53. Why English Teachers Struggle Building A Successful Business Online #Friday4Teachers

Hey, everyone. Welcome to the Influency Podcast. I'm Hadar, your host, and this is episode number 53. And today we are going to talk about teaching English online, and in particular, being a teacher versus being a boss. Hey, welcome back. Thank you so much for tuning in for another episode. And I know what you're thinking, especially if you an English learner and you're not an English teacher, you're saying to yourself, wait, what does this have to do with English? So? Well, first of all, it has everything to do with English because we want to have good teachers out there that create content for us and teachers who share their knowledge and expertise and take on complicated things in English. And we want to be able to see them and to learn from them. And for that, teachers need support and to know what they need to do. So this is the first thing. Second, it's always interesting to see what's on the other side. Right? Like, what does it feel like for teachers who are putting themselves out there trying to pass on information for people who are eager to learn? So I think as learners, this might be an interesting conversation as well. Plus, it's a conversation about English, or maybe I should say a conversation in English, which is always an excellent opportunity to learn and to improve your listening skills. Because we don't always have to talk about English. Right. And lastly, this is my podcast, and I'm going to talk about whatever I want to talk about. Right. I don't know if you know, I have a membership program for English teachers, and there I help teachers develop their teaching skills and also grow their business. And in this episode, I want to talk about this conflict between being a teacher and being a business owner. I mean, when people sign up for being a teacher and they say, that's what I want to do, they don't take into consideration the business, entrepreneurial, bossy part of the work. Especially if you are not teaching in the language institution or in schools. Right. Like, if you're starting as a tutor. It's not just about teaching. There is so much that goes into it, first of all. Second, we want to talk about the conversation about what do we do to develop ourselves as teachers so we don't get freaking bored with the content that we teach. Because as teachers, we want to constantly feel inspired and interested and intrigued. Because, honestly, there were times where I would repeat the same lesson seven or eight times a day. Yes. Sometimes I would teach 10 hours a day, and eight of those 10 students would be exactly at the same place. So I would teach them the Same sound, say the same things. And I would hear myself repeating myself in my head over and over until I started having a conversation with myself, saying to myself, hadar, you gotta shut up. No sheep ship retrish. And then that other Persona of mine would show up again and say, hadar, you've said that like 5,000 times today. That's it, I can't hear it anymore. And my teacher, Hadar, that is speaking right now to a group or to, you know, students, would keep on saying, reach, rich, lease list. And I would do that again and again and again and again. And it took me a while to understand how to shift from doing that, and I've been doing that for many years, to doing what I do now, which is a lot more versatile and diverse and interesting. And I have the podcast and the live English show and the YouTube channel and I have groups online, offline, less offline, because Corona, but still. And this keeps me interested and inspired and curious and I keep on striving for trying out new things and exploring my creative parts. And it's possible for every teacher out there. And it's not just for teachers, of course. Like whatever it is that you do, if you're not a teacher, you're probably doing something, especially those of you who are self employed or you have your own business. And at some point we get stuck in a rut. We feel like we're in a rut, doing the same old thing over and over again. And then we ask ourselves, is this what I really want to do? Is this what I signed up for? And the answer is usually no. Because when we start something fresh and new and exciting, then we have this vision about how it's going to feel like. And in reality, if we don't do something about may become just a routine and something that you do and not something that you are. But here's the tricky part. To be able to shift from that routine and the job rather than our passion, we need to step into the inner boss or the entrepreneur in ourselves to be able to make those shifts and to change your reality and your routine. Because the shift from that to this, it doesn't happen on its own. And that element is usually the missing element that so many different teachers need and that is showing up as a boss in your business. Teachers start teaching because they're passionate about getting their students results, because they're passionate about English and they love the language and they love pushing boundaries. Especially my non native speaking teachers who feel that teaching English is an accomplishment and a mission in many of the cases because they know what it takes to learn that language and to own that language and to constantly be in this search and to be able to still be in that search, but also to share a part of your experience is remarkable. And I want to point this out because I do not take it for granted. And I know that a lot of non native speaking teachers who are remarkable teachers, they face discrimination and they, they might not get a job in a language institution because they're not native speakers. And therefore, for them to fulfill their dream teaching English, they need to start a business on their own. But when they signed up to teach people on their own, they didn't take into consideration that once they step into that role, they also need to step into the role of a business owner, a boss. And that is very scary for many, many teachers. Scary because you don't learn it in school. Unlike English, you don't learn business in school, you don't learn how to run an online business. And you are just expected to do that thing, you know, be a teacher online, know how to manage your finances and know how to market yourself because you're a good teacher. I mean, these are two different skills. And just like you invest you, I'm now speaking to my teachers directly. Just, just like you invest the time and effort into improving your knowledge of English, knowledge of phonetics, phonology, teaching, pronunciation, grammar, you know, you search for activities and TED talks to share with your students, just like that, you also need to invest that into your business, into knowing how to run a business. Because if you don't do that in the best case scenario, you'll feel stuck in a rut and you might want to quit. The worst case scenario, you won't have enough students to teach and you might need to look for another job. But here's the best part. All you need to do is change your mindset and how you perceive yourself. Instead of thinking of yourself as a teacher or a tutor online, you have to understand that you, as a teacher, you are a brand. And as a brand, one of the things that you want to focus on is creating content. And marketing yourself doesn't mean being pushy or salesy. And let me tell you this, as a teacher, one of the best skills that I have learned and was able to incorporate into my teaching was marketing. Yes, marketing. I have invested a lot of time and effort and money into learning marketing, especially online marketing. And so many of the things that I have learned, I have put into my teaching. And no, I'm not talking about when I Make a video, and I think about how to get people to watch it until the end. No, no, I'm talking about when I'm teaching groups or one on ones. And I talk to my students in a way that I talk to my potential customers, and I talk to them in a way that gets the them to stay until the end. That gets them to understand why they're resisting it right now and why it's okay and why they should still do it, despite the resistance and the objections that they're feeling about doing the exercises, the R exercises. I know how to explain it in a way that makes sense. So business and teaching, I mean, they're so they overlap. These are not two different things. So developing your business skills is actually developing your teaching skills. And understanding that you are a brand will put you in a position where you are not just striving to look for students and to just get by, but to understand that you have a bigger mission here to impact the lives of so many people out there who are, whether they're paying students or whether they're just followers. The beauty of this era, and the curse of this era, is that it's very prolific. There's a lot of content. There is a lot going on in the English learning industry. But when something is good and valuable, it sticks out. And people are attracted to stuff that is simple and makes sense and is authentic and funny. And we need more good people to do that and to share that type of content, that type of unconventional, accepting, empowering teaching, because there's a lot of content out there, but a lot of content that makes the students think rather than making them feel, especially to feel like it's possible for them. And here's the thing. People who decide to be teachers, it's more than finding something to do and get paid for. It's usually a calling. It's usually this passion to help no matter what. And because of that, tapping into the incredible opportunity that the online world offers. Being able to impact so many lives all across the world, especially the lives of the people who can't afford your services, is a true gift. And I'm inviting English teachers to put themselves out there and to explore the possibilities of building their brand and creating content and providing value, because not only that, it will bring you a lot of business eventually. And I have a very, very successful, thriving, happy business. And I have a team of 11 people, and I love every minute of it. Sometimes I work too much, but I love every minute of it. And I'm very, very grateful and thankful and to be able to have that while helping so many people around the world is what it's all about. And if you're an English teacher, I want you to know that that is possible for you too. And you are not alone, even though it feels like that sometimes. But to get there, you need to first think of yourself as a brand and a business owner, and then to use your business as a platform to share your knowledge and to reach and touch so many people around the world. That's it. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you like this episode, then please rate and review the podcast and I'm inviting you to come on over to Instagram at Hadar Accentsway and share with me your thoughts. Especially if you're an English teacher. And by the way, if you want to find out more about English Teachers Academy, my membership free for English teachers where I help them grow and build their business and teach pronunciation in a simple and clear way, you can find the link in the show notes. I'm going to be opening doors in just a few days and if you happen to listen to it after then just get on the list to find out when I'm launching and opening the program again. Again, thank you so so much for tuning in and I'll catch you next time. Sam.