When I began offering Spanish preschool classes, I thought I’d never find one with enough parent interest to make my efforts worthwhile. After flying out of the gates with high hopes, I was quickly shot down. It seemed impossible to get more than 4 kids enrolled in my classes. I told myself that the numbers would grow, but they just stumbled along, not really increasing at all. I started to wonder if this business of mine was just a pipe dream or really the viable moneymaker that I had dreamed of.
Well, after several centers and some advice from a friend who has a huge and profitable enrichment class business in preschools, I was able to tweak the formula. Now, I have a set process and timeline that produces higher enrollment numbers and amazing retention. I’ll bet you’d like to skip that learning phase I had to go through, and head right for successful start-ups. If so, here are three tips that turned my start-up process around. You can also get the Countdown to Class timeline I’ve found most effective for opening classes at a new center.
Offer a free class
So you’re getting ready to start a class at a brand new location, and you don’t quite know how to get the word out. You’ve done fliers and parent notes in each cubby, but it just seems as if there should be something more. Have you thought about offering a free class?
A free class can reassure parents that their child will enjoy learning Spanish. It also gets kids super-enthusiastic. (We all know that kids are truly the best salespeople, right?) It is a concrete reminder that a new opportunity is opening up. And it demonstrates right up front that you are interested in providing value. Finally, it is a chance for you to see which kiddos are interested in Spanish and help guide parents so they get the best value for their money.
So what can you do to make this introductory class the most effective?
Require parents to fill out a registration form for these three reasons
At the first few centers I partnered with, I simply offered do a free class for the entire group. I felt like I was truly offering them something of value, and I didn’t want any of the kids to miss out. It was a nightmare. There are three main reasons you should require a registration form.
It will be more like your actual classes
First, the centers often wanted to combine classes to save time. At one center, I ended up with 24 kids in one class. That’s a teacher-student ratio I would NEVER allow in my paid classes, because they would be totally ineffective. Consequently, my free class was totally ineffective. The kids were wild. I had to cut some of my most fun (and most active) portions because I knew that they would dissolve into chaos. My classes came off as boring and I had VERY low enrollment. And by the way, they never grew because the kids had decided my classes were boring based on that one disastrous free class.
Make sure the center director is on board with your Spanish preschool classes
Secondly, requiring registration can save you time. Let the director know that there is a minimum enrollment for the free class. This will encourage the director to encourage parents to sign up. Who wants 6 parents to be disappointed because the group was short 2 enrollments? So, you are more likely to have a set number of enrollments, the director creates a habit of nudging parents to get their registration in, and you don’t have to offer the free class if only 2 students sign up. And here’s a news flash: if only 2 kids sign up for your free class, this isn’t the center that you’re looking for anyway. (It’s good to mention up-front that your free class has a minimum enrollment so parents don’t feel cheated if there is low interest.)
Be able to communicate directly with parents
Finally – and this is the big one – by having parents register, you can get their e-mail address. Having the parents’ e-mail address lets you communicate directly with them. You send an update on how the free class went (more on that later). You can send a quick e-mail reminder on the final day of registration for your paid class. You can send reminders for future classes and quick tips for helping a child learn language at home. Of course, you always want to give them a chance to opt out, but these parents have expressed an interest in having their child learn Spanish. They value education. They are your target market. By sending value-packed information, you can show your commitment to providing high-quality instruction. That allows you to build trust, and THAT is the key to a long-term relationship.
Follow-up with parents (individually, if possible) right after the free class
So you’ve presented a great free class. The kids were into it, you had rockin’ activities, and you can hardly wait for the full session to start. Let the parents know. Send a quick e-mail as soon after your class as possible detailing the songs you sang, the books you read, and how the games went. You might even want to include a link or two to YouTube videos of those songs, if they are available. Convince the parents (in 100 words or less!) that you are an amazing professional and they do NOT want their child to miss out. Keep it positive and low-key, but definitely let them know that you are providing tremendous value.
If possible, make the notes individualized. You probably won’t remember the names of each child, but to the extent that you can, let the parents know not just how “the kids” did, but how Emma or Aiden did specifically. Again, this shows that you are more interested in the kids than in the money. If a child asked a question, or seemed particularly engaged, try to make a note of that child’s name, so you can mention it specifically in your note.
Of course, sometimes a child is truly disruptive or doesn’t seem emotionally ready for the class. I always let parents know that (nicely and tactfully!), as well because I want them to get their money’s work AND I want the other kids who enroll to have a great class.
Parents are interested not as much in the group in general as they are in their very own little angel. The more you can give them specifics, the more they will see you as a resource and not just a salesperson.
In a recent post, I mentioned cutting expenses by adding one frugal habit every month or so. The example I gave was reducing Starbucks trips from daily to once or twice a week. The more I thought about it, the more I realized there was something else there important enough to write about. It’s the idea of making your “splurges” special.
This sounds kind of weird because splurges, by definition, are special. They are a special treat we give ourselves. Originally, the meaning was something a little over the top, something luxurious or costly. The trouble is that for whatever reason, whether it is advertising that encourages us to indulge more often, or the stress of daily life, many of us have “splurge-spread.” What should be a special treat has become something that we do almost every day. We still tell ourselves it’s our little splurge. But it has become a part of our routine.
That’s what happened to me with my Diet Dr. Pepper habit. When I was little I rarely drank soft drinks, even though I loved them. Then when I was out on my own, I started to have my beloved Diet Dr. Pepper more and more often. I wasn’t a coffee drinker, so I’d drink a DDP for my morning caffeine fix. At first, it was just when I hadn’t slept well and needed a pick-me-up. But pretty soon, it was a daily thing. If I forgot my DDP, my day wasn’t going to be a good one. Then, I started having one in the afternoon. I realized I was headed for a two-a-day habit. And it wasn’t something special. It was normal.
So I’ve started to cut back on my soft drinks. (My tastes have changed with maturity and now I’m more of a Coke person.) It’s taken me a long time, but now I drink 2-3 a week instead of 1-2 a day. Here’s the thing, though. My Cokes have become special again. Instead of it ruining my day if I don’t get a soft drink, when I DO get one, it’s a splurge. It FEELS special again. I really savor the bubbles and the sweetness. I notice how good it tastes.
Now soft drinks aren’t super expensive, so it’s not really about the money in that case. It’s about my quality of life. And even though it might seem crazy, having fewer splurges has actually improved my happiness. When I have a Coke, it is a choice, not a habit. And oh my gosh, how I enjoy it. Before, I just took it for granted.
But what if part of it IS the money? What if the habit you decide to change can add $20 a week or more to your bottom line, and make you happier in the process? That would be sweet, right?
So give it some thought. Is there a “splurge” in your life that you don’t even notice anymore? Is it something that could either save you money or could become something special again instead of just part of your daily routine? Try reducing – not eliminating – it. And see what happens. You might find that you like it even better when it is truly a splurge.
And whatever you do – or don’t do – on this front, remember I believe in you. You got this!
No one likes to think about recessions. They can range from unsettling to completely terrifying depending on your financial and job situation. But even if we don’t like them, they are predictable. On average, we have had a recession about every 6 years, which means that we are getting overdue for the next one. And while none of us is looking forward to one, there are several things we can do to make sure that we are on the mildly-concerned side of the spectrum instead of the full-on panic side of the spectrum.
Create an emergency fund
The most important thing that will help the average person weather a recession is to create an emergency fund. However, an astonishing number of people don’t have any money in savings at all. Not a great thing if we’re staring a recession in the face. So the first thing to do is get something in savings.
Many experts recommend an emergency fund of 3-6 months of expenses, although some recommend one as large as 12 months’ worth of expenses. The problem is that it can take significant time to save that much money, and if you aren’t paying off debt, you are sitting on a mountain of cash that you might not even need. At the same time, you may be paying huge amounts of interest each month that will make saving anything at all that much harder.
Finding the right balance
One way around this Catch-22 is to set a certain amount for a starter emergency fund, and then switch to paying off debt. When all debt is covered, then you switch back and finish up the emergency fund. For me, I would have a lot of trouble sleeping at night if I didn’t have at least one month’s worth of expenses saved up. So maybe the logical thing to do is to focus on saving a one-month emergency fund, then paying off a portion of debt, then saving another month, and so on.
If you have read my series on Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps, you’ll realize that this is contradicting his advice to save only $1000 and then pay off ALL debt before finishing the emergency fund. But there is a reason I don’t like that advice at this exact point in time. We are overdue for a recession. Nobody can predict the future of the financial markets. But it makes me really nervous not to have a little bit of extra money laid aside when a recession – and possibly a big one – is looming.
Pay off debt
OK, so you have decided to get an emergency fund saved up. And you’ve chosen an amount to start with, one that’s enough to let you sleep at night, but not take 6 months to save up. Now it’s time to kick the debt pay off into high gear. For this, definitely start with your smallest debt. Why? Because every debt that you pay off is one less payment you’ll have if you get laid off. Even a reduction of $50/month in minimum payments can reduce the stress and make the emergency fund go a little further.
So this is what you do. Make minimum payments on everything but your smallest debt, and pound that sucker. Pay it off as quickly as you possibly can. Don’t eat out. Don’t splurge. Don’t buy ANY new clothes. Put every extra penny toward paying off that first debt. When the littlest debt is paid off, take that minimum payment, add it to the payment on the 2nd littlest, and pound that one.
You might not get all your debts paid off before a recession hits. However, you’ll be in a much better position if you have an emergency fund (even a small one) and have started paying off debts.
Once you’ve paid off a few debts, you might want to re-assess. Does your job seem stable, or is there trouble on the horizon? If it seems stable, you might want to stay the course. But if there is talk of a RIF at work, or if your partner’s job seems shaky, you might want to increase the emergency fund a little more before you pay off any more debt.
Create a side hustle – or two
This one goes hand in hand with the others and will help them to go a lot faster if you do it right. Start a side hustle or a small business to amp up your income. That gives you more money to put toward your emergency fund or your debt. The important thing here is not to spend too much money setting it up.
And the good news is that there are a lot of side hustles you can get going fast with very little investment. Here is a list of “high-dollar” side hustles – side hustles that allow you to make $20 or more an hour. If you’d like to get the real scoop on VIPKID, you can check out my interview with a friend of mine here. She’s been doing VIPKID for almost a year and it really works for her. Shoot, for a month or two, you could just deliver pizzas or babysit. But if you are serious, get out there and do something to earn cash and speed up the rest of the plan.
If you can earn an extra $300-$400/month, everything else is going to go a TON faster. You’ll build your emergency fund faster and pay off debt faster, too.
There is one SUPER important thing to remember here, though. Any money you make from a side hustle might not have taxes withheld, especially if it is a small business you start on your own. Make sure to put about 25% of that money back so Uncle Sam doesn’t surprise you with a big tax bill next April.
Update your skills
If you feel like your job isn’t as secure as you’d like it to be, updating your skills might be a higher priority than a side hustle. Now, I love extra money coming in. But what if you are worried that your company isn’t doing so well or that you might be one of the first to go in case of a downturn? Getting a few new skills under your belt might be more important than immediate income. Focus on skills that would make you more valuable in your current job or more marketable if you needed to go job hunting. Computer skills are always a good bet, but if you are almost proficient in a foreign language, that might be a good choice, too.
Again, spending an arm and a leg isn’t ideal. But you can get an absolute TON of learning for free online. Check out this list of the 10 best sites for FREE learning. Or this one for specific IT courses.
Check your monthly bills
Besides earning more money with a side hustle, you can also cut your monthly bills to find more money. In case of a recession, it will help to have lower monthly expenses. And in the mean time, you will have extra money extra month to put toward your emergency fund or toward debt.
It seems totally overwhelming and a lot of people don’t know where to start. But I’ve got a plan. Start by assembling all of your monthly bills and statements. Check your statements to find subscriptions or monthly charges you might have forgotten about. Then start calling. If you can cancel the charge (like with a gym membership you rarely use), do it. But if you can’t cancel it, see if you can get the charges reduced. If you get even three bills cut by $15/month, that adds up to $45/month total.
Choose and implement 1 new frugal habit
One of the things that trips a lot of us up when we want to reduce spending is feeling like we have to reign it all in at once. We rush in, slash like crazy, and then give it up after a week and a half because it’s just too overwhelming.
Let’s not do that, K? Instead, pick one item, JUST ONE in which you could make some cuts. Then create a plan. Do you buy coffee at the Starbucks near your office every morning? Could you cut it to just one morning a week? Depending on your order, that alone could save you $60-80/month. How many times a week do you eat out? Reduce it by one, just ONE per week and stash that money.
Again, I’m sure you have a LOT more ways you could cut expenses, but pace yourself. This ain’t no sprint. It’s a marathon, Honey! Give yourself time to really solidify one frugal habit before you rush into another one. My suggestion would be to aim for no more than one new money-saving habit every 2-4 weeks. You want it to become so routine that it doesn’t takes almost no willpower at all to continue it. That way, when you add another habit, the first one doesn’t shrivel up and die.
So if a recession does come our way (and it WILL, the question is only “when?”) you’ll sleep so much better at night if you’ve put yourself on solid ground with even one of these tips. Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to do all of them at once. Think about what is realistic for you, do that, and then pat yourself on the back.
One of the side hustles you hear about most is teaching English to students overseas, principally in China. This can be a great side hustle for teachers, or if you need to replace only a portion of your own income in order to stay home with kids, this would be an option to actually help you bridge that gap. Here is a link to their teacher website, so you can check out the basics.
I wanted to get the scoop from someone I know and trust, so I called my good friend Julianne. She has a strong entrepreneurial streak and previously started and ran her own paint-your-own pottery store. She has since moved away from that area. VIPKID allows her to work from home and keep a flexible schedule. If you decide to give it a go, her referral number is http://t.vipkid.com.cn?refersourceid=e01&refereeId=4058854. and I’m sure she’d love for you to use it.
How long have you being teaching for VIPKid?
It’s been just about a year now. I started in Oct. but my shedule wasn’t full until after Chistmas. That’s fairly typical. About 2 months to get your time slots filled.
In an average week, how many hours do you work for VIPKid?
15-20
What was the hardest part about getting started?
Probably just getting familiar with their format. Their teacher portal and also all the lessons. Just getting in the rhythm . There are at least 7 different levels and within each level there might be 100 different lessons. Just getting in the flow of what’s in the lesson – what you’re going to need. And then the tech stuff. Is the webcam working? That stuff is super important. They’ve been updating a lot because they’re getting so many new teachers, so just getting that figured out.
About how much do you make an hour?
$20/hour. Everybody has a base pay. My base pay is $8 per 25 min lesson. As long as you show up on time you get an extra dollar, and if you teach at least 45 classes per month, you get an extra dollar. So that makes it $20.
How much do you make from bonuses, like referrals and special promotions?
Not much really. I think if I worked more hours I would. There are certain prime time hours that I can’t work because I am getting the kids ready. But sometimes they will give a bonus if you open up all those slots.
I haven’t really done much on the referrals. There are other opportunities within the company. They have stuff like teacher mentors and curriculum development. You can move beyond just teaching , but I don’t know much about it.
What do you like best about VIPKID?
The flexibility. Most of the kids are really fun and they take their lessons seriously. I like to be able to work at home. I can sit in my little office in my comfortable clothes. Once you get into the rhythm of the lessons, it’s pretty easy.
If you could change one thing about VIPKID, what would it be?
Maybe that the Parents can rate the teachers. So every class you teach, you can get 1-5 apples. If you don’t get a 5 apple, you aren’t eligible for some things and if you don’t have a perfect 5 rating other parents might not book you. If there’s a kid misbehaving and you reprimand them, they can give you a low score and theres nothing you can do about that. VIPKID isn’t very flexible about the evaluations. Sometimes it’s a little difficult to correspond with VIPKID about stuff like that.
Who would you recommend VIPKID to? In other words, what would you consider to be their ideal recruit?
Someone that really enjoys working with kids. Somebody that can have a little bit of an understanding of the culture, especially regarding education. Why the parents are putting their kids through this education. They are spending a lot of time and money on these lessons. Someone who is energetic and patient and understands that it can be challenging to learn another language. You don’t have to be a teacher but need to have experience teaching children in some way.
Other options
So there you have it. Since Julianne and I are such good friends, I have heard about her VIPKID journey from the beginning, and I know it has really made a difference for her. If you want to try a side hustle, but don’t think VIPKID is the one for you, check out our post on other high dollar side hustles that can net you well over $20 an hour.
