3 Reasons Every Teacherpreneur Needs to Take Online Courses

If you crave financial freedom and autonomy, you’re in the right place because it’s my mission not only for myself as a teacherpreneur, but also for you (even if you’re not quite ready to be a teacherpreneur). I believe that we can find financial freedom and autonomy in two ways: 1. Through independent contracting and 2. Through creating an online business by selling a product or service.

Within the first couple of months of working from home in 2016 I knew I wanted to create an online business. I kept searching for a roadmap from other online entrepreneurs, but each person offered me one or two pieces of the puzzle to creating a successful online business. Eventually, I realized there are specific steps you can take to transform your online teacher business and I am thrilled to share my tips with you. Before we get into those tips, I want to give you a little background information so you can learn how I got started.

From public school teacher to online teacherpreneur

I started teaching online in 2016 right after I quit my brick and mortar job. Even though I was a nervous wreck about quitting, I was ready for a new adventure. My first step was finding steady income so I could support myself while I worked on building my own business. I wasn’t 100% sure what my online business was going to be until about two years into my teacherpreneur journey. I always knew I wanted to create an online course, but I wasn’t sure what my niche should be. Within those first two years, I took several marketing courses, but they provided partial information about getting started. No one really gave me any tangible steps to succeed as a teacherpreneur.

In the meantime, I kept teaching online. It helped me make ends meet and eventually I doubled my income, but it still wasn’t my own business. So I decided to take a course developed by a fellow teacher. With her guidance I developed my niche, fine-tuned my blogging, and learned a ton about e-mail marketing. A lot of what she taught were skills I learned from the other courses I took, but being that she was a teacher, her advice really helped me narrow my focus.

taking courses to advance as a teacherpreneur

After narrowing my focus and sticking to a niche, I saw huge increases in my blog traffic and started slowly building my e-mail list (you might be on it already, if you’re not you can join here). However, the amount of subscribers I had on my e-mail list weren’t quite where I wanted them to be to launch a course. I decided to take yet another course on Facebook advertising. This led me to make a huge dent in my e-mail list and gave me more confidence to launch my own course.

You might be thinking, wow, you took a lot of courses! Wasn’t that a lot of money? Let me tell you, it was definitely an investment. Whenever I saw the price of courses I hesitated to purchase because I wasn’t sure if those courses had the answers I was looking for. I wasn’t sure if I’d get a return on my investment (ROI). Eventually, I realized, that was a limiting belief.

When I went to college did I think about getting an ROI? Of course college implies getting a job, but it doesn’t guarantee an income. I certainly wasn’t expecting my job to pay for my college tuition. I took college for what it was; an education to help me advance my skills and give me a leg up in the job market. So, when you’re shopping for online courses, keep that in mind. You’re educating yourself for advancement, not for immediate ROI.

Deciding to launch my own course

After taking the Facebook and Instagram ads course I grew my e-mail list enough to do a course launch. I started with Discover Teaching ESL online, a beginners course for online ESL teachers. My advanced course launches in August 2020. So what’s my advanced teacherpreneur course about?

I teach all about establishing multiple streams of income using online marketing, affiliate marketing and recruiting online teachers. But first I’m offering a FREE masterclass so you can see if this course is the right fit for you.

Now let’s get into why taking a course is an investment that leads to epic results.

REASON ONE FOR TAKING AN ONLINE COURSE: GUIDANCE

While there is a plethora of free content on the Internet, there’s no one you can have a discussion with and there’s not enough free content that provides a roadmap for exactly what you need to do.

Excellent online courses give you the blueprint you need to get from point A to B to C and so on.

Before starting my advanced course I offered my foundational course Discover Teaching ESL Online (DTO). Check out what Sarah has to say about DTO.

If you want to get a sense of what Sarah is talking about, be sure to show up for my FREE masterclass coming up soon. You’ll learn my 3 secret strategies to establishing multiple streams of income and learn how I teach so you can see if my coaching style is a good fit for you.

reason two for taking an online course: community

One of the struggles online teachers have is feeling isolated. When I took online courses I made lifelong friends. In fact, going through the pandemic without them would be so lonely. My group of friends from the online course I took in 2018 meets weekly now. First we connected through Facebook and then we met in person. Now we meet on Zoom all the time! I’m so grateful to have them because they understand online business, we lift each other up and share our business struggles, suggestions and strategies.

I want the same for people who join Level Up Teaching Online (LTO) where I will be digging into the nitty gritty of building the foundation of an online teacher business by establishing multiple streams of income.

Check out what Amarita has to say about her experience in DTO to get a sense of my how I help my course members. Amarita and Sarah will both be starting LTO with me in August and I hope you will join us.

Reason 3 For taking an online course: growth

Guidance + Community = Growth

When you have a mentor who has already been on the path you are just getting started on, that leads you to growth.

In addition, when you have a community of people beside you on a similar path it motivates you even more to keep going.

Establishing multiple streams of income and creating an online teacher business takes time, discipline, online marketing skills, and grit. There is a lot to learn, but it’s something I know you can do with the right mentor and community coupled with your own determination.

If this is you, be sure to sign up for my masterclass now. I can’t wait to see you there to teach you the 3 secrets to establishing multiple streams of income.