Imagine teaching on your own terms...

...You set your own hours & rates, and schedule. Plus, you choose the subjects & grades (and students!) you want to teach.

...You have students you work with for year or two & other students you work with for a number of years. You provide them all with the best academic support possible, tailored to their learning style & needs, and you love being a part of their continued growth.

...You are in charge of your own professional development, pursuing only the additional certifications & trainings you want; you implement only the curricula that works for you & your students.

...You have the occasional phone call or meeting, but mostly your work day is spent prepping & teaching (not covering & emailing).

...You end the day knowing you made a difference in the lives of your students, but you can also walk away for the evening (or a sick day) without feeling guilt or stress.

...You have loving-but-firm boundaries set up so you have a much better balance between your teaching life & your home life.

Introducing

Why Should I Make This Investment Right Now?

How many times have you bought a book or a self-study course that you never opened?

We can have the best of intentions, but it's all too easy to put off even the things we really want to do until "later."

But I don't want you to wait until later to start bringing in additional income from your academic support business.

You deserve to start right now.

You are more likely to take immediate action if:

• you receive step-by-step guidance on everything from assessments to sending invoices
• you are supported by on-going coaching
• you're part of a group of like-minded educators with the same vision & goals as you, cheering you on
• you've made a financial commitment (incentivizing you to get the most from the program & earn that money back)

This program is three-months for a reason—so you won't waste any time building your business right away.

The curriculum will show you, step-by-step, how to create a steady business you want to run.

One that works for you & your family.

Not a business that leaves you drained & afraid of making costly mistakes because you you'll know the right policies, procedures & systems to put place.

Save time, money & heartache by learning how to build a sustainable business from Day 1.

Let's run some numbers to see how you can make back your initial investment while creating something meaningful:

In 5 hours/week for 4 weeks (or less depending on your pricing) you will have made back your initial investment AND you will have the structure in place to continue making even more money on a monthly basis.

With your first five students secured & everything set up, you should continue to make $1,000 every 4 weeks for the rest of the school year & beyond.

EXTRA CREDIT: If you want, you can add 5 more student sessions per week & start making $2,000 every four weeks—by only working 10 direct service hours per week (plus another hour or two for admin).

Imagine have $22,500 in extra income from 10 hour-long student sessions a week, 45 weeks per year.

And having the systems & structure in place to double those hours & make $45,000 from 20 hour-long student sessions a week, 45 weeks per year.

But you won't make anything until you start, so don't put off this investment in yourself for "later."

• Set-up a business that is profitable and sustainable, without wasting time & money on anything you don't need.
• Create the business you want to run that fits with your schedule & lifestyle. (For me, that has meant I don't see students before noon or on Fridays. For you, that could mean working only Sunday & Monday afternoons.)
• Secure at least two or more students & $100 or more per week, so you can see what is possible with regard to money, freedom & teaching on your own terms.
• Continue providing excellent academic support to students, so they'll build confidence & skills & thrive in school.
• Teach students using best practices without having to sacrifice time & energy on a revolving door of new curricula and high-stakes testing.
• Be part of a community to support you every step of the way!

What You Get:

• 3 months access to Your First Five Students group-coaching program⏤enough time to implement strategies and establish routines, but not so much time that you put off starting right away.
• Step-by-step guidance delivered via written & recorded course content available on the course website.
• 2 recorded coaching calls on Zoom every month* for on-going accountability & support along with a private group message board for goal-setting & questions. Plus, access to all the coaching call archives!
• AS A BONUS: You will also get 3-months of access to the following courses & workshops to support you in working with your students⏤an additional $487 value!
  • Finally! Executive Functioning Explained, a mini-course demystifying executive functioning skills & how they develop (or don't)
  • Assessing Math Beyond the Right Answer, a workshop for 1st-6th grade educators looking to go deeper with math assessment
  • Strong Math Foundations, a full +5-module course focused on assessing & building student math mindset, fact fluency & number sense
  • Classroom Hero, a 5-module course where I guide exactly how to provide executive functioning coaching for your struggling, disorganized students

*In order to provide coaching call access to all members regardless of schedule, questions can be presubmitted & answered during the call, even if you can't attend live.

Your First Month: Getting Started

Week 0: Pre-work

Welcome! Introduce yourself to the group and consider some important questions about the business YOU want to build before you jump in.

Week 1: Establishing and Cultivating Referral Sources

...without a website, referral fees or a huge social network. You don't even need business cards, unless you really want them.

Week 2: Setting Your Prices & Your Schedule

...so you are fairly compensated for your time & expertise. Pricing is a potentially thorny topic that can have a lot of emotion around it, particularly for educators not used to setting prices. But we are going to talk it all through and set an hourly rate based on where you live but also your background and experience.

We'll also talk about creating a schedule that is sustainable and works for you & your family.

Week 3: First Contact, Intake Meetings (Part 1) & Essential Forms and Policies

You've received some inquiries about your services, now what?

Your first phone call with potential families is important because they are deciding to work with you...but you are also still deciding if you want to work with them(!)* In this first call you will need to outline your policies around cancellations and scheduling, your pricing and set up an intake meeting.

I'll share my forms and policies and coach you so you are prepared to go into that first phone call like the pro that you are.

*Many educators I've worked with are surprised that this is the stage when I commit to take on a student (or not), but there are good reasons to wait until after this meeting to decide to commit to a family for a year or more.

Week 4: Intake Meetings (Part 2) & Developing Learning Goals

An intake meeting is a hybrid speed date, assessment and parent-teacher conference. Usually lasting an hour to an hour and a half total, intakes consist of both student & parent/family interviews.

First, you interview your potential new student, perform some preliminary assessments & identify academic priorities.

You then meet with parents/guardians to go over the student interview, set expectations & preliminary learning goals.

Your Second Month: Establishing a Practice

Week 5: Structuring Weekly Sessions

Now that you have a student, how do you set up your weekly session (or sessions for some) to get it all done in an hour? What/how should you prep? What supplies do you need & what can you skip? Should you do homework together?

Whether you are conducting sessions on Zoom or in-person, make the most of every session by establishing routines & prepping the right activities.

Week 6: Session Note-taking & Case Management

There are a lot of moving parts when teaching, especially when you are providing any kind of intensive academic support.

High-quality session notes are key for identifying & answering big questions about your students. For example, do they struggle to solve this type of problem because they need more practice or because of the organization piece or both?

Often the role of outside learning support includes case management, bringing together information from your sessions, the family, the school & any reports or assessments so that learning priorities are clear & actionable.

Week 7: How to Get Paid

You've set your prices & policies, you have worked with your student for a month now, but don't think we've forgotten about getting paid!

We'll discuss the pros & cons of having families pre-pay vs. invoicing at the end of the month. We'll also go over what payment platforms make it easy to get paid & which make it harder, including the payment options I give my students' families.

Also, don't think I forgot about my promise to show you how to create free & pro-looking invoices using my favorite software, Wave. I'll walk you through all my tips & tricks to automate late payment reminders & batch invoices to save you time.

I'm NOT a certified accountant, but I will also share the spreadsheet I use to track expenses, revenue & saving for taxes.

Week 8: Communicating with Parents/Guardians

Here's the trick about communicating with families that took me over 12 years in education to figure out: you teach parents how available you are. With every email you send (or don't send) & even what time of day you send it, you set up expectations.

This week, we'll go over how to set firm boundaries so you effectively communicate with families in a way the positively serves you & them. That means establishing policies & building good habits around communication.

This is also the time when we'll talk about how to wrap up your time with a student, either because you've effectively taught yourself out of a job OR because it is no longer a positive experience for you, the student or their family.

Your Third Month: Going Deeper

Week 9: Communicating with Teachers & Other Allied Professionals

Sessions are going well & your student is starting to make some progress. Yay! You'd like to communicate with the classroom teacher to see what more you can be doing & how you can provide continuity in your sessions. Good idea!

First, did you know that you will need to make sure you have permission from the student's family to share information with the school? Second, we'll discuss how to effectively partner with classroom teachers & school admin without undermining your work or theirs.

Week 10: Learning Challenges Overview

Chances are, if your student's family sought outside academic support, there are probably some learning challenges at play.

This week, we'll go over different learning differences that you are likely to see & how they play out in various subject areas. This will likely include but not be limited to: ADHD, dyslexia, auditory processing, anxiety & executive functioning challenges.

Week 11: Additional Assessments & Other Resources for Supporting Your Students

Who doesn't love a good assessment or resource?! This week we'll talk about what assessments (both formal & informal), books & curricula & my honest opinion on what you should invest in & what you can skip.

Week 12: Next Steps & What Additional Trainings & Certifications Will Get You Where You Want To Go?

Remember when I said you don't need additional training, schooling or certifications to start an academic support business? Well, that is still true!

But you may want to specialize, especially if you find there is a specific subject that lights you up & where you develop your expertise & experience further. From pursing an educational therapy certificate & becoming a Board Certified Educational Therapist (BCET) to Orton-Gillingham Training to additional math training. We'll talk about finding a niche & what avenues are available to you going forward.

My Story:

From Classroom Teacher to Education Business Owner

In 2012, as I wrapped up my sixth year of classroom teaching, I was struggling.

It had been a challenging year personally & professionally and I was unsure what to do next. You might know the feeling: It was more than looking forward to summer & needing some rest. I was bone tired, mentally & emotionally drained & unsure if classroom teaching was still for me.

Despite reassurances from administration, I was far from confident that the next year would be any better.

Classroom teaching had become unsustainable, but what else I could do, especially that late in the year?

I took a chance & decided not to renew my contract for the following school year. It was not a decision I made lightly, but I didn't have a backup plan either.

I assumed I would use the summer to try to get a position at a different school, or sub until something opened up...

I've found I love being my own boss, creating the exact business I want to run (whether it makes sense to anyone else or not).

Over time, I decided to specialize in K8 math education, building a reputation working with students (mostly girls) who need intensive math support & a confidence boost. Everybody & their mother (literally) started sending referrals my way & I've created a schedule that works best for me & my family.

Even with Covid-19 & lockdown, I've been able to continue working, providing continuity & support to my students & their families.

While it has fluctuated over the past few years, my current caseload usually consists of about 14 hours of direct one-on-one work with students a week M-TH, mostly after school but a few hours during the school day.

I see a majority of my students on Zoom, with a couple students in-person where we are able to meet safely. I spend another few hours a week prepping & communicating with parents & teachers. Sometimes I attend meetings.

And that's it.

I know that I can add more hours to my schedule, but have figured out that this is the sweet spot for right now.

Friends & family sometimes want to know if I'll ever go back to classroom teaching & my answer is almost always that I'm happy where I am. I get a great deal of joy watching my students find success in a subject that was once a challenge for them & such pride when they are ready to go out on their own.

I have built something that I'm proud of & provides valuable support to my students & their families. And now I want to enable other educators to build their own businesses so they can do they same in their communities.

Why an academic support business & not "tutoring"?

👆 In many ways the academic support you provide to your students will have similarities to tutoring, but with additional layers of case management & targeted academic intervention that addresses learning difference.

🙌 As an educator, you have the training & experience to provide academic support that goes beyond imparting subject knowledge to include working with students with a variety of learning differences.

✍️ I will walk you through the process of performing initial interviews with students & their families, conducting formal & informal assessments & developing individualized learning goals.

👍 You don't need additional certification or advanced training to start an academic support business, but we will cover what additional training you can pursue down the road to further your professional & business goals...but only if you want to.