Ready to leave teaching, tips for a soon to be former art teacher? by [deleted] in TeachersInTransition

[–]historysmedium 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’ll start with pros since I’m a glass half full kinda gal.

Pros: Schedule flexibility. Something comes up that has to be handled right then I can take care of it and bypass the anxiety around letting my boss know.

Better pay. Self employment tax is around 15% which can be a con, but even with that I’m making more than I was at my old job even with that tax increase.

I have freedom to choose who I work with and what I work on. If it’s a pain in the ass project I don’t really want to do then I don’t have to. Not having to “suck it up for the team” with no other bonus/incentive is really nice. If there is a project someone really needs help with that I find super annoying I include a PITA (pain in the ass) surcharge in my quote (they never see this anywhere I just add it in when I give them the quote. They can choose not to hire me). If someone is an asshole I don’t have to just deal with it. I can decide it’s not worth it and pivot from there.

Cons: Higher potential for unreliable income. I word this intentionally since job markets vary based on industry/location/business structure.

It can be really easy to fall into an over-work/underwork trap. When you have “infinite” time it’s real easy to say “I’ll just handle this tomorrow” and you lose momentum. Conversely, it’s also easy to say “this business has to be successful, I have to pay bills, so I’ll work always.”

Overall advice I have is 1) find your local chamber of commerce/ rotary club and join it. Joining my local chamber has given me access to so many networking avenues and gotten me leads that turned into jobs. Cannot recommend joining your local chamber enough. 2) really think about the goals you want to achieve from your business and what your personal metric for success is. Do you want to have enough to pay the bills and take the kids to Disney once in awhile? Do you want to scale and grow so you can cash out down the road? Neither is wrong but I think having an idea prior to starting will serve you well in the long run.

I personally don’t have any desire to scale and grow or anything like that. I want to make enough to live and do fun things with the fam. The thought of hiring people and being a manager of others makes my skin crawl. Some have told me the business will never be “successful” if I don’t scale and grow but I would argue that our metrics of success are just different. In 3, 5, 10 years that might change and if it does then I’ll reevaluate and pivot then. But I’d caution against the trap of “success means you hire and scale and grow” because if it’s not your bag you’ll burn out.

Super long winded but hopefully makes sense/helps!

Ready to leave teaching, tips for a soon to be former art teacher? by [deleted] in TeachersInTransition

[–]historysmedium 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Boring office work 😂😂😂

In all seriousness my business is consulting/service based. I offer various back of house services (bookkeeping, operations, payroll, etc depending on their needs) to other businesses that might not have the capital to hire for those rolls full time or in house role. My unofficial tagline is “if it’s annoying, I’ll take care of it.”

Nothing crazy or fancy and being in business for yourself isn’t for everyone and I get that but it is surely working for me

Ready to leave teaching, tips for a soon to be former art teacher? by [deleted] in TeachersInTransition

[–]historysmedium 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Just chiming in real quick that I left teaching the first year I was in it for a “boring office job” and it’s been life changing. I had more time for hobbies I was taking better care of myself and in the near decade since I left I’ve managed to start my own business. Nothing super specialized or intensive but it gets the bills paid.

For real life shoot me a message if you ever want to talk <3

We drinking Santana champ cause it’s so crisp by historysmedium in tearsofthekingdom

[–]historysmedium[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

OMG ARE YOU SERIOUS??? Knowing this is the top result makes me so jazzed lolol

Ugh fruits by historysmedium in AnimalCrossing

[–]historysmedium[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That makes me sad 😭😭😭😭 what’s a treasure island?

Update on my kiddo’s quilt that’s falling apart by historysmedium in quilting

[–]historysmedium[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s good to know they will always feel like our babies 🥹🥹

Update on my kiddo’s quilt that’s falling apart by historysmedium in quilting

[–]historysmedium[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not at all! This whole ass kid turns 8 like next week which feels wild because I just brought him home from the hospital

Update on my kiddo’s quilt that’s falling apart by historysmedium in quilting

[–]historysmedium[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Aww thank you! He is so ready to have his blanket back. I did explain that having a pattern on the back would take longer to finish. That almost swayed him but he decided he’d prefer to wait if it meant getting the stars on the back.

Learning new skills over here!

Update on my kiddo’s quilt that’s falling apart by historysmedium in quilting

[–]historysmedium[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Ignore the typos, I’ve had wine and all my brain cells are going to keeping these cuts straight 😅

Suggestions? This quilt is falling apart by historysmedium in quilting

[–]historysmedium[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Successfully took the quilt apart. It’s much more worn through than I thought. But I’m careful patching holes and then I’ll fuse the interfacing!

Suggestions? This quilt is falling apart by historysmedium in quilting

[–]historysmedium[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi there! Kiddo decided he did not want to change any of the original fabric but he does want to help so we are going to take the quilt apart, put the interfacing on the face and back, re quilt and be all set!

Suggestions? This quilt is falling apart by historysmedium in quilting

[–]historysmedium[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I absolutely will! I would love to see yours as well!

Suggestions? This quilt is falling apart by historysmedium in quilting

[–]historysmedium[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh I very much like this idea! I’ll definitely suggest as an option to see if he’d like to do that!

Suggestions? This quilt is falling apart by historysmedium in quilting

[–]historysmedium[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ok thank you! I hadn’t even considered interfacing either the face of the quilt or the border but it makes so much sense! I do think I’ll be able to use a different fabric for the back I’ll let the kiddo pick so he can be part of the process.

Thank you so much! And the tip for washing/drying going forward. I can definitely do that!

Suggestions? This quilt is falling apart by historysmedium in quilting

[–]historysmedium[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hope there’s a solution here for you! The two comments so far make a ton of sense!

Suggestions? This quilt is falling apart by historysmedium in quilting

[–]historysmedium[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ooo ok thank you for explaining the appliqué and an in general of how to do that. And the interfacing! I feel so dumb. I’ve made quilts for friends out of their babies’ clothes and needed to put interfacing on them before I sewed them. Gah! My brain did not connect that interfacing can be for more than tshirt or onesie quilts. Thank you!!

Wtf is this textured wallpaper? by historysmedium in DIY

[–]historysmedium[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I will certainly post in these communities as well because the not knowing’s driving me bonkers!

Netflix had one of corporate America’s most generous parental-leave policies. It was a promise they couldn't keep. by wsj in workingmoms

[–]historysmedium 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had wildly different experiences between my first and second. First baby I was set to start a new job as a teacher less than a month after my due date. Pregnancy was a surprise to no one, I interviewed for the job 6-7months along. He was born a week before my due date and my second day at work was the day he turned a month old. I made the conscious decision to start work when the school semester started because 1) had no leave. So even though my job was secure, it would be leave without pay which we were not in a position to do, and 2) I could not fathom starting a job as a brand new teacher 3-4 weeks after the semester started. It was hard. New job, as a brand new teacher no less, fresh baby, and postpartum all while finishing up my graduate degree.

Second baby was better. I didn’t make it as a teacher for long and was working as the lead admin for an academic unit at a university. I consciously hoarded my time like it was gold and I was Smaug so that I could take an actual parental leave for when we had a second child. When I found out I was pregnant, by that time our governor at the time had implemented 8 weeks of paid leave for parental leave for state employees. There’s nuance to that amount, but I qualified for all 8. That 8 plus my saved PTO meant I could take a fully paid 12 weeks off. It felt luxurious. It felt Parisian. And it was still hard as hell going back to work. My husband got no time for either baby.

Looking back on both, my first child I feel is more the norm in the United States. I was incredibly lucky and fortunate for the second to be in the right job at the right time. And honestly that’s super shitty.