261: Discover the Five Pillars of Successful Educational Entrepreneurship! Thrive in Your Educational Entrepreneurship Journey

This episode is synergistically designed for teachers who are on a journey to design their own dream school or homeschooling business. Today, I share five foundational principles that will ensure the sustained growth of your entrepreneurial journey in education.

In the world as we know it today, it demands you, brilliant teachers, to mobilize your skills and knowledge to provide students with an education they will come to love and deserve. 

This episode delves in to critically explore whether your venture in education is being treated as a hobby or a business. We are reminded  about the importance of continuously improving, initiating student-centered approach, strategizing for growth, reinvesting in professional development, legality and compliance, and most importantly, having a clear business model.

I know what it feels like to be  chained down by the fear of failure, but I encourage you to take a leap of faith and strive for progressing your educational business.  For this purpose, visit our coaching resources at teachersletyourlightshine.com and embark on an enlightening journey, turning your dream into reality. And remember, running a micro-school is a business venture, not a hobby.

To all our teacher friends out there, you are just a few clicks away from your journey towards successful educational entrepreneurship. Catch this episode to kickstart or reinvent your venture to a flourishing future.

Get 30% Off Your Business Bundle!  www.teachersletyourlightshine.com/shop

Start your business with all of the necessary documents needed to launch a dream school, microschool, tutoring or homeschooling business!  

www.teachersletyourlightshine.com/shop 

And if you are ready to grow or scale your existing business, snag a coaching session to work on your business blueprint and marketing plan!  www.teachersletyourlightshine.com/coaching

Join Our Facebook Group for “Tip Tuesdays”, a support community and the “best place on the internet corner” https://www.facebook.com/groups/teacherletyourlightshine

Book a Clarity Coaching Session: www.teachersletyourlightshine.com/coaching

Get started on your dream school right now! Get all the documents you need to jumpstart, market and enroll students! www.teachersletyourlightshine.com/shop  We have step-by-step instructions to help you write powerful marketing brochures, enrollment forms, introductory packets, and so much more! You’ll also find easy-to-use templates made to simplify your creation process, as well as beautiful real-life examples used by my micro-school, Lighthouse Learning, to give you creative inspiration when designing your very own forms.  You will be able to seal the deal with peace and clarity when you hand deliver your new handbook and contract.  Tune in to today's episode to find out more and head over to our shop to purchase your documents at teachersletyourlightshine.com/shop

Coaching: https://teachersletyourlightshine.com/coaching Do you need help with a plan of action, accountability,  or clarity in your teacher career change? Interested in starting a micro-school, tutoring or homeschooling business?  Don’t know where to start? Wanting to make a change but have no idea where to begin or what the change would even look like?  It’s time to get "unstuck", have a plan and gain your much needed clarity  so you can experience teacher career growth, build a business blueprint, market with clear messaging, and plan a successful business launch-whether it's a micro-school, tutoring business or homeschooling business.  Click below to learn more…

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
I know you do not just want to survive while having your own business,
your own micro school, your own homeschool hybrid program, your tutoring business. You want to thrive.
You want to feel good. You want to know that you're doing good. You want to see the good.
And today I'm going to give you five. Let's just get back to the basics.

(00:21):
Five basic principles you need in order to sustain and to thrive and having
your own business as a teacher entrepreneur. Let's do it.
Music.
Welcome teacher to the Let Your Light Shine podcast.
If you're searching for the freedom and permission to design the life you love

(00:42):
as a teacher, you're in the right place.
I'm on a mission to help teachers just like you build their own dream school
or homeschooling business.
Music.
In this present day, the world needs you, teacher friend, to step out in faith
and give students an education they love and so deserve.
In this podcast, I will teach you how to start a fulfilling and profitable homeschooling

(01:06):
business that lights you up.
I'm McKenzie Oliver, former elementary teacher and instructional coach,
gone homeschool teacher and business builder.
I'm here to empower you to step outside the classroom and choose the experiences,
the curriculum, and all the moments that put a smile on your face and your students.

(01:28):
Does it seem like a dream? Well, it did to me until God opened the doors and made it reality.
Together we are breaking through fears and moving the crowd.
Music.
So get out your notebook, sharpen your pencil. It's time to get your teach on.
It's my absolute honor and pleasure to be here speaking with you.
Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to the Teacher Later Light Shine podcast.

(01:52):
I'm so grateful whenever I see your reviews, I hear them, you reach out to me
via email. I know you don't have to do that. I know you don't.
But you do it, and I appreciate it. Thank you for taking a few seconds to leave
us a review on Apple Podcast.
Thank you for your positive feedback in our Facebook group.
Thank you for the emails. It's like getting a card in the mail.

(02:14):
When I see emails from you and how your life has changed or how you've been
inspired or impacted, I'm so grateful. So, so grateful.
Now, as I had mentioned in the last episode, which you definitely need to listen
to as you listen to this one today, day.
Because you want to not only be sustainable, you want to thrive,
but you also have to shift your mindset from hobby owner to business owner,

(02:37):
as I talked about in the last episode.
So go and snag that episode either before or after this episode.
And as I mentioned previously, our deluxe jumpstart and clarity coaching is
going to be here for a limited amount of time.
Because the The bright side of things is that Teacher Later Lifeshine is growing.

(02:57):
And in order to grow, we have to adapt and make ourselves more available and
sustainable and more scalable for our wonderful teachers. We serve a large audience.
We have thousands upon thousands of people who listen to the podcast on a weekly basis.
We've got our thousand more group members in our Facebook group.

(03:19):
I want to be able to serve you. and in order
to do that I'm looking forward to some really great things
that we have available to you but that will mean that
our deluxe and jumpstart coaching will have to subside
so for a limited time you can go and grab your
coaching session it's such an incredible way to gain clarity understanding and

(03:40):
just to be able to not do it alone you can head on over to teachers let your
light shine.com slash coaching you can read all about which one is best for
you if you need help with your finances, your vision, your business model.
If you need help learning what to do next, where to go, how to set your marketing
up, what are the greatest ways to do your marketing, I'm right here with you.

(04:02):
You always have actionable steps every time we meet together.
You have incredible things that are entrusted to you to push through.
And I'm telling you, every time I coach people, they do it. They make it happen.
And it's like my husband. If he didn't drive me to the gym every morning, I would not do it.
No way, Jose. Jose, but I've got an accountability partner.

(04:25):
And I am grateful to be that person for you.
So deluxe coaching or jumpstart coaching, go head over, check it out.
And if you're ready to get all
of your marketing materials, go to teacherslayerlifeshine.com slash shop.
Now is the time to be getting your hands on your marketing, getting it squared
away, dialed in so that you can start enrolling your students.

(04:47):
I know you're ready to take your educational business to the next level.
You're dreaming of building a thriving micro school and homeschooling business,
but you feel overwhelmed by the process.
You're concerned about all the ways you need to market, meet your student enrollment.
Music.
Goals, but you don't know how to put all of the pieces together.
But fear not, because the Business Bundle marketing tools are here for you in

(05:10):
an effort to streamline your marketing process, get the word out about your
wonderful school, and work towards your dream school goals. I have exciting news for you.
Music.

(05:34):
Your educational business. Let me tell you, our brochure template is perfect
for showcasing the best features of your school, your learning pod in a fun, detailed way.
Our enrollment form template will give you the important information you need
to collect from parents and students to ensure you're fully prepared for the school year ahead.

(05:55):
But that's not all. The business bundle has been known to get hundreds of teachers
unstuck and moving in the right direction.
From our flyer template, which is the perfect way to advertise locally and attract
even more students to your school, to our handbook and contract,
where you'll have everything you need to establish and solidify important responsibilities

(06:16):
on behalf of the parents of your school. But wait, there's more.
Music.
The introductory packet, the number one foundational tool you need to provide
a more in-depth handout to show interested parents the fully realized powerhouse
that is your school or homeschool hybrid.
And our welcome letter template ensures every new student feels welcome and valued from day one.

(06:41):
Plus, as a bonus, we're including our destination location letter,
a heartfelt call to action for securing the perfect location for your school.
That's over $100 in savings if you
bundle all of the pieces together plus we
are so sure that when you try.
Music.
To put all of the pieces together yourself you feel like you've wasted your

(07:03):
time you've wasted your energy but we've done all the hard work for you our
business bundle has everything you need to build grow and scale your educational
business all in one convenient package and for one week, you're getting 30% off.
So head over to teachers, let your light shine.com slash shop,
grab your business bundle at 30% off so that you can go and unlock your full

(07:26):
potential as an educational entrepreneur.
All right, everybody, hobby owner, business owner. We talked about this in the last episode.
As you become a business owner, or if you're wanting to become a business owner,
you definitely need to look at, listen to the last episode. But here's the deal.
In order to be sustainable, we've got to get clear.

(07:48):
We have to be very intentional, which means we have to have a very clear and
intentional business model so that we're not treating it like a hobby.
And a lot of times you may be treating your business like a hobby because you
don't have a very clear business model.
And you probably don't have a clear business
model because you don't understand the numbers or the

(08:09):
revenue or like this big fancy
word called key performance indicators which trust me I'm just learning about
that how much it costs really to run your school per student what is the best
offer that you can have that cuts down on hiring but still gives students the
best of the education education realm.

(08:32):
What are your revenue streams? Do you have more than one? Are you diversified
in your revenue streams?
Do you have a strategy for pricing?
Do you have something that's sustainable for growth?
So that's number one, a very clear business model. And guys,
that can take a long time. I get it. But you also won't know unless you try, right?

(08:52):
So I really suggest that you start there.
Is what I have to offer right? Is
it right for me? Is it right for my my vision, is it right on the price?
Number two, are you investing in professional development?
If you're not investing in your own professional development or that of the
people that work for you, you may be definitely treating your venture as a hobby.

(09:15):
We have to, as business owners, prioritize ongoing learning,
reinvesting, training, coaching, enhancing our skills to keep our micro school competitive.
And let me tell you, you can't just keep doing what you were doing back in school.
You stepped out for a reason. You wanted to do something different. You got to keep it going.

(09:36):
Number three, do you have a customer-centric approach, like a student-centric approach?
If you're really not focused on meeting the needs and the expectations of your
students and parents, and you're just thinking about what's easiest for you,
you could be treating it as a hobby. Robbie.
But if you are adopting a student-centered approach, meaning that you are really

(09:59):
thinking about what they need, what is the market telling you?
What are parents telling you? Who do you have enrolled so far?
And if you're not seeking feedback, that could be dangerous.
Are you putting out feedback? Are you doing target market research?
That's something I teach to my coaching clients, the target market research,

(10:19):
and how incredibly valuable it is. Are you continuously improving?
And we know that because we ask. Number four.
Are you really trying to be scalable and having a growth plan?
Are you afraid of growth? I was.
If you're not actively planning to scale your business for growth,

(10:42):
it's time to really think about how we can switch it, how you can plan for scalability.
And maybe you're like, I have no idea. Trust me, I didn't either.
But over time, I figured it out. I received coaching. I continued to invest, invest. invest.
And I have, I have literally, yes, I've spent thousands of dollars on coaching,
but I've got 10,000, 10, $10,000 back.

(11:07):
And I've expanded and we've grown and new programs, new locations,
new partnerships, all of that.
I've got to think about for our students, our new, new location,
because our church building sold.
How am I going to scale it for growth? Number five, And this is going to be
really important, especially as states are becoming more educational savings

(11:29):
account states, being aware and compliant with legal requirements.
Before you go build a building, before you go purchase a building,
please be aware of the zoning and legal requirements, especially if you're an
educational savings account state where the government is giving money to parents
for choosing something other than private or public, which means that they get money to come to you.

(11:52):
And now it's controlled by the government which now
means that they control where these students can receive
services we've had to do that ourselves we have to be in order to receive educational
savings account funding from students to come to our micro school since we're
not public or private we have to be a full-time tutoring business in a commercial building or church.

(12:19):
What a game changer. But if I had not considered that, I could be building or
investing in an area that could have significantly hurt us.
It's not too far out of reach to figure this out.
It's just that you are paying attention to local education regulations,

(12:40):
any type of licensing requirements, legal aspects, so that you stay protected.
It's just important to evaluate evaluate the way
that you approach these indicators they're
really indicators legal and compliancy scalability and
growth being student-centered investing in
professional development having a clear business model you can't afford not

(13:03):
to you really cannot afford not to so if it's holding you back if there's something
to do with money that's holding you back i'm telling you if there's any one
of these you're having trouble with you cannot afford to keep doing what you're
you're doing and getting the results that you're getting if you're not satisfied with it.
So please do an honest look and reflection and take a leap of faith.

(13:26):
Take a leap of faith and get the help that you need.
If you can identify with any of this, we have to shift your mindset. We, me, I understand.
We've got to implement more business practices. And if you're like,
I'm not a business person, then you need to learn this.
Because running a micro school is a business. It's not a hobby.

(13:47):
And it's the greatest business venture you could embark on.
And you want to be able to do so with confidence and clarity.
Head over to TeachersLetYourLightShine.com slash resources for all of our free resources.
Get in our Facebook group, Teachers Let Your Light Shine Micro School Community.
You can also get coaching, TeachersLetYourLightShine.com slash coaching. And I will be...

(14:09):
Music.