Poornima Vijayashanker launched BizeeBee, a software tool to help yoga studios run their businesses.

While similar software tools such as MindBody Online and Prana Software exist, BizeeBee is tailored to the specific needs of young and small businesses with a single location, modest enrollment and annual revenue of $100,000-200,000. Vijayashanker designed BizeeBee to be flexible and low cost: No contracts are required and monthly subscription rates are less than $70. With yoga on the rise -- the number of yoga practitioners grew 29 percent to 20.4 million Americans from 2008 to 2012, according to Yoga Journals Yoga in America study -- Vijayashanker anticipates an increase in instructors wholl potentially need management help when starting out.

In the two and a half years since its launch, Palo Alto, Calif.-based BizeeBee has built a client roster that includes personal trainers, instructors, and owners of yoga, dance and martial arts studios, whose 36,000 clients are currently tracked by the tool.

Feedback from its subscribers inspired Vijayashanker to add new features to the software in 2011, including an online storefront to sell supplies and class packages. BizeeBee Billing, designed to streamline payment collection at a cost of 4 percent per transaction, is currently being beta-tested.

Straightforward management software is especially important to growing small, community-driven businesses, according to Rob Schware, co-founder of the Give Back Yoga Foundation, a group that brings yoga to underserved communities and trains instructors who do the same. He explains, [Management] tools that are simple to install and easy to implement help the beginning yoga studio owner or instructor to reach their communities more effectively.

Vijayashanker says revenue is growing at a rate of 1-2 percent per month and reached break even at the end of 2012. The company is now run by Vijayashanker and her technical co-founder Alex Notov, with the help of two interns involved in marketing and development.

BizeeBees next step is to increase its online presence through Internet marketing via social media, email campaigns and search engine optimization. It will also expand its YouTube-hosted Sustainable Studio Series: short episodes that aim to give business owners tips and enhance BizeeBees credibility.

Inspired by her experiences in tech, Vijayashanker has also created Femgineer, an ed-tech startup created to educate, encourage and empower women building tech products and businesses. The courses cover topics like product development and interview strategies and students are (naturally) scheduled and managed through the tool. Using BizeeBee as a case study in her curriculum, Vijayashanker encourages aspiring women in tech to be self-motivated, self-reliant and to take risks. She tell them: Recognize youre resourceful enough.

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