After we had our dog for about a year, I had to arrange for dog care while we were out of town on a family vacation. This was a whole new deal for me because I grew up in a close-knit community with loads of family around. When we’d travel, we just had neighbors or my grandparents take care of our pets. So I was calling around like a crazy woman (I didn’t realize you had to book more than a week out) and was lucky to find a kennel that would keep Sasha. However, taking her there just about broke my heart. She was fearful, stressed-out, and confused, and I felt like a massive jerk leaving her there. Even though the kennel was clean and the caregivers kind, I decided I would never do that again. So I started looking for another option.
After some digging, I did find an alternative. I could have her stay in a person’s home. She’d still be scared and confused, but somehow I imagine that being in a home with people and lots of petting would be a lot less stressful than being in a kennel, even a nice one. And besides overnight care, you can also offer dog walking or drop-in visits.
The best parts of pet sitting as a side job
Income
If you love pets, pet sitting could be a side job that would add $1500 or more to your monthly income. Rates for overnight care (per dog) in Indiana ranged from $20-55 in a small town, and $28-55 in a large metro area for normal dates. Sumiko, a dog sitter I spoke with, said that with work to build up your clientele, pet sitting could realistically add $1000 or more to your monthly income. That’s no small change for doing something that you enjoy anyway!
Flexibility
While you will want to accept as large of a variety of pets as possible, you can set some parameters as far as size, breed, and number. You can also block out dates that you aren’t available, so you don’t have to forego your own vacations or visits to family. (Of course, the more dates you are available, the more you will make. That’s only common sense.) Finally, you set your own price. If you have a lot of experience with dogs, you can charge higher rates. Many of the online pet sitter sites also allow you to list reviews, so as you gain more positive comments and review, you can also adjust your rates upward.
Meaning
As teachers, we know that giving back sometimes matters just as much as the money you bring in. (Boy, do we know it!) If you really love animals, offering a loving home or a fun walk is a way to serve animals and their owners.
Ease of start up
While anything that has a realistic chance of being a good money maker is going to take some commitment, thiWhat’s more, it is a low-commitment gig. You don’t have to have a ton of money up front, just a love of animals. Finally, there are nWhile ow websites available, so you don’t have to do it all on your own (although putting the word out there to family and friends is probably a very good idea). And if you use rover.com
Of course, there are some cons, too. It’s hard to know how other people’s animals are going to act. Sumiko had been hosting with Rover.com for over a year when I talked to her, and she says that sometimes her yard has gotten pretty torn up by energetic dogs, especially when it’s pretty muddy out already. A second down side is that the high-demand times (when you would make the majority of your money) are also the times when you might want to travel or have houseguests – holidays and weekends. Finally, if you use a portal like rover.com, they take 20% of your fees, so be sure to figure that in.
Sumiko has really enjoyed her time pet sitting. She told me, “The best part of hosting is getting to sample every breed imaginable as your pet, the companionship/ playtime, and income. We’ve had some challenges with high energy dogs such as muddying the yard when it’s rained a while, dogs hopping baby gates in the house…but it’s not constant and you can restrict breeds, size…” She estimates that people who commit to building their clientele and really treat it like a business could make $1000 a month or more. Of course, it will take some time to get to that level, but it’s one of the few businesses you can start right away with very little investment of time or money.
Did you ever have an appointment that you were really looking forward to, and then, when it actually happened…it was SO MUCH better than you even thought it could be? That’s how my interview about teaching pods with Jennifer Goodine of Cape Cottage Tutoring went today.
Originally, I contacted her because she is starting ‘teaching pods’ this fall. She will be supervising the virtual education of several different groups of children, allowing their parents to work from home or help their other children with online work. Since this is an idea that many of you have considered, I wanted to give you the info from someone who is actually putting it together. She definitely gave us some incredible insights.
To give you an idea of her story, Jennifer switched teaching jobs a year ago to allow herself to be able to help care for her father, who was suffering from dementia. She is thankful to have been with her parents during that journey, but took a $25,000 pay cut when she switched schools. After the recent passing of her father and another family member, she realized that returning to the classroom wasn’t the right choice for her right now and made a social media post offering teaching pods to parents in her area. She will start the year moderating several different groups of students or ‘teaching pods’ as they complete their virtual studies, and is looking at options for when students return to school.
But besides the great advice she gave on teaching pods, she is just super fun to talk with. If you enjoy reading the interview half as much as I enjoyed doing it, this will definitely be worth your time! To listen to the interview, watch this space, I am currently trying to put it together as the very first Classroom to Home podcast, and I’ll let you know when it’s ready.
Let’s dig into our interview with Jennifer Goodline of Cape Cottage Tutoring. The content of the interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Classroom to Home: I’m so excited to hear about [teaching pods]!
Jennifer Goodine: I’m excited to tell about it.
Classroom to Home: I’ve been telling people, ‘Guys like, take initiatives. Do what you’ve got to do [to stay safe].’ And you’re the first person I’ve heard about that’s actually making this go.
Jennifer Goodine: How funny! Really? I just don’t think it’s an innovative idea.
You’re not the only one who has contacted me. I did an interview with ABC news. It hasn’t aired. My father passed away that weekend. They wanted to come do some footage, and so much has changed with my dad’s passing that I just haven’t had time. And I’ve been asked for an interview with CBS. And I had my little Cocktail hour the other night [with the parent of my teaching pod students]. And here I am with you.
But I don’t think it is innovative. It makes sense.
Classroom to Home: It makes sense. We have a skill. They need it. And a lot of teachers are really having a hard time because they are pregnant or they have elderly parents that they aren’t going to be able to see for literally months at a time. And school corporations, some are doing their best, and some just are not.
What do you teach and how many years have you taught?
Jennifer Goodine: My goodness! Have been teaching since 2000, but I have a very strange history of teaching. I’m ex military and I was a Spanish linguist in the army before I ever was a teacher.
So I came in back door in everything. My degree is in media studies, which is why my post ended up going viral. I had like 6500 views on my post in a couple of days, but I knew where to post it, too.
I started out as a linguist in the military. Then I got divorced. And there was this job I saw in the paper, and it said, “Teach in South America.” And I was like, “If I don’t apply for this job, I’m just going to wonder about it forever.” And the next thing you know I was interviewing in this brownstone in Boston with like 10 people around a table. And the next thing you know, I was getting us a visa, getting everything in line.
And we went down and taught in Colombia for a year. I was a 5th grade teacher down there. And from there, because I wasn’t certified, I was applying everywhere. Because I knew I was coming home. And the only place that was interested was a boarding school for kids that had been through rehab and that hadn’t worked or they had been to experiential outdoor schools and that hadn’t worked. So they sent them to this school, which was a character education high school. So I taught there for two years and was teaching there in this funky, awesome barn, that I loved.
I did a year of public school as a long term sub and then I taught K-8th grade Spanish. And so I had all this background in ESL, 5th grade, Spanish. I’ve been teaching Spanish since 2003. But I also teach adult ed. English as a second language.
This past year I left my public school position and I took a $25,000 pay cut because I was commuting 2 hours and 15 minutes everyday round trip and dad needed me, so I moved in with my parents for almost a year to help see him through that journey. And it was great because even though I took that big pay cut I would shoot home during my free period and visit with my dad.
And then the only way I could support myself because of taking the pay cut was I started a small business, which is pet sitting. So the pet sitting sort of eased the gap. And I’m doing a ton of that now because I just found out this morning that the schools will be pushing their start date a week out.
So I’m thinking about putting another weird post out. Maybe something like, ‘Hey parents, you weren’t expecting this, and neither was I. Can I take your kids to the beach and give them a Spanish lesson?’ We have a farm in another town, so [maybe] I can take them to go garden. Because parents need to work.
Classroom to Home: How did you start? You said you had posted something and it went viral. Did the parents contact you from that?
Jennifer Goodine: Yes. I didn’t even put a phone number. My daughter was making a website for me, and then everything sort of fell apart in my family. We had a previous death like three weeks before my father died.
Classroom to Home: Wow! This has just been a heck of a time!
Jennifer Goodine: Yeah, but you know what I’m learning out of this? When you hit bottom there is no where to go but up, and I feel like I have these little guardian angels and they’re sort of guiding me back.
So I made this post and I just slapped a little meme on there with The Wizard of Oz. And it says “Homeshooling: Imagined” and it has the princess or the queen or whatever she was. And then “Homeschooling: Reality” with the Wicked Witch. Then I said, “It wasn’t what you imagined, was it?” Cause I saw so many memes [about that]. And I thought, “There’s a market here.”
So what I’m offering is, I’m going to teach Spanish classes to each of my little cohort groups and then I’ll do all the things the parents didn’t want to do, because I’m certified K-12. So I will just guide the kids through that.
Classroom to Home: So give us the basic details [on your teaching pods]. How many kids? What are the ages? What are the times?
Jennifer Goodine: So my kids down the street here I’m going to do from 8 until 10:30 or 11. We haven’t locked a time in yet. I initially set it up that way because I thought I was going to go home and take care of dad during that time. And that group they just kind of ended up securing me. So I had one parent that just went and talked to every 2nd grade parent in the neighborhood. So I’m going to have 2 cohort groups there. I’m going to be teaching in their great room. And then they have this massive patio. They are going to get me an event tent so I can teach outside.
And they asked me about doing gym, so I was like, “Yeah! I’ll do Spanish yoga.”
I had initially wanted to do a multi-age thing. My great aunt was a teacher in a 1-room school house, and so I was kind of envisioning something very “Little House on the Prairie”. But in any event, the group of 2nd grade parents [wanted me]. And that will be easier for me because I’ll just contact the teacher and all the kids will have the same assignments.
Classroom to Home: And how many kids will you have [in your teaching pods]?
Jennifer Goodine: We’re doing 3 on one day and 4 on the other.
And they also told me I was charging too little. THEY told me. Because, you know, as a teacher you devalue yourself. And I’m thinking so many hours and I’ll have a certain amount of kids and that will make up that pay. I was going to charge $125 per kid per child, but the kids would only be meeting 2 mornings a week. But they said, “No. That’s too little. You need to charge at least $200.” So we’re going $225. So I’m making up all the money that I lost last year when I took that pay cut.
And then at noon I’m going over to [another community]. Initially I was going to teach in my house. But I just didn’t have time with two deaths in the family. And I felt like when I was teaching on zoom last year, “I need to get out of my house.”
It’s a different crew. And I think it is going to be really good. I’m charging less in the afternoon, by the way because I’m making what I need in the morning. I don’t want to be cost prohibitive. I actually asked them to think about what they could afford because that one family has three kids.
Classroom to Home: And as teachers, bottom line, we have to support ourselves, but we’re also in it for the kids. If it was about the money we wouldn’t be doing this. That’s for sure.
So are you leaving your teaching position to do [teaching pods] full time?
Jennifer Goodine: I am. I am leaving my teaching position. I’m starting to look into insurance. I’m nervous about that, but I can’t stay where I was. I just can’t do it. I would cry at home sometimes.
Classroom to Home: Are you considering this as a temporary side hustle or something you’d like to turn into a long-term business or continue to supplement what you do?
Jennifer Goodine: Well, I have a lot of ideas. I’m feeling like what I am doing currently has a certain lack of longevity because eventually everyone is going to be back in school. But what I’m thinking about is trying to contract with preschools or doing my ESL. I have a lot of connections in Colombia who can get me to people who want to learn English. And then I’ve thought a lot about doing some cool summer camp thing. We have a farm. And I thought about what if I hired a retired carpenter and taught kids to do drywall and basic stuff. My sister is very artistic and she could teach quilting. It could be like farm camp. And I definitely want to keep it going. It’s just going to morph and change according to what is going on.
Classroom to Home: A lot of teachers have considered this, but they are really hesitant. What would be your best advice to someone who is terrified to go back into the classroom, but their corporation isn’t working with them. And they think, “I’ve got to get out, but I’ve got to have a way to make money”?
Jennifer Goodine: Well, I have a side hustle already. More than one, actually. And if you have multiple streams of money coming in from different sources, that might patch the gap. I’m hoping it will for me. And if it won’t, I’ll find a way or I just won’t spend any money. I mean, I’ll do what I have to.
I do pet sitting. (Note: if you’d like to learn more about pet sitting, check out my blog post High dollar side job: Pet sitting and pet care.) That completely died in March. I had all these people going on these 3-week European trips, and that died. One month, I lost $1,915 dollars that I had planned on having. But weirdly, after my brother-in-law passed, I started getting all these pet sitting jobs again. And now, I’m all booked up. I’m doing 3 or 4 every day – cat-sitting jobs, which is so easy.
I’m just taking whatever side gigs I can find. Another friend had watched my posts about what I was doing with my dad this last year. Because we did everything. Hospice came one hour a day to bathe my dad, and then they would leave. We did everything else. So I would post about it because that was my life. After my dad passed, another friend forwarded my name to someone who was looking for private elder care, so I’m doing that in the evenings now 4-8.
I also teach adult ed, which that won’t start until September and that’s going to be via zoom. I’ve been doing that for years. So that’s another way I have money coming in. And I thought about doing care.com, nannying or whatever.
Then my families in [one pod] – because I told them about my concern [since we’ll be starting school a week later] at our little cocktail party and they said, “We can start a week earlier. That would be great. You could get to know the kids.” So I know they are very invested. They are trying to lock me down because a lot of families here, parents who are staying home are bouncing kids around. I think it’s nice. I’m like the little Jane Eyre.
Classroom to Home:What do you think was the most attractive part of your offer? Was it just “You will not have to do the homework with your kids for 2 ½ hours”? Was it the Spanish? Was it the whole thing?
Jennifer Goodine: I think it was both. When I was listening to them the other night, a stay-at-home mom was saying, “Really? You’re telling us we can drop our kids off? You are going to handle this for 2 ½ or 3 hours?” I said, “Yeah. This will be my 21st year teaching, so yeah. Just like at school. I’ll call you if there is an emergency.” So for her, I think she wanted to get the kids out of the house. But her husband was like, “I love the Spanish. The Spanish is so important.”
Classroom to Home:I just really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. It sounds like your roster is full. How long would you say it took to get that full roster of how many kids as you would need or want?
Jennifer Gooline: Well, I think that a lot of it was everybody just waiting for the districts to tell them. Everybody is up in the air. But now I have a lot of inquiries, and “Keep me in the loop. Keep me in the loop,” but not biting the bullet because they don’t know what the plan is from the districts.
Hm. How long did it take? I think it did take a little while but a lot of that was me. I put a post up after my dad passed [saying] “I’m not answering messages for a few days.” So I guess maybe a couple of weeks. But I’m still getting inquiries.
Classroom to Home:I appreciate this so much. If I can be of any help, please let me know. I would love to be a part of your journey because I think you are going to have so much fun. I have just had a wonderful time. Thank you so much!
There you go! A real story from a teacher who took the leap into teaching pods. If you have experience with teaching pods, comment below so we can share our knowledge. Also, if you are worried about returning to school during the pandemic, check out the Classroom to Home Facebook Group to find support, information, and posting for remote jobs. Also, you’ll want to read “How the $&*# do I replace a teacher’s salary?” Whether it’s teaching pods or something else, I believe in you. You’ve got this.
Update: Since our interview, three more students have signed up for Jennifer’s teaching pods and she has closed enrollment to further students.
So you are thinking you need a side hustle, but you are frustrated because you feel like there is not much you can do until society opens up a bit more? Actually, ground work you do now could put your side hustle or micro-business light years ahead of where you would be if you jumped right in. Here are 5 questions to help find the perfect side hustle for you.
What are my side hustle priorities?
And do not write: “#1 Make money. #2 See #1.”
NO. I mean, really give this some thought, based on your personality and your family situation. What are the underlying reasons you have for wanting a micro-business or side hustle? Is it for little extras like vacations, eating out, or other treats you could give up if the market turned down? Or is it to pay rent or medical bills?
If it just ‘fun’ money, you can choose something that is good in good times and not good in bad times. But if this side hustle is the difference between you making rent or a car payment, you are going to want to give serious consideration to side hustles that will produce income no matter what the general economy does.
Another thing to consider is your family situation and life goals. Do you have kids? If so, what is best for them is going to play a major factor. I’m not trying to be alarmist here, but one of the (several) issues that kept me from every seriously considering using our extra room as an AirBNB was the fact that there was no separate entrance, and I didn’t want strangers in and out of our house when our kids were little.
Another thing that I would love to do is pet sitting. Unfortunately, my husband is allergic to both cats and dogs, so that is a non-started based on our family situation.
Be aware that your goals and situation will change over the years, so don’t try to predict everything that could possibly happen. But don’t be unrealistic about the facts, either. If you have 4 kids under age 4, a Saturday afternoon Mom’s Day Out babysitting service might be a lot more practical than a side hustle that requires hours of uninterrupted concentration.
Some ideas to consider:
Is this going to be ‘fun money’ or is it money you need just to pay the bills?
If you have a significant other is s/he on board?
Is it more important to you to make money right away or to have the potential to grow your income?
Do you need to be able to do your side hustle from home? While watching your own kids? At a certain time of day?
Do you have plans to move to a different city within the next few years?
Are you looking for something that could eventually replace your day job, or do you just want some extra cash on the side?
Is this side hustle recession proof? COVID-19 proof?
There are a lot of great side hustles out there that are only great until the economy goes south or we have another shutdown. That’s why it matters so much whether this is ‘fun money’ or you are relying on it to pay the bills.
If it’s fun money you have a little more freedom to choose based on what you will enjoy doing. If it is essential income, the last thing you want is to choose a side hustle that is super fun, but dries up the second people start cutting back on their own spending.
In the era of COVID-19, it’s also worthwhile to think about whether this is something you can do if your city or state shuts down again. That really limits the choices, I realize. But remember, you don’t have to rely 100% on a single side hustle. You can do Uber AND test websites. You can have a Mommy’s afternoon out where for Stay-at-home-moms AND do VIPKid. But you don’t want to count 100% on a side hustle that will drop to $0 in income with the first blip in the economy.
What side hustles can I pair up to get the best of both worlds?
Let’s look at a specific example. Let’s say you look at the options and decide you LOVE the idea of indexing. It seems right up your alley to be able to read books at home, create an index, and make money for it. (If that sounds like a dream job to you, check out more info here.)
But it just won’t work because you need to make $150 a month to pay your basic expenses. That is non-negotiable. And it needs to start this month, so you don’t have time to wait for the indexing to ramp up. So you think Uber might be better. But you know you can’t do Uber if there is another shutdown. Plus, you hate to give up the chance to create something that you could actually turn into a career in the future.
Newsflash: This ain’t a marriage. You can two-time your side hustles. You can have one to cover the essentials and one to build into the future. So you do Uber until you’ve got th $150 to cover your expenses, then spend the rest of the month on building your indexing side hustle. With luck, the indexing will eventually provide the full $150 you need a month – and more!
This side hustle doesn’t work for me. What else can I try?
OK, going back to that old relationship analogy. No one goes on one date and then dispairs if the person wasn’t Ms. or Mr. Right. Going into the side hustle search with the same attitude – that there will be some things that work out and some things that don’t – makes it a lot more likely you’ll actually be successful.
If you have gone through these steps and really given them some thought, make a list of 10-15 side hustles that could work based on your priorities. You might have to dig deep to get to that number, but sometimes those ideas that you stretch for are the ones that work out.
Here is an example list for someone who wants to work at home, needs to watch their kids at least part of the time, and has some background in art and design: running an in-home daycare, selling crafts on Etsy, flipping items on E-Bay, teaching English online though a service like VIPKid, offering a subscription box service with a focus on art for kids, creating and welling Pinterest templates, doing SEO optimization, testing websites, selling lesson plans on Teachers Pay Teachers, selling photos online, teaching Mom and Me art classes from home or doing calligraphy for weddings.
The important thing is not that you love every idea on the list; it’s that if one idea doesn’t work out, you have others to fall back on. Just don’t fall back too fast. Give each idea at least a couple of months to see if it will work, and longer if it is something that you have to build up, such as art classes or a subscription box.
A final thought: Your priorities will change
Moreover, even if you find a side hustle you love, that doesn’t mean you’ll love it forever. One of my side hustles was selling real estate. Man, I loved it! I’m a real estate addict, and I love talking real estate and helping people find their dream home. It’s totally something I would do for fun even if nobody paid me to do it.
But when I became a single mom, that just wasn’t an option anymore, and I had to say good-bye to that particular side hustle.
In another case, my preschool Spanish classes were really taking off when I realized that our family would be relocating within the next couple of years. Unfortunately, my business model was location dependent. So while I could take what I had learned and start over in a new place, it would definitely be starting over. As much as it broke my heart, I gave up my Spanish teaching business because it didn’t make sense to continue to pour my blood, sweat, and tears into it when it wasn’t portable.
But I didn’t stop. I still love my side hustles. Now I just prioritize options that are location independent.
Like I said, your priorities will change. You are likely to pivot several times before your find your long-term love. Hey, nothing is saying you won’t do the side hustle equivalent of marrying your high school sweetheart. But if you don’t there’s still a happy ending out there for you if you keep on trying.
“Financial freedom” (also called financial independence) and “teacher” aren’t words that most people associate together. Not trying to brag on us here or anything, but “overworked” and “underpaid” are often more the go-to images of an educator than “working because she wants to”. Financial freedom for teachers is just not a trending phrase, despite the desperation of many teachers to get out of the classroom, either temporarily or long-term.
And yet, in some really important ways teachers are in a really, really good position to gain financial independence. So don’t let people tell you it’s impossible. There are more teachers out there who have achieved financial freedom than you may believe, and I’ll be highlighting some of them in a future post. Right now, here are some of the reasons why teachers can indeed achieve financial freedom.
NOTE: this post doesn’t deal with the insurance issue. I’m still researching how insurance fits into the picture. If anyone has decent insurance options, please feel free to comment below. I would love to hear them.
What is “Financial Freedom for Teachers”?
Before we get into the reasons, though, let’s make sure we are all on the same page. What is financial freedom for teachers? Almost every personal finance blogger will have a slightly different definition, so I’m going to just go with mine. When I talk about ‘financial freedom for teachers’, I mean the ability to know that you can teach or NOT teach without money being the deciding factor. So I’m not actually talking about you and your spouse being able to move to Tahiti (although that could be YOUR definition of financial freedom). I’m talking about either temporarily or permanently deciding to go without your teaching income and doing so knowing that the bills will still get paid.
What could cause you to walk away from a job you love? Here are a few things that I can think of.
You have 2 kids under age 3, a husband who travels for work and something’s got to give. You just can’t do a good job of being a mom and a teacher both at this exact moment. (This one happened to me.)
You just had a baby and have only 4 weeks of sick leave saved, so at the end of that time, you have to either go back to teaching or go without income. (This one happened to me.)
A family member becomes seriously ill and needs more help than you can give while teaching full time.
There is a job change that makes teaching miserable.
You are put in a position where standing up for your students or for what is right will put your job at risk. (This one happened to me. Do you see a pattern emerging here?)
You have the chance to move to your dream location and have the adventure of a lifetime, but you don’t know if you will be able to find a teaching job there. (Ahem, you guessed it. This one happened to me.)
And the current winner: Your state and/or district are forcing teachers to return to on-site classes during a global pandemic and it is JUST. NOT. SAFE.
All of these examples have a real impact on your family life and your mental health. And while you might know that you love teaching and you want to return to it someday (Yep. This happened to me!) – or not – financial freedom is the ability to leave the classroom if you need to.
So, with that, here are the many reasons teachers are actually in a great position to achieve that.
Low salary
Yep, you read that right. One of the reasons that teachers CAN achieve financial freedom is that they have a low salary. That sounds TOTALLY counter-intuitive. I imagine you’re thinking, “So you are telling me that it is EASIER to become financially free with a low salary than a big one? Well, Jill, we need to review basic math and basic logic. Which one would you like to start with?”
OK, you have a valid point, but low salary also means teachers don’t have a ton of income to replace. If a doctor wants to quit work, she often has to replace $150K+ or more per year. But the bonus of the low average salary we teachers earn is that many teachers would have to replace only a third of that – $50K or less to replace their income.
(Not) Keeping up with the Jones
That’s not news to any of us, but another aspect of that might be one that you haven’t thought of. Because pretty much everybody knows that teachers aren’t raking it in, they don’t have the same pressure to keep up with those crazy Joneses that people in other professions may.
Let’s go back to that doctor/teacher comparison, shall we? Let’s say a teacher chooses to drive a modest used Toyota Camry. That’s pretty much standard for teachers, so chances are no one would even notice. On the other had, let’s say our doctor – a surgeon – drove the same car. Don’t you think they might feel out of place parking next to their colleagues’ BMWs, Audis, and Saabs? Now, I know I am relying on stereotypes here. There are teachers who drive BMWs and doctors who drive Camrys. But I would say that isn’t the norm.
And cars are only one aspect of it. What about private school? Ski vacations? Family trips to Europe? Those are just part of what most people assume a high-income earner will do. Teachers, while they may choose some of these more expensive options, aren’t necessarily assumed to be tightwads if they opt for cheaper alternatives, either.
Think I’m making this up? No. In The Millionaire Next Door Thomas Stanley and William Danko, who spent years researching millionaires, came to the same conclusion. If you haven’t read it, you’ve got to. It’s one of the best personal finance books I’ve ever read.
Summers
Final thought: summers. I know, you are sick of people saying, “Why do you complain about what teachers make? You get summers off!” But those summers , besides being an essential part of recharging our batteries so we can go back at it the next year, are a valuable resource to begin closing the gap between your income and your expenses.
Say you decide to start a side hustle during the summer. Something you actually enjoy doing, but can also get paid for. And you spend about 20 hours a week on this side job for about 6 weeks of the summer for a total of 120 hours. (For info on side hustles that can earn you some serious money, check out my posts on VIPKid, pet sitting, indexing or other side jobs that bring in great money.) You start up slowly because it takes a while to figure things out, but that first summer, you earn about $2000 dollars, which is absolutely do-able. That works out to between $15 & $20/hour. Not great, but not so bad, either.
Summer numbers – had me a blast
Now that you’ve got the hang of it, you decide you are going to continue it during the school year, but only about 5 hours a week. After all, you chose something you actually enjoy doing, so why not? But now you are better at it, so you earn an average of $20/hr. That’s $100/week, or an extra $400 a month. Let’s say you skip back-to-school month, and two other months during the ten-months of the school year. That’s still an extra $2800 at the end of the school year. You have earned $4800, and you are now almost $5000/year closer to being able to quit teaching.
And if you have used that money to pay off some debt, your monthly expenses might even be going down as your income is going up. You can start to see how this whole thing could actually work. It won’t be easy, but it could definitely happen.
Bottom line is this: if you are determined to find reasons you can’t have financial freedom, you’re right. On the other hand, if you are determined to find reasons you CAN, you’re right, as well. To a large extent, what you believe is possible will actually influence what is possible.
Even if you honestly believe that leaving teaching is impossible for you in your current situation, there are loads of things you can do to make it a viable option in the not-too-distant future: investing in your retirement funds, paying down credit card debt, buying used cars when an upgrade is necessary, and doing more cooking at home, shopping at nice consignment stores instead of. Little things mean a lot, and even more importantly, they put you on a path you want to follow long-term.
Note: This post may contain affiliate links. These links allow me to earn a commission on some really great products or services at no cost to you. I only recommend products that I really believe in, because your trust is worth a lot more to me than a commission.
We all know that life has changed within the past two months. For many of us, our pre-pandemic “normal” is only loosely related to our social distancing “normal” .
Moreover, we are in vastly different situations depending on family situations, job situations, and emotional states. Some people are completely overwhelmed by trying to work from home, learn the new programs and apps, they need to use in their new virtual life, help their kids with online school work, all while keeping themselves emotionally healthy. Right next door, there may be someone frustrated because they have more time on their hands that ever, but no idea what to do with it.
Spoiler alert: This article was not written for that first group. If you are struggling just to keep up with the day to day, don’t put more guilt or pressure on yourself for not being up for something new at this exact moment.
On the other hand, if you are in that second group, OR if you are someone (like me) who deals with stress by producing something and distracting yourself with work, you might be feeling as if you WANT to do something, but just have no idea what to do. Even if your side hustle or micro-business is on hold at the moment because of social distancing, there are a TON of things you can do to make your business and your life run more smoothly-and hopefully produce more income – when life outside the four walls of our houses becomes a reality again.
Obviously, not all of these will work for everyone. Focus on the 1-2 that you think will make the biggest impact. (Or that you have the mental energy to tackle.) Some of these actions are all about setting a foundation for later, while others can actually help you improve your bottom line right now, depending on your business and/or side hustle.
No matter your situation, remember, I believe in you. You’ve got this!
Improve your online presence
Depending on your side hustle or micro business, creating or expanding your online presence could potentially bring in money today, while also increasing your business’s visibility for the future. Here are four ways to do so.
Create or update your website
Yeah, I know it just screams “Let the good times ROLL!” but updating your business’s website, or creating one if you don’t already have one, is a great way to leverage this forced time at home.
I don’t know about you, but I’m actually not a fan of tech stuff. It messes with my head, I have trouble with the plug ins, and all the little fiddly stuff never seems to work. So if you are techie, this doesn’t apply to you. But if you are intimidated by tech, I’m going to give you my absolute BEST tip here: Check out Shannon Mattern’s 5 Day Website Challenge.
I used it for the first time about 2 years ago, and I – yes, the woman who can make a computer malfunction just by walking into the room with it – I built a website in WordPress. But wait, there’s more! Shannon takes you through all the fiddly bits step by step. Plugins and banners and email lists, OH MY! Shannon does it all, and makes it, if not easy, at least completely do-able.
Seriously, if tech intimidates you, but you want a professional looking and functional website, you’ve got to check her out!
And if you have a website, but it is not bringing you the traffic you want, Shannon’s got your back again! For FREE again! She also offers a Free Jumpstart Your Website Traffic Mini-Course that I am actually working my way through as we speak – or um – as we blog. And in case you think I’ve got a girl crush on Shannon (OK, so maybe she is my business crush. Is that so wrong?) here’s why I keep sharing her stuff: I recently paid over $200 dollars for a course. It’s not bad. I’ve learned several helpful tips from it. But Shannon’s free stuff totally blows the paid course out of the water! So if you are taking the time to read my stuff, I want you to benefit from the content creators who are really head and shoulders above the rest.
Create a media presence
Let’s say you aren’t about the headache of creating a whole website. That doesn’t mean you can’t let people know about your talents. If you pet sit, how about starting an Instagram account for your business? Posting pictures of you doing fun and cute things with your pet (or perhaps a borrowed pet) will help your friends and family, and even people outside your circle associate you with pets and keep you top of mind when people once again need dog walkers and pet sitters.
Learn a new social media platform and create a presence
I am NOT a Pinterest girl. But as Marie Forleo says, “Everything is figureoutable!” So I’ve been trying it, and I have to say, it is a bit addictive to see my stats update and trend upwards.
If you have an online presence, but it’s not getting you the traction you want, why not use this time to try out a platform you don’t normally use? Here’s the trick: Don’t try it a week and then give up. Commit to using it every day for at least 2 months. See what happens. Every platform has different algorithms and it takes time to figure out what works and what doesn’t in each different situation.
Build a mailing list…
So you have a website, but you don’t really have an email list, or you have a list, but it is not something you really engage with. Now is the perfect time to change that.
If your website isn’t set up to collect email addresses, you are letting potential customers just slip away. I was terrified by the idea of setting up a mailing list. But again, with the help of the FREE 5 Day Website Challenge, I did it. THEN, I tackled switching providers. I won’t say it went without a hitch, but I will say that I have an actual email list now.
…And use it to create a ‘know, like, trust’ relationship with potential customers
If you already have a list, but you have kind of neglected it, this is the time to turn that list into a real asset for your business. Potential customers are more likely to buy from you if you 1) have a product or service that will solve a problem for them 2) they feel good doing business with you.
As a business owner, this is a great time to provide real value to your customers for free so that they begin you see you as a trustworthy expert in the field. Give some thought to what frustrations or challenges your customers might be wrestling with right now, and provide free resources (to the extent you can) to help them cope. Chances are good, they will remember you the next time they are dealing with a similar issue.
This brings us to our next point.
Create and send valuable content
What does your customer need to cope with this crisis?
If they are a teacher, they probably need someone to cut through the million and one offers they are getting right now and help them figure out what online teaching aids are really worth investing their time and energy into and which are so-so.
If you provide pool service, perhaps they are trying to figure out how to maintain their pool on their own right now without access to their normal pool maintenance technician OR how to manage it on their own long term if their finances have changed.
If they are a parent, they probably need some assurance that they are not alone and that everyone is struggling.
My readers are probably a bit stressed about money, so this is the perfect time for me to promote my free 5 Day Free Money Challenge.
Figure out what you can provide to your ideal client that will massively improve their life at this point, and share it with them. And don’t underestimate your ability to do this. The people on your list are there for a reason. They have some need or desire for what you offer. If you can figure out what they need and how to help right now, you may have a customer for life.
Upgrade your business
In Steven Covey’s famous book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the 7th habit is “Sharpen the Saw.” In other words, invest in yourself and constantly improve your mental, physical, and spiritual health. Don’t allow yourself to neglect things that are truly important in favor of actions that seem urgent, but don’t move you forward. Here are 4 ways you can use this time productively to sharpen the saw by investing time in business systems and improvements that really are important, but might be pushed aside during more hectic days.
Free online trainings (or paid ones)
There is an amazing variety of online professional development trainings available that will allow you to add to your business skills. Today, you can find both free and paid courses on accounting, coding, marketing, creating online courses, running webinars, and about a thousand other topics that may apply to your specific niche. While you don’t want to waste time or money on a fluff course, reviews make it easier to find the courses that really deliver and the ones that are mediocre, at best.
One thing is for sure: When the economy starts up again, the competition is going to be fierce. Stratigic skills you develop now will give you more options and more credibility with potential customers and clients.
Set up tracking and accounting systems
Blec! Blec! Blec! Yeah, I don’t like accounting either. At. All. But as a small business owner who does her own books, I have to cope with them. So I’m investing a bit of time during these weeks to revamp my budgeting spreadsheets, run through my subscription services to see which ones I really use, and set up systems that will help me stay on track during this coming year.
It doesn’t have to be a weeks-long torture session. Just a few hours a week (with a nice reward at the end – I’m looking at you, Lemon Gelato!) can make a huge difference! Come on and join in the fun. Please? Misery loves company, after all!
Front load the work
Are there tasks you can do to get ahead or to give yourself a cushion in case something comes up and you can’t keep to your normal schedule? As teachers, we often have a folder of “emergency sub plans” just in case we wake up too sick to make plans or have some kind of accident that keeps us from sending work in. They are not the perfect, optimal plans. They are the “just got to get through this” plans.
Your business needs that kind of emergency plan, too. But we are often too busy to just sit down and do it. Have a blog? Write some extra blog posts? Teach private lessons in person or online? Create props or videos for upcoming lessons. Order books, or just pick them and put them in the shopping cart for later. Do you clean houses? Inventory your cleaning supplies, especially the ones you don’t use often so you know what you need and what you have an over supply of.
Figure out 2-3 little things that will make your life easier when it gets hectic again, and focus on those.
Build strategic partnerships
This is a great time to build connections with people who provide different services to a similar clientele. If you teach art classes to preschoolers, you could offer area preschools a video of 5 at-home art projects they can share with their families (who might be struggling mightily to keep those kiddos entertained). If you are a photographer, you could contact local florists or DJs and offer to write a blog post for them about how to pick the perfect wedding photographer or wedding shots you don’t want to miss. They may be willing to return the favor. That’s what we call a win-win.
The point is to think about other businesses, blogs, or individuals whose clients would also benefit from your services, but aren’t your competitors and use that connection to enhance both businesses.
There you have it. So whether you are totally into tackling the entire list, or just counting it a victory to make it out of bed in the morning, I believe in you. Remember, you’ve got this.
