ESL teacher and entrepreneur hacks to help you scale up and start building your own income.
I am convinced online ESL teachers make the best of entrepreneurs. If you’ve wanted to get into entrepreneurship and start your own small online business…then today’s ESL teacher and entrepreneur hacks will be very helpful for you!
MY LOVE CONNECTION W/ ESL AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
My story is a bit different, because I initially got into ESL teaching because I needed a way to fund my start-up travel company, Guided MissDirection. We hadn’t run any tours yet, and I needed to be making money while we traveled around Sri Lanka and Vietnam. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made! Now I’m on a mission to help online ESL teachers gain clarity on their business path so they can create a purposeful AND profitable online business. Here are some of my best hacks for you in getting started.
WHY ESL TEACHERS OFTEN GO INTO ENTREPRENEURSHIP
As ESL teachers, we love our job because 1) YES the cutes are so cute it sometimes hurts, BUT ALSO because 2) The job provides SO MUCH FLEXIBILITY…you can work from wherever and almost whenever.
After loads of freedom and flexibility, ESL teachers often find it hard to go back to regular-more structured- jobs. Teachers then use the flexibility of their current job to start building a business of their own!
ESL TEACHING ISN’T SCALABLE
If you are a part of the online teaching community, then you know that working for an ESL company is like a never-ending rollercoaster of surprises. One day the whole payment system is whack and the next the president of the United States may executive order your company outta here (Gogokid…let’s cross our fingers…)
Teaching ESL online for a company that isn’t your own just isn’t scalable. You can make good money, but there is a cap to your growth. This is why it’s important to begin building other streams of revenue that you are FULLY IN CONTROL OF.
WHY ESL TEACHERS MAKE AMAZING ENTREPRENEURS
Luckily as online teachers, we already have a leg up on most people…because we are generally pretty good a technology! Not only that…we are great on camera and at talking!
From my 4 years as an online ESL teacher, I have found that this community is filled with dreamers and doers, and if you are reading this, then I believe you are one too.
If you’ve always wanted to start your own business, then here are my best ESL and Entrepreneur hacks:
ESL Teacher and Entrepreneur Hacks
HACK #1 BECOME A PROBLEM SOLVER
- The Office AnyChair, my e-commerce product, formed because I was so sick of teaching in uncomfortable positions while I traveled. I had a problem many traveling ESL teachers or digital nomads in general have…and I created a solution.
- What problems do you have on a regular basis? Start making a list of them all, and think of what kind of a service or product would solve that problem.
HACK #1.1 GO WITH WHAT YOU KNOW
- I always say start by going with what you know. If you’re interested in starting your own business, try solving problems in your industry…because you understand what people want and need and probably already have connections there!
- This could be a physical product or even just videos offering helpful advice
- A great teacher example is Janice of Cook Family Resources. She has an amazing blog and shop in which she sells very helpful monthly reward systems for teachers. Girl gets over 300,000 views on her Pinterest account every month! She is killing it!
- Another great example of this is Teacher Nathalie – She just started her own Princess Academy. She also offers English lessons and Spanish lessons. She combined all her loves and talents and has created a beautiful academy in which SHE IS THE BOSS. (Also, she will be on my YouTube channel next week so be sure to sub my channel to hear more of her story and how she has done that!)
- Also, be sure to check out Teacher Lisa of Lisa Markle Sparkles! She has a thriving shop in which she creates high-quality graphics for Teachers Pay Teachers and Etsy Creators! She has a blog and is an OutSchool teacher!
HACK #2 USE YOUR TECH KNOWLEDGE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
- It’s so easy to forget how much we know as online teachers in terms of tech, because our “virtual” co-workers have the same knowledge as us…but most people don’t know a lot about making videos, using web cameras, putting together intro videos, and using tools like mannycam…these are all really helpful skills in being an entrepreneur because, in the beginning stages, you will need to understand basics in tech to market yourself well
- Setting up a website for your company is going to be a whole lock easier for you then it is for someone else…you’re already steps ahead!
HACK # 2.1 USE TEACHING VIA VIDEO & SLIDES TO YOUR ADVANTAGE – (ONLINE COURSES ANYONE?)
- You already teach PowerPoint slides to children or adults, why not scale what you already know and teach about subjects you’re super passionate about in your own online course?!
- You already have the basic skills. With a little research, you could have the next best selling course on Udemy or Teachable!
HACH #3 USE YOUR VIDEO TEACHING/SKILLS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
- Most people have never taught to a camera before…Likely, you’ve taught countless hours to someone through a webcam!
- Because you are already used to talking on camera to humans (albeit tiny humans for most of us) you are so much more prepared to share your expertise and business with the world — use that to your advantage
- Start a podcast, YouTube channel, Instagram page (with lives and videos), FB page (with lives and videos) to quickly grow your online business because you’re already pretty good at speaking on camera…and by presenting yourself on camera YOU BUILD TRUST with potential followers/customers
OVERVIEW – MY TOP SUGGESTIONS FOR ESL TEACHERS TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP:
- Create an Etsy store with helpful props
- Create helpful resources for teachers and sell through Teachers Pay Teachers
- Create your own e-commerce product and sell it on Shopify or Amazon
- Start a YouTube channel to share your knowledge of the ESL world or hacks that you know would be helpful to others
- Start a YouTube channel for kids to gain authority in your field and help build your own school
- Start your own ESL company on the side and grow it through your social media platforms (You can even start with OutSchool and then branch off on your own as you gain a following)
- Start a podcast that shares helpful tips to a target audience you can easily speak to
- Create an online course teaching others how to do something that you know a lot about
If you are still unsure of what avenue you want to go in, fill out my BUSINESS BRAINSTORMING GUIDE. I know it will be very helpful for you!
