This whole process of trying to switch from being a teacher to starting my own business is challenging. There is such a wide range of responsibilities and projects that I must do.
Teaching did give me many skills that I need to start a business. As a teacher, I did such a wide range of paperwork and reports that I at least know what it takes to motivate me to finish the paperwork. Data collection is almost second nature to me since it was a vital, almost constant part of each moment of teaching. Much of teaching is motivating reluctant people; hopefully, that skill will be enough to convince people to work with me as advisors and support group. And of course, there is time management, materials creation, quality control, inventory and ordering and…
Transferable Teaching Skills
communication skills
empathy
flexibility
motivation of self and others
time management
adaptability
collaboration
decision making
building rapport
negotiation
setting the tone
computer skills
project management
problem-solving
goal setting
data analysis
record keeping
creating reports and presentations
research
quality control
facilitating participation
inventory control
coordinate events
scheduling
grant management
marketing
fundraising
public speaking
assessing performance
system analysis
attention to detail
able to see big picture
Teaching is all about multi-tasking, so sitting at the computer writing a blog while waiting for calls and emails to be returned is easy, I feel almost lazy doing only 1 thing at a time. Of course, I still have multiple tabs open and I keep checking to see if I have any answers to emails and texts I sent. But, I admit that the ability to focus on only 1 thing at a time is amazing. The lack of interruptions and “have to do’s” is such a blessing.
Then we get to one of my biggest frustrations – waiting. I send an email and get nothing. A few days later I have to decide if need to send a follow-up or go over the person’s head or find a new contact or just be patient. The person that helped me find several contacts and has given me so much helpful advice tested positive for Covid. So I understand her lack of response. But I don’t know about many of the others I am waiting on. I admit that I am not the most aggressive person (major understatement). I hate to be a pest, so I wait too long to call back. This is something I definitely need to work on.
But my biggest struggle is financial planning. I need to make enough money to pay bills and have extra for savings. But I find it hard to charge teachers for materials because I know how much buying classroom materials adds up. I would love to be able to give away everything I create. Yet, If I don’t make money on what I create, I have to get a different job that will reduce the time and energy to create items. I would love to do a “pay what you can afford” set up but that is beyond my skills at the moment. So I am using Teachers Pay Teachers to market my products. I can put advertisements on my website but I hate how they distract from the website, can block important content, and can send my users somewhere else to never return. I could sell a subscription to access the materials on the website but how do I price it so that I can make a living yet not keep out teachers that can’t afford the fee? So how do I make money? I don’t know yet. I still have savings to cover my needs for a short while but, hopefully, I get responses back from the people that I hope to get advice from so that I can start making money NOW.
At this moment I am juggling financial planning, finding advisors, writing a business plan, updating my website, learning how to write interesting blogs, learning how to market my product, getting copyright permission to use the Common Core Standards (when I first started I thought they were public domain), and creating materials to a high standard.
I thought I could take care of the business contacts on Monday, blog Tuesday and Friday, work on the website Tuesday and Wednesday, then focus on product creation Thursday through Saturday. Wrong. Each business contact has a different day that is easiest to actually find them in the office. The website glitches and I can’t allow myself to let it wait. Some of the blogs take me days to write and edit. So each day I set a goal to work on a few different things. I almost always have some follow-up calls, texts, or emails. I research ways to improve my website, blogs, and products almost every day because I always have questions as I work. Then I decide which is the highest priority for that day – business, website, blog, or product and set my last goals accordingly.
Today I made initial contacts with 2 people. Now I am waiting for their responses. I updated my last blog so that it shows up on my website with an image (one of the pieces of advice to draw attention to a blog). I found another glitch on the website that I can’t quite figure out. I think I will post it on the Word Press Beginner Group on Facebook – it gives a much faster response than Word Press Support. I updated my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I reviewed some materials that I created for a specific class to see if they can be updated for TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers) – they can be but with so many changes that it will be quicker to create a few new products. Now it is time to focus on creating materials. I am still working on 6th-grade ratios.
I will continue to update you on the process of getting this business going since I read that you should have variety in your blog post content. Most of my blogs should be about the standards but I will switch up from time to time to keep things interesting and to encourage others that are transitioning to a similar career. For those of you doing the transition – good luck! It is challenging but definitely something you can handle – especially if you were a teacher. Teachers can handle almost anything!