Episode Transcription

38: From Teacher to Business Owner: A Journey of Freedom and Flexibility

0:00:04 - (Kirsty): Hello, lovely lady. Welcome to classroom to business, the podcast designed specifically for teachers working to become successful businesswomen and creating financial freedom and lifestyle flexibility. I'm Kirsty Gibbs, business coach and mentor for educators and teachers just like you who are ready to step away from the classroom and create something more. The Classroom to Business podcast is committed to helping you grow your business, break down those barriers to success and replace your teaching salary without having to work more hours.

0:00:36 - (Kirsty): It's time for you to find freedom and start being your own boss so you can once again enjoy what you do and wake up each morning loving life.

0:00:45 - (Kirsty): Let's get into it. In today's episode, I have got a special guest joining me. Here she is as she stands up with me, my littlest big girl, Imogen, otherwise known as Imi. She is jumping on today to interview me. This is her first ever podcast experience, but I know she's going to smash it. So she's prepared some questions that she is going to ask me. So, Amy, do you want to say hello to everybody first?

0:01:23 - (Kirsty): Hi. And do you want to tell everybody maybe a little bit about yourself, maybe how old you are, some of the things that you like to do?

0:01:33 - (Imogen): I'm nine. I like playing with my dog, surfing and touch and horse riding.

0:01:45 - (Kirsty): And you've got some questions for me today. Do you want to start with your first one?

0:01:51 - (Imogen): Okay. What made you want to be a teacher?

0:01:57 - (Kirsty): That's a good question. Okay. So I think I always wanted to be a teacher. I think ever since I was little, I loved babysitting other kids and playing with other little kids and looking after babies and, you know, anyone younger than me and obviously, you know, Nanny, my mom was a teacher and is just something that I kind of just naturally came to me, I guess. But actually when I went to university, I didn't study teaching to begin with. I was doing sport and exercise science and business, and the business side of the degree was so boring that I dropped out of it, which is quite ironic because now I to run businesses and help other people with business. But it just was a very dull course, I guess. And so I swapped out business and put in education. So I ended up doing a double degree of sport and exercise science and education.

0:03:05 - (Kirsty): And so, yeah, I became a teacher and it's been a great career, I guess, or short career, but a great career that helped me to travel the world and meet lots of people. So, yeah, I think just it was something that I was always, you know, instinctively drawn to and made me happy helping kids and figuring out what made them tick.

0:03:34 - (Imogen): What did you like about teaching?

0:03:38 - (Kirsty): I liked going to school every day and having 25 little friends. So, you know, if you're teaching preppies, then you've got funny things that they say and these cute little faces and you're teaching them to read, you know, all of these really magic moments and times in their lives and you can just see the little like flick, switch, switch, flick and where they just get it. I love that. But then I also loved working, you know, in high school or upper primary where you can kind of have a bit of banter and joke around with the kids and you can just sort of enjoy a little bit more of their personality on a different level. So I really like that.

0:04:24 - (Kirsty): But I also really enjoyed getting to know the background of the children who other teachers potentially had written off or thought were too hard basket or just labeled them as naughty. I really liked getting to know those kids and figuring out how I could get through to them and how I could make school fun and engaging. So yeah, there's some of the things that I probably really loved about being a teacher.

0:04:52 - (Imogen): What didn't you like about teaching?

0:04:56 - (Kirsty): If I'm being honest, I did not like the extra admin work that we had to do. I, I didn't like. Um, this is one thing I didn't like moderating. And a lot of you will know that. Um, I didn't love writing report cards and it's nothing about the kids. I loved working with the kids and I loved giving feedback. But actually writing reports was quite painstaking and sort of takes a long time and drags out.

0:05:29 - (Kirsty): I didn't always love marking, especially in the upper age groups where you're marking things that can be quite long, but I guess all of those things are helpful. As a teacher, you want that insight, but they were probably things that I really didn't enjoy.

0:05:53 - (Imogen): Why did you stop being a teacher?

0:05:57 - (Kirsty): Well, I guess when I started my tutoring business, I didn't see myself as stopping being a teacher. I just saw that I was taking the teaching out of the school and just putting it into my own business. So I was able to take the part of teaching that I loved, which was connecting with kids and getting to know them and helping them and then do that on my own terms. So it wasn't specifically that I had had enough of teaching or I hated it.

0:06:30 - (Kirsty): I just felt that there was something more that I wanted to do and I wanted to be able to help those kids still, but in a way that I felt was more efficient but also kind of on my own terms. I wanted to be able to have time off when I wanted and go on holidays when I wanted and those sorts of things.

0:06:54 - (Imogen): So, yeah, what made you start a tutoring business?

0:07:01 - (Kirsty): So I guess I kind of just answered some of that then. But like I said, I loved teaching and I could see the potential for me to make money that way and for me to continue to help kids that way. So it really sort of filled that void that I had when I was working in the classroom. It enabled me to teach the way that I wanted to teach and it meant that I didn't have to do all of the extra things that were required of me. And by the way, I was working at a beautiful school with an amazing principal and lovely staff and lovely family, so I didn't have any bad experiences there. It really stemmed more from inside of me just wanting to do something more, something beyond the classroom.

0:07:52 - (Imogen): Why was it hard to start a tutoring business?

0:07:58 - (Kirsty): Well, for me, I don't think it was hard. I just took a leap of faith. I just decided that this is what I wanted to do and I went all in. So I actually did leave my full time teaching job. I went back and did a couple of contracts because I have a very convincing, or had a very convincing principle. But I think for me, I just knew that this is what I wanted to do and so I was going to make it work. I think one of the hard things was the setup costs initially, because I wanted to go all in and I wanted to create this amazing space in the center and get interactive whiteboards and the latest sort of technology.

0:08:44 - (Kirsty): And that literally was the latest tech. Back in the day, I wanted to have an amazing website and logo and branding that really stood out. So I invested a lot of money for that. So probably the hardest thing was that upfront capital, so that upfront money that I needed to actually set everything up. But in saying that you don't need that you don't need a lot of money, you can definitely start a tutoring business with minimal funds and you don't have to have all of the bells and whistles like I did.

0:09:23 - (Imogen): What did you love about having a tutoring business?

0:09:29 - (Kirsty): I loved that I didn't have to write report cards. I loved that I had control. And I know that kind of sounds like I'm a control freak and maybe there's a part of me that is, but I loved that I'd created something that was. That was mine. And, you know, when things went well, they. It was because of the work that I'd done, and I felt, I guess, maybe a little more appreciated or acknowledged for what I was doing as well.

0:10:07 - (Kirsty): I loved the flexibility and freedom to be able to take time off when I wanted, employee, staff if I needed, choose the right staff, choose who I wanted to work with, set the space up the way I wanted to. Like I said before, teach, you know, using certain programs or approaches that aligned with me and the way that I believed we should be teaching kids. So, yeah, there was lots of. Lots of reasons.

0:10:32 - (Imogen): Why do you help other people to start their own businesses?

0:10:39 - (Kirsty): Because I think I feel so blessed that I had that opportunity and that my tutoring business has served me so well for so long. I want other people to have that same experience. I love business. I love talking to people about their businesses. I love hearing where they're at. I love problem solving and troubleshooting. I love helping people, you know, come up with new and exciting ideas. I love showing them the steps it takes to get there.

0:11:07 - (Kirsty): So for me, it's something that sort of just evolved over time. And now, obviously, it's something that I do full time, obviously, around being a mum and a full time taxi driver and all of those things, but it's something that I'm just really, really passionate about. And if. If I can help other ladies create that flexibility and freedom in their own lives while still having the income that they had when they were teaching, if not more, then that lights me up. That makes me really fulfilled and happy, knowing that somebody else is benefiting from the things that I've learned along the way.

0:11:54 - (Imogen): Thank you.

0:11:56 - (Kirsty): Thank you guys for listening. Thank you, Emmy, for coming on today to ask me some questions. How was that? How did that go?

0:12:05 - (Imogen): Good.

0:12:06 - (Kirsty): Good. Emmy can be a lady of a few words. Is there anything that you want to sort of say to wrap up, or do you think one day you might like to own a business?

0:12:17 - (Imogen): Or maybe.

0:12:18 - (Kirsty): Maybe. We have had this discussion before. Immy's, you know, she's holding back here, but tell us what sort of business you've thought that you might want to have one day. She's gone shy.

0:12:37 - (Imogen): A vet.

0:12:39 - (Kirsty): A vet. So she's. She would like to be a vet one day. And then we were having discussions about things, and I said, oh, you could own a vet. And she looked at me, I said, well, the thing is, babe, if you own the vet, then that means you can bring staff on and you can go on holidays, and your staff can continue to make money while you go on. She's like, oh, yep, I'm going to own a vet. It was pretty cute and exciting just to see that little moment of like thinking outside the box. I don't have to be the worker like, yes, we want to be working and we want to be doing all those things, but also I don't have to be the only person working hard to make that money. So anyways, thank you Emmy so much for coming and asking questions.

0:13:22 - (Imogen): You're welcome.

0:13:24 - (Kirsty): And we might see some more of our little holiday interviewing guests as time goes on. Hope you enjoyed the episode. Bye.

0:13:36 - (Kirsty): If you enjoyed this episode today, I would absolutely love for you to leave a review. It only takes a minute and if you haven't yet subscribed while, make sure you do to ensure that you never miss an episode. Finally, if you want to know more about what we do, head over to the website kirstygibbs.com or check out the.

0:13:56 - (Kirsty): Link in the show notes below.

0:13:58 - (Kirsty): Thanks for listening. It's so great to have you here.