Are you ready to learn how to start a TPT store? Maybe you are asking yourself ‘How in the world can you accomplish all the things' while in the classroom full time? Maybe you want to know how to balance it all and make it worth your while. Stick around and I will give you some concrete steps to get you started on your path to #livingyourbestlife today!

I can’t believe I ventured to the other side. This 34-year-old mom of 5 did a thing the other day when my 17-year-old convinced me to download TikTok. Ya know, I was convinced it was just like Snapchat and I was not interested in trying something out only for it to fizzle and fade. Sorry if you’re still one of our die-hard Snapchat fans! But Tiktok, well let’s just say I’ve wasted countless hours scrolling on how to be more organized, how to fold my laundry, and how to drop these last few baby pounds. A new trend in the weight-loss world on TikTok is “choose your hard” It shares success stories while a voiceover uses this quote:

“Marriage is hard. Divorce is hard. Choose your hard.

Obesity is hard. Being fit is hard. Choose your hard.

Being in debt is hard. Being financially disciplined is hard. Choose your hard.

Communication is hard. Not communicating is hard. Choose your hard.

Life will never be easy. It will always be hard. But we can choose our hard. Pick wisely.”

~Unknown

While I don’t believe life is always 100% hard, I’ve found a lot of truth in that statement.

• Being a teacher is hard, starting a TPT store is hard. Choose your hard.
• Finding a store name that’s unique is hard, not fulfilling your life’s calling is hard. Choose your hard.
• Starting a TpT store from scratch is hard, not starting at all is hard. Choose your hard.
• Making your first $1,000 on Teachers Pay Teachers is hard, struggling financially on just your teaching salary is hard. Choose your hard. 

If you’re ready to choose your hard today and are ready to start or expand your online teachers business – this is the sign you’ve been looking for. Keep reading, we can climb this mountain together. 

Picture this: It’s 2013 (gosh that seems like a lifetime ago but also just like yesterday).

I had the worst mindset around life, wealth, and happiness. Married – mom of 3 boys – teaching 6th grade ELA at the time. Deep in postpartum depression although I didn’t always see it. I complained a lot. I said, “teaching isn’t what I thought it would be.” I sat in on collaboration meeting after collaboration meeting and listened to new rules, and new standards, and I just wasn’t up for the challenge.

I surfed the internet every night until I stumbled upon Teachers' Pay Teachers to find lesson plans that were already written for me. And then one Fall day in October 2013, I decided to choose a new hard ~ and fought for the girl you see today. The girl or guy that I know you have inside of you too – the one that just needs a little voice inside to say “This is it, I’m ready to start my Teachers Pay Teachers store and bring my teaching ideas to life.”

Before You Start a TpT Store

1. Fix your daily routines, because success is found in the small things you do every single day! You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” ~Darren Hardy, The Compound Effect

2. This one stings a little, but starting anything new, yes even a Teachers Pay Teachers store from scratch or figuring out how to make your TPT store rank in search engines is a grind in the beginning. It takes dedication and focus and if I’m being honest – that’s the real reason why most people don’t succeed. 

I had a math tutor before and after school in my senior year of high school because I was going to fail Algebra 3. Getting to school at 6:30 and staying after school was hard, but my daily routine began to make math easier. I won’t ever try to convince you that I’m the sharpest tool in the shed or the brightest crayon in the box, far from it – but one key thing that I have that every successful person in the world has is  – consistency. 

3. Understand the logistics. Forgive me for taking this back to weight loss but I’m in the thick of it right now, and it goes back to this; IF you don’t plan your eating habits, it just won’t work.  Remember this saying “If you don’t have a plan for your students, your students will have a plan for you.” The same rings true for the logistics of your teacher business.

That’s all I need from you today. I just need for you to say “I will work on making this something I do daily or at least put in intentional time (20 mins. a day) each week in the beginning.” If you take it seriously and you focus on one small habit each day – it’ll lead to remarkable results. It only takes three simple steps to get started (or continue to grow) your TPT Store. And I am here to help you every step of the way!

“Forget about willpower. It's time for why-power. Your choices are only meaningful when you connect them to your desires and dreams. The wisest and most motivating choices are the ones aligned with that which you identify as your purpose, your core self, and your highest values. You've got to want something, and know why you want it, or you'll end up giving up too easily.”

― Darren Hardy, The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success

 Learning how to start your TpT store can look something like this.

• Find your niche
• Understanding your brand
• Choosing the right fonts for your brand
• Choosing the right colors for your brand
• Creating your first product
• Figure out what to name it using our search engine optimization strategies that we teach inside of The CEO Teacher® Membership
• Writing the perfect description
• Listing the product
• Promoting the product

And the list goes on and on. It can be a logistical nightmare OR it can be a smooth and easy system. Systems are how you gain traction in your business. Creating systems around everything you do allows you to get a lot more done in a lot less time. Our word for 2021 as a company was Systematize. We nailed down a lot of systems that used to take us a while to do and we shared those with our students. For example, uploading a product can take hours when you first get started.  Remembering how to do everything from product previews, product covers, descriptions, SEO, and more – so we created a flawless system that will help you get that product listed before you can say Cha-Ching! 

How to Start A TPT Store

Speaking of Cha-Chings, did you know that the Teachers Pay Teachers app has a fun Cha-Ching sound when you sell a resource? I remember when they started that – I vividly can go back to that moment cooking spaghetti at our first home. My kids were around 5 & 6 and the phone loudly made the Cha-Ching noise. From that moment on we had a dance party any time we heard it. It didn’t matter where we were – we busted out some moves. We love to celebrate with our students if their phones Cha-Ching during a coaching call! It’s the best feeling to celebrate the small wins every single day because remembering those small wins can lead to amazing and lasting results. 

Ya know what’s really crazy? When we first started the CEO Teacher® – I felt like this thing came up a lot. People were focusing on the competition or other people in our space that were “doing things better” than they were. We coached a lot of people feeling ‘less than' or afraid they’ll never catch up. You may be feeling that way too. But in all honesty, our students never bring up that topic anymore. I don’t know if it’s because we’ve shifted our vibe (because that’s a real thing) or if it’s because we coach them on that important topic from day one. 

Forget About The Others When You Are Ready To Start A TPT Store 

Forgetting about the way others do their business is key when starting your TpT store from scratch. I’ve been the girl who was stuck watching what everyone else was doing and it limited so much of my time, freedom, and action. Ya see action is what makes all the difference in the world. What actions are you taking today? Action on scrolling through Instagram? Action on watching what they are doing on TPT? I’ve shared about this image a lot but it is constantly in my mind and the main reason why I no longer EVER do the scroll thing. It’s taken years to get here and it’s a new lifestyle but it’s invigorating.

One of the things I go back to in my business and try to encourage my students to do as well is to be like Michael Phelps. There is a famous photo I refer to of Michael Phelps swimming for yet another Olympic gold medal. Spoiler alert, of course, he wins but what is so noteworthy is the fact that he is looking dead at the finish line. We can’t see it in the photograph, (the finish line I mean) but we can see his face slightly out of the water and his goggles are looking forward. He’s the center of focus, but if you look at the top right of the photo you can also see his competition. You know~ the guy that got second place. What's so interesting is that second place is also slightly out of the water with an intent gaze, but his gaze isn’t on the finish line, no no – his gaze is on Michael. 

Mmmmm – let that sink in for a second.

Don’t get tripped up looking at someone else. The greatest (the GOATS) aren’t doing that. They are working on themselves. I honestly think that if I had one piece of advice for anything in life, it would be to work on yourself every single day. Your mind, your body, your spirit – YOU!

Now – I’d love to hear where are you on the Teacher Entrepreneur Success Path?

1. At the starting line: thinking about or just starting my business!
2. Ready to get the product creation wheel spinning like a well-oiled machine!
3. I want to hear more cha-chings and up my marketing game!