Let’s take your fears, worries, or even failures from the point of questioning if you can make 100K as a teacher. To knowing you can do it in one short year. I’ll even share some CEO Teacher® Trailblazers (who have hit that 100k mark) and paved the way for you to make $100,000 or more online. JUST by selling your teaching resources, OR by selling teacher goodies or programs like courses or memberships.
First, we have to break down the limiting beliefs. Maybe you’ve said one or more of these to yourself before:
Friend, this is all just Imposter Syndrome creeping in, where you are stuck in your own way thinking you aren’t good enough, don't have enough time, or don't have a voice in the world of education. What if I told you each of these statements was once said by these amazing trailblazers too?!
I’ve shared this story briefly before but in case you haven’t heard it, I want to tell you where the desire for making good money online came from. I first started buying resources from TPT in 2013 after a long and agonizing journey through depression. And then I found a teacher who they said made a million dollars selling on Teachers Pay Teachers.
I am a teacher from Georgia, and I found out that when I went to college and I graduated, I could make about 32 to $35,000 a year. That's what I was told. The future of my reality was 32 to $35,000 a year. And I was going to have the summers off and I could make more money if I went back to college and I could plan for my future that way. But then I heard this teacher sharing that she had made A MILLION dollars on a platform selling her teaching resources.
When I got there to the future of my reality, I realized that I had been given this lie of sorts, that that was all there was for me. But I want you to know if you're here today that you are a teacher. Yes. But that is not all that you are.
And whatever you want in this lifetime, you shouldn't be put in that box of the four walls of your classroom. You are really one of the most successful people in all of the world. Teachers make the world go round. Tell me one person that doesn't know a teacher. We all have a connection to an educator. And it is the time right here, right now for teachers to start making an impact.
And it all goes back to desire. Napoleon Hill in the book, Think and Grow Rich, from the 1930s says that the number one thing every person in the world needs to be successful or to make the money they've always dreamed of is desire. So all I need to know from you today is do you want to make more money than what they told you you were supposed to make when you graduated from college?
I first started thinking about my desire back in 2013, which seems like forever ago, but I want to tell you about a catalyst for me that was like holy smokes, I can do this. I was looking at Teachers Pay Teachers. And I was buying resources for my students because I was struggling with depression and I wanted another teacher to do the work for me.
So I bought lesson plans and I started teaching them in my classroom. And then I decided, you know, I think I can do that too. And that little bit of desire is what led me down this crazy insane rabbit hole. Where I found an interview from the very first millionaire that sold resources on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Now it's amazing because, in 2022, you don't have to just sell on TPT if you don't want to. But when I found that original story about a lady that made a million dollars selling her teaching resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, y'all I was hooked. I was insanely obsessed with this woman. I followed her on every social platform. I read about her. I found a video and I started watching that video every single day. I think it was on 20/20 or something. It was a big-time interview.
Little did I know that original spark of desire would lead me to not only sell my resources on TPT, but also create a program and service that would give that gift to hundreds and thousands of other teachers. Many of our CEO Teachers® are now making over a hundred thousand dollars. So remember that you don't have to look at what has gone wrong in the past. I just want you to know that in the present moment right here, right now, teachers like you, who are still teaching full time are making the money they've always dreamed of.
Now. Happiness does not revolve around money. I know that. Let's get real here for just a second. That's why we teach about health and wealth and finances and all of those things, but I thought it would be good for some of these amazing women to check-in. And tell you what's changed in their mindset since they started their journey to where they are today.
You can make $100,000 a year, even if you're in the classroom full time. You've heard me talk about that magic number before. And what if you heard other teachers talk about it too? The sky is the limit for you this year, right now in the present moment, not what you haven't done in the past or what you're going to do in the future.
First up: Kristi from Kristi Deroche Digitals, a full-time Fifth-grade teacher, mom, and wife in south Louisiana. Her mindset has not always been what it is now. Although she has been selling resources online for quite some time, not that long ago, she suffered from imposter syndrome, wondering who would want to buy from her.
Then her CEO Teacher® community began reminding her that she could do it. If she got out of her own way and started focusing on her own journey and not what everyone else was doing. Kristi says, “Selling my resources has absolutely changed my life. And I know it can change yours too.” If you're beginning to take your business seriously, her advice would be to not compare yourself to other teachers or sellers, only compare yourself to who you were at the beginning of your journey. Staying constantly focused on your own growth and where you want to go, the rest will fall into place.
Mary Gallagher has created a business with two parts. The Amazing Day Academy is where she does life coaching and writing classes for youth and teens. And then there is her adult life in business coaching practice, where she works with women on creating their inspired life vision. Mary’s best tip for someone just getting started is to be okay with starting small.
She says, don't compare your day one to someone else's year 10. It's okay to start small and have it be messy. The important part is that you are starting, which takes so much courage. Her mindset as a business owner is constantly evolving and lately, she’s really focusing on how to use all of what happens, the good, the bad, and the ugly for learning, growth, and upliftment. So when a launch doesn't go, as Mary had hoped or some other snafu happens, she’s asking herself, “What can I learn from this?” That's been a game-changer for her lately.
Stephanie Nash is the mastermind teacher behind A Touch of Class Teaching. She helps teachers get their classrooms organized and systematized, and really just transformed into a cozy home away from home using her classroom decor collections.
Her mindset has changed dramatically since starting her business. She admits she was probably living on one end of her little spectrum analogy. She was definitely on the dream world side. She knew everything that was possible. Knew she could reach her goals. Was super confident about it. Then she would have little moments where she would go and work hard on those goals. But she had no idea what she should really be doing to make, or see, the business growth that she knew was possible. She had no routines set in place because she didn't know what kind of routines to make. Stephanie credits joining the CEO Teacher® community as her catalyst for change. The community has given her the tools needed to nurture both sides.
The friends Stephanie has made have become such a support system. She listens to the audiobooks that I always suggest. She takes in the encouragement and support from Team Kayse and everybody in the Community. It keeps her focused on what she needs to focus on to ensure her mindset is where it needs to be.
Stephanie also says the lessons inside the CEO Teacher® Membership have been invaluable to help her grow the other side of my business. To really show her the way of the business world. Now she has a plan. She has routines set up around that plan to ensure that she continues to grow and scale her business. She is working toward something that's sustainable for her and her family.
If Stephanie could offer a business tip to someone just getting started, it would be to play both ends to the middle. And what she means by that is if you think of your business as just a straight line on one end, you're going to prioritize things like your mindset, your vibe, your confidence in yourself, everything that really you believe to be true for yourself in your business.
And then on the other end, you place your hard work. And this includes all the systems, all the routines that you really need to set in place for your business. So you can ensure that you get all the work done. So this is like the work side of your business. Something she has noticed is that people starting businesses, especially teacher businesses, dwell at one end of the spectrum or the other. They're either super confident in themselves and they believe they can do anything.
They listened to all the audio books that motivate them. They have wonderful support systems. They don't let anyone ever get them down, but they have no systems in place to actually put in the work. They kind of live in that dream world. They aren't doing the right things that they need to get done to reach their goals.
But then you also have the people who are working like crazy. They have all the routines down, they're super organized. They're just working nonstop to get things done. They're pumping out products like crazy, but their mindset is off. So when they don't see overnight success or maybe they have some mean girls reaching out to them or they get negative feedback, they just give up. So when Stephanie says play both sides to the middle, she means that it's so important to focus on both of those things and really nurture them and work on them at the same time. Eventually, you're gonna reach the middle and that's where your goals are.
Tara Tuchel with Autism Little Learners says if you are someone just getting started find a coach or mentor that has gone before you. One who can show you the ropes, or guide you along the way and show you all of the best practices and all the little things that you might not know getting started. It will save you a lot of hassle and grief later.
Tara wishes she would have had someone right from the start. Her mindset has really changed throughout the past three years. She has changed from lots of small goals to now dreaming really, really big and believing in abundance, and knowing that all the things that you dream of are possible. She is growing and expanding her business and everything that goes along with that.
Dr. Lori Friesen is the host of the Beginning Teacher Talk Podcast and creator of the Ready for School Academy. She recommends literally doing things before you think that you’re ready for them. Just do it scared because it’s probably never going to get easier. And you’re never probably going to feel completely ready to do the big, scary things you want to do in this world. You can make the impact you want to make and you can have the life you’ve always dreamed of living.
Lori believes one of the things that’s helped her be able to move the needle in her business, in year 2, is not holding back. Literally, continually experimenting. Has she failed? Of course. But she’s learned that every failure brings her one step forward, towards figuring it out. And she’s learned to reframe what she used to think of as failure as a learning moment. So even when she “fails” at something, she knows what not to do the next time. Her big advice and hope for anyone who’s starting out in their teacher business is to put your blinders on, and caring less about what other people think or what other people might say. And just owning your big, bold, beautiful energy, letting yourself shine, and being who you were meant to be.
These beautiful women have shown us exactly how a mindset shift and utilizing your strengths can help you begin to live the life of your dreams. The psychology behind your business is a key area in which to create systems and processes, so your customers say, “HECK YES!” every single time you create something new. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed with all of the CEO Teacher® life to-do’s, I’d love to give you some personalized support through the CEO Teacher® Membership coaching.
Simply take the CEO Teacher® Type quiz, and you’ll be on the road to using your strengths to make 100K as a teacher and become the CEO Teacher® of your dreams!
Still need some support and mindset help as you wonder if you too can make 100K as a teacher in the classroom?
How to Start a Successful TPT Store as a Full-Time Classroom Teacher
Living Your Best Life as a Teacher While Balancing Your Business and Personal Life
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I would like to use my gift for teaching Life Skills & ESL to enrich the lives of others. I would love to use my skills to help Life Skills parents to know how to maintain behaviors.
What can I do to promote my expertise in reading and writing? (As well as teaching reading and writing)