Welcome to ‘Diary of a Teacher’. Here, you’ll learn what it’s really like being a teacher - but through a very delibrate lens of positivity. I approach this newsletter through my 3Gs - growth, giggles and gratitude - to rip up the online negativity around teaching and show the world how fortunate we are to be educators.
This is the latest instalment of my ‘Weekend Wisdoms’. It’s a relatively new feature so I’d love to know what you think.
Educational strategies, life lessons, reasons to be grateful or a little laugh - there’s something here for everyone.
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I’m a teacher.
I’m also a copywriter.
In October, with a bit of a shove from a friend, I decided to start a copywriting business.
Last week, I secured my first paid client - an old school friend who runs a (wonderful) drone-videography service.
That’s all there is to it. You start a business, people pay you.
Yeeeeeah right.
I forget every little task I’ve had to fulfil just in getting this far. Here are some of the things I’ve considered and attempted along the way:
Targetting education recruitment companies due to my knowledge of the education industry
Targetting private schools for the same reason
Established contact with a local private school about supplying monthly newsletters for them
Contacted small local businesses by phone
Contacted small local businesses by email
Contacted large businesses with local bases by phone and email
Contacted local website developers to establish relationships with them and support their work
Created free portfolio pieces for half a dozen businesses, who have accepted them
Considered more than 10 copywriting courses, poring over them to establish which is best for me in learning the trade
Invested in one and joined a community run by another
Paid attention to the language in as many adverts as possible
Registered myself on Fiverr and Upwork
Delivered my first job on Fiverr and got it completely wrong (then gave it up) after much excitement
Given up on Fiverr and Upwork
Began building a presence on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook
Created my own website
Tinkered endlessly with it
Redid it completely
Generated and paid for a landline number to make me seem like a serious business
Created loads of template consultation documents on Canva
Registered the business
Registered for VAT
Deregistered for VAT why I realised I don’t need it
And much more
And you know what? It’s been pretty overwhelming. But I’d say there have been two phases in this short introduction to the business world:
Phase 1 - excitement and adrenaline. The realisation that there’s a whole other world in front of me, a whole sea of opportunities waiting for me and my proverbial fishing pole to pluck them from the choppy waters of prosperity. It’s in this phase that I took on a ridiculous amount of- 5am wake-ups to schedule social media posts and engage with others, late nights digging for the right businesses to reach out to, non-stop website tinkering, flinging myself onto every platform I could stomach.
But how has doing this much helped?
I’ve worked out where I find establishing an online presence a chore and where I enjoy it
I’ve learned some elements of copywriting that I prefer to do than others
I’ve, piece by piece, determined a rough goal
I’ve identified some small steps needed to achieve it
I have a business
I have a website
I have a portfolio
I have a client
I have a future in this
By exploring countless different opportunities and ideas, even just for a few minutes, I’ve worked a few things out that are working.
Phase 2 - planning and sustainability. The going has been so much slower but that’s exactly what I needed. I have a plan and I’m in no rush to accelerate it. I’m just going to do something, one thing, however small, every day to inch closer to success.
The biggest thing I’ve found is…
Embrace baby steps in your quest for progress - they’re manageable and there’s usually no rush.
And…
Listen to those who are successful. Don’t take advice from anyone who doesn’t excel at the very thing they’re advising you on.
Like, for example, me.
If you liked this and you think others might enjoy it too, please do share. My Weekend Wisdoms aren’t just word-vomit - I actually want the things I’ve learned to help others, so the more people that read this the better.
Thank you so much for reading. Love you all!
Well done Jack, it is about enjoying the process and what you learn. Keep going.
Super curious to read about where you like to have an online presence and in which space you don't like it :)
Love the concept! I'm gonna follow your journey Jack