Many teachers take on side jobs to supplement their income, but with hard work, you can develop your side hustle into a growing business. That’s exactly what my guest, Samantha Baldwin, did. Samantha was a teacher looking to make extra money when she used her skills to pave a new path. On today’s episode, she’s sharing how she went from being a teacher to starting an education business using Educator Forever’s business courses.

Being a teacher is usually a passion for most, but many people have other passions as well. Samantha decided to join two passions and skills that began her starting an education business. She discusses how her skills acquired by teaching were an asset to begin working in other fields that eventually led to her business Joy of the Teach. Just like Samantha’s advice to those wanting to do the same, don’t be afraid to be uncomfortable! That can ultimately lead you to starting your own business.

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode37

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

Samantha Baldwin has been the teacher in both private and public schools for eight years teaching grades two through five. As she began creating content for her own classroom, her passion began to grow and curriculum design.

Lily

During this time, she also began tutoring students privately. And soon her passion for education open to a new path. And she is now creating a tutoring and curriculum design business called Joy of the Teach.

Lily

Hi, Samantha, so nice to have you on the podcast.

Samantha

Thank you so much. I'm glad to be here.

Lily

Yay. Me too. Well, if you can start us off by telling us about your journey as an educator.

Samantha

Yeah, definitely. So although I always wanted to be an education, I actually started out in business. And I worked as Director of Sales and Marketing for one company and human resources for a major retailer. And then I finally decided to pursue what I really wanted to do, which was becoming a teacher.

Samantha

And I taught at a private Christian school while I was completing my Master in Education. And then I was able to immediately get a job in public school, where I started working as a fifth grade teacher. And that's where I am now and just finished my eighth year as a teacher here.

Lily

Wonderful. And I'm so curious, I love career changers. Just thinking about like, what made you pivot from that first step of being in business to then deciding that you wanted to be a teacher? Like, did you always know that you wanted to be a teacher or did something kind of change?

Samantha

Actually, I used to play play school, even when I was a kindergartener, you know, so, I definitely knew I always wanted to be a teacher, I think it was just one of those things where life and honestly, you know, fears, things like that of the unknown, just kind of got in the way.

Samantha

And then life just kind of takes on its own, you know, takes takes on its own thing. And so I was eventually finally got around to where I really wanted to go. I just took a little bit of a detour to get there.

Lily

Yes, and I'm all about normalizing detours. Absolutely. Often, like snap our fingers and get to where we want to be. You don't even know where you want to be until going through the detour.

Samantha

Yeah, you're exactly right. Yeah, yeah, definitely.

Lily

When you have that feeling of maybe I want to do something else. Like, you owe it to yourself to at least explore it.

Samantha

Yeah. Yeah. And I'm really glad that I did, of course, because you know, now I'm where I knew that it was always meant to be and absolutely love it, so.

Lily

Yay. Yeah. So you're a classroom teacher, and you are also doing some work outside of the classroom, kind of, how did you get started with that? Or what was your thinking about moving beyond the classroom?

Samantha

Yeah, so one of the main things that really got the ball rolling, and I'm sure as educators we can all relate to this was just that need for supplemental income.

Samantha

And as a single mom of three, I really needed to do something that was both flexible, but ideally related to education since that's where I knew that, you know, my true love was so I just, you know, gravitated toward anything that would be educational education related.

Lily

Yes, absolutely. I mean, totally real. Also, how I started outside of the classroom, just being like, this is not cutting it.

Samantha

Now, it's so relatable, ever. Same exact problem, I think.

Lily

Yeah, absolutely. I was like, I wish that I could change everybody salaries, right. Like, I wish that we could make huge progress on teacher salaries being you know what they should be. But while we work on that, you know, the reality is that we have bills and families and things we want to do.

Lily

And so often, doing some work outside can allow us, hopefully, to do something fun, too. But often the reality is like just to pay our bills, or get to where we need to be. So totally been there.

Samantha

Nobody ever gotten education for the money. So you know.

Lily

Totally, but also, I think it's like you can make money doing things outside of the classroom in education, too. So that's kind of a plus, of being able to explore outside of the classroom. So can you tell us a little bit more about what types of work you've done?

Samantha

Yes, like I said, when I first began looking just for the extra income, I started tutoring students, and first it was just one and they really quickly got to five, just through your basic referrals and things like that. So now while I was doing this, of course, I was still doing just other jobs outside of education.

Samantha

You know, anything that would offer me that flexibility that I needed, but I also have always loved creating curriculum as well. So I was creating materials but not anything major at the time, because I wasn't quite sure how to scale it into something that could be profitable.

Samantha

And then about a year or so ago, when I was sitting in just scrolling Facebook, I came across Educator Forever's Beyond the Classroom course, completed that and then soon was able to complete the curriculum development course and get certified. So that kind of gave me that training that I needed, that one little piece that was missing, to be able to add to incorporate that into what I was doing.

Samantha

So then slowly started working on projects, like a startup ed tech company, doing curriculum design for that, and just starting to grow my own business. So it's been a really interesting journey.

Lily

Yes, it's been such a joy seeing you evolve and try new things and get clear on what you want to do. And I've loved seeing it from the outside, you know, have you been like, Oh, I'm trying curriculum design. And I'm like, Oh, I actually really also love graphic design.

Lily

Or I'm tutoring. Oh, maybe Samantha, you're building a business too. So yeah, I love that. So tell us a little bit more. I know, you said you started with tutoring students. But now you are building a business. It's really awesome to, to see and be a part of. So tell us a little bit about the business you're building.

Samantha

Samantha

And at the same time, I know we've all seen the gap in education that is that has been created too by the pandemic. And it really just presented an even greater need to help remediate those students in their math and reading skills.

Samantha

So here are three years later, I finally able to put my two great loves together and create Joy of the Teach tutoring services and curriculum design. So my goal for this is to provide affordable virtual or in person tutoring services to Virginia students that are in grades two through six. And I do I hope to expand that age category as my company grows.

Samantha

But I also love that I can still create that really fun, engaging curriculum and activities that teachers or parents can use to help their students be successful and hopefully, do a little bit to close that gap that we're that we're seeing.

Lily

Yes, I love it, it kind of goes back to what we said at the beginning, like following the path, right? That sometimes you don't know, right? Like, even if you're like, hey, I want to do something outside of the classroom, you might not have known, like, Hey, I'm gonna put together these two things. Because along the way, you were like, alright, I love curriculum. And hey, I'm doing this tutoring and like, really enjoy that. So let's put it together.

Lily

So I think that's a great example of just kind of trusting the process. Also, I don't know, it's hard sometimes to like, have the in the moment, like, Alright, I'm getting another person into my tutoring or whatever it is. And also the big picture, like, I found that challenging running a business of like, having the time and mental space to like, step back and think about like, alright, well, how do these things fit together?

Lily

Like, for a while, I was doing Educator Forever, and also curriculum on my own and always felt separate, which, like, now feels silly to even say that I always felt like two separate things where I was like, Oh, I have two different things that I do. When I like, allowed myself time to, like, really think about I was like, oh, no, they're all connected.

Lily

And really, we can connect the more, you know, like having our curriculum agency and also having the curriculum program and that that's kind of the bridge between, right, I think that again, like I just needed the time, right, like to be able to like go through the process. And then also that push to think bigger about things.

Samantha

Yeah, definitely. Yeah, it's, like, just been a really fun learning experience, I think really, too, because I would have never thought that, oh, both are actually possible. And they're kind of, you know, you can kind of serve two different communities with the same thing, you know.

Samantha

Because like, you know, the curriculum that's being created is usually is being used to tutor and also, hey, if you want to use this in your classrooms, or, you know, if your student needs a little bit of extra help to remediate in this area, you know, by all means, go ahead and use that too. So it really does help to be able to keep all of that in there. And of course, incorporating my graphic design thing.

Lily

Yes, I love it. Yeah, I mean, the possibilities are endless, right, like have tutoring students that you give some, like extra work to, or, you know, cast some curriculum out on the tutoring students and then sell it to a larger audience. Like I think it works really lovely together.

Samantha

Yeah, definitely.

Lily

Yeah, that's great. Awesome. Well, I know that moving beyond the classroom is exciting and also can feel challenging. And I know for me, you know, a lot of like, fear came up and just like, how do I even do this thing? And I'm wondering, just reflecting personally on your explorations, beyond the classroom, what you've learned about yourself.

Samantha

Well, yeah, like, as I kind of mentioned about just having a lot of fear and apprehension, really of just like not knowing, when I first started just an education in general, which is what caused me to take all those other side roads to get where I am.

Samantha

I think I've kind of finally gotten to where I'm like, Okay, it's time to just face that. And you can still do something and just do it scared, that's okay. There's something here for 10-20 years, and then look back and say, I wish I had, right. So just jumping in, you know, I just, I think I've just gained a lot of that confidence in my skills and abilities as an educator, and really just been able to hone in on what I feel was most important education.

Samantha

And I really think that that was one of the biggest things that I gained from, from this experience so far. And, you know, just having the training to be able to make a meaningful impact and to know that I have that ability to do it.

Lily

Absolutely. I mean, I think both those are, so are all of those are so important. That confidence piece, I mean, teachers are told all the time that we don't, we can't be in charge of decisions, or we don't know enough, you know, whether implicitly or explicitly, we're not the decision makers in schools, usually.

Lily

So I think internalizing that, that teachers are really actually education experts and know better than anybody else about what works in the classroom.

Samantha

Oh, yeah, it's like, I mean, we're right there front and center every day, right here in the trenches, you know, and we do have a lot of value to add.

Lily

Absolutely, and realizing that and that, yeah, and there are skills, like you said, like, there are also skills that you need to learn or things you need to learn moving outside of the classroom that are different. And that's okay. Because guess what, you can learn them.

Samantha

If you were totally leaving the classroom, you would have to learn a totally different set of skills. But you know, like, we're not really we're expanding on what we already know. So it's exactly easier in a way, you know?

Lily

Absolutely. And we are teachers, you know, we're experts in learning. So if you're like, hey, you know, I really want to do coaching or something like that, like, you can learn those skills to be able to connect your experience. So yeah, really thinking of leaning into that. And I love that like doing it scared, because I think the fear doesn't go away. And you can't just wait for it.

Samantha

You're gonna use it the right way. That's, that's really the key.

Lily

Totally. Yeah. It's like fear is also a possibility, like that feeling of just like, I'm scared because you don't you don't know, right? Or because you care about it. And that's like, I think we should do the things we care about.

Lily

And even if we can't control all the outcomes, it's like getting used to doing it scared and congratulating yourself, or like feeling proud of those moments of doing it scared, I think is really the key to success.

Samantha

Yeah, that's exactly right. Yeah.

Lily

Awesome. So thinking about other people, you know, who are teachers and want to move beyond the classroom, is there any advice that you would give them?

Samantha

Yeah, so I would say, you know, right along the lines of what we were just talking about, you know, first of all, just know 100%, you are absolutely not just a teacher, we've got to step forward. And that means out of that mentality, we really have to wear educational experts.

Samantha

So we've got value to add. We've got transferable skills, we're data analysts, we're managers, we have impeccable organizational skills, we are highly detail oriented. I mean, those are all the things that you see on just about every single job application you could possibly find no matter what it is, whether education or not.

Samantha

And this world really, truly needs phenomenal teachers inside the classroom and out. Because as you said, We're educational experts, and we're learning experts, we have the ability to acquire whatever we need to be successful.

Samantha

So I would just say, Don't be afraid, don't let your fear hold you back from just trying it. You know, put yourself out there apply for that job and curriculum writing or editing or wherever it is that your passion is, and definitely networking, just talking.

Samantha

Talk about your professional accomplishments, talk about your hopes, and what you want to accomplish, and, and talk about what your actual passion is, because you just never know when the connection that you make is going to be the one that takes you down the path that you want to go on.

Lily

Absolutely, yeah, reminds me of what you were saying too, about the confidence piece. Like I think someone's saying what we want to do, it goes back to how we see ourselves, so at our value, and sometimes it can feel scary to say like, I want to do this because in that statement is also like I'm worthy of doing this, or I have the expertise of doing that.

Lily

And so I think that that goes hand in hand and sometimes you can like fake it till you make it. It feels scary to be like hey, I'm starting this business or you know, I would like to do this curriculum job or whatever it is. It's like by saying it you learn to like embody it. Yeah, and be closer to actually like doing it.

Lily

So I think again, it's like you can't wait for the fear to go away. You can't wait till you feel 100% confidence because sometimes the confidence comes from actually doing the thing or saying the thing.

Samantha

Samantha

I mean, you know, at first, it seems so big and so overwhelming. And what if I don't make enough money to do XYZ, but if you really just step back and think about your reason behind, like, just behind it, and what, what you hope to accomplish and let that drive you. It's going to be limitless like what you can actually accomplish.

Lily

Absolutely. Yeah, that is the missing piece too like that passion, you know, like, the bigger why, and that really can drive everything, you know, in motivation and taking those risks and moving forward.

Samantha

Yeah, absolutely.

Lily

Well, thank you so much, Samantha for coming on the podcast and sharing a little bit about your journey. It's been such a joy to see all the things that you've done and accomplished and I can't wait to see how your business will flourish in its next steps.

Samantha

Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.