An Introduction to Side Hustle Teachers

Who are Side Hustle Teachers? Side Hustle Teachers are teachers who are looking for options. We want options for ways to make money because teaching doesn't pay the bills (or it does pay the bills, but it doesn't allow for nice things like vacations, a savings account, or heat). We want options for the future, because after experiencing the realities of the classroom for 5, 10, or 15 years, retirement feels reeeeeeally far off and we're not sure that we can make it. Why are we here? You went into teaching because you love kids and felt called to the profession.  For you, teaching isn't just a job.  It's part of who you are. BUT... education has changed since you first walked into a classroom.  There are more and more layers of bureaucracy added every year.  You have less autonomy over your teaching.  There are regular commentaries on how schools are failing and teachers are the problem, and when towns have to vote on school budgets you hold your breath to find out whether or not you'll be getting any raise at all, and how many of your classroom supplies you'll be buying out of your own pocket. Of course, you didn't go into teaching for the money... However, the low salary (particularly in comparison to other people with your level of education) is making it difficult to make ends meet.  Finances are a constant stress, but you feel like all you're qualified to do is teach. You feel, in a word, trapped. Who am I? 7 years ago I was looking for something more. I didn't know exactly what I wanted, but I knew I felt trapped in education and that terrified me. I started with a MLM (network marketing or direct sales company) and it just wasn't a good fit. At all. I was awful. But that led me to my first successful business. Since then I've built a thriving blog that provides my family additional income, learned the ins and outs of starting a business (sometimes the hard way), and discovered that there are a lot of people just like me out there, they just haven't taken their first step yet. The first time a colleague asked me for advice about starting a business, I didn't think much of it. But as it started happening more and more, I realized I was in a unique position to help teachers. After having listened to hours of business specialists ans attending numerous trainings no one seemed to be talking to me. I always walked away saying, "That's a great idea, but..." No one could understand the unique stresses and challenges of being a teacher with a side hustle, because no one was one. What Now? 1. Subscribe to the Side Hustle Teachers podcast 2. Join the community on Facebook 3. Engage! With guests on the show, people in the group, and yours truly. Don't be shy! Or not... O

30 Aug 10:03

Bonus: 10 Reasons Teachers Make Amazing Entrepreneurs

Across America, teachers are starting businesses as a way to make more money, and they are KILLING it! In this episode we're going to explore why teachers make such good entrepreneurs!

30 Aug 10:03

How to Choose the Side Hustle That's Right for You

What's stopping most teachers from starting a side hustle? They don't know what to do! In fact, many teachers think that they aren't qualified to do anything but teach. Not true, my friends! And today we're talking about how to uncover your Side Hustle talents. 

30 Aug 10:03

The Long and Winding Journey from Teacher to Entrepreneur with Robin Walker

Today's Guest: Robin Walker, Business Strategist Robin offers a unique combination of teaching and business experience when speaking and leading female business owners. Her down to Earth and encouraging personality help women feel comfortable sharing and reaching for big goals. She creates a space for women to be bold and then gives them the tools, coaching, and accountability to take action. Robin is a fifth generation entrepreneur and has been running businesses since she left teaching to be home with her 3 kids. She has experience in product and service based businesses, both online and in person. She founded and hosts the Lakeside Conference, Lakeside Retreat, and numerous meetups and workshops for her local audience. Summary When we start a business, especially as a teachers with no business training, and we often skip steps along the way.  Not on purpose, and not to cut corners, but because... we do.  Robin suggests going back and going over some of the basics; have you figured out your target client? Do you have a way to attract them going back and really filling in all the steps we may have missed when we jumped right to how do I get more paying customers.have you figured out your target client? Do you have a way to attract them going back and really filling in all the steps we may have missed when we jumped right to how do I get more paying customers.Being raised by a teacher and an entrepreneur, Robin wanted to be a teacher and a stay at home mom.  She taught 1st grade, 5th grade, been an aide, a support position, and a sub, but when she had her daughter she knew she wanted to stay home.  But the contentment didn't last long - the desire to do more, learn more, be more crept in, and Robin started looking for ways to bring in some money while being a mom, and teaching part time. First teaching continuing education classes to preschool teachers, then at at-home daycare.  But, like many entrepreneurs, it took a few hits and misses to figure out what she really wanted to do. Key Takeaways Your first business doesn't have to be your life-long business Don't let perfectionism get in the way of what you have to offer Sometimes you have to let go of a business you like to grow a business you love Everything you do is adding to your skill, life hacks, and bag of tricks

30 Aug 10:03

A Day in the Life of a Side Hustle Teacher

What’s it really like to be a full-time teacher with a side hustle?  Today we’re exploring the realities of this non- 9-5 job and how we can make a business work. Be Realistic   Side hustle, by definition means that you’re building your business on the side.  It’s not your primary gig, so you can not devote full time hours to it. Teachers have to take that one step further, because our jobs don’t end when we leave the school building.  We have lessons to plan and papers to grade, so we have to take that into consideration when setting our schedules. Start Small   Do one thing every day for your business.  Every. Single. Day. Build the habit of working on your business so that it becomes part of your routine.   Conversely, avoid the trap of going all in on your business too fast.  Slow and steady wins the race. Be Flexible  Life happens. Even the most diligent planners can’t predict everything that’s going to happen on any given day as a teacher, so you have to give yourself some grace as an entrepreneur, too. If you find yourself always putting things off, then you might have to reevaluate your scheduling.  But if it’s just once in a while, don’t sweat it. Just go back to the previous point and focus on doing something, however small, every day. My day 5 am Wakeup, get ready 6 am Business work - social media check, emails, prep for day 7 am Out the door 7:40-2:40 School - work on lunch “hour” 2:40-3:20 Business work - writing, podcast outlines 4:00 pm Bus pickup, Mommy-Daughter time 4:30 pm Homework or free time 5:30 pm Dinner prep 6:00 pm Dinner 6:30 pm TV time 7:30 pm Bedtime 8:00 pm Business work - social media, graphics, scheduling posts 9:00 pm Hard stop (ish) Remember to register for the upcoming webinar, How to Choose the Right Side Hustle for You at side-hustle-teachers.com/whatsmyhustle  We'll have more in-depth information, real-life examples, and plenty of time for Q & A. You'll also get a copy of The Ultimate List of Side Hustles for Teachers when you register!

30 Aug 10:03

Passion, Grit, and Perseverance with Max Bawarski

Today's Guest: Max Bawarski, Owner, Two Smooth Dudes Max is from upstate New York and attended the State University of Cortland. He was an academic and an All-American track athlete in college. Max has been teaching PE for Fairfax County Public Schools in Northern Virginia for 13 years.  His passion is for fitness, sports, and good food. Summary Max started his first business when he was just a kid and never lost his entrepreneurial spirit.   He started as a young man shoveling driveways and raking lawns, and when he started teaching he discovered that reselling used furniture off Craigslist was way more profitable than being a waiter. At each step of his side hustlin' journey, Max followed his interests and passions to grow and learn.  Even his one "failed" venture led to the next, which led to the next. When Max and his former partner started Two Smooth Dudes, he spent time to find a reasonably priced truck, even driving to another state to get a better price.  He then was open to learning new things about the food truck business, finding a mentor, and even changing his entire menu in order to open up a new, highly profitable opportunity. Key Takeaways Your first business doesn't have to be your life-long business You can enjoy your business, but it's still not the right one for you Working less and earning more is possible Find someone who's doing what you want to do and learn from them

30 Aug 10:03

Defeating Impostor Syndrome as a Side Hustlin’ Teacher

Imposter syndrome hits everyone at some point, especially when you’re trying something new!  Today we’re talking about how squash that doubting Thomas in your head so you move forward and be your awesome self. What is Impostor Syndrome?   It’s this feeling that you’re not talented enough, smart enough, or just… enough to do what you want to do.  As though you’ve only succeeded so far because of luck, not talent. It’s a fear that at any moment you’re going to be exposed as a fraud. Check out Valerie Young’s book, The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It What does Impostor Syndrome Look like? Impostor syndrome presents in many different ways, so the first step to beating it is figuring out how you’re letting it affect you. Perfectionists set extremely high standards for themselves, then deride themselves if they don’t meet them all.  Even if they meet 99% of their goals, they feel like a failure. Perfectionists use a lack of perfection as an excuse not to put their offer out there or even make any movement at all. Experts feel that you aren’t qualified, or true “experts”.  You feel like you have to know everything before you can help anyone.  Experts often postpone putting your selves out there by taking more courses, certifications, etc. so you feel expert enough to help people. Natural Geniuses are used to being what we’d call a “quick study.”  Learning new things is easy for you, so when you come up against something that is challenging, you feel like it’s a sign that you’re not cut out for this. Soloists are the go-it-alone entrepreneurs who feel like you have to do everything on your own, and if you can’t, you’re not good enough to have a business. Superwomen and men feel the need to push themselves to and past your breaking point.  You may stay up late and get up early everyday, say yes to everything anyone asks you to do, and feel uncomfortable with downtime. So now what?   Each type of impostor syndrome is going to need to be addressed in different ways.  Once you recognize how you’re holding yourself back, you can come up with a plan. Perfectionists can start setting good-better-best goals instead of just one pie-in-the-sky, dream goal.  You can also start to move forward by setting deadlines for your work and releasing it on that deadline, even if it’s not perfect.  If you’re struggling with perfectionism, I highly recommend Amy Porterfield’s interview with Brooke Castillo that includes the benefits of B- work. If you’re an impostor expert, you can start working on the mindset issue of feeling like you need to know everything.  In fact, there are many people you can hel

30 Aug 10:03

Listening to Feedback to Take Your Business to the Next Level with Renee Peña Lopez

Today's Guest: Renee Peña Lopez, Owner, Made for You Learning Renee Peña Lopez is an Early Childhood Learning Specialist and proud native New Yorker. She is a licensed special education and early childhood teacher who has a passion for Littles and their quirks. Renee pulls from her creative background in dance and her vast experience in an array of classrooms from museum education to progressive to play-based models. She truly believes that #playmatters in the lives of Littles and for it to matter it must be purposeful. It is her passion to guide early childhood teachers from daycare providers to homeschoolers in this whirlwind time in a child’s life and figure out together the quirks of learning that creating strong foundations to allow them to be their best selves. You can find out more about her mission to provide student support for Littles with their quirks at madeforyoulearning.com. Summary Renee fell into early childhood after working as a dance teacher when the funding ran out. Her boss saw something in Renee and encouraged her to go into teaching, especially young children. After teaching young kids she discovered her true passion and talent was helping children who needed extra support.  She returned to school to get her Master's degree and became a special education teacher and now helps parents, teachers, day care centers, homeschoolers, and the like create programs that support early childhood development Key Takeaways Sometimes your gifts are more apparent to those around you than they are to you As your business grows, listen to your clients to determine where to go next The riches are in the niches

30 Aug 10:03

Mindset Switch: Thinking of Yourself as an Entrepreneur

When you’re a teacher, you tend to identify as a teacher.  It’s not just a job. It’s who you are. So how do you start thinking of yourself as an entrepreneur?   Talk about your business.  Tell people what you’re doing, who you’re helping, and why you’re doing it.  The more you talk about your business, the more comfortable you’ll feel talking about your business Get used to saying, “I’m a teacher and a business owner.”  Feel free to switch business owner with your own title. This lets you still keep your teacher title, but Go to networking events and only talk about your business.  As soon as you say you’re a teacher, people want to know what you teach, what grades, etc.  So, leave off the teaching part and think of networking events as places to focus on your business. Perfect your elevator pitch.  This is a sentence or 2 about what you do and who you help and contains just enough information to intrigue the listener, especially if they’re your ideal client.  As a huge fan of the Storybrand method, I include a question at the beginning that gets people agreeing with me right away. Here's mine: “You know how teachers are overworked and underpaid?”  Everyone agrees with this. “Well, I help them start side business so they can make more money, follow their passions, and explore their career options.” Have you joined the Side Hustle Teachers FB group?  At the time of this recording we have over 650 educators at all different stage of business - from those who are just thinking about it to those who are running stable, growing companies.  Come join us!

30 Aug 10:03

Integrating Your Business with Your Teaching with Kasey Bell

Today's Guest: Kasey Bell, Owner, Shake Up Learning Kasey Bell is a former middle school teacher turned award-winning digital learning coach at Shake Up Learning. She is also an international speaker, author of Shake Up Learning: Practical Ideas to Move Learning From Static to Dynamic, blogger at ShakeUpLearning.com and co-host of The Google Teacher Tribe Podcast.  Summary Kasey started her first blog in 2014, expecting it to be an instant success.  She soon learned that it didn't work that way, but fortunately it helped her find her true audience and purpose. When Kasey discovered that there was a real need for her services she tried to quit her job, but her bosses saw the value of what she was doing.  Instead of accepting her resignation, they offered her a unique position within the district in which she could use her skills and grow her business at the same time. Grab Kasey's eBook, The Complete Guide to Google Certifications which explains all of the certification options and the requirements to obtain each certification. Key Takeaways Passive income isn't really a thing, you're always working towards the next goal Mistakes can lead you to your true calling Your business and teaching don't have to interfere with each other

30 Aug 10:03

The Only 3 Things You Really Need to Start A Side Hustle

Try Googling “How to Start a Business” and you’ll find pages upon pages of advice, with lists of tools you must use.  But let’s dig in to what you really need to get started. I want to invite you to a master class I’m hosting on May 5th.  In just one hour, you will learn my exclusive framework for starting your business, including specific strategies to help you manage your business when the classroom needs your full attention.  To register go to side-hustle-teachers.com/8steps Something to Sell.  What is it that you’re going to provide to those you serve?  Whether it be a service or a product, or both, as long as you have something to offer (that people want), you’ve taken a step towards having business. Someone to Sell To.  So you’ve got your product or service, now you need to sell to someone.  This means talking about what you can provide and and offering it when appropriate.  If you’ve listened to episode 7, Thinking of Yourself as an Entrepreneur, this is a key step in the process, and in operating a profitable business. A Way to Take Payment. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but you need to be able to get money in exchange for your products or services.  If your business is done in person, you could just get a cash box. Online, you’ll need either your own payment processor or to use an established platform like Etsy or Amazon FBA. Are there other pieces to owning a business?  Sure. But to get started, you need just 3 things. Remember to register for the free master class, 8 Steps You Need to Take to Get Your Business Up and Running.  My framework was created for teachers, by a teacher, and is designed to help you get a handle on managing your business and your classroom.  Go to side-hustle-teachers.com/8steps

30 Aug 10:03

How Multi-passionate Entrepreneurs Juggle It All with Michael Venn

Today's Guest: Michael Venn, Multi-passionate Entrepreneur Michael began his teaching career back in 2009 when he traveled to Italy to teach English as a second language. Since then he's been teaching off-and-on, sometimes as a teacher, sometimes not. Nowadays Michael splits his work time between teaching ESL Online, working as a touring puppeteer, hosting tours on Air BnB, and creating videos for YouTube. Summary Michael Venn isn't a teacher in the traditional sense, but he is one at heart.  With his background in drama, he's been teaching people throughout his career and isn't slowing down anytime soon. He's had multiple side gigs, from teaching English oversees, to lemonade stand owner (this wasn't your neighborhood lemonade stand), to touring as a puppeteer, Michael has taken something from each of his experiences and learned how to spot opportunities many of us miss. Key Takeaways Opportunities are everywhere Look on the periphery of what everyone else is doing and find your own niche It's okay to let go of businesses for other, better possibilities The skills you learn in one venture will stay with you in everything else you do

30 Aug 10:03

6 BS Reasons Teachers Don’t Start Businesses

If you’ve listened to this show before, you know that I truly believe that every teacher can have a successful business and still be a rock star in the classroom.  The trouble is, many of you don’t believe. So let’s talk about some of the BS you’re telling yourself about becoming a side hustler. Still not sure you’ve got what it takes?  Well, let’s talk about some of the crap you’re telling yourself and just how wrong you are. I don’t have time. I thought the same thing.  But, the thing is, I did, and you do, too.  When I added up all the time I was spending on unnecessary things I had lots to spare. So, let’s think about all the ways you may be wasting time that could be used to make you money.   Facebook Pinterest Netflix Grading I don’t have the skills I addressed this issue in my intro episode, but it’s worth talking about again.  Teachers have MAD SKILLS. Not only are we organized, dedicated, methodical, and passionate.  We have people skills, we know how to explain things to anyone, we inspire, we give people hope.   AND, as if all that isn’t enough, we’re life-long learners.  So, whatever we don’t know, we can figure it out. I don’t have any money. Hello, broke teachers!  I hear you. And I’m not saying you’re business isn’t going to cost anything (though that can be done in some cases), but it can be done for a lot less than you think.   There are lots of free tools available and there are programs developed with teachers in mind, like Side Hustle Summer Camp (shameless plug), that are incredibly affordable. I can’t sell. Yeah, that one’s not going to fly at all.  You spend your days convincing kids, big and small, to do things that they don’t think they can do, don’t want to do, and maybe can’t see any need for. You’ve got this. I’m not tech savvy. If you can work your school’s grading program, website, and/or all things Google, you have the tech skills to build a business. Don’t be scared off by the fact that some entrepreneurs have a very tech-heavy business.  That’s a choice they made. While it’s likely you’ll want some tech in your business - Facebook, Pinterest, a website - there’s no reason they have to be complicated, or that you have to do all the things. I’m part of an MLM, or an agent of another company. Awesome!  Not only do you have something to sell (half the battle), but you have a company backing you up. But that in no way prevents you from having your own business, in which you can incorporate this ready-made product.  In fact, many of the people who are most successful at things like direct sales or VIPKid are those who have their own business where the company the work with provides one of many streams of income. In addition, building a

30 Aug 10:03

Keeping Things Fresh in Your Side Hustle and with a Business Partner with Lisa Walker and Janell Scannell

Today's Guest: Lisa Walker and Janell Scannell, Owners, Pop Up Art School Pop up Art School is a mobile art workshop business. Art teachers Janell Scannell & Lisa Walker have been taking the show-on-the-road to public libraries all over Massachusetts for six years. Pop up Art School’s workshops for kids, teens & adults provide hands-on art fun! Libraries can hire us to teach a workshop or librarians can use one of our downloadable lesson packages to provide art experiences for their patrons. Summary Lisa and Janell met 20 years ago at a local gym, and struck up a friendship based on their mutual love of art.  They never imagined it would lead them to be business partners.  When Janell suggested they work with a local cable access station to produce creative programming, they decided to go for it.  The learning process was fun, and it solidified Lisa and Janell's partnership. Their business has gone through several iterations, each time learning a bit more about who they want to work with, and how they want to do things.  They discovered that working with public libraries provided a perfect setting for their programs, and are now looking for ways to expand beyond their local area. Key Takeaways Sometimes opportunity is scary... but still amazing Learning on the job is a fantastic way to learn new skills and open new doors Working as a team brings with it a whole new world of challenges and opportunities Everyone's entrepreneurial journey is unique, but it often has a lot of unexpected twists and turns

30 Aug 10:03

Season 2 is Coming!

Side Hustle Teachers is back with more tips, more stories, and more guest experts!

30 Aug 10:03

How Teachers Can Develop A Money Mindset with Dr. Will Deyamport

Edupreneur, now available, is a interview-style narrative that shares the stories of 8 educators who've taken their skills from the world of education to build profitable businesses. Today's Guest: Dr. Will Deyamport, Producer, The Edupreneur Will Deyamport, III, Ed.D. is a District Instructional Technologist for Hattiesburg Public School District, serving grades K-12. He is also a digital transformation strategist, writer, podcaster, and documentary filmmaker. In 2016, Dr. Will was one of three educators selected as a Mississippi Spotlight Speaker at the Mississippi Educator Computing Conference, and served as a Schoology Ambassador from 2015 - 2018. Dr. Will is best known for his work in assisting educators in going digital, and he has written for Schoology Exchange, District Administration, EdSurge, iNACOL, and TechEdge magazine. He holds bachelor’s degrees in Radio, TV, and Film and Child and Family Studies from The University of Southern Mississippi and a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership and Management from Capella University. Summary Dr. Will currently facilitates the 1:1 initiative in his district where he works with over 500 teachers on how to purposefully implement technology in their classrooms.  He also created a podcast focusing on tech in the classroom and best practices, but soon got bored with talking about the same thing.  He started to pivot towards talking with educator about books, money, and life outside the classroom.  And not only did he find new passion, but his audience grew by leaps and bounds! When he was approached to produce a documentary with EduMatch Publishing, he came up with the idea to interview successful edupreneurs and The Edupreneur was born! Dr. Will believes that teachers need to step up to the plate when it comes to using our hard-earned skills to make some money to pay our bills or take our kids to Disney - and I agree!  Teachers often feel badly about the idea of making money, because we've fallen into the belief that we need to be broke in order to be a real teacher. Get $3 off the purchase price with the code: SideHustleTeacher Connect with Dr. Will Website: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/edupreneur Instagram and Twitter: @iamdrwill 

30 Aug 10:03

How to Take Massive Action by Taking Baby Steps with Michelle Paul

MLMs, otherwise known as direct sales or network marketing, are an attractive option for teachers.  They're also a great entry point into entrepreneurship and owning your own independent business. Today's Guest: Michelle Paul, Owner, Stay Gold Shell Michelle Paul is a wife, mom, middle school English teacher and online boutique owner. She manages all these facets of life with a little bit of sarcasm and a lot of queso. Summary Michelle didn't mean to start a business.  She just found a product she loved and wanted a discount - a very common reason for joining MLMs - and discovered that her enthusiasm was a natural sales method. Once she started making some money, Michelle decided that if she was going to be part of her company, she was going to go after it with everything she had.  She studied the methods and techniques of the most successful people in her company, and if something worked for them, she tried it... twice.  Not everything was a good fit for her, of course, but Michelle followed the tips and techniques that felt right for her personality and found herself with a thriving business. After a couple of years of building her MLM business, Michelle found another project she was passionate about; Helping women buy clothing online that actually fits when it gets delivered. Get free shipping on your first order with the code: TEACHERTRIBE Connect with Lesley Website: www.staygoldshell.com Instagram and Twitter: @staygoldshell Facebook: www.staygoldshell.com/VIP Teachers Pay Teachers:  www.teacherspayteachers.com/staygoldshell

30 Aug 10:02

Why Teacherpreneurs Need to Stop Learning and Start Doing

Teachers are natural life-long learners, which is a HUGE benefit when they go to start a business.  But is all that learning getting in the way of taking action? Back in Season 1, I did a bonus episode on 10 Reasons Teachers Make Amazing Entrepreneurs, and of course, one of them is because we’re natural life-long learners!  There are lots of skills that translate from the classroom to business, but there’s also a lot to learn, and teachers have the chops to learn it all. But, is there such a thing as too much learning?  Some may argue with me, but I say, yes, there is. Learning as a form of procrastination Most beginning entrepreneurs, myself included, are guilty of this.  “I just have to learn X, then I can launch.” “I’m not an expert in Y yet, so I can’t put myself out there.”  The truth is we’re scared.  And needing to learn 1 more thing is a great excuse to postpone the scary step of doing. Learning without action is not moving you forward If I wanted to be a great fisherman (woman, whatever), I could go to Amazon and order every book on fishing ever written.  Then I could spend the next several years reading them, taking notes, internalizing… and after all that time I’d still be a crappy fisherman because I spent all my time learning about fishing and none practicing.   On the other hand, I could go to Amazon and find 1 book to read to get started on my fishing journey, read it, and head off to the shore to practice what I’d read.  If I master what I learned about, I can choose to learn more, or stick with my current level of knowledge and just put my line in the water. I may not become a master fisherman, but I’ll already be light years ahead of the other me, because I took action! There’s always something more to learn Learning is never done.  In fact, the more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know, and so on… And, as an aside, I totally support the art of learning for learning’s sake.  I love learning new things, facts, trivia, skills… whatever.   BUT. There’s a very big difference between learning new things so you’re prepared if you ever get picked up by the Cash Cab and acquiring knowledge instead of experience. Practice just in time learning Just in time learning is basically exactly how it sounds.  When you need to know something, learn it, practice it, master it.  Then move on to the next thing you need to know.   For example, when you’re putting together your business website (a big hangup point for us over-learners), you can learn a bit about your hosting options.  Then you pick one. You can learn about the basic elements of a website, then implement them. Learn about SEO, update that.   And so on. Remember that you can always change your m

30 Aug 10:02

Helping Teachers Take Care of Themselves with Lesley Moffat

Teachers are, by nature, care takers.  We often overlook our own needs in favor of the needs of our students, families, and communities. Today's Guest: Lesley Moffat, Author and Coach Lesley Moffat is the author of I Love My Job But It’s Killing Me: The Teacher’s Guide to Conquering Chronic Stress and Sickness, has taught high school band for over 30 years, and is the founder of Band Director Boot Camp. She has been a presenter at multiple national and state music conferences, served as a board member for the Mt. Pilchuck Music Educators Association, and serves as a guest clinician and adjudicator. Summary Lesley loves her job. She loved it so much, in fact, that she did whatever it took to build a successful program, at a great cost to her health, both physically and mentally. Over the course of her career, Lesley faced a myriad of health issues. After a major health crisis and many surgeries, she watched her best friend succumb to cancer that was certainly exacerbated by stress from her job as a high school choir teacher. She knew she had to do something, or she'd would be following in her footsteps soon. Once she made the choice to get healthy, Lesley decided to come off the more than a dozen prescriptions she was on for everything from pain and sleep problems, to ADHD and chronic inflammation, and much more. She had to learn how to restructure her work life, eating habits, and a lot of other things. Before she passed, Lesley's friend encouraged her over and over to write a book about her story to help other teachers avoid her fate. The book is a love letter to all the teachers who love their job, but are burning out due to high stress and poor health.  Lesley hopes that other teachers will read her story, follow her advice, and not only serve, but thrive as teachers for as long as they feel called. For a free copy of Lesley's Book, I Love My Job But It's Killing Me, click here!

30 Aug 10:02

How Teachers Can Create a Product People Love with Allison and Stephanie of The Teacher Tote

The majority of teachers who start business opt to offer services, but products are also a great way to create an additional stream of income. Today's Guest: Allison and Stephanie, Creators of The Teacher Tote Stephanie and Allison are two High School friends from Eastchester, NY who are now both teachers. They met on the softball field and formed a close bond that continued through their college years and beyond. Weekly coffee dates turned into discussions about shared dreams of starting a business together. They were tired of schlepping countless bags to and from school everyday and knew that there had to be a better solution. They wanted to create a functional bag that was tailored to the needs of a modern and successful teacher. Thus, The Teacher Tote was created. Summary Allison and Stephanie have been friends since high school and, after becoming teachers, decided to give entrepreneurship a go.  When they realized that they (and every teacher on the planet) were carrying multiple bags to and from school every day, they knew there had to be a better way and took the big step to create a product of their own. They set out to discover what teachers really want in a bag, especially a bag that could replace all the others they were lugging around.  A space for a laptop was a must because... life.  But they found that no matter what kind of laptop bag people carried, they still had to carry something else; A lunch bag. So they added an insulated lunch pocket to their bag, one of my favorite features! Of course, starting a business, especially a product-based business like the Teacher Tote, does require an investment.  Allison and Stephanie ran the numbers (Stephanie's a math teacher!) and both decided that they were comfortable spending a certain amount of money... and no more.  They then figured out what they could do with that investment, and gave the project a green light. Now that they've got a year of business under their belt, they've found a way to divide tasks based on each other's skills, and make major decisions - like deciding to use a fulfillment center instead of shipping from their homes - together.  And they credit their shared vision for the company for being able to handle any curve balls that come their way. Connect with Allison and Stephanie The Teacher Tote is a tote bag designed with the teacher in mind! There are pockets to contain all of your needs! Two outer side pockets can hold your liquid containers (coffee, water, etc), while a zippered front pocket perfectly fits your cell phone. Open up the bag and you will find an insulated lunch box; built right into the bag! There is also a middle zippered compartment to safely store your lapto

30 Aug 10:02

Why Edupreneurs Should Embrace the Idea of Good Enough and Quit Trying to Be Perfect

Most teachers have a perfectionist streak in us.  Whether it comes from the ever-present possibility of being observed, or truly wanting to be perfect for our kids all the time, or just because it’s an innate character trait, it’s there.  Today we’re talking about ways perfectionism is holding you back, in teaching and as an edupreneur, and how to start to move past it. You’ve got to start somewhere Think about the first time you stepped into a classroom as a teacher.  You were bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to change the world. Then the kids got there, and everything went to hell.  Okay, so maybe it didn’t go to hell, but I’d venture to guess that not everything went to plan.  I’d bet that your first year of teaching brought about its fair share of tears and doubts, and that if you were to watch a video of yourself teaching back then, you’d laugh (or cry) about much of what you see. You can’t get better if you never start. Here’s the thing; You’re a better teacher now because you were an okay teacher back then.  You wouldn’t be as skilled, practiced, and knowledgeable now if you hadn’t started out being new, naive, and fakin’ it ‘til you made it. Now, as a veteran teacher with almost 2 decades of experience, I know that if I try something new in my classroom, it doesn’t have to be perfect the first time out of the gate.  If it flops, it flops. I can tweak it or I can chalk it up to a lesson learned and move on. Business is the same way. If you’re not embarrassed by your first iteration, you waited too long. Let’s just ignore the fact that there’s really no such thing as perfect.   If you’re a crafter, the first craft you ever made probably looked okay.  Not great. Certainly not perfect. But you did it anyway. And not only that, you likely still have that okay craft proudly displayed in your home. Business, like anything else, requires practice.  You’re not going to be perfect out of the gate. You’re going to be okay.  And it’s okay to be okay. You have to be okay before you get to awesome. And remember that your okay is someone else’s awesome! Letting go of perfectionism and embracing yourself as an imperfect edupreneur First we have to acknowledge what perfectionism really is.  Fear. You’re trying to be perfect because you’re afraid that you’re not smart enough.  You’re afraid you’re not talented enough. Or you’re afraid you’re just not enough… enough. If we allow ourselves to get bogged down and sucked into the quagmire of perfectionism you will never be able to share your message with the world.  And if you have something of value to add to the conversation - and I believe you do - then your perfectionism is preventing people from hearing that message.

30 Aug 10:02

Shining a Spotlight on Teacher Mental Health with Danna Thomas of Happy Teacher Revolution

As teachers are asked to take on more and more - both in terms of to-do lists and social emotional support of students - our own mental health is being put on a back burner.  Today's guests says it's time to move teacher well being to the forefront and help teachers be the best, happiest versions of themselves, so they can be the best, happiest teachers they can be. Today's Guest: Danna Thomas, Happy Teacher Revolution Danna Thomas has gone, in her words, from “Miss Thomas, kindergarten teacher” to “Danna, founder of a revolution” in just a few years. The former Baltimore City Public Schools educator now runs Happy Teacher Revolution, an international movement that hosts mental health and wellness support groups for teachers. More than 1,500 teachers have taken part in the program to date. Summary As a new teacher, Danna Thomas found herself working late every night, getting to school early every morning, and spending more time in her classroom than any other place on the planet. When she realized that this was not something that could continue she decided to switch schools and, in doing so, set some boundaries for herself so that she could not only be a great teacher, but also a happy person. In the process she certainly ruffled some feathers and challenged some norms, but she also discovered but she had become a role model for other teachers who were struggling under the weight of the classroom. Before making the leap to working on Happy Teacher Revolution full-time Dennis struggled with asking things first leaving teaching behind meant leaving a steady job a steady paycheck and tenure and health insurance. It also meant recognizing her own ability Uline Uline She also had to address the issue of self worth. Even though teachers are innovative, creative, unique individuals, over the last several years (or decades) education has begun to systematically make us question our value our abilities and our worth. We've bought into the idea that teachers not only often struggle with money, but that if we should be doing so. So when a teacher decides to do something for themselves that could make money, they hesitate because they feel bad making money.  They feel bad charging for something that they do. And if they do charge, they often charge far less than the service or product is worth. All these things compound to make it even more difficult to improve their situation because of constant financial strain.  When she started Danna took a lot of inspiration from podcast about successful entrepreneurs. And one thing she took away from many of them was the idea of human centered design, which is just a fancy way of saying asking questions of people you hope to serve. So

30 Aug 10:02

How to Grow in Business and the Classroom by Starting a Podcast with Ryan of Classroom Brew

Podcasting can be a great way to share your message with others, but for teachers it's also an excellent opportunity to grow in the classroom and share new things with your students. Today's guest shares all about his podcasting journey and how he brings his new knowledge into the classroom. Today's Guest: Ryan, Host of the Classroom Brew Podcast Ryan (Mr. F) is a high school Social Studies teacher, a coach, a teacher mentor and host of the Classroom Brew Podcast. Originally from Algonquin, IL, Ryan received his Bachelor or Arts in History, Education, and Psychology from the University of Iowa in 2015. During that time, he worked as a teacher aide in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics’ In-patient/Out-patient “Circle School.  After receiving his Bachelor’s, Ryan moved back to Chicago to earn his Master’s degree in the Teaching of History and Social Sciences. Ryan’s podcast, which features a variety of guests and solo episodes, explores the funny side of teaching and the classroom over a couple of beers. He has proudly worked in Chicago Public Schools since the Fall of 2017. Summary Ryan started his podcast as an idea while he was just sitting around chatting with student teaching friends. when he finally got his own classroom he decided that there was enough material there to actually have a podcast so classroom Brew was born At first guess we're just friends of his who would stop by and have a drink or two while they chatted about the realities of teaching school children and the 21st century. He eventually branched out to speak with people teachers he never met before and even students about their own School experience. Uline Launching a podcast brought about a whole new learning experience. Things like publicity and social media, the teachers don't typically have to worry about, are a key piece of having a successful podcast. But as Ryan says, it's easy to learn as you go with a format like podcasting. These days Ryan has even brought podcasting into his classroom having students use the medium for extra credit or as a new way to show their learning. for those interested Casey Bell of shake up learning does a podcast on this very topic which you can find here. Recently Ryan has started doing voice-over work on the platform known as fiber. And well the work got off to a slow start with fake pitches from people who quote-unquote needed his help he's now seeing a fairly regular stream of small jobs come in to supplement his income.  At one point Ryan was nervous about people he knew finding out about his podcast. But as time passed and he became more comfortable with the medium and what he was choosing to share that an

30 Aug 10:02

3 Simple Things to Do Now to Prepare Your Side Hustle... even when you're not ready to launch yet

Lots of people come to Side Hustle Teachers because you like the idea of having a side hustle, but for whatever reason, you’re not ready to take action.  But even if you’re not ready to launch your business, there are things you can do today to make it easier for yourself later. Start tracking your time You don’t have to use a formal time tracking app or anything, just start to take notice of how you use your time.   Most of us like to stay busy, so when we have time, we fill it.  Even if that means we’re doing things that don’t need to be done (or don’t need to be done by us), we feel our days are full. Some things to look at: How much time are you spending on social media? How much time are you spending on busy work? How much time are you spending on dreaming of making your classroom Pinterest perfect? You don’t even have to make changes to your schedule.  Just noticing that there are opportunities in your week to adjust how you spend your time can shift your mindset enough to get you moving. Squirrel away some money While it is possible to start a business with no money, it’s much easier if you have at least a bit to invest. If you’re building on your own, and are willing and able to do the work yourself, I would advise having even just $100 set aside for basic expenses. If you want to join an MLM, starting kits generally run $200-500. If you’re thinking of creating a product, the up-front investment is typically larger. Do some market research Ask questions.   You: What’s a problem you can solve?  How can you help others make their lives easier?   Friends/ Family: What’s something you wish were easier?  If I could make this situation less taxing/annoying/difficult, would you pay for a solution? Strangers: I have an idea about ____, is this a problem you have, too?  If I were to offer you ____, what would you expect to get with it? What would you expect to pay for it? Dream big Getting some of the pre-planning work out of the way clears a path for you to begin to see your dream as possible.   If you’re ready to take the next step and turn what’s possible into reality, check out Business Prep Program!  This is a small group program just for teachers like you who are at the beginning of your edupreneur journey. Get monthly lessons, a live Q & A call, a private Facebook group and priority access to me.  Join now for just $10 a month at side-hustle-teachers.com/businessprep

30 Aug 10:02

Building a Business That Raises Others Up with Carrie Conover

Often times teachers put off starting a business because they don't they're expert enough at all the things.  The thing is that not only can you learn as you go, but there are ways to structure your business in a way that builds upon the strengths of others and, at the same time, raises them up. Today's Guest: Carrie Conover, Founder e2e (Educators 2 Educators) Carrie Conover has dedicated 19 years of her life to the field of education – first as a teacher in the Chicago Public schools, then leading educational technology learning initiatives and now as the founder of e2e. Carrie established e2e to inspire, motivate and connect educators. She consults with schools and school districts, connects teachers and educators through e2e’s online presence and speaks at schools and universities. Carrie quickly became an industry standout by combining her experience visiting hundreds of urban, suburban, and rural classrooms together with her ability to establish vision and implement strategies to achieve a common goal. Carrie lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband Brian and their children, Jacob and Emily. She’s an avid Chicago sports fan and spends her free time playing tennis, cooking and watching her children do what they love. Summary Carrie Conover, like many edupreneurs, has had a long and winding road to find her perfect fit as an edupreneur. Starting out as an education consultant for the Chicago Symphony, moving into public schools, then into the education technology space, and finally starting her own consulting business to help public schools integrate technology into their classrooms. Carrie started Educators 2 Educators as a way for teachers to share their expertise with other teachers, and as a place they could go to get useful, pertinent, self-directed PD so they could learn what they needed to, when they needed it.  These days e2e provides teachers ongoing support in professional development. And because Carrie chooses to keep the price low, at only $10 a month, teachers can easily afford to pay for their own membership, and districts are willing to pay for their teachers to be part of this group. Additionally, teachers can choose to participate in e2e in two different ways; They can consume information and hone their craft, or they can present information as what Carrie calls the e2e talent.  This tends to draw in a lot of teacher leaders, people who are taking on leadership roles in their school and are perhaps looking for a wider audience, more pure interaction, and even more support.  As time has passed Carrie has learned more and more about how to set boundaries with those around her, including her family, teachers, presenters, and private clien

30 Aug 10:02

Creating a Side Hustle that Fills a Need in Your Community with Anne Barton-Veenkant

People often ask me what they should do as a side hustle. Today's guest, Anne Barton-Veenkant of My Bilingual Heart, found a fabulous answer to this question; Find a need in your community, and fill it. Her edupreneur journey started slowly, but with each step she gained more confidence and clarity in what her true purpose is. Today's Guest: Anne Barton-Veenkant, Founder of My Bilingual Heart Anne has worked in Title I schools for 10 years as a classroom teacher, interventionist, reading specialist, dean, and ELL teacher. The one thing all these jobs have had in common are that they have required her to speak AND teach in English AND in Spanish. Anne loves working with families from Latin America, in part because she has also worked in Mexico and Central America and was welcomed and embraced during her time there. Educating their children and serving their families feels like a way to pay it forward and make sure that their journey to this country and the lives they choose allow them to realize the dream of an excellent education for their children. Summary In her 11 years in education Anne has held a lot of different roles. But when she found herself in a position that wasn't a good fit for her, she started to struggle with how to leave this role behind and still be able to support herself. Ironically, though she was fluent in Spanish, she wrote off the idea of teaching Spanish because that was not her “area of expertise”. However after a few people individually asked and to help them learn Spanish as a way to better communicate with the families in their classes, she started to notice a need that she could fill with her unique skill set. When a new position in the school became available, Anne enthusiastically took it on, but knew that she had to continue pursuing this idea of teaching Spanish, because it was not only a need in the community, it also brought her joy.  Her first client did not fit her ideal client avatar as it stands right now at all. He was a businessman who travelled and needed a basic level of Spanish in order to communicate in the countries to which he was going. But this experience was not wasted. It gave Anne the confidence and courage to begin to working with the people she really wanted to help; teachers. The Experience not only taught her that she was capable of teaching Spanish, it also provided her with the time and space to think about what teachers need that other Spanish speakers don't. Vocabulary like “field trip,” “report card,” and “behavior” are things that teachers might need to communicate about on a regular basis, whereas the rest of the general population has no need for this particular set of words. By developing this und

30 Aug 10:02

How to Start Believing in Yourself as an Edupreneur

If you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while, you know that I believe teachers can do absolutely anything we set our minds to.  That said, what I believe doesn’t really matter if you don’t believe in yourself! So today, for the last episode of Season 2, we’re talking about how to start believing in yourself as much as I believe in you. Acknowledge your mad skills I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, teachers have a crazy set of skills that are totally transferable to starting a business.  Let’s do a quick run down. Organization Writing Budgeting Listening Explaining stuff Self-discipline Communication Problem solving Creativity Draw on the soft skills of teaching Let’s face it.  Teaching builds a skill set that no one talks about and you probably wouldn’t put on your resume.  Compassion Doing a lot with a little Coming up with a plan B-Q on the spot Finding teachable moments Making connections Powering through the crap Starting a business is more manageable than you think Literally thousands of teachers do it every year.   And there’s no right or wrong way to do it.  You can get up early to do work, or do it at night while you watch Netflix.  You can work on something education related, or not. You can work online or in person.  Write, talk, or do video. You can do hard things Are there hard parts to starting a business.  Yep. But, there are hard things about teaching, too.  And being a mom. And buying a house.   But like those things, you learn as you go.   And… you have Side Hustle Teachers, in whatever form you choose to use it, for support at every step of the way.  That’s literally why it started. This is the last episode of Season 2, but don’t worry.  You can still get lots of ideas, support, and advice - not to mention hang out with some awesome people - in the Side Hustle Teachers Facebook group!  And if there’s anything you want to hear in Season 3, drop me a note and let me know. Planning begins as soon as this episode wraps!

30 Aug 10:02

Season 3 Preview

Have you been missing the Side Hustle Teacher goodness?  Well, your time has come my friend because Side Hustle Teachers Podcast is returning March 16th!  We’ve got a new logo, a new web address - sidehustleteachers.com - no dashes, that’s right - and a new program, the Edupreneur Academy, Business School for Teachers, but everything you know and love about Side Hustle Teachers is just the same. In season 3 of the Side Hustle Teachers Podcast we’re all about taking action.  Each episode is designed to help to move forward in starting or growing your side hustle because if there’s one thing that we’ve learned over the years it’s that clarity comes in the doing. So, in support of our goal of helping you take action, we’re hosting a Jump Start Your Side Hustle 5-Day challenge starting March 9, 2020.  If you’re still trying to get started, have hit a plateau, or are struggling with leveling up your business, this challenge is for you. Each day you’ll get an email from me with a video lesson and a small task to complete.  And, just because we can, I’ll be going live in the Facebook group each night to answer questions, offer support, and give high 5s! To join the challenge, just go to sidehustleteachers.com/jumpstart and, if you’re not one of the nearly 4,000 people in the Side Hustle Teachers Facebook group, make sure you submit a request to join. What can you expect from Season 3? We’re going to dig into mindset issues, debunk some side hustle myths, give practical tips and advice, and, of course, feature some amazing guests, all of which is presented to you to help you what?  TAKE ACTION!

30 Aug 10:02

There's No Such Thing As the Perfect Side Hustle

​Are you waiting to start your business until the perfect side hustle reveals itself to you?  Today we’re talking about why you should stop waiting and start taking action. Oftentimes people come to Side Hustle Teachers with the goal of starting a side hustle, but no clear idea on what to do.  And while I and the Facebook group can provide lots of ideas, only you can decide what’s right for you. There’s no “1 way” Like many things in life, there are multiple paths a side hustlin’ teacher can follow.  What most people don’t say out loud is that most of the paths available to you are equally good. It’s like when you input a destination into Google maps.  You’re often given several routes to choose from - maybe one has tolls while another takes a few minutes longer - but in the end, they all get you to your destination. No matter what your side hustlin’ destination, whether it’s early retirement, saving for college, or to build up a savings account and stop living paycheck to paycheck, there are multiple side hustles that will get you there. We might not know the whole path before we start. It can be scary to start a journey without knowing every turn along the way, but if you take the first step, then the next best step, and repeat, you’ll reach your goal.  If you wait for the path to become clear, you’re never going to start. For example, in Season 1 I talked with Robin Walker about her journey.  She started out selling cheerleading bows and now coaches women in business and runs the annual Women’s Business Conference in Wisconsin. I know this can be a daunting prospect for teachers who are used to Backward Design and planning with the end in mind, but it can be done.  Remember, there’s no end of the year or state test for your business. You can take your time and just keep taking the next right step. Is there a wrong path? So, if there are numerous right ways to reach my goal, is there a wrong way? You know you’re not on the right path if you’re doing something that doesn’t align with your values or your goals, and only you can define what that is.  If you’re doing business with a company or in a way that goes against your moral or ethical code, stop. Find another path. However, a lot of people think that discomfort is a sign that something is wrong.  That is simply untrue. Discomfort is a sign that something is changing. And change, while scary, isn’t bad.  It’s up to you evaluate your discomfort and decide whether it’s coming from growth and change, or if something in your life is misaligned. What’s the next best step? The only way to reach your goal is to take action.  Your next best step is to make a decision and go for it. If you’re at the beginning of your jo

30 Aug 10:02

Tips to Start and Grow Your Side Hustle During Tough Times

When times are difficult it might seems fruitless to work on growing your business, there is plenty you can do to set yourself up for long-term success. Use this time wisely and you can reach your goals and your business will thrive.

30 Aug 10:02

Managing Your Side Hustle in Busy Times

Teachers have a lot going on in the best of times. So what do you do during especially crazy times happen; like parent teacher conferences, grades are due, or there’s an unprecedented pandemic on top of everything else? You’re a busy teacher, working all day and hustling at night and on the weekends (and in the morning, and at lunch…).  You’ve got a handle on things - or you’re starting to - and then a school or family obligation pops up and throws you completely off your routine. What’s an edupreneur to do? Mark your calendar Sure there are things that crop up at the last second and spoil all our well-laid plans, but many of our extra busy times are planned in advance.  So make sure that as soon as your school puts out its calendar, you add all the important dates to your own family calendar. Make note of things like the ends of grading periods, when you know you’re going to have to enter grades and comments, parent-teacher conferences, when your Honors English papers are due… you know. Do the same for family commitments, too.  If you know your kids have the school play every year, which means you’re going to be busy painting sets and sewing costumes, block it off.  If your partner or spouse is going to be traveling and you’re solo-parenting while they’re gone, block it off. Plan ahead. When you think about your business, plan for at least 90 days at a time.  Some podcasts or business coaches talk about 1 or even 5 year plans, but as a new entrepreneur 90 days is a more reasonable amount of time.  3 months lets you plan ahead and work around things that are coming up, but still doesn’t put too much pressure on you to know what’s going to happen in the future. Look at your calendar when scheduling launches or open carts and make sure you’re planning around those busy times you blocked off.  You don’t want to schedule a launch while you’re trying to complete report cards. Nobody needs that kind of stress. For each 90 day period ask yourself the following questions: What are you launching or promoting?  Do you have a course or program you’re opening?  Consider any products or services you offer and how you’re going to market them over the next 90 days with respect to your calendar.   What affiliate products or programs do you want to promote?  If you don’t have a product or service of your own, you can still bring in revenue by recommending other peoples’ products or services.  If a business connection is launching or opening something to the world, and you want to be an affiliate for them, be sure to match their launch with your calendar. What do you want to prep your audience for that is launching soon?  Maybe you don’t have something launching in this 90-day windo

30 Aug 10:02

Starting a Business and Overcoming Obstacles with Dr. Sheldon Eakins

Sheldon started his business with a podcast. He didn't have any particular destination in mind, or a thought of how this was going to become a business, he just knew he was passionate about teaching equity. It was from this passion that a business naturally evolved. When people started reaching out to Sheldon asking for advice and input he realized that his passion could help make him extra money while helping other teachers. He got an LLC, and was off and running.  Living in rural Idaho, Sheldon didn't have a lot of access to travel to speak to people about his business. The airport was far, flights were expensive, and he still had to be present for his job in education. But rather than let those obstacles prevent him from doing what he wanted to do, he found a way to make it work.  After starting with a course, Sheldon was invited to participate in an online summit with Matt Miller of Ditch That Textbook, and discovered a new way to reach and help more teachers. When he participated in a second summit, with a different format, he decided to create his own virtual summit around the theme of equity. While he decided to make the summit free, he also knew that for the amount of time and effort he was going to put in, as well as the technological expenses that go along with hosting this type of experience, he wanted there to be a financial end game for him. Because what Shelton understood is that if you're not making money you don't have a business, you have a hobby.  As an additional stream of Revenue Shelton also contracts with districts to provide virtual training in the form of webinars. Connect with Sheldon Website: www.leadingequitycenter.com Twitter: @sheldoneakins Instagram: @sheldoneakins   Join the Edupreneur Academy for support starting or growing your side hustle!

30 Aug 10:02

Growing Your Side Hustle with Limited Time

There are gurus out there who preach working 20 hour days, 7 days a week, grinding out work, and eating, sleeping, and breathing your business. I’ve heard Mark Cuban tell entrepreneurs on Shark Tank that they shouldn’t be presenting the sharks with opportunities if they haven’t worked from dawn until midnight, given up all their earthly possessions in pursuit of their dream, and been forced to crash on the floors of random friends. And while, I’m not in any position to question Mark Cuban or Gary V., I do know that advice doesn’t fit for me, and it likely doesn’t fit for you either.   And that’s okay. You’re never going to be able to follow all of the entrepreneurial advice out there - namely because so much of it is contradictory - so you might as well find someone who's giving advice you can work with. Enter Side Hustle Teachers. There are multiple paths to success  Don’t let the fact that you can’t walk one of those paths keep you from looking for others. I didn’t consider my first successful business, my blog, a business at first.  It was a blog. That label, however incorrect, took a lot of the pressure off as I was trying to grow it and make money.  I networked with other bloggers, took courses on blogging, and never used the word “business.” When I first started to think of myself as a business owner, it was because I started listening to the Boss Mom podcast.  Dana was a mom (obviously) and built her business while raising her kids, in the in-between hours, and was still a success. Her path and understanding that we have other things going on in our lives helped me see that it was possible to be a legitimate business owner without working myself like a dog or burning the candle at both ends. Making progress is more important that how fast you go Entrepreneurship is a long-term play.  It’s a marathon, not a sprint. It’s actually more like an ultra-marathon, a Tough Mudder, and one of those Color Run’s all in one. And just like those events, most people join to participate, not to win.  It’s about the journey. Let’s face it, unless you’re working in a field like emerging technologies or medical sciences, there really is no rush.  If someone else starts their VA business before you, it’s not like there won’t be any clients left when you get yours going. Small bits of time add up If you were only able to devote 5 hours a week to your side hustle, that’s 260 hours a year.  1,300 hours over 5 years, which is more than 160 full, 8-hour work days. That’s a lot of time! What could you do with 160 days? Is that time divided up over a longer period of time than those people who grind it out all day and all night?  Yeah… but so what? As the classic Karen Lamb quote goes

30 Aug 10:02

Changing Your Mindset to Believe in Your Worth as a Side Hustler

Is anxiety of asking for money keeping you from getting your business up and running, or growing to a point of scalability?  Today we’re talking about believing in your worth as an edupreneur, so stick around. No matter how much you love what you do, there’s one thing that separates a hobby from a business; Money.  If you’re not making money, you don’t have a business. This is a big point of contention for teachers who enter the entrepreneurial space, and I completely understand why. Part of being a teacher is being broke… or at least that’s how it feels sometimes.  It’s ingrained in our culture and constantly reinforced every time we’re asked to chip in for something, work way outside our contract hours, and volunteer to work at school events.   And teachers aren’t blameless here.  We buy into this culture hook, line, and sinker.  Who are the first ones checking out the discount bins after every holiday so we can buy stuff for our classrooms and our kids?  Who pays $5 to wear jeans to school on Fridays? Who signs up to chaperone the dance because, “It’s for the kids?” Us.   And no one is saying we can’t do those things if we want to.  All I’m saying is that you can’t let that mindset carry over into your business. Don’t fall victim to Broke Teacher Syndrome Just because teaching pays pennies that doesn’t mean your skills aren’t worth anything.  In any profession other than teaching, your degree would garner mad money and respect. Remember that you went into teaching in spite of it not being a high paying job, not because of it.  You don’t have to be broke. You can teach and still make money, but you have to charge money to make money.   Charging what your worth helps your clients get results This sounds weird, but it’s true.  When you undercharge for your services, people don’t value them as much.  They don’t put all their energy into it, they don’t get the results, and they don’t turn into raving fans. Keep your ultimate goal in mind Whether your goal is to retire early, pay down debt, or save money to travel, you started a business to make money.  Do we want to help people?  Of course.   But helping people and making money aren’t mutually exclusive. Join the Facebook Group Join Edupreneur Academy for just $1

30 Aug 10:01

How to Build a Business with Skills You Already Have with Elizabeth Yarnell

If you've thought about starting a side hustle, but don't think you have any skills that are worth anything, think again.  In this episode we're talking about how to use talents you already have to make some money! Today's Guest: Elizabeth Yarnell, Founder, Digistars Make-a-Movie Workshop Elizabeth Yarnell has been designing and delivering multimedia educational programs for almost thirty years, starting off in the film and video industry and then as an instructional designer. She began developing digital storytelling programs for kids in 2010 as a parent volunteer at her son's elementary school in Denver, Colorado. For the last ten years her side hustle has been delivering these fun and enriching programs after school, in summer camps, and during school holidays to elementary and middle schools. Summary Elizabeth Yarnell didn't intend to be an edupreneur. She had a thriving career and everything was going well. Her business idea sprang from helping her child's school create a digital video program, to be funded by a grant they had won. After seeing success in her son’s school, Elizabeth decided to branch out to other schools in her area. She offered her program after school, on vacation weeks, and during the summer. The big break through happened when she decided to see if there was a way to get this program into the hands of children outside the Denver-Metro area. She used her experience as an instructional designer to create a comprehensive program that anyone – teacher or otherwise – could follow, and provide this digital video making program to kids. Grab your free copy of The Ultimate Checklist for Teaching Stop Motion Animation! Connect with Elizabeth Website: https://digistarsworkshop.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digistars/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DIGISTARSWkshop   Join Edupreneur Academy for just $1!

30 Aug 10:01

5 Ways to Get Experience in Your Side Hustle Before You Launch

Before starting a side hustle there’s always a little voice that says, “But what if it’s not right for me?”  Today we’re talking about a few things you can do to dip your toe in your side hustle pool before you take the plunge. A few weeks ago I did an episode about how there’s no such thing as a perfect side hustle.  And while that’s totally true, it’s natural to want to take your hustle for a test drive.   After all, you’re making a big commitment of time and energy, and possibly money, so you want to do what you can to assure yourself that you know what you’re getting into. So how can you get some experience, get some inspiration, and make sure you’re taking the next right step? Volunteer  Find an organization that works with the population you want to help, or does the kind of work you want to do.  Spend some time learning the ins and outs. Places like libraries, women’s organizations, animal shelters, and groups that serve the elderly are always looking for volunteers, and I would bet that many other places would be happy to have the help, too. Get a job Want to start a lawn care business?  Go work for one.  Start a cafe?  Get a job at Starbucks.   You don’t want to find out that you hate getting up early after you’ve opened your own breakfast joint, or that you hate talking on the phone after you’ve started a tele-consulting business. This option allows you to get experience while still earning money, and you get an idea about to treat your employees (or how not to treat them) if you have them. Go freelance Rather than starting a full-blown business, offer your services to individuals as a freelancer.  Reach out to people you know, or in online communities and offer your services for a reduced fee and get a feel for what you want to do. This is a great option for consultants and coaches, as well as assistants as it gives you a chance to practice your skills, narrow your niche, and get some testimonials for when you launch. Talk to people If you know someone in the field - or in peripheral fields - that you can talk to, offer to buy them a cup of coffee and ask them about what they do.   What’s their favorite and least favorite part of the job?  Describe a typical day in their life.  What would they do differently if they could start over? Most people are happy to help and share their experience. Start a group The easiest way to do this is to start a Facebook group, but you can start a local meetup, too, especially if you want to serve your local market. Put out some feelers and invite people to join.  You don’t have to be selling anything, but a group can help you guage interest and get info on topics your audience might want to know about, so when you’re rea

30 Aug 10:01

5 Mistakes Teachers Make When Starting a Side Hustle and How to Avoid Them

In working with teachers along all points of the entrepreneurial journey, and through the Side Hustle Teachers Facebook group, there are some mistakes that come up over and over.  Today we’re going to dig into them and what you should do instead.  Stick around. When you’re starting something new, mistakes are inevitable.  But some mistakes are avoidable, if you’re prepared for them. Today I’m going to share 5 of the mistakes I see most often with clients and members of the Side Hustle Teachers community (and may or may not have made myself when starting out), and how to avoid them. Choosing a business based on what your friend sells People will post in the SHT group that a friend of theirs has had good luck with XYZ business, and they’re thinking of doing the same thing. This happens most often, but not exclusively, with Direct Sales companies partly because they actively recruit people, trot out successful sellers, and promise quick returns. While it’s great that you’ve been inspired by another edupreneur, it’s important to think about your business as yours, and consider what you want to do.  What do you like to do? What are you great at? What do you want your life to look like? So before you jump into a business because someone else is having success with it, remember that you’re more likely to have success with something you’re passionate about. Wait too long to get started On the flip side of jumping in too quickly because you’re excited by someone else’s success is another mistake; not getting started because you’re waiting for… something. Whether you’re waiting for the perfect time, or the perfect hustle, people often delay starting a business because they feel it’s not just right. The truth is, there’s no such thing as a perfect side hustle (as we talked about in episode 25), there’s just the next right step. There is no such thing as the perfect time to start a side hustle - just like there’s never a perfect time to have a kid, start a new diet, or try a new hair style. Stop overthinking and start doing! Remember that clairy comes from action, not thinking. Taking on too much, too fast If you’ve ever gone on a highly restrictive diet, like the kind where you can only eat meat and beans, you know it doesn’t last because it’s impossible to maintain. The minute someone waves an apple or a piece of bread at you, you crumble. The same is true of starting and growing a business.  If you try to do everything, be all the places, run all the social media, and put out new content all the time, you’re going to burn out.  All businesses, but especially side hustlers, and especially side hustlin’ teachers, need to focus on the activities that are going to make you mone

30 Aug 10:01

From Teacher Problems to Teacher Business Owner with Erica Terry

Today's Guest: Erica Terry Erica Terry is a 17 year educator, who currently serves as a professional learning consultant and coach committed to empowering co-teachers to build collaborative relationships that include shared roles & responsibilities. In addition to her role as a consultant, she also is an edupreneur and host of the Classroom to CEO Podcast, where she equips educators to build an online business and create multiple streams of income. While empowering educators to create a life they love embodies her professional passion, her husband, Melvin and daughter, Eva are the driving force and greatest blessings in her life. Summary When Erica decided to start her side hustle journey, she first started with a blog. She wanted to talk about goal setting and personal growth, but she soon realized that she hadn't fully developed her idea, her focus, or her ideal customer avatar. Without those three key pieces, it was difficult to find an audience, so the blog didn't last very long. Of course as side hustlers, we never actually fail, we just learn what doesn't work and do better next time. And that's what Erica did.  The next time she launched Erica thought about what her strengths were. How did her personal experience as a teacher set her apart from others? How could she use this experience to help others?   As a new teacher, Erica was placed in a classroom with a co-teacher. However, her co-teacher was just  a few years away from retirement, and perhaps... not fully invested in the classroom.  The situation was a struggle.   A couple years later when she was placed with a new co-teacher, she was able to build a much stronger professional relationship and create a cohesive bond that aided her, her co-teacher, and their students. Drawing on this experience, Erica created a consulting company specifically designed to help co-teachers work together better. She provided professional training on how to co-teach and how to build a relationship in the classroom.  Through this experience Erica was able to master three tenants that trouble so many edupreneurs, including those with whom I work closely:  Identifying a specific problem  Defining a specific solution  Offering your solution to a specific group of people Once she had a product to sell, her program for helping teachers work together in the classroom, Erica had to figure out how to get the word out so people could find her and hire her. So she did what so many are unwilling to do; she reached out to people she already knew. She leveraged the network she had spent years building to help her grow her new network.  She then started to reach beyond her comfort zone and to people she'd never met before to be

30 Aug 10:01

How to Gain Clarity in Your Side Hustle Through Taking Action

When people start thinking about trying a side hustle, many get stuck on the thinking and never get to the trying. The same can often be said for those who have a business and are thinking about leveling up... lots of thinking. Today we're talking about why action will get you farther than thinking (and faster), how to get over your fears of starting, and simple ways to gain some momentum! Have you left a review for the Side Hustle Teachers podcast?  Reviews from listeners help other people find our little corner of the world and let us help even more teachers.  If you haven't written a review, we'd be honored if you could take a moment to do so on whatever podcast app you're on.  If you use an iPhone you can simply open the Apple Podcasts app, search for Side Hustle Teachers and tap on ratings and reviews. You can also use the desktop version of iTunes on any computer and leave a review there.  Like I said, it really helps us spread the word and help more people. Why is it wrong to think about things? It's not. At all. However, weighing your options, considering your choices, and thinking over the variables is supposed to be a step towards taking action. Instead, many people get stuck on thinking and never get to the action part. Let me give you some examples: You go to a store and pick out two new shirts, and are trying to decide which one to buy. You look at the shirts, compare the sleeve lengths, the colors, the cuts... you even hold them up in front of you in the mirror. But the only way to know for sure which of those two shirts you should spend your money on, is to try them on. That's the only way to know how they look on you, how the fabric feels, whether the cut of the shirt pinches your armpit, or if the shirt is going to reveal a little too much when you bend down or lift your arms. Now you can decide which shirt to get, or if neither of them work. It's date night.  You and your spouse are going to go to dinner without the kids and you can't wait! You've thought about where to go all week, and now it's time to leave... but you haven't decided where to go. The Italian place has great bread, but the Asian fusion place has amazing atmosphere. Essentially, you can't make a bad choice because you're going to have a good time no matter where you go.  But, you have to make a choice.  Otherwise date night is going to be spent in your driveway and no food or fun will be had. Thinking isn't wrong. It's an important step in the process. You just have to remember it's not the last step.  You're thinking so you can feel more confident about doing. "I can't get out of my head" I hear ya.  We all suffer from analysis paralysis from time to time. We become like those

30 Aug 10:01

What to Do When You Lose Your Side Hustle Mojo

No matter how much you love what you do, you will inevitably go through a period when you just don't wanna. So what do you do what you lose your side hustle mojo? Call it what you want, a dry spell, a down period, a blah phase, but at some point, all of us go through and have to find a way to pull ourselves out of it.  Easier said than done. Figure out what's up Before you can fix a problem, you have to know what the problem is. If your septic tank is overflowing, sure you need to call the septic guy to drain it, but if you don't fix the constantly running toilet, the problem isn't going to go away. Over the years in my work with clients I've found that there are 4 basic reasons people lose your side hustle mojo: Self-doubt or imposter syndrome Idea fatigue Overwhelm Exhaustion Maybe you can identify with one or more of these, and notice them in your own business Find inspiration When you start to feel imposter syndrome tapping you on the shoulder, it's important to go back to the inspiration that helped you get started. Listen to podcasts, read blog posts, or find someone who inspires you to help you get back into the right headspace. You can also go back to episode 5 of this podcast to listen to Defeating Imposter Syndrome as a Side Hustlin' Teacher. Before I started Side Hustle Teachers I was a blogger, looking for something more. I started listening to podcasts and found myself saying, "Yeah, I could totally do that," as I was listening. So when I need a mental boost, that's where I turn. Dig into your idea bank When you're in a good flow, keep track of ideas that you have; podcasts you want to record, posts you want to write, products you want to launch. I use a voice recorder and a Trello board to track my idea and when I find my motivation lacking, I go back to the recordings I made and the list of ideas. This can help combat idea fatigue when you just can't think of what to say, or write. Sometimes those ideas are non-starters, but sometimes I find a spark that reignites my creativity and passion and makes me want to jump in and get moving. Try to snowball your to-do list Sometimes we can't get moving because the volume of tasks in front of us seems overwhelming. When I find myself paralyzed by a mountain of stuff in front of me, I use the snowball technique. Here's how it works: Pick an item on your to-do to tackle that will take no longer than 5 minutes. Maybe do a couple of those small tasks, then choose one that will take approximately 10 minutes. As you start to cross smaller items of your list you start to fall into Newton's first law, where the small movements you've started to take keep you moving. Then you gain momentum and, like a snowball rolli

30 Aug 10:01

5 Ways to Use Your Summer Break to Get Ahead in Your Business

Summer is here, or at least close, for teachers and that means you get 2 months off!  Okay, now that we've all had a good laugh... Summer is a great time to work on your business because, even if you have a full-time job over the break, it's likely not as intense and draining as teaching, so you've got some extra time and energy to work with. How can you use these 2 months to strengthen your business? There are a couple of ways. You can put the extra time and energy you have toward building your business, and you can use the time to get ahead on side hustle work so you're prepared when busy times of year crop up. Go All In In the summer months, especially if you don't have to work a job, you can basically make your side hustle a full-time gig. Use this time to dedicate yourself to building your business in ways that you simply can't do while school is in session. Some of the things I like to do during this time is batch my content, But one of the most important things I do over the summer is spending time thinking about my business. During the school year I'm often so busy that I spend all my time on all the little things that have to get done that I don't get to sit back and think about the big picture. I do lots of work in my business, but not necessarily on it. This is your chance to take stock of how far you've come, where you'd like to see your business go in the future, and what you need to do to get there. Make Connections Business is relationships, so use the extra time and more relaxed pace of the summer to strengthen existing relationships and create new ones. If you're in Facebook groups, start interacting more, set up coffee chats so you can make genuine connections with people who are in your niche, or peripheral niches, or who just seem like fun, like-minded folks. If you're able to venture out of the house, think about trying a few in-person networking events, too. Your local Chamber of Commerce, and those in surrounding towns, are great places to start and they often have social or other events for non-members. You can also try Meetup.com to see if there are any related group meetings in your area. And you can try more specific groups like Business Among Moms to see if they have a chapter near you. Make a Plan Just like we do for the school year, summer is the time to take a long view of your business and make a plan. Not just a plan for how much money you want to make - though that can be helpful - but a structure for your year. Having a plan helps you when you are struggling to think of what to do next, and it can prevent shiny object syndrome, where you go chasing after the hottest trend or tool. Some things I include on my plan are: Any product

30 Aug 10:01

Season 4 Preview of the Side Hustle Teachers Podcast

The first episode of the new season of Side Hustle Teachers drops 2 weeks from today - September 28, 2020 - and it is going to blow. your. mind.  I’m Stacey Ogden, self-taught entrepreneur and founder of Side Hustle Teachers. It’s my mission to help teachers like you make more money, follow your passions (education-related, or not), and give you the confidence to know that teaching is just one of many career options you have.  So if you’re an educator who is struggling financially, feeling stuck, and not sure that you can handle being a teacher for another 10, 20, or 30 years, you have come to the right place! This season on the podcast you will hear practical tips for starting and growing a business of your own from me and my guests. And since I only feature educators on this show, you know that every piece of advice or strategy is totally doable for a busy teacher. Mark your calendar for September 28, 2020 for the first episode of season 4! You’re not going to want to miss it!

30 Aug 10:01

3 Types of Earning For Side Hustlin' Teachers

The term side hustle can mean different things to different people, and even different things at different points in your life. So today, we are going to dig into all of those different definitions and in what situation you might use to decide which side hustle is for you.   What is a side hustle?  In some cases it might be just anything you do that brings in extra money. In my mind, I have always thought of a side hustle as something that is more within your own control. So a business that you run or a side gig that you are in complete control of. There are different types of side hustles and different situations might make you more interested in a certain type.  People Who Need Money Now You can’t wait, you’re behind on your bills, and you just need money now. A side hustle would be something along the lines of driving for Uber, delivering for Instacart, or something along those lines. You could even get a second job. You would have a second employer and you would get paid through a regular paycheck system.  Pros You get money pretty quickly It tends to be low stress (or at least lower stress than teaching) Some flexibility (especially with Uber or Instacart) because you are setting your own hours. Your boss will usually be pretty flexible and allow you to work around your family and primary job as well  Cons Very unlikely you will ever replace your teaching salary or get to your long time goals by doing one of these side hustles They are a bandaid, or temporary fix to an immediate problem They tend to have lower pay They are pretty unsustainable because if you are working 60 hours a week as a teacher (which is what they say the average is) and you are trying to work a second job on top of that, you will hit a wall.  This is not something I would suggest if your strategy is something long term. If you are looking to create something that will help you retire early, but it is something that is available to you if you need money now.  You don’t need money right this second It’s a more pressing matter than a long term play. You need it pretty soon. In this case, you are looking at something like Outschool or VIPKid as really good options. They’re not instant money, you have to be approved to teach for them. You have to have classes approved for them. It is a process so it usually takes a couple months. You also have to build up a following of people who actually take your classes, which takes a little bit longer as well.  Pros They are very flexible You set your own hours Your earnings are dependent on you- how many classes you offer and what you charge for them They’re designed for teachers. If you are going to teach for Outschool, and you are already a teache

30 Aug 10:01

Why You Shouldn't Feel Guilty About Your Side Hustle

Teacher guilt is real, my friends. But that doesn't mean you should let it stop you from running your business the way you want. Today we are talking about why you shouldn’t feel guilty about your side hustle, and how you can let that guilt go.  Guilt is a real thing. Every teacher feels guilty for some reason or another. I swear, I have even felt guilty for sleeping before. Yes, sleeping! One of those things that you have to do. I felt guilty for doing that rather than staying up and pulling an all nighter and working on something for my kids. Do we recognize how ridiculous that is? We might recognize it, but it’s hard to get past it.  So why should you not feel guilty for your side hustle? There are so many reasons!  Let’s think about this for a second. First of all, what you do outside of school hours is no one's business but your own. When you clock out of school and pull out of that parking lot, your time is your own. My personal opinion is that doing something that lights you up and brings you joy makes you a better teacher when you pull up in the morning. If having a side hustle makes you feel good and helps you recharge and refresh, that is not something to feel guilty about.  The other thing I hear people say a lot is that they feel guilty because they are using this time to make money.  This doesn’t make a lot of sense to me but I do get it. Teachers are trained or prepared for our entire lives, as soon as we know we are going to be teachers, that we are going to be poor. This is just the expectation. So for us to go out and try to make more money feels weird. I get that! But if you have ever brought financial strain into your classroom, you know that it carries through to your students. Sure, they don’t know that you're struggling under the weight of your student loans, or that your car broke down and you can’t afford to fix it, but they know something is off. They know you’re not fully there because you’re worried about survival. Taking time to make money after school is not a selfish thing to do. It is a way that you can take care of yourself and be there in a more fully present way for your students.  I could also go on about all the ways that learning a new skill and being an entrepreneur is a fabulous way to relate to your kids.  It makes you more empathetic. It makes you relate to them more, because let's face it, if you have been out of school for a while, it is hard to remember what it was like to study for a test for a long time and not do well. But when you are an entrepreneur sometimes you put effort into things and they don’t turn out the way you planned - that is a connection with a kid.  So can we all agree that feeling guilty about your si

30 Aug 10:01

How to Sell Your Teaching Resources on Teachers Pay Teachers with Kayse Morris

Today's Guest: Kayse Morris, Online Business Owner Kayse Morris is a former 8th grade english and language arts teacher and now helps teachers live their best lives. Her main goal is to empower the educators of the world to leave a legacy online by selling their teaching resources. She got started on Teachers Pay Teachers in 2013 and it changed her life. She had no intention of leaving the classroom, she loves being a teacher and it is her greatest joy. However in  2018, she stepped out of the classroom to start helping other teachers with their businesses. Summary If you’re a teacher, you’ve probably thought about selling on the website Teachers Pay Teachers, but sometimes it can be daunting. How do you get started? What do you sell? Well today’s guest is telling us all about it and she is an expert.  This website has been around for a long time and many teachers have thought about or tried to sell their course materials on that website. But sometimes it can be overwhelming. There’s so many teachers on there so how do you get found? Today’s guest Kayse Morris is the person to ask about that.  Kayse is a former teacher who has created a 7 figure online business and through her course, the CEO Teacher Academy.  She teaches educators how to become a thriving CEO Teachers by taking their best asset in the classroom and building a legacy by teaching their passion. CEO Teachers are coached on how to create and market their teaching resources and grow their businesses to make an impact and enable them to live their passion each day.  Teachers have the perfect DNA to become entrepreneurs because they encompass the word “badass”. They have the ability to know how to teach in the online space. A lot of people are trying to sell courses online but they just aren’t teachers. We are born with it. It is the perfect match for us.. Because we are lifelong learners, whatever we don’t know about running an online business, we can totally learn.  While struggling through postpartum depression, Kayse thought that teaching was going to help her find happiness. But creating lesson plans and juggling being a mom, putting her kids in daycare, realizing she was only making enough money to pay for daycare, she was struggling and felt like she just wasn’t a good teacher. Making lesson plans on top of battling her depression was very hard for her. When she finally confronted her depression, she also decided to start selling her teacher resources on Teachers Pay Teachers. She made $50 in her first month but knew nothing could stop her after that.  Now, after experiencing much success, Kayse has left the classroom to focus her business. She doesn’t necessarily encourage teachers to leave the

30 Aug 10:01

Thinking of Yourself as an Expert When You Don’t Feel Like One

When people come to me for help choosing their side hustle, I usually ask them “what are you awesome at?”, or “what are you an expert at?”.  Teachers have a hard time identifying themselves as an expert in anything because they put a lot of pressure on the word expert. Today, we are talking about how you can start thinking of yourself as an expert, even if you don’t feel like one yet.  Expert is a big word. We put a lot of meaning behind this one little word. There are so many teachers I know that have amazing skill sets and could do amazing things out there with their side hustle but they won’t take that first step because they wont allow themselves to think they might be an expert.  I am going to take you through a few steps today on how you can start shifting your mindset to start thinking of yourself as the expert that you really are.  I hear a lot of teachers say to me “I’m not an expert, it’s just easy”. The thing is we often don’t see our own super powers, the things we are really great at because they come easily to us. Not that we don’t have to work at them, not that we don’t have to develop that skill, but it is easier for us to do that than other people. Therefore, when we go to program something on a computer, it seems easy to us, whereas someone else might go to do it and want to throw their computer out the window. These things that are easy for you, are actually a good way to start thinking of yourself as, if not an expert, someone one step above. Someone who can help other people with the wealth of the knowledge that you have, get one step further.  You can use this skill in a couple of different ways.  1. You can actually do these things for other people. Because it is easy for you and not for them, so why would they not pay you for it?  2. The other way to go is to use your teaching ability and help other people learn how to do what you do. Even though you think this is just something that is easy for you, there are still ways for you to build a side hustle around this, without calling yourself an expert.  The next thing I want you to remember is the 10% rule.  The 10% rule says that you don’t have to know all the things. If your side hustle is teaching golf, you don't have to be Tiger Woods! There are plenty of people who are making a living as golf experts that are not as good as Tiger Woods because, quite frankly, few are. So you only have to be about 10% better than the people you want to help at whatever you want to help them with. The 10% rule is a great rule of thumb when you are first getting started that you don’t have to know all the things. You just have to know a little bit more than the people you are trying to help.  The next thing i

30 Aug 10:01

How To Make Money Selling On Amazon With Nate Jackson

Nate and Alysha Jackson are former teachers turned seven figure Amazon sellers who know what is like to start from nothing. They started their business selling on Amazon nearly four years ago flipping everyday things they found at Walmart and Target. After selling over $180,000 in their first year, they were hooked. They are commonly referred to as “the Bra People,” since they have sold more Kohls bras on Amazon than their house is worth. Their end goal was to be able to be stay at home foster parents. However, they never lost that teaching bug but now, instead of teaching in the classroom, they continue to build an online community and support group for those wanting to get rid of debt, quit their jobs, and be financially free. If you’ve ever shopped on Amazon, you’ve probably noticed that there are literally millions of sellers using this platform to make money. But how do they do it? It can seem really overwhelming. My guest today, Nate Jackson, is here to share all the details of how he and his wife built a seven figure business selling on Amazon. We’re talking about Amazon FBA. If you’ve heard the term but still have no idea what it means, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. First and foremost, FBA stands for Fulfilled By Amazon and what that means is that the products are bought and sold by sellers but are held at Amazon warehouses for distribution.  Now there are several ways to manage you’re FBA account but the two biggest are what’s known as “white labeling” and “retail arbitrage.” White labeling is when you purchase a new product from a supplier  and sell that product on Amazon. Retail arbitrage, on the other hand, is what today’s guest specializes in. That’s where you purchase merchandise from retail sellers at steep discounts and then sell them on Amazon for a profit.  Selling on Amazon with arbitrage, instead of being a brand who sells their items directly to consumers, requiring a high investment and high risk strategy, you buy something from point A and then sell it on point B, ideally yielding a profit vs what your cost was. This has a much lower risk factor as you are buying and selling 1 of 100 different things instead of buying 100 of 1 thing. Another great perk to mention of Amazon’s FBA program is the use of their warehouse space. When Nate began his journey as a seller, he and his wife lived in a very small apartment with no room to store items to box and sell himself. So instead of self storage, he would send everything he purchased to an Amazon warehouse and then as customers purchased the items from his seller account, Amazon would package and send those orders. Getting Started Selling On Amazon Getting started, Nate only used $100, which

30 Aug 10:01

How To Take Action And Achieve Your Goals

Have you ever set a goal for yourself? I mean, something along the lines of a new year's resolution or something you say you’re going to do at the start of every school year? Did you know that 90% of these personal goals we set for ourselves go unfulfilled? Well today, we’re talking all about taking action so we can reach those goals. When it comes to being successful at anything, there is one thing that separates people who are successful from those who are not: doing something. Taking action. You can’t achieve anything without taking action. But those people didn’t just take action, they took consistent action. It’s not about going big or going home, it’s not about just going all in on one day and hammering it out then sitting back and letting the profits roll in, it’s about little things you do every single day. Think about how your students hit the summer slide. Without consistent progress pushing them forward toward learning they’re unable to progress. So let’s talk about a few things you can do right away to start taking action on your goals.   Ditch The Excuses   The first thing you need to do right now is ditch the excuses. Excuses don’t get anyone anywhere. You’re a teacher today because you didn’t make excuses and you found a way to make it work despite any setbacks. You made up your mind that you would be the best teacher you could be and you are. I found this great quote one time from Roy T. Bennet. He says, “Maturity is when you stop complaining and making excuses in your life; you realize everything that happens in life is a result of the previous choice you’ve made and start making new choices to change your life.” That may sound like a little tough-love, and that’s because it is. If everything in life is a result of your choices, then you need to make new choices in order to change. You don’t need to know everything to start your business, all you need to know is the next step. Lose the excuses and move forward.   You can check out my episode all about how to stop learning and start doing here.   Stop Waiting For Perfection   The second step you can take right now is to let go of the idea of perfection. If you’re waiting for the right moment in life to come along or the perfect side hustle, you might just be waiting a long, long time. Perfect is crap. There is no perfect moment, no perfect side hustle, there is just now. What you do right now is going to set you up for a better future. Don’t wait, get going.   Just Take The First Step   The third thing you can do is to take a single step. That first step can look many different ways for many different people. Sometimes that first step is just telling someone else what you’re wanting. Saying it makes

30 Aug 10:01

How To Transition Out Of The Classroom To A Traditional 9-5 With Ali Parrish

If you’ve ever thought about leaving the classroom for the corporate world, today’s episode with Ali Parrish of Teacher Transition is a can’t miss. Her business is all about helping teachers transition from classroom to corporate.  A lot of teachers come to Side Hustle Teachers with the intent of building a business that can help them leave the classroom, but what if you don’t want to wait? What if you just want to see what else is out there beyond education, now? Now that’s a tricky road because we’re trained as teachers, so who would want to hire us as anything other than a teacher? Well it turns out a lot of people. Teachers have crazy high levels of abilities, skills, and talents that lots of companies are begging for. Ali noted that the saying teachers often use is, “I wear a lot of hats,” but what that means is that teachers have crazy loads of skills. The first step is just identifying what those skills are and what that means for work outside the classroom. When Ali got into the business of helping teachers transition out of the classroom, she knew she found her passion.  Ali helps a lot of teachers interested in instructional design. Instructional design is perfect for someone who loves creating a scope and sequence and planning how to accomplish learning objectives with different learning experiences. With her experience, she created a course to help teachers make the transition to instructional designers called From Teacher To Instructional Designer. If you are a teacher who wants to create resources for other teachers, this is a perfect profession for you.  The first step for someone who wants to make the shift from teacher to the backside of the teaching industry is to look inside of yourself and identify what you want and need, and what jobs correlate with that. She has a quiz that can help you find out what that is at teachertransition.com/quiz.  It took Ali two years to figure out what to do next. She loves having a plan, she likes a methodical approach and so she came up with a process of how to figure it out with her course called Find Your Next Dream Job- For Teachers that walks you through all of the things she recommends starting with what are your strengths, skills, interests, needs, and then use research based assessments to identify the fields, jobs, or roles you would like and enjoy the most. It also has so many other resources to help you on your journey like help on how to get the job you want and be successful.  Knowing when it is time to transition out of the classroom can be hard. There is a big period of growth when you first start your teaching career. However, after five years or so, it can plateau and leave you feeling stuck and

30 Aug 10:00

How To Avoid The Vicious Cycle Of Playing Small

Today we are talking all about playing small. Now, this is something a lot of us do early on in our business but sometimes it carries well into our business journey, or it can even cut short our journey that we are trying to find our way on.  The reason for this is that when we play small, we sabotage ourselves. Not intentionally of course, but we do get into a mindset of minimalism and even defeat. We keep looking for evidence of why we shouldn’t go bigger and find it because, well, that’s what we’re looking for.  Whereas, if we were looking for reasons to go bigger and celebrating our successes, we could find that too. So what I’m saying, is that if we go all in, we have a better chance for success than if we play small. Of course, going big can be scary and require you to put yourself out there in a way you aren’t used to. “Small is easy, small doesn’t attract attention, small is comfortable, small doesn’t offend, small doesn’t raise eyebrows, small keeps that little voice in your head quiet, small doesn’t hurt as much when you fall – and small keeps you right where you are.” - John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing Now, I know a lot of you come to Side Hustle Teachers because you aren’t happy right where you are, but if you keep playing small, that’s where you’re going to stay.  I want to emphasize that by going all in I DON’T mean to quit your job, sell your house, live off ramen noodles, and basically be a bag lady. Going all in means that you are standing up and proudly identifying yourself as a business owner. It means you tell people you know that you have a business, you celebrate your successes, and it means when people ask you what you do you say, “I’m a teacher AND I’m a business owner.” Now this can be a big shift but it is possible and it is so worth it.  Here are some ways that entrepreneurs could be playing small. Number 1: You use minimizing language.  One of the ways to look at this is called “upspeak,” and it’s when you turn every sentence into a question. It could be as simple as adding, “right?” to the end of a statement. Or it could be using filler words. But the worst culprit here is using “just.” “I don’t want to bother you, I’m just checking in,” or “I have this business, it’s just a little side thing I do.” See how easily we slip that in there to minimize what we’re doing, not to raise eyebrows like Mr. Jantsch said?  We all want to fly under the radar until magically one day we can announce that we’re a millionaire but that isn’t going to happen if we keep minimizing ourselves. Number 2: You pretend your business is a dirty little secret.  No one’s going to buy anything from you, whether it’s products or services, if you don’t tell them about

30 Aug 10:00

How To Build A Side Hustle That Feeds Off Your School Work (And Vice Versa) With Joey Mascio

Joey Mascio is a certified life coach, teacher, and counselor. He works with young adults ages 16 through 24 on learning crucial life skills they aren't getting in school to help them achieve more and live happier lives after high school. He was certified through The Life School and works with young adults on those social emotional skills that aren’t really taught in school that can help students thrive in the real world. He’s also an experienced performer, a trained comedian, and a talented story-teller. He was able to build a side hustle that is the teaching career he wants to have- teaching kids life skills without all the red tape. Joey considers himself first and foremost a husband and father. He and his wife have been married for seven years with three kids ranging from 5 down to an infant. He started his teaching career as a high school theater teacher but now teaches middle school theater and is in the discipline office. With a juggling act like that in his school work, how was he able to get involved in a side hustle? Well it started when he and his wife decided to joint venture into selling diaper caddies as a Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) gig. That...didn’t work out so much, so they moved on to selling Montessori materials, but did not find passion in that either. Around that time, Joey’s wife gave birth to their second child and was having difficulty with postpartum depression. She sought out therapy which did little to help her. He Found Coaching Still wanting help, she found life coaching, specifically with Jody Moore’s podcast. She’d frequently share what she heard a life coach she was following say with Joey. He would realize it was the same things he was telling her and the same way he was thinking. Joey started listening to more life coaches and then, in his school work in the disciplinary office, started applying the things he was learning as a sort of beta test on the students to see if they were able to accept this sort of social/emotional building at an early age (middle schoolers). Through this, he realized his new passion and he created his side hustle, Firmly Founded Coaching. His pitch of, “I teach skills schools can’t,” with the tag of, “because schools were never designed to,” should ring true with any teachers out there. Joey knows that classrooms are for the hard skills. He wants to ease the recent pressures being applied on teachers by many school districts to implement the social/emotional skills that students need during their already limited class time. To get started with his side hustle, Joey jumped right into it. He Built A Side Hustle That Fed Off His School Work He listened to some podcasts, created his website, created a maste

30 Aug 10:00

Building Your Business With Content Marketing

What if I told you that there was a highly effective, simple, and cheap way to grow your business? You’d want to try it, right? I would. But a huge number of side hustlers are ignoring this essential piece of expanding their reach and customer base. It’s called “Content Marketing” What is content marketing?  Well, simply put, content marketing is when you share useful information on your blog, your youtube channel, your social media, what-have-you that does not explicitly promote what you sell. Some examples include if you’re running a food blog you could share recipes, tips on kitchen organization, or something like how to choose an Instapot. Again, something that your audience would find useful that has no push to sell anything. If your niche is health and fitness, maybe share your workout routine, or a routine you’d like to try as well, a daily menu, or even mindset journal prompts to help your readers with their fitness journaling. In the makeup niche, try giving a 5 minute face, tips for picking out the perfect shade of lipstick, or common mistakes beginners make. Notice that none of these examples mention selling anything.  The content needs to be interesting and relevant. Keep it interesting and relevant, even if they don’t buy anything. Here’s the other thing, it needs to be sharable. This helps because it makes you known as an expert (for more on that you can listen to episode 40), or someone they can go to for their specific situation. It also expands your reach past your immediate circle.  A problem many people run into is that when they share content is that it only reaches your mom and aunt, then some people you work with, and then maybe a person or two in their social circles but then it just plateaus or stops. You can’t find a way to break that circle. Just sharing content helps you expand your reach.  Think of how many times you’ve seen recipes shared on facebook. When this is shared it can move to your friends full list of friends, and then their whole list of friends, and so on. Ideally everything we write will become a viral sensation, but even if your content only reaches a few new people each time, isn’t that worth it? The answer is a solid YES.  Content marketing allows you to have a “Know, Like, and Trust” factor with your audience. This allows your audience to feel connected to your or like they know you. If you’ve ever followed a celebrity on twitter and you feel like you could be friends with them in real life, you get it, because you feel like you know who they are. Content, like interviews for the press, or even roles they play make you feel that connection and get you on “their team,” or liking them.  Then there’s the trust side. Do I

30 Aug 10:00

How To Take The Pressure Off Your Business By Thinking Long-Term

We teachers tend to think in terms of quarters, semesters, or school years. But our businesses aren’t limited by the same constraints. Today we’re talking about how to take the pressure off yourself by thinking long-term. So often entrepreneurs, not just teachers, get upset because their business isn’t growing “fast enough.” But, just like the kids we teach, everyone’s business is going to move at its own pace. As long as it’s growing, you’re going in the right direction. So how do we take some of that pressure off of ourselves so we don’t feel we need to get there fast? Starting your own business is a long-term play Back in Episode 37 we talked about how starting your own business is, I feel, the best way to gain financial independence. However, it is a long-term play. If you’re not in a position to wait, I talked about two other opportunities to maybe make money a little bit quicker. It is possible to work on building your bigger business while working those smaller and more immediate income gigs.  So when building your business, it’s important to remember: What are your long-term goals? To retire early, buy an investment property, or even buy a boat, it doesn’t matter what your goal is because when we think long-term, it helps give us a little bit of perspective. If you’re looking to retire early, it’s not going to happen tomorrow. Finding the right business for you and building it up slowly is a big goal and it’s not a one size fits all situation. The first step is realizing that this is a long-term strategy.  Internet Marketers Aren't Always Honest Now, I want to point out something that often plays into our mindset and preconceived notion of business exploding overnight. If you’ve spent any time scrolling through social media, and depending on who you follow of course, you’ve likely seen some of what Michelle Mazur calls, “Dude, Bro” marketing and these ads are...well they’re not exactly 100% truthful. While they may say things like, “I made a hundred thousand dollars in one weekend, let me show you how,” they’re leaving out the fact that while, yes, their launch may have been Friday through Sunday so they technically made that money in a weekend, they’re also hiding that this weekend came after months and month or even years of work to get to the point they could launch something this big. This may play into our mindset because, if they can do it in a weekend, why can’t I do it in a year. But this is not a right headspace to be in. They aren’t being 100% transparent and on top of that, everybody is different. We all grow and excel our businesses at different speeds. Again, one size does not fit all. Long-term thinking gives you perspective One of my favorit

30 Aug 10:00

How To Start Your Side Hustle When You Have No Money

If you’ve been wanting to start your side hustle, but are worried that you need a stack of cash to get going, this is the episode for you! In a perfect world every business would be able to start with a healthy flow of capital, a staff full of capable people, and a plethora of assets like a bright shiny website.  But the reality is that most of us are starting out with little-to-no money and we’re starting from scratch, doing everything ourselves. Here are several helpful hints on how to start your side hustle when you don’t have money to throw at it to begin with. Make Use of Social Media I am a big proponent of having your own website - owning the land you’re building on - but I also believe that starting where you are is better than waiting for perfection. So if you are hesitating on starting your business because you don’t have the time to get a website up and running, start with social media. There’s several advantages: it’s free, it’s easy, and it helps you get a sense of what you want to do and who you want to help. If you’re not sure what you’re wanting to do still, look at this as an experiment, or test run. Utilize the Free Tools Available to You There are tons of free ways to get yourself going You want to start a podcast? Anchor is a free app for your smartphone. Are you wanting to be in coaching and need to schedule when people are going to be meeting with you? Acuity has the tools to help you with that. This could be a great tool for scheduling consultations or podcast interviews too. They have a great free level of service to begin with. ConvertKit is an email managing service that I use and they have a free level as well so you can start collecting email addresses and so on.  Want to start a blog? Wordpress has an entry level as well for you to just get your content out.  Wordpress.org is where you’ll want to start if you plan on monetizing your blog, but I won’t get into all the ins and outs of that.  If you’re going to want to offer courses, MemberVault is where I keep all of my courses and offerings and they have a level of service for those just getting started as well. Overall keep in mind that many services offer free versions with a pay upgrade or free trial periods for you to test them out. Look for these free or super cheap things as a means of saving money to start with. Focus On Doing One Thing Well Focus on doing one thing well and not a hundred things poorly or mediocrely. Many beginning entrepreneurs try to take on too much, (I touched on this back in Episode 32) but in reality it is so much better to focus and hone your skillset into being great at one thing instead of trying to wear a million different hats at the beginning.  The pr

30 Aug 10:00

[Teacher Feature] Erica Trujillo, Network Marketer

Today’s Featured Teacher: Erica Trujillo Erica is a wife and mom of 3 girls ages 7, 5, and 2. She is a teacher and gym enthusiast and, most recently, an online gift boutique owner. She knows that sometimes teaching is messy, momming is messy, and life can be messy, but what’s most important is being real and being okay with the mess. Erica tries to radiate positivity and cheer people on as they create their own brand of happiness, whether that be her students or a stranger on the street. Links From Today’s Show:  Website: cart.tateandzoey.com/EricaT17/ Instagram: instagram.com/this_mommy_is_trying Learn more about becoming a Network Marketer here. It's hard to start a side hustle if you don't know what to try. That's why I created the Just Right Side Hustle Quiz! Answer 6 simple questions to find the hustle you're best suited for based on your interests, talents, and lifestyle! Take the quiz now.  

30 Aug 10:00

[Teacher Feature] Rob Phelan, Infopreneur

Rob Phelan is an entrepreneur and high school personal finance teacher in Maryland. He is a Certified Financial Education Instructor by NCFE and has also co-created the ChooseFI K-12 Financial Education Curriculum. He has helped over 200 entrepreneurs start their first businesses through the Simple StartUp virtual courses. Links From Today’s Show:  Website: www.thesimplestartup.com Facebook: www.Facebook.com/thesimplestartup Instagram: www.Instagram.com/the_simple_startup Twitter: www.Twitter.com/asimplestartup Learn more about becoming an Infopreneur here. It's hard to start a side hustle if you don't know what to try. That's why I created the Just Right Side Hustle Quiz! Answer 6 simple questions to find the hustle you're best suited for based on your interests, talents, and lifestyle! Take the quiz now.  

30 Aug 10:00

[Teacher Feature] Caryl Pawlusiak, Network Marketer

Today’s Featured Teacher: Caryl Pawlusiak Caryl Pawlusiak is an elementary teacher of 18 years who knew nothing about skincare when she took the plunge to become a personal shopper for Rodan+Fields. Putting her skills at following a lesson plan to use, Caryl learned while helping her customers with their skin and lashes, and soon began to teach others to do the same. Her original goal was to make a few hundred dollars a month but soon she was able to pay off her student loans early and now pays the mortgage each month. She coaches the women on her team to do more for their families around their existing schedules. Education continues to be what Caryl loves best, both teaching kindergarteners to count and read and teaching women to grow an extra stream of income. How did you select your side hustle? I think my side hustle selected me because I wasn't looking for anything at the time. A friend of mine from high school had been sharing Rodan+Fields on Facebook and I was sort of watching and then I said, “I'll go check it out so I can tell,” you know, because you're a good friend and I want to be nice. And then I went and I was really intrigued because she was working with some other teachers and I said, “Wow, this is interesting.” And then I said, “I'll just get some products.” And then I looked at the products and I said, “Oh, those are really expensive.” And really wanted to try them. And I grabbed my sample and I ran out of the house as fast as I could basically.  About a week later my husband came home and he was going to be making a job change and we were going to be without a second income for a little while, and we can't afford our mortgage on just my teaching income. You know, teachers don't make a lot. So I called her up. I said, “Can I really make some extra money just to tide us over to do this?” And she said, “Yeah, absolutely.” And I literally signed up that night, jumped in without asking a single question. And that's how I started with Rodan+Fields. It's been almost three years now. And when I started, I just wanted that few extra hundred dollars just to make sure we could pay all the bills and got that the first month and was surprised and everything happened organically. A coworker came up and said, “What's this thing you're doing? It looks really interesting.” And I said, “Oh, Oh, I should tell you about it.” Like, I knew nothing about sales. I just, you know, called my few friends and asked if they would try some skincare. That's really what I did in the beginning. But my team people saw me doing it, and said, “Can I join you?” I didn't want to grow a team. So that was actually something that I discovered was a lot of fun; helping other people learn

30 Aug 10:00

[Teacher Feature] Heather Cacioppo, Teacherpreneur

Selling on Teachers Pay Teachers can be a great way for educators to make money while in the classroom and using resources you're already creating for your own students. Links From Today’s Show:  Website: fullspedahead.com Learn more about becoming a Teacherpreneur and selling your teaching resources here. It's hard to start a side hustle if you don't know what to try. That's why I created the Just Right Side Hustle Quiz! Answer 6 simple questions to find the hustle you're best suited for based on your interests, talents, and lifestyle! Take the quiz now.

30 Aug 10:00

Welcome Back to the Side Hustle Teachers Podcast

Welcome Back to the Side Hustle Teachers Podcast

30 Aug 10:00

10 Types of Emails You Can Send Your List

The other day a member of the Side Hustle Teachers Facebook group sent me a message. She said she knew she needed to build an email list, but she had no idea what she’d send to people once she had their email address. This is a very common worry about starting an email list. And I totally understand. After all, why bother collecting email addresses if you’re not going to send anything out? Finding out what your subscribers really want to hear from you can take trial and error, but there’s certainly no shortage of topics you can write about. Here are 10 emails you can sign your list! Stories Stories help people connect with you and your brand in a way that other forms of communication just can’t. They help your audience see themselves and the outcomes they want (or don’t want) in someone else’s life experience. Your Story. Tap into your audience’s emotions and dreams by sharing your own story or journey. This helps them see that where you are now is not where you started, and envision themselves having the same success as you have had. Overcoming Obstacle Stories. Everyone has things in their lives that could get in the way of them reaching their goals. Hearing how others have overcome these obstacles can help your audience move past their own hesitation and get started. Cautionary Tales. We all make mistakes. And we all feel better knowing we’re not the only one who’s made mistakes. Even better, telling your audience about mistakes you’ve made (or common mistakes others like them make) can help them sidestep those errors! Case Studies. If you have a customer who’s had great success while working with you, using your product, or going through your program, share it with your subscribers. Do a deep dive into their before and after, and how the transformation happened. Content Teaser When you write a new blog post or publish a new podcast episode or video show your audience wants to know about it! An email letting your subscribers know what the post is about and where they can find it keeps you top of mind and increases your content’s reach.  Behind the Scenes Give your subscribers a peek behind the curtain and let them know how you run your business. Share pictures, stories, or anecdotes from the day-to-day. Remember, these are people who have chosen to hear from you. They want to get to know you! Permission Chances are, people on your list are struggling with something that’s hindering their progress. You can let them know that it’s okay to struggle, that it’s just fine that they aren’t perfect, and that they are totally normal for both. These types of emails are a counter to our culture of toxic positivity and let your audience breathe a sigh of relief. Special Sal

30 Aug 10:00

8 Reasons Great Content is Essential to Your Side Hustle

Do any research on how to grow a business - in any industry - and you’ll find lots of people telling you that you need to create content in some form.  But creating content takes time, and you’re a busy teacher, so is it reeeeeeeally that important? In a word, yes. Producing consistent quality content, like blog posts, podcast episodes, or video shows, is an essential part of growing a business that isn’t reliant on harassing your friends, family, and former high school classmates to buy from you. #nomoreheygirlmessages Why? There are a myriad of ways that content can support your business. 1 Content Builds Your Authority What’s the first thing you do when you’re looking to hire someone?  You Google them, of course!  You want to make sure that the person who runs that program, or designed that product, or created that course actually knows what they’re talking about. So when people Google you, you want them to find a library of consistently produced, high quality content that shows that you are an expert. 2 Content Grows Your Audience Even if you’ve got a large circle of friends and family, finding an audience outside of those you already know is crucial to building a sustainable business. No matter what you sell, your loved ones can only buy so much.  In order to build a customer base that will continue to grow you must create high-quality content that people will consume and share. That content will bring new people into your world and then, as they become engaged in more of your content, they become customers and raving fans. 3 Content Allows People to Know, Like, and Trust You People buy from people. When you share content, on whatever platform you choose, your audience gets to know you as a real person. They get to like your quirks, way of teaching, and style. And as they follow you and engage with more of your content, you become like a trusted friend.  4 Content Allows You to Know Your Audience Better You can learn a lot about your audience by producing content. Using Google Analytics and measuring engagement on your content itself and on social media you can see what is resonating and falling flat. When people accuse you of witchcraft because your latest post was exactly what they needed, you know you’re on the right track. And if you’re pre-revenue (as they say on Shark Tank), or don’t currently have a product or service to sell, audience behavior and engagement can help you better understand what your audience wants. So when you do release something, it’s a bullseye. 5 Content Continues to Work for You Long After You Publish Because nothing on the internet ever disappears, the blog post you write or podcast you publish will continue to be found months, ev

30 Aug 10:00

9 Content Marketing Mistakes That Will Slow Your Side Hustle Growth

Content marketing, using a blog, podcast, or video show to attract customers, is one of the best ways to grow your audience, build your business, and make more money.  But, like most other things, there’s a right way and a wrong way to use content as a marketing tool. Ask anyone who’s been blogging, podcasting, or YouTubing and they’ll tell you that they’ve all made mistakes along the way.  Honestly, you’re going to make mistakes, too. If you don’t make mistakes, you’re probably not trying very hard. But you don’t need to make all the mistakes, so let’s see if we can find a way to sidestep some landmines. Keep these common mistakes in mind as you create your content and review some of your old posts to see if there’s something that needs to be updated. Not having a plan Just like in your classroom, when it comes to content, you have to have a plan. You may not have every single step planned out in advance, but you know what your goals are, and each blog post, podcast episode, or video show should be moving you toward that goal. So let’s talk about the 3 primary purposes of creating content and what it would look like to create content for that purpose. Build authority: Establish yourself as an expert with information about your topic, how-to, explanations, etc. This helps you become the person your audience thinks of when they have a question or problem about your area of expertise. Strengthen relationships: Let your audience know that you understand them, care about them, and (if it’s true) have been where they are now. People buy from people they know, like, and trust, and you can’t have any of those things without a relationship. Tell stories, let people behind the scenes, and give them a glimpse into you. Sell a product or service: Technically, everything you create is to help you move towards a sale, but some content is more explicit in its purpose. Content that sells is very purposefully designed to help people see your expertise and the value in your product or service. This might be a podcast episode about how to interview and hire a VA, or a video episode about the myths about using CBD oil. Not knowing your audience When you speak to everyone, you speak to no one. Yet a common mistake of new content marketers is trying to reach everyone.  Instead, write your posts for a specific person; your ideal customer.  Could everyone use great, quality cookware? Sure. But a post about 5 tools that will help busy moms get dinner on the table is likely to have more success than one that speaks about 5 kitchen tools everyone should try. Posting and running Once you create a piece of content, you can’t just post it on your website and hope people find it. SEO is an amaz

30 Aug 10:00

7 Ways to Monetize a Blog, Podcast, or Video Show

There are a number of ways that content creators can monetize the content you create for your blog, podcast, or video show. Which ones you use will depend upon your business model and goals, so don’t feel like you need to do everything. Ads Probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of monetizing, and they’re certainly a popular option. With Google AdSense and Media.net making ads super accessible to anyone, ads can be a good way to start earning money from your content. Sponsored Content Many brands work with online influencers (like you) to grow their brand recognition, introduce new products, or give ideas how to use their products. Food brands will work with recipe creators, outdoorsman brands will work with those in the space to show off their product line, and more. There are multiple companies who work to connect infopreneurs and influencers with brands who want to advertise in a more authentic way. Brand Ambassadorship Similar to sponsored content, becoming a brand ambassador is typically a longer term relationship and may consist of a series of posts, podcast or video episodes sponsored by the same company.  As a brand ambassador you may be asked to create multiple pieces of content on various channels and sign an exclusivity deal so you are not promoting competitors. Affiliate Marketing Whether you have your own products or services you’re selling or not, affiliate marketing can increase your revenue. Affiliate marketing is the practice of including links to recommended products or services in your blog post, show notes, or video description. When someone clicks on your link and purchases something, you get a commission. If you’d like to learn more about affiliate marketing check out my mini-training, Affiliate Marketing for Beginners. Ask for Donations If you’re providing value to your audience, you can ask them to donate money to support you. Oftentimes patrons get special access to extra material like bonus posts, episodes, or shows.  Programs like Patreon will allow you to manage donations and gated content. Host a Virtual Summit If you’ve built relationships with others who are speaking to your audience, you can host a virtual summit. Invite folks to watch you and your fellow presenters share on a given topic. You can hold a virtual summit in essentially any area, from business to childcare to gift giving to mental health. Sell Your Stuff A blog, podcast, or video show is a great chance to promote your own products. If you’ve got products, courses, e-books, or services that you offer, mentioning them in your content (when it fits naturally) can bring awareness to what you sell. You can have your own product “sponsor” your podcast or v

30 Aug 10:00

How to Decide if You Want to Create a Blog, Podcast, or Video Channel

There are many things to consider when choosing an outlet for your content. And, as much as I wish there was, there’s no easy checklist or quiz you can take to find out which is right for you. There are simply too many things to consider, including which one you are really interested in. Each outlet – blog, podcast and video channel – can help you grow your business by letting your audience know, like, and trust you, so there’s really no wrong choice here. The only wrong choice is to not start! To help you make the best choice for your business I’ve broken down the 3 primary content outlets to explain what they are, what skills are needed, and what equipment you will need to get started. Blog What is a blog? A blog is a regularly updated website, typically written in an informal or conversational style, that exists to entertain or to convey information to an audience. There are 2 key pieces of information in that ever-so-dry definition.  First, a blog needs to be something that you’re going to update regularly. You can’t just post a couple of articles and let them sit there, especially if you want to build a following. A blog requires consistent posting of new content to keep people coming back week after week. Secondly, there needs to be a purpose to your blog. What are your readers going to get when they go there?  These ideas are true for all of the types of content you produce. What skills do you need to blog? Let’s start with the obvious one. You need to be a decent writer in order to be a blogger. I’m not saying you need to be a professional and know all the rules of grammar or anything – blogging is much less formal than that. But you do need to be able to organize your thoughts in writing. You’re also going to need to be comfortable with technology and willing to learn about websites. Yes, you could hire someone to design and manage your site, but that’s really expensive and not very practical.  There are other skills that will come in handy and you can learn as you go. Those would be things like creating graphics, search engine optimization, and social media management. What equipment do you need to be a blogger? The equipment needed for blogging is pretty basic, which makes it a great entry point for people who want to start content marketing. All you need is a computer with a good internet connection, a website with a hosting plan, a theme for your website, and the dedication to go for it. Podcast What is a podcast? A podcast is an audio-only broadcast that can be downloaded from streaming services or one’s own website, typically created as an ongoing or limited-time series. While podcasts can be limited in nature (i.e. Serial), for business purposes, an

30 Aug 10:00

11 Ways to Find Inspiration for Your Blog, Podcast, or Video Show

It’s all well and good to know that you’ve got to produce quality content for your blog, podcast, or video show, but what should you create?  Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been creating content for years, coming up with ideas can be a feast or famine. Sometimes the ideas flow like water over Niagara Falls, other times it’s like a dry creek bed with nothing but dust and dead fish. So how can you find the spark of inspiration? Where are the good ideas? Brainstorm Set a timer and write down every idea for content that comes to your mind. Think of questions your audience might have, mindset issues they are facing, tools that could help them, other people they want to hear from. Don’t censor yourself and don’t give up when you feel like you’re tapped out. As Boss Mom Dana Malstaff says, “If you don’t get uncomfortable, you’re just making a list.” So keep writing, even if you think you’ve run dry. Ask Your Audience No one knows what your audience wants to hear from you more than your audience themselves! There are lots of ways to determine what people want to know. If you have an email list (which you should), you can send an email asking what they’re struggling with, want to know more about, etc. You can also post on social media, do live Q&As on Facebook, use Instagram stories, etc. Revisit Your Old Content Take a look at posts or episodes you’ve already published and see what you can build on. This doesn’t mean updating old posts – you should be doing that as an industry leader. Instead see what you can expand on with a deeper dive or a closer look. If you published a list of ideas, separate out each idea (or category) into separate posts or episodes. You can also create a more advanced version of something you’ve shared previously, especially as you learn more things. Industry News If it fits with your area of expertise, help keep your audience up with new ideas and trends by disseminating or distilling it for them. Some industries produce regular formal reports, but most people don’t have time to read and digest them. Provide your audience with easy-to-absorb, actionable information on what’s happening. Current Events Check out the news to find things that are already capturing people’s attention, then connect it to your area of expertise.  Some may be directly connected, others you may have to draw a few lines and connect a few dots.  Social Media Trends Similar to current events, things that are trending on social media can be great jumping off points for your own content. Take a look at what’s trending and what people are saying about it, then use your platform to give a fresh perspective or frame it in a lens that makes sense to your audience

30 Aug 10:00

5 Myths About Content Marketing That are Keeping You Stuck

There are people who will tell you that blogs are dead. There are others who will say podcasts are just for nerds and YouTube is just for Justin Bieber wannabes and kids who play Minecraft while people watch. And those people would be wrong. Content marketing – whether it be through a blog, podcast, or video show – is still a fantastic way to build and scale a business! But maybe you’re hesitant to get started because you’ve heard some of the rumors about content marketing and wondering if it will really work for you. I can save you the time of reading the rest of this post and tell you now that it is… but if you want a little more reassurance, keep reading. Myth #1: Content Marketing Isn’t Necessary for My Industry Okay, I’m going to make a bold statement here: Content marketing is an essential part of every business.  If you’re thinking that you don’t need to share content because your industry can’t benefit from it, you’re going to want to rethink that. For small businesses, blogs, podcasts, and video shows are the fastest way to be found and for people to get to know, like, and trust you. You can review this post on why great content is essential for your business for more reasons why. Myth #2: Everything’s Already Been Said, I Have Nothing New to Add to the Conversation This is perhaps the most common, pervasive myth out there, and to be honest, this one really comes down to confidence and mindset. Is it likely that your audience can find the same or similar information from other people on the web? Yep. Absolutely. Does that mean you shouldn’t share it? Not at all. Your audience wants to know what you think about things, even if they’ve heard them before. They want to hear your stories and experience, even if the lessons learned are part of other peoples’ stories, too. They want your advice and guidance because it’s coming from you. You are what makes your content different and worth reading. Myth #3: Creating Content Takes Too Much Time I won’t tell you that you can whip up quality content in just a couple minutes, but I will tell you that the time you spend on it is worth it.  Also, many entrepreneurs are spending too much time creating new content rather than using the content you’ve already produced. In fact, writing a weekly blog or recording a podcast or video show can make creating content for social media easier and save you time. Instead of writing all your social posts from scratch, you can use your blog, podcast, or video as a foundation and call to action. Plus, once you get a system in place, like the one I teach in Content Made Simple, you can streamline the process and produce great blog posts, podcast or video episodes in less time. Myth #4: S

30 Aug 09:59

How to Realistically Batch Content Creation as a Teacher Business Owner

Batching is a hot buzzword right now, and for good reason. It works! But it’s not very realistic for teachers – or anyone else with a full-time job – to manage. Batching is the practice of focusing on a single task for a designated block of time in order to be more productive. In essence, it’s the opposite of multitasking. In terms of content creation, batching often looks like blocking off an entire day (or 2) to create several weeks worth of blog posts, podcast or video episodes. Lots of big names in productivity, like Michael Hyatt, and business, like Amy Porterfield, talk about how batching changes lives and give tips on how to do it. But, let’s be real. You’re a working professional. You can’t block off entire days of your week or month just to work on creating content.  So let’s talk about how you can make the idea of batching work within your already packed schedule.  Batching content creation during the school year Teachers sort of have 2 lives; school year life, and summer life. And school year life is crazy as hell. But batching your content is still possible, with some serious modification. First, look at your content creation process and divide it into steps. In my course, Content Made Simple, I teach you the 3 steps of planning, crafting, and distributing your content. You can devise your own system if you wish. Set out a number of days you’re going to spend on the first step of your content creation process. In my case, I give myself 3-4 days to focus on the planning phase. This is when I come up with the topics I’m going to share about, write the post/episode titles, and write my promise for each post/episode. After that, I give myself a day “off” (read: to work on other stuff) before I move on to step 2, crafting.  This is the time I actually write my blog post, or record my podcast or video episode. This step takes a little longer because you have to craft the complete content, graphics, and your social posts. For batching, you’re going to want to identify 6-10 days in which you’re going to spend on just this step, depending on how much you need to do, how quickly you write, and what else you have going on in school and life. The last step of the process is distribution and I choose to “batch” this step every Sunday afternoon. As someone who posts multiple times across many platforms, this weekly process takes me about an hour. If you’re just getting started and are only posting to 1-2 platforms, you can likely do it in less time.  In order to batch your distribution and save yourself the time and trouble of live posting, I suggest using a program like CinchShare (that’s what I use).  Batching content creation during the summer Of course summer vac

30 Aug 09:59

17 Types of Content You Can Share on Your Blog, Podcast, or Video Show

Sometimes even when you have great ideas for your content, it can be tough to come up with fresh ways to present it to your audience. You know you’ve got great ideas to share, but your format is getting a little… stale. Give your audience something new, or pick a few formats that work for you and rotate between them as you create.  Tutorials The classic “How-to” post is a classic for a reason. Walk your audience through how to do something from beginning to end with a step-by-step guide. Myths vs Facts Contrary to what some of my students think, not everything on the internet is true. There’s lots of misinformation out there on just about every topic and you can use your platform to separate fact from fiction. Mistakes and Lessons Learned Part of becoming an expert is making mistakes. Share some of your oopsie moments with your audience, talk about what you learned, and give them tips to avoid the same pitfalls. Personal Stories One of the ways your audience gets to know, like, and trust you is to tell your stories. They can be directly related to your business or not, as long as your audience can learn something from it that can help them grow. Holiday Themed Content Whether it’s major holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas, or a lesser-known holiday like National Margarita Day (February 22, in case you want to celebrate), you can create content related to your niche that’s themed for the day or season. Expert Interview You don’t have to be the expert on everything. If there are some topics that would benefit your audience that you feel that someone else knows better, bring them in to help! Rant on Something Topical Ahhhh, the rant. A staple of modern life. Rants can also give your audience a glimpse into your real personality and something you feel passionate about. I wouldn’t recommend a rant as a common format, unless you’re going for a Louis Black vibe, but every once in a while it’s okay to let loose. Frequently Asked Questions If you’re noticing your audience asking the same questions over and over, create some content that addresses them. You can do a longer piece that answers a bunch of questions, or take each question on its own. Curated Content Once again, you don’t have to be the expert on everything and you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. If great content already exists you can curate it into a single post with links to other people’s work. Behind the Scenes Take your audience into your world and show them what it looks like as you do what you do. Give them a preview of what you’re working on, take a tour of your workspace, or just give a glimpse behind the curtain. Review Products or Tools If there are products, tools, or services you use to help m

30 Aug 09:59

Evergreen vs Seasonal Content: What’s the Difference?

Buzzwords abound in every profession – “rigor,” “differentiation,” or “backward design.” anyone? – and content creation is no different. You may have heard people say you need to have both “evergreen” and “seasonal” content on your blog, podcast, or video channel, but what does that mean? Seasonal Content Blog posts, or podcast or video episodes, that are related to a specific holiday, event, or season. This kind of content will typically see a large influx of traffic when you post it, and then again when that season or day comes around again (if it does). Some examples of seasonal content would be posts or episodes related to: Back to school, Summer, or Baseball season Mother’s Day, Christmas, or Teacher Appreciation Day World Series, Google algorithm update, or a Global pandemic Seasonal content is useful to your business in that it provides an immediate influx of traffic, and it demonstrates to your audience that you are striving to provide relevant and current events. This can generate buzz and allow you to show up in searches while they are trending. Evergreen Content When posts or episodes are referred to as evergreen it means that they are not bound by any day, event, or season. It is equally useful in August as it is in February and it generates a steady flow of traffic to your blog, podcast, or video show.  It’s timeless. The benefit of evergreen content is that it is always relevant. That means that no matter when someone stumbles upon your content, they can learn and apply what you’re sharing. Also, because evergreen content is searched for all year long, it can have a positive long-term impact on your search engine optimization (SEO). And since content creation is a long-term strategy, this is a big plus. These types of posts and episodes aid in building authority month to month because it takes time to to rank in search engines. You can also build backlinks to this type of content more easily because you can promote it year-round and other content creators or curators may reference your work at any time. Another benefit of evergreen content is that it can be prepared and scheduled in advance. As a busy professional, there are many times throughout the year that you can’t spend the time to create quality content. But if you have some posts or episodes in the bank you can publish them any time life gets busy and it will still be relevant. Striking a Balance Creating content that is a mix of seasonal and evergreen is beneficial to virtually every business, however, in most cases, focusing the majority of your content on evergreen has the biggest return on investment.  Exceptions to this would be content creators focused on deals and coupons, seasonal ev

30 Aug 09:59

Content Pillars: What Are They and How Do You Identify Them?

When content marketing is part of your business strategy, it’s important that you stay focused on the ideas, resources, and processes that are going to be most relevant (and helpful) to your audience. That’s also what will be most helpful in growing your influence and your revenue. What Are Content Pillars? Content pillars are the large, overarching categories that ALL of your content falls into. That means that every blog post you write, and every podcast or video episode you record fits into one (or more) of your content pillars. If your content pillars are related to the care, health, breeding, and training of rabbits, your primary content must fit one (or more) of those categories. Posts about magic tricks involving rabbits in hats wouldn’t make the cut. A quick tip: You’re still welcome to share your magic tricks or bunnies dressed as people on social media, so don’t despair. Why Are Content Pillars Essential? Content pillars do a number of things for your business, but the most important is that they keep you focused. You’ve got a lot of knowledge in that noggin of yours, and it’s often tempting to share that knowledge on your public platform, even if it’s only loosely related to your business goals. Here’s an example from my own experience: When I had my mom-lifestyle blog, I had 4 content pillars; Home & Organization, Kids & Parenting, Well Being, and Recipes. Those were all things my audience was looking for in my kind of blog.  After a while I was so excited by everything I was learning about blogging and business that I started writing posts about my blogging stats and starting a blog.  Nobody read them.  My audience didn’t care how many page views I was getting. They wanted something to do with their kid when they’re too tired to play pirate ships anymore. Even though the content I created was good, I had wasted all that time because I wasn’t focused on my content pillars. How To Identify Your Content Pillars To identify the right content pillars for your business start with a piece of paper. In the center of the piece of paper write what you sell and who you sell to. Then draw lines out to 4-6 bubbles. In each of the bubbles write one category. One way to think of this is like school. The center of the paper is the subject you teach, each of the bubbles is the big standards. For me, as a music teacher, music goes in the middle and my 4 bubbles would be Creating, Performing, Responding, and Connecting since those are the anchor standards for music. Pro Tip: The clearer you are on who you serve, the easier it will be to identify your content pillars. Examples of Content Pillars Real Estate Agent Serving a Small Metropolitan Area: City Highlights

30 Aug 09:59

No More ICA: How to Define Your Ideal Customer Group

Ideal Customer Avatar (ICA) is a phrase that’s been used in marketing seemingly forever. Sometimes it’s replaced with buyer persona, marketing persona, or customer profile, but it all comes down to one essential idea; Who is your perfect customer? There are a number of reasons it’s worth taking the time to clearly define who your product or service is for.  A clear definition of who you’re trying to sell to:  Helps you create content that speaks to people who are actually interested in your expertise.  Increases your email open rate because your subscribers know it’s going to contain value. Assists in product development by helping you create products or services your audience truly wants and needs. Makes your paid marketing more productive by allowing you to more effectively target. Allows you to create a more user friendly experience for your followers. However, recently I’ve been rethinking the idea of an ideal customer avatar.  What’s wrong with having an ICA? A customer avatar, when conceived as a single person, limits our ability to imagine our potential customers as a diverse group. Even more troubling, the avatar that most business owners create is typically a white, cisgendered, straight person, even when those qualities have nothing to do with what they’re selling. If we instead think of our clients and customers as a group, we’re better able to envision that group containing people of color and with different gender identities and sexual preferences, and therefore create a more inclusive company. It’s important to note, however, that trying to define an ideal customer group (ICG), rather than a single customer avatar, is not an excuse to get loosey goosey with your description and understanding of that group.  In fact, by eliminating some superfluous facts usually contained in an ICA description, you can hone in on the attributes of your ideal customer group that will really make a difference in your messaging. For example, some proponents of ICA deep dives suggest you should know your ICA so well that you know what brand of toothpaste they use, what size shoes they wear, and how much money they have saved up for their second-born child to attend college.  But unless you are selling dental health products, footwear, or 529 plans, that information probably won’t help you. What should you know about your ICG? This is where defining an ICG is a little tougher than an ICA.  You can do a Google search and get more than a million returns for defining your ICA. Many of them will provide you with questions to ask to get to know him or her, as well as suggestions for things you can do to make them more “real,” like download a picture and create a dossier about

30 Aug 09:59

5 Ways to Increase Engagement on Your Blog, Podcast, or Video Show

Creating content for your blog, podcast, or video show takes time, energy, and mental bandwidth, but it’s totally worth it, right?  Yes! As long as your content is getting found and people are engaging with it. Oh. Yeah. About that. Getting discovered online is not as easy as it used to be. There are billions of websites up and running now - with more going live every day - and you can’t just hit publish and hope people stumble on it. Because they won’t. But don’t worry. If you are intentional about how you create and share your content your ideal customer group will find you. Before we get started let's clarify what we mean by engagement.  For today’s purposes engagement refers to how people interact with your content. If you write a blog post, people engage by reading it. For a podcast episode, by listening. And a video show, by watching.  But there are other types of engagement we can consider, too. If someone leaves a comment on your post, that’s engagement. If someone shares your content with another person, that’s engagement. Social media likes, shares, comments… all engagement. Engagement is important because, well, what’s the point of creating content if no one’s going to read it, listen to it, or watch it? But getting people’s attention can be tough. There’s a lot of competition out there, and it includes cats who make friends with llamas.  So how do you get more people to engage with your content? There are any number of things you can do, some of them stranger than others. But today I’m sharing 5 tried and true ways to increase engagement for your blog, podcast, or video show. Email Your Audience Someone who has already read your blog, listened to your podcast, or watched your video show and opted in to your email list is obviously someone who’s interested in what you have to say. But many new entrepreneurs make the mistake of assuming that those people will keep coming back on their own.  Not true. Life is busy.  I don’t know about you, but there are times I forget why I walked into a room only seconds before, nevermind remembering to go check someone’s website!  Email your list every week. Each week when you publish your new content send an email to your list letting them know so they can check it out. This will not only let them know to go to your site, but an email is also something that can be forwarded - people have definitely found Side Hustle Teachers that way! Continue to grow your email list. Make sure you’re collecting email addresses in ConvertKit (or whichever email provider you use) so that the list of people you email each week grows.  Connect with Other Creators No matter your platform or topic, there are others who do what you do (or so

30 Aug 09:59

Does Size Matter: What’s the Right Length for Your Content?

Some people will say that asking how long your content should be is like asking, “How long is a piece of string?”  And while they’re not entirely wrong, they’re not entirely right either. So let’s start with the obvious question; Does size matter when it comes to content? Yes, it does. The length of your content is one of the major factors in how it is discovered and recommended by search engines, meaning it plays a big role in how you rank on sites like Google. Additionally, you want your audience to feel as though they’ve gotten their question answered, problem solved, or “how to” fully demonstrated when they come to you for support. On the other hand, you don’t want to make your content longer just for the sake of making it longer… Are you starting to see why this is a tricky question to answer? While there may not be a hard and fast rule, there are some things to consider when it comes to how long - or short - to make your blog posts, podcasts, or video episodes. Here are some things for you to think about: Google’s 300-Word Rule In order for Google to discover, read, and understand your post, it needs a minimum of 300 words. If you’re writing a blog post this should be fairly easy to manage.  However, if you’re a podcaster or YouTuber, you’re not off the hook. For many reasons, I highly recommend maintaining your own website and sharing your episodes there as well as on their native platforms. That means that your podcast show notes or video description would also need to be 300 words or more in order for the post to rank on Google. Note: Even if you’re not ready to build and maintain your own website yet, I suggest that you start writing out your 300+-word show notes and/or video description as you create your content. That way, when your website is up, your posts are ready to go and you don’t have to go back and rewatch or relisten to all your old content to create discoverable show notes. General Standards There are always people coming out with studies about how long your content should be… and many times the studies contradict each other, so take them with a grain of salt. Blog posts that are between 1,500 and 2,000 words perform best when searching on Google. Podcast episodes between 20-30 minutes are more likely to be listened to in their entirety. YouTube videos of 10-15 minutes have longer watch times. Industry Standards I’m not a big fan of doing things just because everyone else is doing them, but I am highly in favor of knowing what others are doing so I can make an informed decision. With that I invite you to do some research into what other content creators in your area of expertise are doing on your platform (blog, podcast, or video). Who are th

30 Aug 09:59

Your Content Niche: What Is It and Why Is It Essential for Your Business?

What is a niche? My favorite definition: A niche market is a subset of a larger market defined by its unique needs, preferences, and identity. - Kitty Shark Creative It’s the thing you do, in the way you do it, and for whom. There’s also some confusion about how to say niche. Some people say it in a way that rhymes with rich, others like it rhymes with sheesh, both are correct. So however you say it, you’re good. For example, in teaching, we’re all specialists. I teach music, that’s my specialization. Even though I’m certified to teach Pre-K through 12th grade, I teach middle school music. And to narrow that down even further, my passion is general music. There are lots of ways to narrow down your niche, but let’s focus on the big 3: Services offered Clients demographics Geographic area Services Offered. By choosing to focus on a specific set of services, you are narrowing your customer base and becoming known for a particular skill set. I was driving behind a tree removal company’s truck recently, and on the back of the truck it read, “Specializing in difficult removals.” Does that mean that this company can’t handle regular tree pruning and chopping? Not at all. But you can bet I took a picture of the truck to show my neighbor who’s been worried about the tree towering over his house. Similarly, a virtual assistant could niche down in social media management, a bookkeeper could focus on payroll, or a dog trainer could narrow his business to security dogs only. Client Demographics. Many products or services can be used by an overwhelming percentage of the population. By focusing on a group of people with a specific set of characteristics you become known in that particular population. I know several people in the health and wellness industry and none of them are competing for customers with each other. One serves CrossFit enthusiasts, another helps the elderly stay fit with chair workouts, and another works with stay at home moms who can’t get to the gym…  Other examples might include a seller of essential oils who focuses on Gen Z customers, a tennis coach who only teaches players who want to play in competition, or a business coach who only works with teachers. Geographic Area. Not every business is limited by geography, but if yours is, it’s best to take note and use that “limitation” to benefit your business. Recently I noticed a bunch of for sale signs in a neighboring town from a real estate company I’d never heard of. It turns out that this agent had left a nation-wide real estate company to start his own that was entirely focused on ONE TOWN. Word spread like wildfire that if you want to sell in his town, he’s your man. While you don’t have to niche down

30 Aug 09:59

8 Ways to Use a Call to Action to Grow Your Side Hustle

In the world of online marketing, a call to action is a common term that gets used in many different ways. But what is a call to action, and how can you use one (or more) to grow your side hustle? Let’s dig in! What is a Call to Action A call to action, often called a CTA, is a line of text or an image that directs your audience to do something. It helps your readers, listeners, viewers, followers, or website visitors know what to do next once they engage with your content. It can be simple text that is linked to another page or website, a button, or just plain text that is not linked (and simply gives instructions of what to do). Common calls to action include “Buy Now” or “Learn More,” but there are literally countless ways that you can prompt people to take action on your content. Where to Use CTAs Your website. On different pages throughout your website you should have various calls to action directing people to where they should go next. On the Side Hustle Teachers website I have different calls to action on different pages. On the homepage options to “Learn More” about the education, and connection I offer, and to “Join the Group” for the Facebook community. On the Podcast and Blog page, the call to action is to engage with the content. Your content. Within your blog posts, podcast and video episodes (and the show notes), you want to give your audience calls to action that fit with the content. It might be a general call to action, like follow you on Instagram, or it could be more specific, like downloading a freebie related to the content. Landing pages. A landing page is typically a very simple page designed to capture email addresses in exchange for a freebie. When people land here it’s often because they’ve clicked on one of your calls to action somewhere else. Therefore, this page will usually contain a form submission and a call to action to download the freebie. Social media. Since engagement is the name of the game on social, every post you share on social media should contain a call to action. Whether you’re asking people to engage with your content, leave a comment, share a post, go to a page for a freebie, or click a link to buy from you. Email. When you send emails to your list each week you should include links to your weekly content and any other pertinent information.  How to Create Effective CTAs Use action words. When telling your audience what to do you have to tell them… you know… what to do. Use language that is clear and instructive so your audience doesn’t have to guess what to do or what’s going to happen when they do. Create urgency or FOMO. If there’s a limited time to get your freebie or special offer, include that in your call to ac

30 Aug 09:59

How to Create and Share Content Without a Website

There are many people who want to start using content to grow a business. It is the most efficient, cost effective way to build authority, strengthen relationships, and increase revenue… so it’s no wonder.  And while I strongly suggest that everyone own and maintain your own website, I understand that it’s not always possible when you’re just starting out. That, however, shouldn’t be a reason to not create content and share it with your audience. In Content Made Simple I provide you with my content planning worksheet that helps organize your content from title to social shares, even before you have a website of your own. If you’re not a student of mine, I recommend you set up a system that will allow you to craft your content to share now, and keep well organized so you can easily post it on your website when you get yours up and running. If your primary platform is YouTube, YouTube itself will provide you with a place to store your videos that you can direct people to. That makes it easy to get started without a website. And while the description area on YouTube does give you a place to share details about your video, it’s not a great place to share a full blog post.  Check out this description from Nancy Taylor of Beyond Teaching Online. She gives a brief teaser of the video and clickable timestamps so you can jump to specific points in the video (not required for beginners), but there’s no written summary. [See show notes at https://sidehustleteachers.com/dont-have-a-website] Similarly, with a podcast, your podcast host will typically provide you with a “website” to host your podcast on. You can typically use these pages to share a full blog post, sometimes called show notes, for your podcast, but because they don’t generally appear in search results, it’s not the same as having your own website.  However, not every podcast app allows for full show notes to be shown to listeners. Apple podcasts, for example, will only show a small excerpt or blurb about your episode, as shown here. [See show notes at https://sidehustleteachers.com/dont-have-a-website] For those who want to have a blog, it’s not quite as easy. A blog sort of requires a website. But if that’s not in the cards right now, there are some things you can do in the meantime.  And these can also be done with your podcast or video show. Linked In. Linked In publishing allows you to post 110,000 character blog posts on its platform. You can also link to those posts on social media and readers do not need to be members to read them. With Linked In you need to keep in mind the audience. As it’s a professional networking site, posts need to be appropriate for business professionals and generally should have a

30 Aug 09:59

3 Content Purposes: Making Your Content Work for You

When you’re a side hustler, creating content to grow your business is essential, but there may be a piece you’re missing to really get the biggest return on your investment. What is that missing piece? Purpose. Creating content purposefully means that not only does it provide value to your audience, but it also deliberately helps build your authority, strengthens your relationships with your audience, or actively sells your product or service. Before we start digging into the 3 primary purposes of your content, let’s clarify what type of content we’re talking about. For today’s purposes, content refers to your weekly blog post, podcast, or video episode. Social media is a horse of a different color that we’ll talk about another day. Purpose #1: Build Your Authority Content that builds your authority is created to help your audience see you as an expert in your field. You want these posts or episodes to show off your wealth of knowledge and create the belief that you are the person that can help them solve the problem they have. In other words, you want to be the person that comes to mind when they have a question. Some types of posts or episodes you could create that build your authority are:  Tutorials Myths vs Facts Product or Tool Review Mistakes and Lessons Learned Lists Case Studies Monthly Updates & Stats Frequently Asked Questions A good call to action for your authority posts would be asking people to sign up for your email list with a free download. You can learn more about these and other types of content you can share in this post https://sidehustleteachers.com/types-of-content-to-share/  Purpose #2: Strengthen Your Relationships Another component of using content marketing is creating strong relationships with your audience.  Why is this important? Well, you may have heard the phrase, “Know, like, and trust,” because it’s the key to building a business. It’s not enough to be an expert. You also have to be a person they know, like, and trust.  Don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to be your audiences’ BFF (though that’s okay). You do have to be someone they feel understands them, and who can connect to them, and who has a personality they can learn from. This means that there will be people who aren’t a good fit for you, which is okay. Some types of posts or episodes you could create that strengthen your relationships are:  Mistakes and Lessons Learned Personal Stories Rants or Unpopular Opinions Behind the Scenes For relationship content, you may ask your audience to follow you on social media to get to know you better. Purpose #3: Actively Sell No matter how much your audience knows, likes, and trusts you, they won’t buy from you if they don’t know

30 Aug 09:59