7 Business Wins – A Reflection on What I’ve Learned for 2023

Kirsten 0:00

You're listening to the creative teacher podcast, a show for busy teachers looking for ways to engage, inspire and make an impact in their teacher businesses. I'm Kiersten, a teacher business owner who is all about simple and actionable tips, strategies and resources that result in wins, big or small. If you're looking for that extra spark of creativity, you've come to the right place. Let's dive in together.

Hey there, welcome to another episode of the creative teacher podcast. This is officially the last episode of 2023. I wanted to reflect on some business wins and just kind of reflect on what I've learned in this year. So I'll be sharing with you seven different business wins and my thoughts on these wins. So I really, really am hoping that you're able to listen to this hopefully short and sweet episode, I'm not going to try to ramble on too much.

So the first business win that I feel really happy about is just the virtual presentations this year, I presented that a lot of different events. One of the first of the year was at the Spring Fling 2023, I presented on product listing trends of the year. And then I presented at the TPT forward conference virtually about branding tips. So it was just 10 tips on having a badass brand. Also talking about at the teacher seller Summit, perfecting your product covers. And then towards the end of the year, I hosted a workshop session in something lightning, a new conference or course that was hosted by Jamie as well. And that was on the heart of your business, talking about brand foundations for brand strategy. So I really enjoyed it, I will admit it was a lot because I not only presented at TPT seller conferences, but I also presented at a couple of teacher like primarily teacher conferences. So I presented a couple of social studies topics and integrating social studies. It was definitely a lot but it was really enjoyable. I got a lot of great feedback from it. And I think a lot of people really enjoyed it. And so while I will definitely will not be doing as many virtual presentations, I mean, I've always enjoyed the process of creating the presentations and presenting it and getting that feedback I think is great just helping people grow in their businesses. That's my main goal.

The second business when I feel is my social studies membership, it is definitely like, oh my gosh, it comes from a place of love. Because I cannot tell you how many hours I spent. Just getting it ready and prepping the resources and learning a lot of information about how to run a membership and just seeing how it is today. It's you know, it's a small little membership. It's nice and cozy, but people are loving the resources and they seem super receptive. And they're super grateful for the resources I provide in the social studies membership. There is a lot of wins and different aha moments I got during that launch. And you can check out one of my previous episodes about my behind the scenes of launching the membership. And some things I'm going to be taking in for the next year to improve it and condensing so it's not too much information. It's not like information overload. So that's something I want to you know, think about for the upcoming years to kind of continue to expand upon upon it and see ways to market it more for my target audience.

The third business win is actually understanding Facebook ads, I will have to give props to Zach's buckler. He hosted a Facebook ads bootcamp in October. And when I tell you like my eyes were open, like, oh my gosh, this is what list building ads can be like, This is how you grow your list. And these are the possibilities. I'm like drinking the juice of Facebook ads. Of course, I'm not putting down like hundreds of dollars a day or anything like that. I'm doing something manageable for my budget. But I'm still growing my list without even thinking about it. I never thought about how running a constant list building ad is one of the key ways to get more people in your circle hearing about what you offer free and paid, and what resources you have to offer. And it's just a good way for getting more exposure when organic traffic doesn't seem to be working, paid ads can be a really great alternative. So he has a podcast, it's not your average marketing podcast, which is a really great podcast to listen to any hosts Facebook ad workshops throughout the year, he also has a membership, not your average membership. So I highly recommend checking him out. He is like he's definitely somebody I aligned with. I love his style of teaching. I love his philosophy of business in general. It's like, you know, you don't need to overcharge people and all that kind of stuff, the values that he has, I share some of his values. So I think he's somebody I have learned a lot from. And I definitely recommend if you're learning about ads, or just in any type of marketing in general.

Okay, this fourth one is not necessarily a business when well, maybe it is because I'm learning how to implement it learning how to say no more times than I need to. I'm very like I'm a people pleaser. My one of my things I don't like is when people are disappointed in me or they are expecting something from me, but they don't get 100% of that. So I feel like I've said a lot of Yes, more times than not this year. And I need to be okay with saying no more times. And that includes things that I'm participating in and collaborating with, I found myself at certain points of the year being super overwhelmed, because I had so many different projects going on at one time, which is like already my scatterbrain like it was an overload. So there were a lot of stressful moments throughout the year. And I want to condense that so that it's not stressful, not as stressful. So I'm going to be saying no, a lot more. And just simplifying things like just going with what I really enjoy and focusing on those. And then if I do you have any time, I'm looking at my schedule to see if I can participate in a project. If I can't, then I'm just going to be okay with saying no,

the fifth thing is quarter three, like blew me away. I am so so grateful about you know, being able to launch this new product line that I'm doing. I'm currently in the midst of I didn't realize it was going to take off as much as it was, you know, this is my social studies product line. And so quarter three blew me out of the water, like I had a really great quarter three last year, and 2022. And so I'm like the fact that I was already surpassing what I made in quarter three last year, by I think it was like early September or late August, I was really, really happy with that. And I made my first five figure month with everything together. It was in August, that was my big big month. But September wasn't a disappointment either. So I was really happy of how quarter three went. I don't have the exact numbers about how much year but it was definitely a increase in percentage wise year over year. And I'm gonna just attribute it to the social studies, I think it's something people need. And if there's a resource you can make that you don't see a lot of or there's a gap in something and you know, you are so good about that specific topic or that specific subject. You need to create super in depth resources like here, let me hold your hand as you teach type of resource. I think it will pay off more times than not, especially right now. So I've said this before, I think less people are buying those really quick win resources. Some people will buy those just depending on where they are in their finances. Because yes, it's great to have those one off projects and all of that but if they can find something It is basically comprehensive all in one, at a price point that is affordable based on the value they feel, they will definitely purchase it. They will not shy away from it. I will tell you that. So I think that's part of why my quarter three was so great. I mean, all of my quarters were great. Like, I'm, I'm up for the whole year. But yeah, quarter three was is always my biggest quarter. It's out of all of the quarters, August, September are my biggest months. And then January and February are not, they're not far behind. So yeah, that's something that I'm really proud of. And I'm hoping to expand that. And we'll find different ways, maybe running some paid ads, and timing it to that time of year next year, maybe to get even more increase year over year.

All right, going into number six, this was very wonderful. supersweet is reaching the second milestone of 75k. I'm recording this where right now at the time of this recording, there are only three milestones 20k 75k and 500k. And I got the first milestone in 2021. The day before my son was born, my middle child was born. So of course I remember that day because I was like, ah, yay, yes. first milestone, and then baby right after. And so exactly, like almost exactly. 23 months later, I reached the second milestone, initially by you know, in January of 2023. I was thinking, Oh, maybe if things go well, like last year, I might make it in December, you know, to 75k or maybe January or February of 2024. And then as it got closer and closer, I saw 65. I saw seven nice. I mean three. And if this was in August, in September, I'm like, Okay, well, actually, maybe I will actually make it sooner than I thought. And sure enough, I made that milestone right before the two year mark. So I'm super happy about that. I'm not anticipating the reach the third milestone in the next Gosh, I'm sure it's going to take a while I know there are many sellers working toward that third milestone, and it's like you're just tracking away at it. So I'm interested to see what those newer milestones that they're coming up with will be to see how that's gonna go.

And my seventh reflection I have is, my as far as business wins, creating the resources, no one wants to, I still think about Martina and her presentation at the TPT forward conference. When I'm like sitting there, like, it feels like hours and hours of well, all these repetitive tasks, because I'm doing a lot of the same things because it is a product line. similar tasks, of course, different content, but it is not a resource that like I love the content. Of course, I love US history. And I love you know, geography and all kinds of social studies topics. So it's not necessarily that it's just like the getting down and dirty with like, making the teacher guide and creating the lesson plans and the lessons and the activities that go with it. And it is a lot of work. But that's what teachers are looking for. They're looking for someone to be able to do that for you. Because they can't find it anywhere else. Maybe they are like unhappy with their publisher company that their district provides or they're not happy with the district resources that the district provides. And they are just trying to look for something that is super easy, super simple Print and Go Easy prep, but comprehensive at the same time. So it's definitely beneficial to think about rather than like churning out 100 products of a lot of small quick resources, thinking about creating those resources that no one else wants to do, or can't find. So that is something that is like it's paying off despite how like sometimes, there are times where I questioned my sanity, like, Why did I get myself into this, but it has been paying back tenfold. So my effort is being paid off. And I am very happy that people are getting what they need, and getting something that I wish I had as a social studies teacher.

So that's just kind of how I'm gonna in this episode I don't normally get like, I don't know emotional about stuff, but that's how I'm going to end it and I hope you took away some tips from my business wins and my reflection. I'm so proud of myself and how my business has grown and gone this year and I'm so excited for 2024 and I cannot wait to talk to you again. next week and next year. I hope you have a wonderful new year. Bye, guys.

Thanks for listening to the creative teacher podcast. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode, feel free to subscribe and leave a review. I'd love to hear your feedback. You can also follow me on Instagram at the southern teach dot designs. Have an amazing day.