Business
Mind the Business That Pays You
I am back from my two month sabbatical and the one thing about working online is how quickly things change. Many of you know, I have been working remotely since 2008 and teaching online, back then, it was my side hustle. Over the last five years, once I decided to turn my side hustle into a legitimate, paperwork filed business, I have learned quite a bit about how to scale as an online educator. Luckily, there have been more benefits than challenges, but those challenges have been HARD. Pre-pandemic, you would have to search high and low for an online teaching position, now, there are thousands of positions opening daily from online learning platforms to independent teachers and tutors. If you’re new to the online teaching world, you may think it’s oversaturated or have concerns about where you fit in. Even those of us that have been at it for a while have to adjust and pivot because it is an ever-changing landscape with new technology, automations, and AI generators to compete with along with more people leaving their day jobs to provide e-learning opportunities.
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Even though I am an educator, there is a big distinction from being a non-profit educator to a for profit-educator; I still have to pay attention to the public school sector just as much as I pay attention to online teaching trends. Some days, I just want to mind my business. Not only do I want to completely ignore what’s going on with public schools because I don’t work there, I also advocate for homeschooling, so I want to treat it like something in my review mirror – I have passed brick and mortar teaching (and standards). However, being aware of what is happening with school districts across America helps prepare me to reach the needs of families that are going to need my services.
This is why you need to mind business that pays you…
I know the text is small, but basically, the minimum requirements to be a classroom sub is a high school diploma
The minimum requirements for educators, in the classroom, is diminishing. Think about how this will impact students. While this is happening in MN, a friend of mine that works for Dekalb County schools in Georgia was asking me how she can leave the classroom as they have now implemented a merit-based passing. This simply means that teachers cannot hold students back regardless of their grades.
Following these trends shows that there is an increase in need for private tutoring. Here’s my dilemma, I don’t like 1:1 sessions. When it comes to my profit margin, I earn more with group classes. So, here is what I did to accommodate these families:
1. I offer 35 minute 1:1 sessions bi-weekly IF they are in a group class.
2. If a family strictly wants 1:1 sessions, they have to pay the minimum rate I would make in a group class.
3. I created more asynchronous 1:1 classes with recorded feedback.
Will this may work for everyone? Maybe not! But, it is what works for my business. So, make sure you are paying attention to the business that pays you. Track trends, read the paper, turn on those alerts, and adjust your business model as needed.
What I have been up to…
I completed the cohorts (exhausting but necessary)! Also, my sister joined one cohort I told her about and came in third place for the pitch contest which awarded $10,000!
I am trying to consistently maintain my social media channels for Teacher Jade’s Writing Academy.
I just started a new TikTok page for my latest fitness journey.
Feel free to follow : )