This is “The million dollar question” according to a commenter in one FB group. I refrained from pointing out that we all WISH it were a million-dollar question. The good news (um, good????) is that how to replace a teacher’s salary is definitely NOT a million dollar question.
That doesn’t keep it from feeling like a million dollar question to anyone trying to figure out how on earth we get out of teaching.
If there were an easy answer, I wouldn’t be writing this post. Every teacher would just figure it out and do it. (We really are NOT as dumb as most legislators seem to think we are.) But there isn’t an easy answer. In most cases, it is going to be tough. In some, it might be impossible. And then one just has to make a decision. Is the risk of going back to school is greater or than the risk of not making enough money to pay the bills?
But for most people, taking things step-by-step and breaking it into small sections will help.
What do you need to replace?
First, find out what you really need to replace. Is it really 100% of your salary? Instead, could you can reduce your expenses to give yourself a bit of breathing room? If you want more details on how to compare income with expenses, check out my blog post here. Also, even if you don’t think you can give anything up, sign up for a free 5-Day Found Money Challenge to help you lower your monthly bills. It will walk you step-by-step through how to lower your monthly bills, even without changing your lifestyle at all.
What if you have tried to lower your bills, and you still need to make 100% of your current salary – or more? Ideally, you hit the jackpot and find a job that out and out replaces your benefits and salary. They are out there. Here is one of my favorite job boards, which focuses on ed tech (usually remote) jobs for teachers.
Most of us are going to need to be a little more creative. And it won’t be easy. But in most cases, it is doable.
Your Magic Number
If you can’t find a job right away, but need to get out fast, you may need a variety of options to mix and match so that you can finally meet that magic number. And what is that magic number? Let’s break it down. Take your yearly salary and divide it by 50. That will give you the amount you need to earn each week to set aside money for taxes and still equal your original take home pay. Do NOT base it on your take home pay unless you plan to set aside 25% of what you earn for taxes. I have also included 2 weeks of vacation because I like to be conservative. And we all need a break now and then.
Some of these might be actual ‘jobs’, while others will be side hustles that you do on your own. I am going to refer to them generally as Income Earning Activities, or IEAs. Most likely, you will need to have some IEAs that provide a fairly high number of steady, predictable hours but do not pay as well per hour. Then you are going to make up the remainder of the amount with IEAs that pay more per hour, but don’t offer as many hours or are less predictable.
Allison’s plan to replace a teacher’s salary
Let’s look at a real-life example. Allison (not a real person) makes a yearly salary of $55K at her teaching job. She has cut her expenses as much as possible. Unfortunately, transferring to her husband’s insurance increased their monthly expenses again, wiping out her gains. So she is looking to replace the full 50K. She hopes to return to teaching second semester.
When we divide that by 50, we get $1000 per week. Holy cow! This is going to be tough.
After spending about a week scouring online jobs and applying, Allison is able to get a full-time job online paying $18.50 an hour. (Here is a link to an example job that teachers would qualify for.
She is working full time at $18.50 an hour, so she now has $740 of that magic number covered. The downside is that this is a temporary 6-month position. However, she is really just planning to use this job to cover the bills until she can get a permanent position, so that doesn’t concern her.
She now needs to cover $300 per week. There are not many families in her area that can pay for teachers to help in the evenings or on weekends. She is able to find one family that needs evening help and can pay $20 per hour. She will be supervising and helping with homework (not teaching) for 3 kids two nights a week for 3 hours each night. That gives her an additional $120 per week.
(NOTE: When I create scenarios, I do it based on actual research. I also try to present them conservatively. I would NOT recommend a certified teacher charge less than $40 per hour for working with three kids. However, in this situation I am lowering that amount considerably just to build in a bit of cushion. Based on my research there is a big demand for teachers to do in-home support. Charging $20 per hour would be on the extreme low end of the scale. In some areas, I have heard of parents paying over $80/hour for an experienced, certified teacher.)
We are now $180 per week below what we need. Allison decides to try out Shipt. She can work for Shipt on Saturday mornings and Sunday nights. She has heard that Friday-Sunday is the busiest time for Shipt, with Sunday night being a peak time. That works with her full time job and her part time arrangement with the family, so she applies.
Although it varies a LOT, she has heard that Shipt shoppers can average $17 per shop. Since each shop usually takes about an hour, that’s about $17 per hour. However, those are people who have a lot of practice. Since she doesn’t want to be left short, she figures that she will count on $12 per hour from Shipt. Again, we are building some cushion in. That means she plans to do about 15 hours of Shipt per week. That is a LOT, but with 5 hours on Friday and Saturday, plus 3 hours two other nights during the week, she will reach her goal with some cushion. If she earns her $180 faster, she can knock off for the week OR put that money aside in case she has a slow week at some point.
Big reminder
This is a big one. We are figuring everything here based on gross salary. That means that when Allison puts the money in her account, it will seem as if has more coming into her pocket than it seems like she needs. Why? Because while her employer WILL take out taxes, her side hustles like Shipt, VIPKid, and the families she is working with will NOT. She needs to take about 25% of her side-hustle income and put it into a totally separate account so that she won’t get a big, bad surprise next April 15. She can put it in an account that will earn her a little interest, but it should NOT be in any kind of investment that could lose value. Just a plain-old bank account so it will be there when she does her taxes next year.
Real Life
But she doesn’t really like doing Shipt. And it doesn’t pay nearly as well as her other jobs. She decides to try to work her way out of doing Shipt, or at least minimize it. Allison has always loved reading, and she has heard that you can build a full time income by indexing non-fiction books. She knows it will take a while to build a clientele, but it sounds like a great fit for her that she can continue even if she finds a full time gig.
But, in the interest of keeping this a real-life scenario, we have one more curve ball to throw at Allison. Her full-time job doesn’t start for a few weeks, so her first $740 pay check will come 3 weeks after her last pay check from her teaching contract. That leaves her $2240 in the hole.
The good news is that she didn’t wait for her teaching contract to act. She has been doing Shipt for 4 weeks already and started working with the family 2 weeks before her last teaching pay check. That means she saved up about $1500 from Shipt (she was able to work more when she didn’t have a full time job) and $240 from the family. She still has $500 to cover.
Allison gets a little worried until she remembers that she received a promotional add that would pay her $300 for opening a new bank account with direct deposit. She takes an hour or so, opens the new account and uses it for the direct deposit of her new job’s paycheck.
She is $200 short, but she decides to do an extra 2 hours each week on Shipt until she makes up the difference. Even though she does have $1000 in her savings account, she would rather work the extra time than dip into that.
So there you have it. It is a completely made up scenario of how to replace a teacher’s salary. But it is based on research and real numbers. If you have a scenario you want to tackle together, comment below, and we’ll do our best to work through it. I can’t promise we will come out in the black, but we will do our best.
And remember. This isn’t going to be easy for any of this. But I believe in you. You’ve got this!
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.
One of my best and oldest friends is also a teacher, also willing to talk about money, and also does pretty well financially. This means we know a lot more about each others’ finances than most friends because we just chat about that stuff without it getting all weird.
However, she has a totally different style than I do. TOTALLY. Whereas I am always ready to jump into the next new thing, she does NOT like change. She’s awesome, and whenever change occurs, she totally kills her new venture, but it takes a lot more time for her to get on board. So when she read my blog, she had some advice for me: Keep it Simple, Stupid.
OK, she didn’t use those exact words, but we’ve known each other long enough that I can read between the lines. And I may be stupid, but I know enough to value other perspectives, especially ones from someone whose financial advisor refers to her as a “financial rockstar.” (Seriously.)
Let me give you a little background info. She has requested to remain anonymous, so I’ll call her Anne. Anne is 40 years old, single, and has taught in the Midwest for 17 years. She owns a modest 3 bedroom home in a nice, but not fancy, neighborhood in a small town. If it’s not paid off, it will be soon. She buys a new car (not used) every 7 years or so.
She really enjoys going out with friends to restaurants and wineries. And travel is a big part of her life. She has been to South America, several countries in Europe, and more cool spots in the US than I can count. She volunteers for a lot of community organizations, but hasn’t had any other paying gigs since she started teaching. She is not into side hustles, but has invested in and managed rental real estate. From what I hear (and she is pretty darn modest, so I imagine she understates her success, if anything), she has done well in real estate, but in a slow, steady non-flashy way.
As you can see, she doesn’t live like a hermit. She enjoys a lot of wonderful things in life, and she isn’t working her life away.
What she has accomplished
When her teaching job got cut to ½ time just a few days before school started (She’s a specials teacher, so that stuff happens sometimes.), she didn’t blow a gasket. She just lowered her retirement contribution and started job searching. She literally lived on half her salary for a year while she prepared herself emotionally for the big change. She taught part time for a year (loved it!) and then found another job that suited her.
As a 29-year-old teacher, she had stashed approximately $45,000 in her Edward Jones account.
In January 2020, just before the big nosedive in stocks, she had $308,000 in her retirement account.
As I mentioned before, she has paid off her house (or very nearly). And not in 30 years, either. In about 15.
We were talking recently about our different approaches toward money, she underlined how it was really doing the simple things that made a difference for her. For example, she invests in her retirement account every month, no matter what. Even that year when her income got cut in half, she found a way to invest something every paycheck. She’s all into that low-hanging fruit. Do the easy stuff, she says. If you do the easy stuff, the payoff is often bigger than you can imagine.
So here are some tips from Anne, in her own words.
Always invest. ALWAYS.
Anne says: “When I think back to how I have gained my wealth, some of it has come from the rentals, of course. But really, it is because I have done little things that have made a big difference over time. (Sorta like you post about jill from 2003 and jill from 2012).
Let me explain: I have been cleaning out files and decluttering my filing cabinet. I just found my Edward Jones statement from 2009. Want to know how much money I had in there at that time? Roughly 45,000 dollars. Not too shabby for a 29 year old teacher. I was pretty proud of myself back then. In January 2020 before the nosedive that the stock market took, do you want to know how much money I had in Edward Jones? $308,000!!! Yes! For a single income public school 40 year old teacher. Do I have that much in there now, no way! But it will come back, at least, that is what I am telling myself. And it is all because I put in the maximum amount for my IRA each year. Either 5-6,000 dollars a year (It has changed over the years). Not exactly sure what it is now. I rarely put extra money in, money outside of my IRA, because I just don’t have it. Right now I am trying to scrape together some money to sink in to the stock market while it is down, because it’s a sale on stocks! So I have done minimal work for that gain. I have just let time do its thing. Lots of people don’t have 5-6,000. I get it. I don’t think I started out maxing out my contribution either. But the key is to put it in there and let time help you out. I think that is a crucial piece that needs to be hit on.”
Make your investing automatic.
Anne says, “When I was a young naive teacher, one of the smartest things I ever did (Besides switching to PE) is I started having money taken out of my paycheck and put in my 403B without me even seeing it. At first I noticed it. But then I forgot about it. And each year I got a raise, I automatically went in and raised the amount to be taken out by 25 or 50 dollars. This then comes out of my pay check before taxes, plus I never even knew I had it, because the raise covered it. I changed it by 100 or so dollars when I got my masters. Today, I am taking home only slightly more than I did as a new teacher. My 2 week take home is roughly 1100 dollars. I think I started at 850 or so. But here is the thing–$450 or 500 a month is going into my 403 B and the school district puts in a % of that. Is it a lot? Nope, but a little over time adds up to lot. Plus I have some of my paycheck directed into a savings account before I ever see it each pay period. Then at the end of the year, I use that money for my IRA contribution, or vacation, etc. Also that helped when my position got cut to part time. That was the only time I lessened the amount that I was putting into my 403 B and savings account. Even part time, I managed to put in 25 dollars a paycheck. Because I still wanted my employer to contribute their percentage. But that gave me back that extra money that I “Never saw” so I could live on 1/2 my usual salary.”
On rotten days, pay yourself, not somebody else.
Anne says, “After a really rotten day at school. You know the days–the ones where you are defeated and you think to yourself, “There ain’t no way I can do this job for another year, let alone 15 years!” I always come home and put in 25 dollars into my savings account. Instead of going and spending $25 dollars on retail therapy or at a restaurant or bar, I put $25 in my savings account to feed my retirement. And it wouldn’t have to be $25. It could be $5 or $10. Just something I started doing years ago when I needed to physically do something to better my situation. Might not be much. But it makes me feel closer to being able to walk away from teaching.”
Be like Anne
Here’s the bottom line: Anne is proof that teacher doesn’t equal poverty-stricken. She did have some major advantages like graduating from college without debt and not having kids. (Kids are wonderful, but expensive as all of us parents know.) But she has found a way to live and enjoy life while still socking away some major bank. And she has done it by doing the things that are easy and putting them on autopilot.
If you are thinking, “Sounds great, but I can barely pay my bills, much less have any money left over,” check out my 5 Day Found Money Challenge. See what you are spending money on that you aren’t even using, cut your costs, and keep the $$ for yourself.
You’ve played with the idea of starting a micro-business teaching a preschool language class, but it just seems so overwhelming. How would you even get started? Who would you teach? Where would you teach? How would you find student? (When it’s a business, they don’t come to you just because it is on their class schedule.)
A few years ago, I was asking myself those same questions. Because I use Comprehensible Input, I knew I could make language learning much more fun and effective than with traditional methods. As the parent of two preschoolers at the time, I also knew that a lot of parents wanted their kids to learn a second language but didn’t speak one themselves.
There was market for language learning. But how on earth would I get started? Almost 5 years later, I looked back fondly on what accomplished in building the first part of my business, World of Wonders Learning, into a profitable micro-business. If you’ve been toying with the idea of using your teaching and language skills to create a side job that you love, here are some of the most important lessons I learned in the process.
Know your stuff, but don’t obsess over your plan
When I was still dreaming of starting a preschool language class business, I wanted to know what the options were. Online, I found a ton of info about other language classes and how they operated. Even though my situation was very different from theirs, knowing how others were making things work was a huge help in practical areas, such as pricing and scheduling. If you want to look at some similar business models, check out websites for companies that offer science parties, STEM enrichment, language summer camps,Spanish clubs, and soccer.
However, what I had envisioned at first changed as I began to actually take action. I discovered that people in my area were dying for their kids to learn Spanish, but kind of “meh” about French. So I switched. (I speak both, but my French is definitely stronger.) I pitched an after school care location that I thought was WAY out of my league, and they accepted my proposal. Which led to a couple of gigs teaching their staff Spanish for $95/hour.
But none of those things would have happened if I had been hung up on knowing exactly how things would go. I had to get out there and do it in order to learn what I needed to know.
Bottom line: do your research. Know what your first steps are. But don’t stress over knowing the whole path.
Ask for help from experts, but not competitors
One of the most amazing pieces of luck I had was to sit down with the amazing Olivia Roney of Crouching Tigers, who teaches karate in preschools across several states. She was doing almost exactly what I was hoping to do, but not with Spanish. She was so generous with her time and gave me tips that literally kept me from throwing in the towel before I even got my first class off the ground.
So how did I make contact with her? Simple, I posted a message to FaceBook. We lived in the same city, and I thought we might have some friends in common, so I asked my friends if any of them knew her well enough to introduce us on FB. Turns out the wife of the best man at our wedding was on a community committee with her and introduced me.
How I did it
When I contacted her, I gave her some very genuine but effusive compliments. I made sure that I had already learned everything I could about her company so she would know that I really had spent time researching and that I respected the work she did.
However, I made sure to respect her time and generosity. First, even though we were both in the preschool enrichment class space, we weren’t direct competitors. Additionally, her business was already massive, so I was no threat. And even though I couldn’t reciprocate by giving her advice or help, I did drop off a bottle of wine at her office and make sure that I paid when we went out to lunch. Also, I tried to mention her business positively whenever I could, which was super easy to do because she really is a class act.
Bottom line: ask for help, but appreciate the help you are given. Most people who build a business are incredibly proud of what they have created and are willing to talk about it with someone who is genuinely interested.
Educate parents
OMG. This one is huge. Let me tell you a little story here.
When I started my first language class, I was stunned to have 22 kids sign up. I was thrilled beyond words. That month I made almost 50% of my teaching salary doing just a2 hours a week after school. I thought I had this thing figured out.
But the next class cycle, my enrollment dropped almost 50%. When I asked the parents why, there were some kids who had legitimate conflicts and such, but there were other parents who said things like, “I asked them to say something and they couldn’t even say one thing.”
The parents didn’t understand how language learning (especially comprehensible input) works. And it was my fault. I knew what they should expect, but I hadn’t told them.
How I fixed it
Soon, I started sending them e-mails to explain the advantages of the methods I used. I told them that while kids wouldn’t be able to speak right away, they were already starting to actually understand Spanish and they would retain it much better than if we focused on lists of vocabulary. Slowly, I helped them understand how language acquisition works and how to best support their kids as they acquired Spanish.
But wait, there’s more
But there were other perks, as well. First, because I was communicating with the parents regularly and also teaching THEM, the perceived value of my classes went through the roof. Second, I became someone they trusted. No longer was I just some anonymous business. I was Jill, and I was invested in their kids and in helping them to give their kids the best. And the proof was in the numbers. My retention rates went from horrible to stellar, and I very rarely had kids drop my program once they started it.
Bottom line: Don’t expect the parents to understand what you understand. Start from the basics, and explain what they should expect and why.
Hold yourself to high standards, but give yourself grace
My goal was always to leave parents with more value than they were expecting. If I had a parent complaint (and you will, because you are learning), I tried to figure out what I could do to fix the problem. And I always looked at dissatisfaction as a marketing opportunity. What could I do to fix the problem and turn the parent into a raving fan? Of course, it depended on what the complaint was, but my goal was to never leave a parent dissatisfied.
The Hand, Foot, and Mouth Debacle
For example, my daughter came down with hand, foot, and mouth disease. I had to reschedule 2 weeks of classes. Since it is contagious and symptoms don’t’ show up right away, I couldn’t possibly set foot in a daycare center until I knew I didn’t have it. So I rescheduled the classes that we would be missing AND offered parents a refund on those two classes if their child was for any reason unable to attend. I also explained that I wouldn’t normally cancel, but I was doing it in the best interest of their children. I had one parent e-mail me back thanking me profusely for cancelling since she had a newborn and didn’t want to take any chances on him getting sick.
Make like Elsa: Let it GO!
With that said, I also made a point of letting it go when I did make a mistake. I had to give myself the grace to make mistakes without shame. Sometimes I got overwhelmed and didn’t communicate as well as I should have. There were other minor mistakes. Since I’m a recovering perfectionist, I had to really struggle not to let those mistakes get in my head and bring me down. Beating myself up wasn’t going to make me a better teacher or business owner. But learning and changing was.
Bottom line: Do your best, and accept that your best will never be perfect. Talk to yourself like your best friend would. (Assuming your best friend ROCKS like mine does. And if not, I’ll be your surrogate best friend. Talk to yourself like I would. Note: I’m honest, but affirming.)
Have you ever noticed that when you start looking at new cars, or maybe buy one, it seems as if that you notice that same make and model everywhere. Suddenly the roads and parking lots are filled with Camries, or Volvo station wagons, or Odysseys. You just can’t believe how many there are. There were never that many of them before, were there?
Actually, there were. This is explained by something psychologists call “selective attention.” It basically means that your brain filters out the majority of stimuli so it can focus on what is important. Once you’ve chosen a specific model of car, or you have recently bought one, that becomes “important” and your brain takes notice of it.
So what does that have to do with transitioning out of teaching or starting your own business? The possibilities for making money on the side – or creating a business to support you and your family – are limited by only one thing : your mind. As you start focusing more on moneymaking ideas, you will train your brain to see them, and train your brain to look at your skills from a new perspective. Things that you never would have considered before will make you think, “I wonder if…” And that ‘s a great thing, because people have made successful businesses by using an amazing range of skills and ideas. Let me give you a few examples that I never would have thought of, but that have been built into successful businesses.
Karate Kids
Olivia Roney was putting herself through college when the karate school she worked for bounced a couple of her paychecks. Since she was paying her own way, she knew she had to fix the situation – and FAST. So she started contacting daycares and preschools and offering to teach on-site enrichment classes. She found one, and grew from there. Today, Couching Tigers is offering karate classes in almost 100 locations in Indiana, as well as licensing its curriculum. Her programs now include character development and have touched the lives of thousands of children. What’s more, her eyes light up when she talks about her company.
How you can make this side job work
So you don’t know karate and you don’t like preschoolers? How could this idea work for you? I don’t know karate, either, but for about 4 years, I taught Spanish and French to both adults and preschoolers as a side job/micro-business. Preschools were definitely my biggest and most reliable locations, but I also taught adults at wineries and after-school caregivers as a professional development option.
Is there something you love to teach that others would pay you for? Art? Soccer? Computer skills? Knitting? Vegan cooking? Couponing? (No joke, a lady in my hometown was advertising couponing classes and a lot of people seemed interested.) How about pet training?
The point is that if you have a skill that others want to learn and you can find a way to share it, you can earn great money per hour AND have fun at the same time. Cause let me tell you, teaching French at wineries to people who actually WANT to learn it?!? That is a French-teacher dream come true. For more ideas on locations, check out the blog post I wrote for The Comprehensible Classroom or for Fluency Matters. And if you want details on my Spanish classes, here are some posts on switching to preschoolers from older kids, pricing (part 1, part 2 and part 3), and tips for getting started.
Teaching French at a Winery
This is one I have done personally, and you want to talk crazy AWESOME! This is it. I’ve taught French for over 15 years in high school, but teaching French to adults who actually want to learn it at a winery and having them pay you? Trust me, it doesn’t get much better than that!
“But I don’t speak French,” you say. Well, the same winery where I taught French offered a ton of other fun stuff to get customers in during off-peak times. Tuesday? Henna tattoos. Wednesday? 10-minute chair massages. Another night it was tarot card readings. Each of us partnered with the winery to provide our service. The winery generously swiped payments through their system, and then cut a check. We had no overhead and the winery had an ever-changing line-up of attractions with no up-front cost. They just passed through the payments to us.
How you can make this side job work
Get creative. Do you have a trendy or unusual skill? Find a winery that offers fun activities, and see if they are interested in offering yours. You’re probably not going to be raking in the cash at first, but as you develop a clientele and they tell their friends, your numbers grow and it can be really lucrative.
Will Caricature for Cash $$$
When I heard of a woman who has created a side business around drawing caricatures, I knew I had to check it out. She was frustrated by her $8/hr job working for an amusement park as a caricature artist, so she decided to strike out on her own. Now she charges between $150 and $300/hr. drawing caricatures at weddings, corporate events, and other venues where people are looking for a unique and fun party favor.
After doing a little research, I found out there is actually a centralized web site where caricature artists can advertize. Who knew? You can check it out here. If you think you might be interested in being a caricature artist (or caricaturist, as they are actually called), face-painter, balloon animal creator, clown or other type of party entertainer, you can read the story of how Jeremy Drysdale started the Phoenix Caricature Company here.
How you can make this side job work
The point here is taking a common skill and niching it down. Maybe there are a ton of caterers in your town, but you just focus on selling your amazing frozen cookie dough. Maybe you do only vegan or gluten-free foods. Sometimes niching down and focusing on one tiny segment of the market actually sets you apart.
Cinderella Carriages and Horse-Drawn Wagons
A friend of mine since childhood (yep, we actually went to the junior prom together back the day!) supplements his yearly income to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars a year by building horse-drawn wagons and carriages. He makes both really practical people movers for country-themed resort areas and fancy “Cinderella” carriages. He also offers carriage rides at weddings and other special events. He has welding and woodworking skills and has always had horses, so what started as a novel idea has become a large portion of their family’s income. Because of this extra income, his wife (who is a big part of the business) has been able to stay at home with their kids for the past several years. You can check out boylebuiltwagons.com for some inspiration.
How you can make this side job work
And this is the example of super niching down. As far as I know, Tony Boyle is one of the only people in the US who makes custom people movers. There were times he wasn’t getting a ton of orders, but he didn’t give up or offer to make other items. He just stuck with what he washing and trusted that he would built a following. last I heard, he had as much work as he wanted and even some names on his waiting list.
The last word
So there is a good chance that you don’t feel like welding and hammering together a wagon is part of your skill set. And you might not be someone that others would willingly pay for their art. (Lord knows I’m not!) It’s even conceivable that the idea of teaching karate to 3 year-olds makes you break out in hives. So why did I even mention these ideas if they will work for only a small fraction of people?
Well, there are two reasons. The first one goes back to the very first few paragraphs of the post. Hearing about the ways other people have created a side job – even with unusual skills – trains our brains to start thinking in that way. What could I do with my skill set, that I would really love doing, and would also make me some crazy awesome extra money?
The second reason is it shows us how to niche down. There are a ton of welders and woodworkers out there. But how many of them weld Cinderella carriages and horse-drawn wagons. Artists? A ton! But people who will come to your wedding reception, give your guests a truly one-of-a-kind favor, and have them asking, “Do you remember so-and-so’s wedding where we got those hilarious caricatures?’ for the next 20 years? Not too many of those! Tons of karate teachers, too. But ones who will come to your kids’ preschool so you don’t have to drive across town? Um, I think you get the picture, right.
Here are the two takeaways: get creative, and niche down. Oh, and one more thing: don’t dismiss ideas too quickly. Who would have known that horse-drawn wagons could be a viable home-based business? What’s your crazy awesome talent?
