Should I Start an Education Business?
As a teacher, do you dream about doing things the way you want to, the way you know education should be? Do you wish you could make a wider impact in education? Then you might want to start an education business.
You can change education for the better and get the life you deserve by starting an education business. Teachers who become education business owners enjoy flexibility and freedom, and they get to use their beliefs, passion, and expertise to improve education.
Given the many improvements and changes needed, teachers have countless exciting business opportunities in education, whether their ideal clients are individuals, school districts, or companies.
As a business owner, you can gain the ultimate lifestyle you desire by becoming your own boss while making your mark in the education world. Feeling inspired to start acting on your educational entrepreneurship ideas? Keep reading to learn more about what it takes to start an education business.
Why Teachers Make Great Education Entrepreneurs
Teachers make great business owners for countless reasons, including their entrepreneurial spirit, unique skill set, and desire to learn. Your many transferable skills will serve you well as an entrepreneur, and given that teachers are lifelong learners at heart, you can truly learn anything you need to along the way.
There’s no one better suited to create positive change in the education system than teachers, and starting an education business gives you the power to make the change you want to see and truly solve problems.
With a deep understanding of the education system (best practices, teaching methods, curriculum, etc.) and teacher and student needs, teachers are well-positioned to start impactful education businesses.
Your teacher expertise and knowledge will be invaluable when creating a high-quality educational product, program, or service. Your knowledge and deep understanding of the education market will guide you to create innovative, relevant, and valuable products and services for your target market.
There are so many possible business ideas for teachers (and former teachers), the sky is truly the limit.
How to Know If You Should Start an Education Business
Wondering if becoming a “teacherpreneur” is a career path you’d like to pursue? This simple checklist can support you in deciding if you’re ready to start an education business:
✔️ YOU ENJOY BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS.
Growing an education business is truly about building relationships and helping people. A successful business requires not just providing high-quality products or services but also establishing strong relationships with clients and customers. The saying “people buy from people” couldn’t be more true.
Customers and clients are more likely to purchase or do business with people they like, trust, and feel comfortable with. They want to work with someone who understands their needs and can provide valuable insight and advice to help them achieve their goals. Relationship building with clients and customers is about connecting with them, showing empathy and understanding, and being responsive to their needs. Then you can establish trust and show the value you can bring to help them and meet their needs.
Remember, you already have valuable experience relying on your interpersonal and communication skills as a teacher. A large part of your daily responsibilities includes building relationships and communicating ideas in a way that is easily understood by students, parents, and other stakeholders. You can use these same skills when building an online education business.
✔️YOU LOVE SOLVING PROBLEMS.
Businesses exist to solve problems, and education businesses are no different. Education entrepreneurs often have truly impactful problems they’re trying to fix. You'll likely find education business ownership exciting if you’re energized by identifying problems and finding solutions.
Teachers are used to solving problems and coming up with innovative solutions to help all students learn. This innovation is exactly what’s needed by education entrepreneurs. By thinking outside the box, you are exactly the kind of problem solver we need to tackle the biggest problems in education.
When you think about businesses as a way to come up with solutions to people’s problems, you start to see all of the possible business ideas in education. What problem do you want to solve, and who will you help by solving it? Use your desire to make a difference to create solutions that truly enrich people’s lives. The more innovation you can bring to the process, the better you’ll be able to help your customers and develop new ideas and solutions to problems as you start an education business.
✔️ YOU HAVE A VISION OR AN IDEA YOU’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT AND WOULD LIKE TO PURSUE.
Is there a particular area or topic in education you’re passionate about, or as mentioned, a specific problem you’d like to help improve? Use that passion to help you start an education business.
Having an overall vision as a business owner is key. For example, you may want to create a digital course that thousands of people benefit from. Or perhaps you want to start an online teaching business, an education consulting business, or a tutoring business. There are so many businesses for teachers to start - the possibilities are endless!
When we start businesses, we can feel very attached to our original ideas, so be open to pivoting along the way. Approach your business with curiosity, stay open to new ideas, and collect data along the way to continually improve your business as needed.
Unsure about an education business idea you could pursue? When exploring potential education business ideas, tap into what made you passionate about teaching. Tune into your interests and skills. How could you use this passion to build a business that impacts the lives of others?
Have too many education business ideas? Narrowing down your focus is often one of the hardest parts, but it’s essential to pick just one idea to start with so that you can move forward with it and test it out. By choosing one idea to explore, you’re not saying you’ll never explore the other options. It just means you’ll start with this one.
✔️ YOU’RE EXCITED ABOUT CREATING SOMETHING OF YOUR OWN.
Becoming a business owner gives you the ultimate freedom over your product/service, who you work with, your schedule, and more.
If this freedom excites you, and you desire to have something of your own, you’ll love the independence of being a business owner. Having autonomy and ownership over your career and work is one of the most rewarding reasons to start an education business. Your passion and mission will drive you each day.
Just because you’re on your own doesn’t mean you have to have it all figured out though. Ensuring you have support and embracing new opportunities— and mistakes— as part of the journey is one of the most powerful things you can do as you start and grow your business.
✔️ YOU’RE ABLE TO ADAPT AND PERSEVERE.
While there are many business opportunities in education, it doesn’t mean that entrepreneurship won’t come with its challenges. When starting and growing a business, there are inevitably going to be roadblocks and obstacles that come up along the way.
Teachers are, of course, used to things not going as planned (children throw all sorts of twists and turns our way!). We must constantly adapt and be flexible, and channeling this as a business owner will be important.
No matter what comes your way as a business owner, you have to be determined to succeed and not give up easily. You have to be okay with uncertainty and not having stability at all times.
Successful “teacherpreneurs,” just like all business owners, have to be in it for the long haul and ride out waves, remembering the big picture and using your mission to drive you. Having resilience and a growth mindset will make all the difference in your success and happiness as an education business owner.
Ready to Start an Education Business?
If you want to start an education business, Educator Forever is here to help!
The key to actually building the business of your dreams is to take action and get the support you need.
If you’re looking to become part of a supportive community and gain the business skills necessary to grow your education business, apply to join the Grow Your Education Business Accelerator.
This empowering program will guide you to launch a rewarding, profitable education business successfully. While many ideas and courses out there focus on business strategies, this program is uniquely designed for the education industry to give you everything you need to have a successful education business.
Have questions? Contact Educator Forever anytime!