Before You Start a Business, You Need to Hear This!

Rachel Cicioni explores the common barriers teachers face when starting their own business, emphasizing mindset shifts, energy, and identity transformation. She offers practical insights and a program to help teachers overcome fears, reframe their value, and take decisive action. Listen to the end to learn how you can take advantage of this offer! 

Chapters
00:00 Overcoming Inertia: The First Steps to Starting a Business
08:15 Mindset Shift: Embracing Your New Identity as a Business Owner
11:06 Taking Action: The Path to Clarity and Success

Resources:
Article: Being a Self-Employed Teacher Costs Less Than You Think

Mindset Reset Program

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to the Teacher to Entrepreneur Podcast. I'm your host, Rachel Sissioni, former classroom teacher turned entrepreneur and mentor to educators building their own unique teacher businesses. This is a space for teachers who are curious about alternatives to the classroom, exploring private practice and other multifaceted work, and for those who want to know what success can look like beyond the classroom. I'm glad you're here. Now let's get into today's conversation. All right, you've been thinking about it and thinking about it, but you haven't started your business yet. Let's get into it. First, I want you to know that it's not because you're lazy, it's not because you're not capable, and it's not because you don't care enough. So what is it? Why haven't you? If you've been listening to this podcast and thinking, all right, I want this, or I can see how this could work, or I know I don't want to stay where I am, but you're still not moving, you're still not taking action, then this is the episode for you because what's stopping you is probably not what you think. So let's talk about the most common reasons teachers give me for why they haven't started. Here's the first one, and I hear it all the time. I don't have time. And I get it. Teaching all day is exhausting. It's a never-ending to-do list. It only ends when we close the school for the year, and then that's a different to-do list that we have over the summer. So I definitely understand that. And you're exhausted. I get that too. And if you're a parent or have family, you've got another never-ending to-do list on top of it and a whole life that you would actually like to get to enjoy from time to time. So of course, it feels like there's no time. But the truth is, this isn't actually a time problem. It's a decision problem. Because when we decide that something is a priority, we find time for it, even if it's messy, even if it's not perfect. So you don't need more time. It's more about making a decision to reallocate the time that you have. So making a clear decision to start, that's the first step. And then the time does sort itself out, I promise. And you'll hear why as we go keep going. The second most common reason I hear is money. I don't have the money to start a business. And I understand that one too, because whenever you have a business, you're starting it or running it, there's always an investment of time and money, some ratio between those two. But money, while being valid, is also not the real issue because you can start a business in some places in the US for even nothing. I can't remember which one it is, but one of the Carolinas, you can register your business for free. So it's not really the money that's the problem. And also, you can run a private teaching business for as little as$50 a month. So once you have your first student, you're already making profit. And I will have that blog post attached below where I outline exactly what I invest in, at what point in my business I invest in that thing, and how I manage to keep my operating budget around$50 a month. So I will have that linked below that you can just click on it. But what you really need, it's not money. What you need is a skill, which you have, a person who needs that skill, which there are plenty, and a way to connect the two. That's it. So if it's not the money, and I promise you the time will sort itself out, then what is it? What's underneath all of this? Well, possibly fear. Fear of investing time and money and not getting it back, fear of trying and it not working. And those are two really valid fears. And it's worth taking the time to talk about them and to think about them. But let me tell you what I see over and over again with the teachers that I work with. The biggest issue when we start working together, and we do call out the fears, and we do explore the worst case scenarios, and we talk about the best case scenarios, and we make a judgment of whether or not the possibility of achieving what we want is worth taking the risk. You know, what what's the worst thing that could happen? And how does that compare to where we are right now and what we're living right now? And most of the time, it's worth it. And they take the risk, they take the leap. So let me tell you what I see over and over again with the teachers that I work with. The biggest issue when we start working together, no matter where they are on the spectrum of I'm so exhausted, the only thing I know is that I don't want to work for someone else anymore. And I need help from there. Or, okay, I started this business and it's not quite where I want it to be. How do we move forward? No matter where you find yourself on that spectrum, the number one problem isn't strategy, it's mindset. And that's the part everyone wants to jump over. That's the part everyone wants to skip. And it's their mindset around the following things that we really need to talk about: their worth, their creativity, and their money. Because teachers notoriously have a dysfunctional money mindset or have at least some unhelpful money mindset beliefs. And if you think about it, it absolutely makes sense that teachers specifically would have issues with their worth, their creativity, and money. Because you cannot work in a field for years where you are constantly being told you're not doing enough, you're being micromanaged to the point of even being scripted, where your expertise and knowledge are questioned, where you're being asked to do things that go against your training, and then magically believe that you have what it takes to start a successful business. That you have something to offer that people are willing to pay you for. Of course, that doesn't just flip overnight. So here's something I want you to try in order to reframe your value or the value of what you have to offer. I want you to look at what parents are already spending money on for their kids. And I'm not talking about their clothes and their shoes and their sneakers and that sort of thing, but look at what types of services and enrichment they're spending money on already for their children. Look at music lessons, piano lessons, for example, swim classes, soccer, dance lessons, art classes. Look at all of those different types of extracurriculars and what they're paying for those things. And then ask yourself, what kind of impact do I make in the lives of my students compared to that? Because if you really look at it, I bet you'll realize that you have a lot more value than what you have been led to believe. And here's something that I believe does not get talked about enough: your energy. And this is where that time piece, remember, I said we'll loop it back to the time. It feels like you don't have time also because you don't have energy. But when you are inspired, when you are excited, and you have clarity about what you're creating and why, your energy changes. Everything feels lighter. Things get done more quickly. When you're not dragging yourself through your day looking for those moments of reward, and you're not counting down the hours until you can do something else. And life is not just a to-do list that you're constantly having to check things off of. You actually have the energy to think, to create, to try. And when you don't have that, everything feels heavy. And even small things feel overwhelming. A lot of people think that that's a discipline problem, but it's not. It's not a discipline problem. It's a clarity problem. It's an alignment problem. And this is exactly why mindset work is not optional. This one piece that everybody wants to skip because they don't see how it directly ties to a reward, is not optional. You cannot skip this part and expect everything else that comes after it to work. So if it's not time, it's not money, not skill, and not a need for that skill, then what is it? Well, it's this you're being asked to take on another identity, a new identity, one that's more than a teacher, a business owner, someone who makes decisions without permission, someone who sets their own rates and makes their own schedule, someone who puts themselves out there and who takes responsibility for their success. And this reminds me of a conversation I had with another teacher recently where we were talking about as teachers, why is it so easy for us to take responsibility when our students struggle and when they fail? But it's so hard to take responsibility when they succeed and when they're thriving. So sit with that one for a minute. What why is that? What is that all about? And this shift that you're being asked to make, this new identity that you need to take on as a business owner, that's a big shift because what we've been trained and what we've experienced in the school system is to follow the rules, to wait for direction, to seek approval. And if we don't do those things, right, if we take initiative and we do what we believe is in the best interest of our students, if we deviate from the script too much, then we get punished for it. So being asked to lead yourself in this way, of course, this feels uncomfortable. It's literally been, you know, kind of punished out of us. So if you've been feeling stuck, I don't want you to walk away from this thinking that you need to try harder or that there's something wrong with you. There is nothing wrong with you. You're not behind, you're not incapable, you're not lacking something. You're just on the edge of a decision, a decision to embody a new identity on top of who you are already as a classroom teacher and all of the other things that you are in your life. And it makes sense that that would feel daunting, especially given where you're coming from. So if you're listening to this and you're realizing, okay, this isn't a strategy problem. This is a mindset and identity shift. I want to let you know that I have created something for you for this exact reason. This is why I created my mindset program. It takes about 10 days to get through. It's self-paced. It will require you to do some thought and address these questions. Some of the questions I've asked you in this episode, but there are others that are a little more personal that you're going to have to dig into. And some little practices that I want you to incorporate. And I created all of that in this nice little package for you for takes you 10 days because I have seen these same exact issues crop up over and over and over again, year after year after year. Teachers are trying to build something new, but without taking the time to really embody an identity that's able to create that thing. So if this is something that you want to work through with support, I want to make this offer to you. I have a program that will walk you through it. Or if you want some hands-on support, I'm also offering the IP option with live group sessions, where you and I will actually work together through this in real time. Four sessions with me, you can ask me your questions and we will get into your specific struggles or whatever it may be that is causing you to not quite be able to get yourself moving in the direction that you want to be moving in. And because you're listening to this podcast, you will not hear this anywhere else. In fact, I'm even debating whether or not I want to put it in the show notes because I want to reward the people who are actually listening to this. I will link the program below. You have options of how you want to go through it. The code at checkout is VIP12, VIP 12, because this is episode 12. And you can upgrade to VIP for half price, just$15 more. And like I said, that's only for you because you have taken the time to listen and go on this journey with me in this way. But whether you decide that you want to work with me or not, I still want you to be successful. I want you to have everything that you want. And so ask yourself these questions. What's one step that I've been avoiding? And what would happen if I just took it? Because a lot of times the hardest part is just getting started. So think of that first step. You don't have to know the whole big picture before you start, because a lot of times the clarity comes from the doing. Makes me think of Frozen 2, right? What's just the next right thing. You can do this by just focusing on the next right thing. Before we wrap up, I want to tell you what we're going to talk about next week. Because if you've been listening to this and thinking, okay, I see what's been holding me back, but I still don't feel ready, there is something else that I want to talk about that feeds into this as well. And that's the myth of ready, of being ready. The idea of I'll start when I'm ready is something that we teachers have been trained to chase for years. And next week we're going to break that down. What we're talking about is why action creates clarity and not the other way around, and what it's actually costing you to keep waiting. So if you've been sitting on this idea, going back and forth, trying to feel more confident before you start, then make sure you come back next week. Until then, I hope you have a great week. Thank you for listening. If today's episode resonated with you, please share it with a colleague or leave a review. This helps the conversation reach other teachers who may need it. You can learn more about what I do and how to work with me at the privatepracticeteacher.org. Best wishes always.