3 Oms— Turning Passion Into a Thriving Business

Amy Robinson, owner of 3 Oms Yoga, grew up in Seattle before moving to Bellingham in 1993 to attend Western Washington University.

While school was the initial reason for her to come to Whatcom County, she soon realized that she couldn’t imagine anywhere better to reside or start a business.

In 2002 Amy developed her love for yoga and, after practicing for 7 years, decided to open her own studio. The original 3 Oms Yoga studio was in a great space but it wasn’t large enough for the growing class sizes.

Although a fast-growing business can be a great challenge to have, this required Amy to start looking for new studio spaces in Bellingham. She wanted to grow into a space that would allow her to offer her clients more classes to choose from and accommodate more students in each class.

Amy had been working with the SBDC for a number of years as the business grew. She came back to get guidance on this next business step. The main question Amy had to answer was, ‘Should I lease a new larger space or possibly buy my own building?’

While crunching the numbers with her SBDC advisor, looking at projections and talking about bank loan options, Amy decided to buy the building which is now home to 3 Oms Yoga.

With the purchase came a large remodel project that transformed the previous office space into a yoga studio that reflects positive energy and balance.

Amy worked with Chuckanut Builders (another SBDC client) to achieve the goals she had in mind for her new studio.

Along with wonderful advice and mediation, the SBDC also provided amazing connections to folks like Wade Stringfield at WECU to look into SBA loan options.