to start in a sales job with a company where I could grow into a marketing role.
I knew working with people that shared my values so I started interviewing with companies in a variety of industries & I met a family owned wine company that felt good, the people felt genuine and authentic, people seemed to really enjoy what they did. There was also a planned program for growth - sales leadership development program - with ability to move into a variety of roles - marketing included - during the program. It felt right. I committed to the job my first semester of senior year. From there, I jumped in & actually loved my sales position even more than I thought I would. I also loved the seemingly never ending opportunities for growth - so I thrived at the company for 7.5 years - the roles I held were sales representative; district, area, division sales manager; sales training and recruiting manager; account manager; shopper marketing manager. I came into the company thinking I would want my end goal to be working int he marketing department but once I got there I missed the consistent human interaction I got in the sales department. I also had my taste of people leadership and I also wanted to continue pursuing those type of roles. I decided to leave my first company because I always had the vision that my career would be varied and I would get to work in a variety of places and industries. I also was very burntout & I thought a new job would be a fix all (haha). So I started with a new company where I was in a similar role as a sales manager & very soon in I knew that the culture wasn’t for me - it didnt align with my personal values. I quickly started looking for new jobs, but went through a back & forth throughout the next few months battling the question of should I stay or should I go. I was deep into my burnout & I thought maybe it would be easier if I just stayed with this company and tried to do my best there. Luckily for me (I say lucky now, as when it first happened it was my worst fear), I was laid off in February of 2023.
This changed everything for me. I was privileged to take this time as a welcome break from the working world. I took space and time for myself to rest and then reassess how I wanted to spend my time. I decided to go to a Yoga Teacher Training in Costa Rica for a month, more for my own personal exploration & after I completed my training, I decided I definitely wanted to share my passion for yoga with other students. When I came back, I started teaching yoga, registered my LLC (alix kelsey yoga) & planned a yoga & mindfulness retreat. I also decided I wanted to dive back into the corporate world with a company that fit with my values and would challenge me. I started my role as Brand Partnership Manager in January 2024 & I’m excited to get to work with passionate people every day & help connect meaningful brands with our logistics team, to make their lives easier & help them achieve their brand goals.
Walk us through your typical work day—when do you start, end, and do all day? (Where do you work from?)
Monday through Friday, I typically wake up about 6am, do my own personal yoga practice, meditate, eat breakfast & then get to work about 830 or 9am. I work from home most days, but sometimes I meet with brands in person. I spend my days on sales calls with brands, creating marketing content, and collaborating with team members. I typically wrap up work at 530 or 6pm. For the yoga side of things, I tap into intuition and work as fluidly as possible. When inspiration strikes, I plan classes and brainstorm workshops. I typically end up working after my corporate job throughout the week, or block out a couple hours to do things on the weekends.
What are some questions someone should really ask themselves if they want to get into your industry / career path?
Do you enjoy learning about people, getting to know them, trying to understand them deeply, and helping people? Sales, brand partnerships, management, and teaching yoga are all similar in that way - it’s all about the people. I started my career in sales and marketing because I loved learning about people’s stories, understanding what motivated them to do certain things, and wanting to help make their life easier in some way. That reason has only deepened with time and especially on the yoga side of things, I love that I feel like I can make a true difference in someone’s life.
What tools/resources do you frequently use? (Books, podcasts, mentors, wellness habits, software, etc.)
I love Brene Brown’s two podcasts - one is more work-related (Dare to Lead) & the other is very personal and soul-focused (Unlocking Us) - both are super helpful in understanding yourself and how you bring yourself into work situations. I saw a therapist for a year, during my heaviest time of burnout and she helped me uncover why I was burnt out and how to move forward by releasing old patterns and thoughts that no longer serve me. As I mentioned, so many tools from yoga itself that I use daily. I use Google Calendar to keep everything in one place & I’ve really enjoyed Front as inbox management & workplace communication software.
What is something you do when things get difficult? How do you handle stress/ challenges?
Yoga. Yoga has been invaluable in reframing how I approach work (and overall life) and it is also a set of tools in managing stress. Yoga as a physical practice has helped regulate my nervous system during a time of stress. Simple breathwork practices & meditation (also part of yoga) helps me clear through the noise and stress and get to a place where I can decipher what is actually happening and be able to react logically and from a state of equilibrium, rather than making decisions under heightened stress. Once I can regulate myself I create a step by step plan & prioritizing - tackling one step at a time. This helps me to tackle challenges in front of me & understand what is truly important and what can wait - maybe to get picked up after a nourishing meal, a walk outside, or the next day after I rest.
What advice would you give to someone who is trying to figure out what they want to do (for work) in general?
Ah this is tough! And something that I continue to iterate on. I’ve tried so many things! I’ve spent multiple hours on LinkedIn reviewing job postings to see what sounds good, spoke to people about their jobs, considered a Masters degree & read through curriculum, asked anyone close to me what they think I should do. I don’t have a simple easy answer, but what’s worked for me is following what feels like I can live my most free, authentic life. What job - what next step, will help me feel free and authentic. Sometimes the next role or the career iteration is a stepping stone. Sometimes it feels like it’s something you can dig into and stay for a while. I found the words Free & Authentic after spending time on my own, journaling, reflecting, and yes, creating a vision board, to understand rather than what JOB/CAREER do I want, how do I want to feel in said job/career.
For me those two words ring true, but for someone else they might have different words, different feelings or beliefs that rise to the top. Listen to what feels like the truest thing to you. In selecting a new path in my career, I also thought about: what would I be proud to tell people I do? What do I think would bring me joy explaining? And it’s not about impressing people - but how could I share something that I feel passionate about and excited to share. Also, I listen to the ‘no’s’. When something doesn’t feel like it’s a big yes, then it’s a no. I have declined job offers (even when it’s scary) because ultimately it didn’t feel like I was 100% in & there was more of a no than a yes. Because a career at the end of the day, can be many things - but it doesn’t need to be the only thing in your life (believe me, I didn’t always think this). I know now that a career can take many forms - it is a living breathing thing that will be high on the priority list during some seasons of life and lower down the list, in others. Sometimes it’s the most fulfilling part of life, and other times it’s just a job - something where you spend some time during the day, while other activities bring purpose.
What excites you about the future OR what's up next for you in the near future? (Could be career-related, life-related, or even a future career pivot / path)
I’m excited to continue to be open to possibilities. Starting off, I would have never guessed about the places I’ve worked, the people I’ve met, or where I am even living today. I believe I’m here because of my ability to be open to possibilities, lean into my intuition, and the openness to be flexible and change direction - not being too stuck on one version of myself.
Check out Alix’s website and Instagram for more awesome content
alixkelseyyoga.com and https://www.instagram.com/alixkelsey.yoga/