The Show Notes:
Why Your Teaching Skills Are Perfect for Freelancing
If you’re looking for a flexible option to earn an income from home using your teaching skills in a new way, freelancing could be a natural next step!
Learn how Dee-Anna Pippenger, my podcast manager, jumped from the classroom to VIPKID, and then learned how to launch her own freelancing business while raising two young girls.
Making the Transition
Just prior to jumping into the world of freelancing, Dee-Anna taught for twelve years in the classroom and then for VIPKID. The ability to use her teaching experience from home was fantastic. Getting up at 3am? That was a bit of a challenge with a new baby.
Then Dee-Anna found Micala Quinn’s course, Overwhelmed to Overbooked This is where she could learn how to use her teaching skills to become a virtual assistant.
In a lot of ways, the idea of being a virtual assistant felt too good to be true. Could you really charge a starting rate of $25 an hour? Where would you even find clients? How would she convince people to hire her? What about taxes? After a lot of research, she knew this course would have answers for all of these things.
Teachers Make Great Students
In addition to the course, Dee-Anna found the support of a community and live coaching calls. Within one month, she had her first client. That one client led to another client, and then another. In these beginning days, she tried on a variety of tasks as a general VA (virtual assistant) – things like email management, light graphic design, social media scheduling, and uploading and formatting blogs and emails.
She also got the chance to learn how to podcast when a client offered to train her. Now she has niched down to only offering podcast management. Dee-Anna repurposes that one piece of content into many other forms so her clients can use that content in multiple ways!
The Flexibility of a Freelancing Schedule
Dee-Anna also shared that she has been able to replace her teaching income working part-time hours. So, what does a freelancing schedule even look like?
The truth is that it can look like whatever you want it to! If you’re a morning person, you can block out those hours. If you’re a night owl, you can make those hours work too. As a freelancer, you decide the details of how and when you are available.
Work As Much or As Little As You Like
The majority of tasks that general VAs do not require availability during traditional working hours. Perhaps most important to note is that the tasks that a virtual assistant does are not complicated. They just save the business owner precious time! Freelancing is also something you can try on for size and just do as a side-hustle, even when you’re still in the classroom.
Lastly, teachers should know that freelancing is something that is only limited by your availability and desire. Just need an extra $500 a month? That could be one client. If you’re looking for a transition plan, try putting that side-hustle money into savings so you have a cushion at the end of the year.
To DIY or Not to DIY
Teachers and moms are incredibly resourceful and expert DIYers. Teachers often end up purchasing a lot of materials for their own classroom, so it’s natural to find ways to spend less and make supplies last longer.
But what Dee-Anna mentioned was that there are things that are worth DIYing and things that are not. When it came to starting her own business, she had no idea what she was doing. The DIY route would have actually cost her both more time and money.
While that initial investment felt like a big risk, if you compare that to what she has been able to make over the past two years, it wasn’t actually much at all. But even more importantly, freelancing has offered her a creative outlet that is so fulfilling on top of the joy of getting to stay home with her girls.
Do you need help finding use your teaching skills to start your own freelancing business? Get support HERE to find out how to launch your own freelancing business without wasting any time!
Could you use the extra support in taking the next step after the classroom?
Join the membership!
If you enjoyed this episode I invite you to take a screenshot and tag me on your Instagram stories @teachertransition and tell me your biggest takeaway!
Resources Mentioned in the Show
Wondering whether you’d enjoy being a trainer or an instructional designer? take the quiz to see which role you’d prefer!
- Need help starting your own freelancing business? Get support HERE!
- Join the Teacher Transition Membership to dive into the Find Your Next Dream Job Course
- Become an Instructional Designer in 6 weeks!
- Episode 5: How to Find Freedom with a Freelancing Business with Micala Quinn
- Check out Micala Quinn’s FREE workshop to learn how to become a virtual assistant!
Connect with Dee-Anna
Dee-Anna is a former elementary school teacher turned mama and podcast manager and content creator. She loves being able to help her clients make a bigger impact by streamlining their content strategy.
When she’s not on a laptop, she loves being a wife and mama to her 1 and 3 year old girls or sipping iced coffee or boba with other mamas that inspire her to dream big!
