If you’re a certified teacher, but you want to be your own boss AND make more money than you can in the district, you should start a preschool! In this post, Joy Anderson interviews successful preschool owner, Bethany Johnson with Bold & Bright Academy, about her journey to start her own preschool.
Bethany had tried nannying, teaching dancing, and acting; she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. She wanted the stability of the regular paycheck her teaching job gave her, but she did not want the stress that came with that job. She felt the school district’s standards were not developmentally appropriate and that she was forced to push her students to do things they simply were not yet ready to do. She wanted the freedom to teach on her own terms.
What If I Quit My Job…
After moving into a house with a finished garage that would be perfect for a daycare, she started researching that possibility, but she soon realized she would just be trading the stress of her teaching job with the stress of 12-hour days. In her research, though, she came across Joy Anderson’s book, Start Your Preschool, and ordered a copy.
After reading the book, she had a conversation with her husband, “What would you say if I quit my job, and started a preschool?” She had all the numbers of the income she could make and laid out a good case for why this was a great idea.
Her husband’s response was, “Well, I think you’d be amazing at that. You clearly work really hard.”
“Oh! Okay! I’m going to do it!” she answered.
One More Year
She committed to teach one more year for the school district and set out to learn all she could about starting a home preschool. She set up play-based centers in her garage, decorated, got the licensing she needed, and set a starting date for August 2020.
To fill her classes, she planned an Open House and printed 100’s of flyers to blanket her neighborhood. She started passing out flyers…the week Covid hit.
What Now?
Cancelling her Open House, discouraged, and not sure what she was going to do, she got an email about Preschool All Stars and decided to join it. The result was amazing!
Now, Bethany teaches four local preschool classes, M-T and W-Th morning and afternoon, and one 30 minute online class M-Th. All her classes are full (except for one class with one spot available) and she is making more money owning her own preschool than she was making working for the school district, PLUS she gets a three-day weekend every week!
How She Did It
Bethany credits Preschool All Stars with helping her get her online preschool going. “It was terrifying to put in my resignation” and some of her coworkers tried to convince her to wait, but she said, “No! I’m not waiting.”
“Once [I joined] Preschool All Stars and got set up with the online preschool, which I never would’ve been able to do because I have no idea how to work any of that, it was so step-by-step and I felt confident in each step. We were all on [the group] and we were all doing it together for the first time. Someone would ask a question and 20 women would give helpful replies.”
What Makes Her Preschool Unique?
She says: “Every time someone walks in for a tour they say, ‘Oh my gosh! This space is amazing!’ I put a lot of love and energy into this space. No one ever knows it’s a garage, which is awesome.”
Bethany uses a play-based curriculum and incorporates movement into all her classes. The parents love that she used to be a dancer and that their child receives that kind of instruction along with the academic teaching.
Bethany’s Best Advice For Starting Your Own Preschool
She says: “Take a deep breath. It’s a lot, but you can do it. Just go through it step-by step. Ask questions in All Stars. Read the book! Ask for help. Take it one day at a time. Have confidence.”
You, too, can start your own preschool!
