Financial Leverage

Financial leverage will provide some nuggets of gold for teachers who may not have thought of making more money by using the knowledge that you already have.

Have you ever taught your students the importance of leverage? Very simply it is taking what you have to make work easier. (Okay, for you science teachers I'm not going into the whole lever, fulcrum thing.)

Leverage Your Knowledge as an Educator

Your knowledge is an asset, and that asset can make more money for you. There are several ways that teachers can use financial leverage.

Are you an "expert" in some area of education? Are you thinking you don't know enough to be considered an expert? Think again. An expert is defined as: A person with extensive knowledge or ability in a given subject. You just need to be generally more knowledgeable than those you are giving information to, or more motivated to give the information. Think about the aspects of your job that you are good at and that you enjoy.

Are you someone who others always ask for help with certain tasks? Maybe you are the "go to" person for integrating technology, how to use a Smart Board, set up spreadsheets, or how to use Movie Maker or Photo Story? Can you see the range of possibilities?

So what do you do with this expertise?

Think about what you know and how you could present it to others. Get some feedback from colleagues on what specifically they could use help with that is in your area of expertise.

Outline some ideas for a presentation. Come up with ways to present the information that are engaging and effective.

Approach your administrators and see if there is interest in having you present a workshop. You can start small and then adjust and refine your presentation when you see what works. "Practice" for free within your own school or district first.

Once you've practiced and have some positive feedback, expand by contacting other schools or possibly teach a summer course or workshop within your own district. As you build your presentation skills you could possibly teach a continuing education course at the college level. There are also many colleges that are looking for online instructors for the increasing number of online courses being offered.

If presenting in front of other adults is a fate worse than death for you, how about taking that expertise and starting a website or blog. Make the information available to other educators through a report, ezine, or ebook.

Technology and the web have exploded the number of ways that money can be made. This does not mean that there is no work involved or you that will make millions overnight. What it does mean is that you have many more outlets for leveraging your knowledge.

Consult on products that you use that you feel are high quality. Is there a certain software program or text book series that you know well and have used very effectively? Is it one that you think is well done? You could contact the company about being a part-time representative or consultant for the company. They may pay you to review revised or new editions of their products. They may also pay you to train others on their products or software. Just look at all the catalogs you get, and all the ads in education magazines for products. Start to see the possibilities.

What other knowledge do you currently have that you could leverage? Could you do some consulting work on your expertise in reading, writing, spelling, math, time-management, behavior support strategies? Maybe you shine at curriculum mapping or rubric design. How about some free-lance writing? Think of what you enjoy and what you do well. Start a brainstorm list. Start to notice what others ask you for advice on or help with. Or, ask a valued colleague what they think you do well.

Some Ways to Leverage Your Teaching Knowledge

Remember, the goal is to create multiple streams of passive income. If you teach a course you get paid by exchanging your time for money. If you also video tape the course and make the DVD available for sale then you continue to get paid each time someone buys it with little to no effort from you. Now you have a passive stream of income.

Maybe you're not an expert yet but these are skills that you can develop just by doing some research. Not sure what areas of education to focus on? Look at what the current trends or buzz words are in education.

If you are going to do presentations I also encourage you to think of the "best practices" in teaching so that when you present you use strategies that engage your participants.

Focus on a particular area. While you may be interested in many topics, really stick with one area or a couple that are related. You can't be an expert in everything.

When setting consulting fees, again do some research to see what others doing similar work are being paid (not what they're charging, what they are actually being paid)). Consider your time as a professional and your expenses when deciding on your fee.

Check with your administrators, including human resources, about guidelines for consulting, tutoring for additional money, doing presentations, or anything that may fall within the realm of teaching-related activities, to make sure there is no conflict of interest. For example, if you are working as a part-time consultant on some software that your school is thinking of purchasing, and you would benefit financially from the sale, you should not be involved in the decision process. You may be asked for information about the product but you would refrain from giving opinions that would sway the decision. It is best to be clear about what you are doing and I think you will find that many people will support your efforts and want to help you succeed.

Maybe you like the idea of financially leveraging your knowledge but want to do something different from your teaching skills. You can use the same strategies to start a business in other areas. Are you an expert in woodworking, jewelry making, sewing, cooking, outdoor survival, boating, fishing,etc.? You can use some of the same methods for leveraging your knowledge outside of teaching that are listed above.

How do you get started? Go back to the Success Strategies and read about setting and achieving goals.

Whatever knowledge you choose to use for your financial leverage take the time to develop a plan.

I will be adding to this section of the site so make sure you get the RSS feed to receive my blog posts. Also, the Success Targets ezine will have a money-making idea section, so sign-up for that right now.

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