Can I really do it? Can I leave my classroom job to pursue a passion of mine? These are questions we have with ourselves as we think about finding a new career. We have self-doubt and question whether we have the right skills and abilities to start our own business. That’s exactly what my guest on today’s episode, Veronica Reid, thought, until she took the leap and started her own business of being an online teacher. 

Just like many of you, Veronica wanted to stay connected to education, but not be confined to the four walls of a classroom. That's why she jumped into being an online teacher, who eventually started her own online tutoring business and wrote a book about exploring your new career.

Teachers have a passion for serving and supporting others, which Veronica guarantees you can still do with a different career. She shares her advice and reflects on what she’s learned, and is on a mission to share with others who want to work as online tutors, or any other new business venture for others!

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode20

Watch our free on-demand workshop to learn more about flexible work opportunities beyond the classroom: https://www.educatorforever.com/workshop

Take our free quiz to discover your next career step: https://www.educatorforever.com/quiz

Follow us on Instagram @educatorforever.

Lily

After serving as a public school teacher for over two decades, Veronica Reid stepped out on faith to create Reach Scholars Tutoring LLC, an online tutoring business. Her vision was to not only improve the educational acumen of her students, but to also help fellow teachers utilize their skills to increase their wealth.

Lily

In addition to her entrepreneurship success, she is also the author of the highly successful book, How to Fire Your Nine to Five, she has traveled to speak at conferences, hosted online summer camps and continues to empower individuals looking to move beyond the classroom.

Lily

Welcome, Veronica, so glad to have you here with us.

Veronica

Thank you so much, Lily, I really appreciate this opportunity. Thank you for having me.

Lily

Absolutely. Well, let's start with a big question, which is to tell us about your journey as an educator.

Veronica

Definitely, definitely. Oh, my goodness. So you know, when you think about answering questions for yourself, it's like, you know what to say and then you're like, oh, my gosh, you know, what are all these things that I want to share, because there's just so much. But just to kind of share a little bit about a journey about myself.

Veronica

I started off as a reading teacher and a reading specialist. And I worked in Prince William County Schools as a reading teacher. And that's located in Virginia. So I worked there for about five years, then I went to Fairfax County Public Schools.

Veronica

And from there, I had a variety of different jobs and opportunities where I worked as a first grade teacher in the classroom, I worked as an ESL teacher, I also worked as a fourth grade teacher. So I've had a variety of different jobs, I even had an opportunity to work as a specialist with reading. So I have been working in the US public school systems for the past 19 years.

Veronica

So I really put in a lot of time and a lot of work into it. And I've just done a variety of things in education. And I've had an opportunity to work with just a variety of students, whether they were gifted or ESOL, special ed, it's just been a great opportunity to be able to work and serve and help students in such a variety of different ways.

Lily

Yes, I love that. And I want to hear a little bit more about what made you leave the classroom and kind of what you're doing now.

Veronica

Definitely, definitely. So what made me leave the classroom was I had gotten to a point after about 19 years, where I really experienced teacher burnout. And I was in a school that was just not it had low morale, for the principal that we had at the time, she was not very supportive of her teachers. And it just became a toxic environment in this particular school that I was in.

Veronica

And this was before the pandemic happened, and that the particular school that we were in, we had a very high turnover rate every year teachers would just leave, and we would get a new crop of teachers. And it just, it just became very stressful.

Veronica

I started feeling some feelings where I would have as teachers call the Sunday night blues, where I was just not really wanting to go into work the next day, and there were points during that time, where I just felt like oh my gosh, you know, this is just, I just felt like crying at times, because it was such a stressful situation that I was in.

Veronica

And it made me realize, Okay, do I want to continue in my education, you know, career this way? And I realized, no, this isn't really good for me, because at a point I was, you know, putting giving so much to that particular work situation, that it was affecting my health and things like that, in terms of me just not getting enough sleep, doing things that I need to do to take care of myself. So it was it was just time for me to move out of that situation.

Lily

Yes, I absolutely relate to that. And I think so many teachers can. And I think for many of us, it does get to a point where it's like, I don't know, like we have these these feelings for a while, like I'm not sure if this is sustainable. Like I don't know if I can do this forever.

Lily

And then often it is like when it starts affecting our health, which unfortunately happens to so many of us, right, like then, like, sirens, like we gotta move on. Right? Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. It's so hard, though. I mean, I think it's so hard, especially for teachers who are always you know, helping other people and putting other people before them and all the things to really put your needs first.

Lily

It's something that teachers aren't used to. So I think when we have things that aren't working for us, we feel guilty and like, we feel like we're doing something wrong. And like, all these things that none are true.

Veronica

Yes, all those feelings were feelings that I felt because I felt like oh my gosh, you know, I need to be here for the students. And, and this needs to happen. And I need to be there for that. But you do, it gets to that point where you're just like, Okay, I can't, I can't give all of myself I'm not gonna have anything for my family. And you know, so I had to make that decision.

Lily

Yes, and it's like, not a good model for kids too, right? We are so burned out and exhausted, and all the things like, I really do think it's a good model to show kids to tune into what you need, you know, and to create different pathways for ourselves outside of the classroom.

Lily

And I challenge everybody to who might be in a similar boat, I think sometimes we can get very into just what we know, right of being like, Hey, this is my only way to help students is my only way to be an educator.

Lily

But what if it was it right, like, and I know, for you going into the next chapter, like you're still working with, you've still worked with students, you're working with teachers, you're still working in education. So I'm curious about how you find yourself, you know, making an impact in education now.

Veronica

Veronica

Veronica

So from that point on, I was like, okay, you know, now I can really start working with helping others by helping them in a different way, helping them with their reading skills, improving their reading, because reading is so important for children, especially in the primary grades.

Veronica

And I said, I know that a lot of children need a lot of help. And so this would be another way for me to still teach but not be confined into the four walls of the classroom.

Lily

Yes, I love that. And I love how you drew upon your experience, too, as a reading specialist, and really kind of leaned into that as being an area. And then were all of your classes online?

Veronica

Yes, yes. So currently, right now all of my classes are online. So I work with small groups, or I work with students one to one. And I have a variety of students throughout the country. But I've met I've worked with a lot of different students out of the country as well. But yes, primarily they're online.

Lily

Awesome. And how did you start finding students? I know often people who are just beginning their journey outside of the classroom, maybe you want to do a similar thing. It can be hard to think about how do I fill my classes?

Veronica

Yes, definitely, definitely an I know that that is such a tricky thing when people are kind of looking into this whole thing of online tutoring. So for me, when I really started, once I kind of got out of the classroom, I started the ESL route, where I was working with a variety of students from different countries doing online ESL.

Veronica

Veronica

Veronica

And they had like different rules for that and reasons. So you know, a lot of those ESL companies closed down. So what that meant for teachers like myself was we had to pivot and think of okay, well what other ways can we reach out to get other students to still support you know, and make the difference?

Veronica

For me, I looked into different opportunities, like I saw different platforms that could really help me I looked into why Zana is like a platform where you can kind of advertise your services there. And then a major one that was really skyrocketing was in still is out school, where I did a lot of my group classes on our school on that platform.

Veronica

And so that became like, almost like a full time job for me because that was such a main portion of the income that was replacing the ESL income, and I was able to really support lots of students in that way by working with students, one to one, groups. But also, I wanted to still work with some students through my own platform as well.

Veronica

So I was able to still get some students through Zant. And also, I had joined this other platform called Getstoria, where I was able to use my own landing page, to be able to communicate with parents on social media, to be able to get them to sign up for my one to one classes.

Veronica

So you know, I did kind of a variety of different things. I even would go to different events, and I would create flyers. And this works really well during the summertime because there's always like different outskirt outside events with children and parents. So I would pass out flyers, and I've gotten students that way as well.

Veronica

And then also, one of the things that I did was just let my former co workers know, hey, I am a tutoring business. And if you are looking for somebody that's really going to support your children, especially during the summer or even throughout the school year, you know, let them know. And you know, let them know about my business.

Veronica

And they were really great about that I was able to get some students that way. In fact, I have a close friend of mine, who's a principal with Fairfax County school she had given me passed on a student to me, and I've been working with him. And so you know, I just tried a variety of different ways to reach out to be able to fill my classes.

Lily

Yes, I love that. And I love hearing about how you tried all the different things like I've exercised when we think about online teaching or online tutoring. Like there are so many different options from working with students overseas to working with existing companies to doing out school to starting your own. And you tried it all

Veronica

I did, I really did.

Lily

And do you have any guidance for folks who are like, I don't know which one to start with? Like, do you suggest that people start with an existing company or something like out school, or go directly to finding their own clients and working directly with them?

Veronica

Right. And I would say, for people who would want to start their own online tutoring business, you want to think about, you know, just a couple of things. Think about what is your passion when you're thinking about teaching? What is something that really you love to teach when you're working with students in general?

Veronica

Then think about, you know, basically, what do you want to charge? And, you know, basically, what platform do you want to use to be able to accept payment? That's always important too.

Veronica

Then the next thing is, you know, do you want to work independently? Or do you want to work through a platform such as out school, and there are pros and cons to that. So like, for example, if you're working on out school, the pro to that is that they can advertise your classes to a wider variety of parents throughout different places in the world.

Veronica

But the con to that is also that, you know, whatever your rate is, they take 30% of that. So that's something you want to keep in mind, too, when you're thinking about going on a platform such as out school.

Veronica

Or if you want to work independently, you can do that as well, the pro is that you can set your own rates, and then you know, the money that you make is what you keep with the exception of perhaps maybe the credit card company that you use, like there's always a processing fee, or they'll take a little bit out of your money, right. So but you can set your own prices, so you can kind of sort of work that out.

Veronica

But then the con to that is that you may not necessarily really be able to reach as many people and you have to do your own advertising, you know, so there's like some tricks to that. So there's some pros and cons to that. So those are some things that I would say.

Veronica

You know, keep that in mind when you're thinking about basically wanting to teach online, and, you know, follow those steps. And it doesn't happen overnight. It does take some time. But you know, as you keep at it, and as you keep doing these things, you are going to build your clients.

Lily

Yes, I love that. And I love too but you don't have to choose just one right? Like you could work on a platform, have a couple of classes on out school and also a few tutoring clients that you work with on your own, and kind of feel it out through taking action and trying different things.

Veronica

Definitely Most definitely.

Lily

Great, awesome. Well, I know part of your business now also is supporting teachers who want to work in online tutoring. Can you tell us about that?

Veronica

Most definitely. So what I have is basically a four step method to helping teachers to be able to, you know, if you want to be able to create a successful business, you can do that through my four step method where it's teaching you step by step, what you need to do to be able to start your business and be successful at it.

Veronica

But it also is going to save you time because as teachers, you know, there's always something you got to do but the time is so important that you want to save that most importantly, so that is definitely something that I will be you know that I encourage for people who you know, want to learn more about how I can work with you and help you I have a great freebie. That's an on line tools checklist.

Veronica

And through that link, you can sign up for, you know, just learning about the tools that will get you started so that you can learn what you need in order to get started right away. Because that's the thing, you know, when you're in this, when you want to go into this kind of business, you think, Okay, well, you know, what do I do? Where do I go?

Veronica

And it takes a while. But if you have somebody like myself, to kind of help you to guide you through that you don't have to spend so much time trying to figure out what what do I need? So if you sign up for those tools, my freebie, you can be able to learn more about my upcoming course to help you with this.

Veronica

And also, I also provide weekly or monthly newsletters just to kind of talk to those who might need some more advice, some coaching. Because sometimes a lot of times we may feel like, can I really do this as a teacher? You know, we may have what's called impostor syndrome, where you feel like even though I have all of these skills, and I have acquired, and I've learned so much, and I've been able to help with the students in my own classroom, can I really do that outside of the classroom?

Veronica

And the answer is yes. But you know, sometimes you need somebody to help you to guide you with that. And so if you sign up for that, I can definitely help you with that and give you information about my upcoming course as well.

Lily

Yay, yes, absolutely. We'll put the links for sure in the show notes too, so everybody can grab that as if they're interested. And I completely agree that people should learn from folks who have gone before them, you know, figure things out, and that you don't have to figure everything out on your own.

Lily

It really can be something where you can learn from the right people, you know, people who have done things that you want to do and really learn from them. So I love how you're making your learning available to other teachers who might be able to benefit from that.

Lily

Awesome, thank you. Yeah, definitely. And I know you've also written a book, can you talk to us about the book and just kind of the process of why you wrote it and how it went writing it?

Veronica

Most definitely. So I had always wanted to be a writer, you know, I've always wanted to write a book. And I used to would write different scripts and plays at my church. And so I've always had like a variety of different ideas that I wanted to share, through just writing and in media in some way.

Veronica

Veronica

And I want you to just go out there, I'm doing it too. So I said, why not? You know. And so that's how I was able to get started with the journey of writing my book. And so for me, once I got started, it, you know, was a great opportunity for me to think about, okay, well, you know, what, what can I help people with? And so that's where I came with the concept of writing my story.

Veronica

And the book is called How to Fire Your 9 to 5: 10 Steps to Break Free and Work on Your Own Terms. And in the story, I basically kind of share my story of, you know, my educational journey, what I did to get out of the classroom, you know, and you know what challenges you may face if you're ready to do this, and how to get started on your own passion, and get started with your own entrepreneurial endeavors.

Veronica

And so this book is also it's great for teachers to read, you know, you can purchase it on my website. But it's also great for other people as well, who may be in a different industry. A person who had bought my book last year, he's actually a government contractor, he had gone through a layoff. And so he purchased my book, and he started his own business as a government contractor.

Veronica

And so he told me, he has since gotten a new job, but this time, he's able to work the business through his own business as well. So he was able to still use what he learned from the book to create his own business, and be able to, you know, work in the field of a government contracting agency as well. So, so that let me know that even if you're not in education, the book can still help you.

Veronica

But I just wanted to let people know that if you're in a situation such as mine, where you may feel you in a toxic work environment, and you're ready to move forward with your goals and pursuing them that you can and this book can help you to do that.

Lily

Yes, I love that. And I think just the idea that it's possible right at that I think I talked to so many teachers where it's like, with so ingrained in us right or if you've been thinking about that you'll be a teacher until you retire, which is what I thought you know, when I started teaching that I'd be teaching till I retired.

Lily

And so it's just hard sometimes to see another reality and people are always you know, coming to me like but what about my pension or like what am I all these things right, which are real and good benefits, but also things you can recreate. Like you could go start doing this and make away more and save for retirement way more, you know, like there are other ways to achieve your goalss or whatever you're looking for.

Lily

So I think that's all about not getting stuck on one way of seeing things. And I love that your book, you know, helps people see the possibilities out there.

Veronica

Yes, yes, most definitely. And I totally agree with you about that. Thank you so much.

Lily

Absolutely. So thinking about your journey of going from a classroom teacher to starting a business, can you reflect on some of the things that you've learned?

Veronica

Oh, yes, definitely. So some of the things that I have learned is that, you know, when you're going through this process, you know, everybody kind of has that feeling of, can I really do it? You know, even though I've learned all of these skills, you know, can I really start my own business?

Veronica

And so I learned that you can really do it, you know, you just have to, you know, if you need somebody to guide you with that, you know, get the guidance that you need, but you can definitely start your own business.

Veronica

Veronica

You know and I feel like, you know, whatever you're creating, are you able to serve other people, you know, I feel like, that's what's most important, because the money will come. But what you're doing is creating opportunities to serve others and to help others. And, you know, I realized that I can still do that, even though I was doing that in the classroom, I can still do that outside of the classroom as well.

Veronica

So I learned that I also learned during this journey, that I am an author, I can write a book. And, you know, that was another milestone in life that I was able to achieve. And I was just so thankful, thankful to God basically, for that opportunity to be able to put that out there. And it's another way to serve people as well to help them because, you know, once you write a book, it's forever, people can always purchase it.

Veronica

But it's also has some meaning and significance in helping. So you know, just those are some things that I learned, and I'm always learning. That's one thing, as an educator, I'm always growing, you know, what's the best way to do ABC, you know, this, like, my mother would always say, there's like, more than one way to skin a cat.

Veronica

And there really is, you know, as an entrepreneur, there's more than one way to solve a problem. You know, one door is closed, you know, find another way to open it in a different way. So if you are ready to step out of your comfort zone and to try something new, you can do it.

Lily

Yes, absolutely. I love all of those. I mean, I think as teachers, we're experts in learning, right? So yes, things to learn. We're never going to know everything about anything, right? So, yes, getting into that growth mindset and getting that motivation that we can figure things out. And it might not be easy, but we can do it.

Lily

I love too how you said that businesses is about relationships, you know, forming a business really is it's about helping people. It's about building relationships. It's about solving problems. And I think that as teachers, we're so good at all those things. Like we do all those things all the time.

Veronica

Exactly, it's true. We do all those things, and we don't even realize it. And then so when you really think of it like oh, wow, yeah, really? Okay, I can do this.

Lily

Absolutely. That's great. And for anybody thinking about, you know, maybe that they're in your same spot, as you were, you know, several years ago, being a burnout classroom teacher and just feeling like, I'm not sure if I want to take that leap. But do you have any advice for them?

Veronica

I would say, you know, think about, you know, what are some things that you enjoy about teaching? What's your passion, you know, kind of go from there, you know, you want to make sure that you let other people know that you started a business, once you've kind of figured out, you know, what your niche is.

Veronica

You know, you've figured out how you want to receive your payment, what you're charging. After you've done those things. You want to figure out what platform do you want to be able to use, whether you want to go independently, or if you want to do a platform like outschool.

Veronica

And then after you've done those things, you know, get the word out about what you're doing. And you can do all of these things while you're in the classroom. Because you can sort of start these things as you are transitioning, you know, and there's different platforms. And I talked about this in my course, as well.

Veronica

There's other different platforms than just out school, where you can go on and you can get on and you can just start using those while you're in the classroom so that as you're gradually making your transition and your exit, you know, you're already starting things, which is sometimes another way is another option as well.

Veronica

You know, and if you feel like you know what, I just want to do a side hustle that makes extra money, you can still follow these steps as well because they're going to get you to the same goal where you're wanting to make extra money and becoming a business owner.

Lily

Yes. Absolutely, that's kind of how I started with curriculum design when I was a classroom teacher doing some projects on the side. And that was great, because it was like validation that there are projects out there, I could make some extra money. I wasn't necessarily thinking at least consciously about leaving the classroom at that point.

Lily

But even though it was something extra, it actually made me feel kind of revitalized as a teacher. Yeah, unexpected, but it was just using my skills in a different way figuring out this other world. And then when it came time to make that transition, you know, having some context already lined up to be able to make that jump. So I love that advice.

Lily

I also love how you said, you have to tell people that you've started a business. Yes. Oh, scary. You're in the beginning stages of like, oh, maybe doing this thing. You know, maybe you want to connect with me about tutoring, or whatever it is, you know, it can feel really scary to do that.

Lily

And that's a big, just like being visible, being imperfect in your visibility, but like tell people that you're doing this thing, or even that you're thinking about doing that thing.

Veronica

Yes, yes, I think and it really makes a difference. I know, for myself, I was able to get some clients just by letting them know. And you know, even if you are sometimes even if you're posting things on social media, the people who are following you, they may not still know, you know, they may be on a different times when you're on.

Veronica

So letting them know, it's kind of like, Oh, I didn't know you were doing that. Okay, thank you for telling me, you know, so you just never know what people know until you tell them.

Lily

Absolutely. And it's a skill of just getting comfortable with that too, getting comfortable putting yourself out there, connecting with people in this new way, selling things like all of that it's normal to feel kind of nervous about it when you start it, but it's totally a learnable skill.

Veronica

Yes, definitely. I agree with that.

Lily

Well, thank you so much for sharing all about your journey with us. And I'll definitely put the links to where folks can connect with you. But can you tell people if they want to connect where they can find you?

Veronica

Most definitely, most definitely. I am actually on Instagram @reachscholarstutoringllc. So you can connect with me there. I also have my link for the free tools checklist where you can sign up to learn more about you know how to get started becoming an online tutor. And then that way you can get even more information about my upcoming course the online tutor Institute.

Lily

Wonderful. Well, thank you again. It's been such a pleasure talking with you.

Veronica

Thank you. You too, Lily. Thank you.