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It’s a great opportunity to become an education entrepreneur! Parents crave access to diverse educational options. They continue to explore alternatives to district schools, including homeschooling, microschooling, virtual schools, learning pods, low-cost private schools, and charter schools.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that public schools have lost more than 1 million students to the pandemic, many of whom have not returned to traditional classrooms. Instead of competing with K-12 schooling alternatives and providing students with smaller, more personalized learning experiences, local schools reduced enrollment by consolidating schools into larger schools. Compatible with This trend may lead more parents to look for other learning options.
The widening gap between what parents want in their children’s education and what large-scale schooling currently provides creates greater opportunities for today’s education entrepreneurs.
If you’re thinking about becoming an education entrepreneur in 2023, check out the advice below from some of the successful founders I shared on my LiberatED podcast in 2022. Entrepreneurs range from a former public school teacher who started a micro-school to the founder of a venture his capital backed startup who built a national education network.
Some of their advice is contradictory. For example, one founder tells you to jump in and get started, and another founder tells you to start slow and steady. !
Ada Salie, founder of the Life Rediscovered microschool in Massachusetts, said:
“I think having a community of entrepreneurs is essential. I didn’t really have one, so I was trying to create one. I have a group and we support each other in terms of daily questions.It really helps me to start over and what I need to do and what takes up most of my time I think we have a clearer path in that respect.”
Amar Kumar, founder of KaiPod Learning, a national network of personalized learning pods
“Start with a real problem that interests you that a parent, child, or educator needs to solve, and think about how you can solve it. Look for problems, problems, and build solutions for them.”
Manisha Snoyer, Founder of Modulo.app
“It’s always good to start with a personal pain point you have, but you can also have a really cool idea for something you think people will love. Don’t sit around for a year and think about renting an expensive space and launching, get what you’re offering into people’s hands as soon as possible.”
Emily Gregoire, Founder of Rainbow Room, a hybrid homeschooling program in Las Vegas
“I think it’s like any kind of entrepreneurial project. You just have to get started and it’s going to be hard. It won’t be perfect at first. Do you value your family? Start with that and continue little by little.”
Molly Stephenson, co-founder of Wildflower Community School, a microschool for neurodiverse students in Wichita, Kansas
“I think one of the things I struggled with when I started working was setting the right boundaries for myself because this job burns me out quickly. The need doesn’t stop, as you can see by the pace of the.You come here and usually have a cold cup of coffee still on your desk at the end of the day.Very, very, very, very busy Running a microschool is going to be like that, whether it’s 5 or 35. I think it’s important to understand that commitment from the beginning.”
Laurel Suarez, founder of Compass Outreach and Education Center, a microschool in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
“Plan, take your time, don’t rush. Yes, micro-schools are booming, but most importantly, research all the ducks and keep them in line to understand who you want to serve. What will your niche be?What attracts parents to you?And stay true to who you are as you explore and build the different components of your school. And remember to understand what your mission is, stay focused, and create a program that truly matches who you want to serve and what you want.
People can often hear our dreams, so don’t get distracted. don’t listen to it Don’t let the fears of others force you into what you believe or want to do. don’t be afraid to ask questions. Reach out to other existing micro-schools. please take it easy. do not hurry. “
Kelly Smith, founder of Prenda, a national network of learning pods and microschools
“Do it! It feels like too many people have been in planning mode for too long. It starts when you understand So I would say take that leap The world needs you The kids in your community need you Start the program I will start a micro school.This job is very rewarding.”
Donna Akers, founder of Ivy Greene Acton Academy in Mississippi
“Write down your goal, break it down step-by-step, take a step and do it. It’s not easy, but it’s very doable. I think I’ll give it a try. If you can’t find the location, open it at home.
Matt Bowman, founder of My Tech High, is a national platform that enables families to manage their personalized educational approach.
“My advice to any entrepreneur is just get started. Many companies want to spend 1-2-3 years designing, developing and launching. Instead of building a perfect education company and thinking we can launch it in two years, I think there is really value in launching some kind of minimally viable product and adapting, iterating and pivoting from there. I’m thinking, just go to the market and try to do something.
“I tell my students that the first dollar is the hardest thing to work on. Make money first, adapt and repeat from there, and I also recommend getting to the 10th failure early.
“My Tech High is not my first company. So if you haven’t failed 10 times, keep pushing to get your 10th failure, and your next failure may succeed.”
Toni Frallicciardi, co-founder of Surf Skate Science, a South Florida homeschool program
“So I think the first thing is to know why you want to do it. What are you most passionate about? If you’re chasing it then it will work and take baby steps I think it’s great that you started with just 6 students but now you have about 250 students So you have people who can take small steps and when they feel overwhelmed can say, “Hey, am I doing this right?”
Gail Nagle, co-founder of the Sligo-Sudbury School in Ireland
“Be aware as early as possible of any issues or things you should be aware of from a legal standpoint. or wasting tons of time down the rabbit hole in the hope that we could have a facility in the country, a residence or another place like that.
“Really be consistent and take it seriously. We met every week and acted like a very serious business, operated as a business, took meeting minutes and recorded our accounts very clearly. These I did everything from scratch.”
Candace Fish, Founder of Freedom Preparatory, an affordable private school in Wichita, Kansas
“I think we connect. let’s go.”
Cassidy Younghans, founder of Wild Roots, a grassroots self-study community in Dallas
“Please understand that we can start over. It broke my heart when we no longer needed our learning community. With more wisdom, more information and more support, we were able to start over.The amount of money we raised was the amount originally donated to fund the old learning community. Same as… So it was really huge.”
This article was originally published on FEE.org.
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