51. September Schedule Shifts

It's time to explore the natural shifts to schedules, strategy, and more that take place during back to school season every September.

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Transcript

[00:00:26] Welcome back to Your Win-Win Teacher Business. In episode number 51, we'll explore the natural shifts to schedules, strategy, and more that take place during back to school season every September.

[00:00:39] Today's episode is designed to be a bit of a guided coaching session. If you were on my client roster right now and we were settling into a shiny new school year, these are the things we would unpack and discuss together. This episode will be on the longer side, and it might be one you want to pair with a notebook.

[00:00:57] I invite you to re-listen, pause, digest, and really take action about these questions because they might be the difference between achieving the goals that you set back in January and just surviving the final quarter of the year in one piece.

[00:01:13] So first, let's talk about something unique in the teacher business space. We get to experience the new year, new me energy twice. Even if you set annual goals, we're hardwired to feel a new year, new me energetic shift anytime a new school year starts. It makes sense. We lived on the school calendar for years as

[00:01:35] students and then continued on that same clock for many years as teachers. And if you currently have school-aged children or grandchildren, you may find that you are still tethered to that school calendar.

[00:01:46] And as teacher business owners, the customers and clients that we serve are driven by a school year calendar. So it's always on our mind. This makes September a very important month in our business planning process. Our business is unique and we get to have this second fresh start every year. So let's make the most of it.

[00:02:07] Next I wanna talk about sales data and how facts are facts. We get very emotional about sales data and sales graphs, but the facts are very important and the facts don't lie. So I'm gonna suggest we begin our planning session using cold hard facts. After all, this is month nine of 12 in the calendar year, and we have lots of information at our fingertips that we can use to make wise choices about the rest of the calendar year.

[00:02:38] Whether your goals were focused on revenue, product optimization, or content creation, take a look at how much progress you have or have not made towards the goalpost you want to reach at the end of this calendar year. Did you shoot too high? Does the target need to be adjusted? Are the strategies and schedules that you've put into place getting you to that destination at a steady pace?

[00:03:03] Do you need to put your head down for a short sprint to bring something across the finish line so that you can open up brain space to dig into another goal?

[00:03:13] Whether you're a full-time TPT or working in pockets of time on nights and weekends, you still have plenty of this calendar year left.

[00:03:23] But our goals won't accidentally happen. The time will pass. Will we meet our goals along the way? Only an intentional plan rooted in cold hard facts will get us to our destination. So whether you like what the facts say or not, take a look at your progress towards your annual goal and make an action plan to either change the goal or change the approach to the goal, or celebrate that the goal is on track.

[00:03:55] If what you're doing is working well, protect your time fiercely, keep your head down, and get to that finish line. So that data dive focused on annual goals and the traditional January to December calendar. But as a teacher business owner, you also need to look at data specific to the school year that has just started.

[00:04:16] Whether you're pleased or disappointed with how the back to school sales season went, that data is still extremely important. It's critical to observe what teachers need right now. Are they asking for big ticket full year solutions, or are they reaching for smaller solutions to get them to the end of the week at a lower price point?

[00:04:35] As you look at what you typically market in September and October, you might need to keep the topic the same, but the size of the solution might need to change as you look carefully at what real teachers are buying right now. Now is the time to ask questions, give options about what they'd like you to help with next, and let them know that you're here as a helpful resource.

[00:04:59] But that conversation really should start with the data you already have access to because teachers are busy and we don't want to burden them with questions that we already know the answers to, just because we didn't take the time to dive into our data. If you're not sure what to look for when you visit your sales dashboard and you can't afford the expense or brain space of a premium data service, I'd love to work with you this year inside my data mining package to look at your dashboard in a fresh way.

[00:05:28] Your customers leave so many clues about what they want each and every day. September is the perfect time to dig into the data you have at your fingertips. Sometimes when the top level sales number isn't as high as we hoped, we put our head in the sand and don't look at the data at all. If you can't bring yourself to look, please reach out to find someone who can help you find those important clues.

[00:05:50] You need that information. Sales are facts, and you have to have solid facts in order to make solid business decisions. Now that some time has passed and the emotions are less raw, I encourage you to be curious and dive into that back to school sales data. Next, let's talk about shifts. Now that we've settled into our school year rhythm a bit, revisited our goals and looked at some factual data, it's time to ask what shifts might need to take place.

[00:06:20] If you've been putting a lot of effort into one marketing channel, but not seeing measurable results from those efforts, then it's time to shift how time is being spent. Your time is of great value, and it needs to be spent on proven strategies that are working. If you've really gone all in and been consistent on a marketing channel for 90 days or more, then you have data to work with to determine if you should continue to allocate time and resources in that direction, or if there might be another direction where your time is better spent.

[00:06:51] If 100% of your time being focused on your business isn't bringing in the monthly take home pay that you need, it's A-Okay to shake up the percentages of how you allocate your time. It's okay to layer in a part-time job, a side hustle, or a few days of substitute teaching to help make the math math.

[00:07:11] You need to feel safe and secure when you sit down to make business decisions. So if one year full-time TPT life feels exciting and another year it feels scary, it's A-Okay to shake up your schedule. So much of what we do in the world of teacher business is a slow burn, meaning the actions that we take hopefully will pay off weeks, months, and years down the line.

[00:07:37] But bills come due sooner than that, and if the stress of the economy is on your mind, refreshing your dashboard daily may not be the best way to solve the math problem. You might need to balance out income streams that bring guaranteed money right now with the exciting slow burn activities that build a big picture business for the long term.

[00:07:58] When you get curious and shift your time, you might even find that you're able to make the same amount of money in your teacher business with 10 hours of work each week that you were making in 30 hours each week. Sometimes in seasons when we have less time to work with, we make better decisions on which high ROI actions we can take in those limited time pockets. Shaking up your schedule might bring clarity about what actions truly move the needle, and also bring in some right now income to help you feel more secure and safe.

[00:08:30] Shaking up your schedule might help you enjoy running your business again, if you're currently in a very stressful season. Shifting schedules and risk tolerance around is a great place to start, but don't stop there. Get curious if there is a fresh need in the market that you can serve. How you helped teachers five years ago may not align with what teachers truly need right now.

[00:08:55] How can you gain a fresh perspective about what teachers need? Can you gather information from your community? Would stepping into a classroom a few days a week allow you a fresh perspective to see what products are needed in today's classrooms?

[00:09:09] We can be angry about our dashboard, algorithms, ai, or what people are or are not buying, but that's not a good place to stay emotionally speaking. Getting curious about what is needed and what is working and being open to serving in a new way is the name of the game in the month of September, in my humble opinion.

[00:09:30] Let's also explore scaling back. Is it time to scale back on marketing? Is it time to scale back on expenses? Is it time to scale back on time spent making new products or optimizing existing products? We all likely have a blind spot where we've been pouring too many resources, and September is a great time to step back and get curious about any place where the business might benefit from scaling back a bit.

[00:09:57] When we say no to something that isn't getting great ROI, we're actually making space to say yes to try something new, fresh and exciting. So September is always a good time to get curious about if there is anything begging to be scaled back across the business.

[00:10:15] Next, let's explore support. In September, I look at the distance. I still need to travel for my goals this year and ask if I will need additional support to achieve them. When I get honest about why those goals haven't yet been accomplished, sometimes I realize I need another set of hands, a different tool, or someone with expertise that I simply don't have.

[00:10:39] Researching support options now might make it possible for me to actually reach my goal before the calendar year ends. And then I look at my schedule to make sure it's strategic. After I've taken the step back in September and reflected in all of these areas, then I'm ready to shake up my September schedule and truly create something strategic that's aligned to my goals.

[00:11:05] If you own my DIY Asana course, now is the time to retake that scheduling module and get yourself a shiny new schedule for this new school year. If you're feeling torn about one of two directions, which one you should go in and you need a second set of eyes, hop on my strategy call calendar and we can talk through the decision together to make sure you have a game plan that you feel energized about each day when you step into the office.

[00:11:32] It can be so tempting in September to dive headfirst into all the work that piled up in the summer months. But slowing down to make sure your time is allocated in the right areas will make all the difference with the results you see in Q4. I'm cheering for you and I believe in the work you do for the world of education.

[00:11:51] If you ever need a listening ear or a helping hand, you know where to find me.