0:00

Picture this. You are on a mission to build your dream micro school,

0:05

a place where students thrive, families feel welcome, and educators like yourself

0:10

are empowered to make a huge difference.

0:13

But here's the fact. It's not

0:16

your fault that you don't know where to start and who to have help you.

0:21

It's not your fault that you do not know how to hire.

0:27

Come on. We've been a part of the system that just makes everything seem so

0:32

easy, but there's a lot of invisible catches that they've got us trapped in.

0:37

In today's episode, I'm going to share with you that you need a team,

0:43

a community of passionate, dedicated educators or assistants.

0:48

Parents who share your vision and your values.

0:51

Welcome to a podcast that's all about creating a supportive community of educators,

0:58

educators recruiting nurturing and empowering

1:01

a team that shares your vision and your values

1:04

where do you start with hiring stay tuned parents and

1:08

teachers the time has come the time for us to gather together and create the

1:13

ultimate learning environment for those of us leading the movement and education

1:18

by creating micro schools and homeschool hybrids now introducing micro school

1:24

Microschool Masterminds, the one and only program for those of us who are dedicated to making a change

1:32

and creating such incredible opportunities,

1:35

not only for our community, for our own families, for our own life.

1:40

If you are tired of feeling overwhelmed and isolated in your journey of building

1:44

a microschool or homeschool hybrid, Microschool Masterminds is here to support you through the frustration, the uncertainty.

1:50

Music.

1:51

The building business task, the direction, the vision, the time constraints,

1:57

the fumbling through your finances, the wondering how to grow what you already have.

2:02

Your answer is here. You've been asking for this and we've created it.

2:06

Microschool Masterminds, the one and only ultimate solution to transform your

2:11

dream into your reality. Boost your success with efficient time management, financial planning,

2:17

strategic strategic marketing, and systems and processes to streamline all your

2:22

wild and amazing ideas so you can actually move the mountains standing in your

2:26

way of your greatest success. We know what it's like to struggle with analysis paralysis, financial insecurity,

2:34

and marketing challenges in your micro school.

2:36

Music.

2:43

Beginner, current micro school owner, and the person who is ready to grow their

2:47

existing business and mindset.

2:50

With micro school masterminds, you'll receive monthly group coaching sessions

2:53

with me, Mackenzie Oliver, private support, community access,

2:57

and weekly content filled with templates, videos, and printables to help you

3:02

with all of your business building tasks.

3:04

If you're feeling stuck in a rut, battling time management issues,

3:08

needing clarity over your budget or your finances, If you're struggling to hire

3:12

the dream team or craving accountability and inspiration, Microschool Masterminds is your answer.

3:19

We've helped hundreds of teachers pave the way to their microschool or homeschool hybrid dream.

3:24

We've created 733% of growth in our own microschool.

3:29

We're not letting stagnation, overwhelm, or missed opportunities hold you back.

3:35

Act now and join Microschool Masterminds to unlock the tools,

3:38

the guidance, and the community you need to thrive.

3:41

Don't miss out on this chance to transform your educational business and secure your success.

3:47

Visit TeachersLetYourLightShine.com slash masterminds to sign up today and lock

3:52

in introductory pricing for life.

3:55

Again, that's TeachersLetYourLightShine.com slash masterminds.

4:00

I will be waiting for you on the other side.

4:04

If you were a fly on the wall, You would have seen me in my kitchen smiling

4:09

as I was making turkey sliders and soup for my daughters because I just got

4:16

off a really great coaching phone call that literally had me smiling.

4:20

I was smiling because the person who I was coaching is so proud of herself right

4:27

now. She's so proud of herself.

4:31

She actually has someone that she's hired.

4:34

She's got enrollment for next year. And we talked about how at the beginning

4:39

of her time, whenever we had our very first session of coaching.

4:44

She was thinking, I don't know what I signed myself up for. What am I doing?

4:50

Am I going to make it? And now she's happy and she's got someone who she's hired.

4:56

And that was our whole conversation today. day, pretty much whenever we were

5:00

together on our coaching call, is about her new hire.

5:04

I'm so proud of her, so, so proud of her for taking the leap,

5:08

and I can see how much it really energized her.

5:11

So we got to talking about her process for hiring, and she had mentioned that

5:17

she had gotten on to Indeed, which is absolutely what I encourage you to do.

5:23

She had gotten on Indeed, and she got tripped up a little bit because she didn't know some of the steps.

5:28

And then finally, when she sat down, she put her brain into high gear.

5:34

We focused because I remember the same time that I started my Indeed search for a candidate.

5:40

I was up on the front porch in a cabin in North Carolina, writing out tons and

5:48

tons of ideas for our school, knowing that I needed help.

5:52

I needed an additional assistant. And my husband said, put it on indeed.

5:57

And I was like, how in the world am I supposed to do that? I do not want to

6:01

learn a new little website. It's so simple, so simple, so easy. And it is a really great tool to use whenever

6:09

you're hiring other people, you're recruiting. Is fantastic. And I am just so happy.

6:16

I wanted to start off the podcast with a win with a success that not only is

6:21

she thriving, she's growing, she's hired someone.

6:24

And that is what this episode is all about. In our mastermind group,

6:29

this is an absolute area that we will be focusing on, not just once.

6:35

This is a reoccurring topic that we will be discussing over and over and over again.

6:43

One of the, probably the, I was thinking of this while I was stirring the soup.

6:49

I was thinking about the hardest part that I've had of hiring was hiring too

6:55

late and hiring too too fast.

7:00

Literally, there is a sweet spot, my friends. There is a plan.

7:03

There is a process that you can take. But hiring too fast and hiring too slow,

7:08

they can be very big enemies.

7:11

If you hire too slow, you're stuck doing a lot of work yourself and things that

7:16

you don't like to do, which is exactly what the teacher friend that I was talking to today,

7:21

she's like, I get to give this to somebody else who doesn't want to do it and

7:25

it's or that does want to do it. And it's things that I don't want to do.

7:29

Great. We all have different skill sets. We all have different passions.

7:33

I started off with my mother-in-law coming over. She was my very first hire.

7:37

Then I had a teacher paraprofessional from a school that I used to teach at

7:42

prior to starting the micro school. So, so incredibly helpful. But then there were times when I hired too slow.

7:51

I waited too slow on way too many occasions.

7:56

That's probably the hardest part is that I've hired too slow.

8:00

And I have many consequences of hiring too slow.

8:04

And I would say I've hired too fast.

8:07

I've hired fast because I needed someone on the spot.

8:11

And I didn't think about some of the trainings that were needed,

8:16

the professional development that was needed, and whether or not this was going

8:20

to be a long-term commitment, a long-term project, so to speak,

8:25

for the person who I was hiring. I didn't give any parameters.

8:29

I hired too fast. And I did both of those because I didn't have a process.

8:34

I didn't have a way of really understanding what I needed, how to communicate

8:39

that, and to be able to actually execute and get over my fears and get over

8:45

me feeling like I had to do everything.

8:47

Building a dream team is truly incredible in so many ways.

8:53

But a lot of times we do not take advantage of hiring because we are afraid of the money.

9:00

Or maybe it's just something to do with our leadership.

9:04

Maybe we don't feel like we're ready to be a leader in this area. But listen,

9:09

I want you to design the life you love as a teacher and to transform education.

9:17

This is a journey. You don't want to do the journey alone.

9:23

So of course, don't forget Teachers Let Your Light Shine MicroSchool Mastermind

9:27

Membership launching on April 1st.

9:32

Get in, get yourself introductory pricing for a lifetime. time.

9:36

That way, whenever the prices start going up in May, you've got the right amount

9:41

of time in there where you've been able to dig in to some of the items that

9:46

are in the platform already, video lessons to teach you.

9:50

And then of course, every Thursday, we give you new content.

9:53

And we do a live monthly group coaching.

9:57

Now let's talk about building your dream team. As a teacher entrepreneur,

10:01

entrepreneur, your team is literally the heart and soul of your micro school.

10:05

But how do you find the right people? How do you nurture and empower them to be their best selves?

10:11

Especially if you're feeling like, I don't even know how to do that.

10:14

So today, we're going to talk about some tips and strategies that's going to

10:17

help create a supportive community that's going to help you bring your vision to life.

10:22

So very, very, very, very, very first and foremost, it is essential to define

10:27

your vision, your vision and your values.

10:30

That's where our introductory packet comes in. Where do you stand for as an educator?

10:35

What kind of environment do you create? When you clarify your vision and your

10:40

values, you're not only going to attract like minded people,

10:44

but you're also going to have them serve as a guidepost for decision making and team building.

10:50

You don't want to build a business with people that are not yoked with up with you. You just don't.

10:57

They're going to lead you into decision-making that is not beneficial for your

11:02

school. It's happened to me. It has happened to me. But now I'm getting stronger. I've got my vision. I've got my ideas.

11:11

And I understand that there are some people that are really great for us during a season.

11:17

And then they have other hopes and aspirations as you do as well with your school. And that's okay.

11:23

That's a hard part as well. Trust me, whenever you feel like you've grown out

11:28

of a partnership with someone or they have you in return the same the same feelings

11:35

for you, maybe they are wanting to pursue something different in their life.

11:38

Either way, we have a process for that as well, that we will just take you through

11:43

this journey of what it's really like to be responsible for providing income for others.

11:49

But it's amazing you get to

11:52

create jobs but when you clarify

11:55

your vision and your values yes you're going to attract like-minded

11:59

people they're going to help you make decisions and it's

12:03

so important that you share this with these

12:05

people during your interview and also whenever

12:08

you write an ad either on indeed or on facebook that you are giving some really

12:14

great pointers for what you're looking for in a teacher or an assistant or someone

12:23

who's doing your bookkeeping or someone who's coaching you.

12:26

Either way, you've got to know this is what I want. This is what I believe in.

12:31

And I need to find someone who feels the same way.

12:33

Now, when it comes to recruiting, you have to cast a wide net and be very proactive

12:38

in seeking out potential team members that align with your vision and your values. We use Indeed.

12:45

We've had very little success on Facebook, but we still advertise for it. We go through Indeed.

12:52

We also have parents who have ended up coming on staff for us as well.

12:57

But don't be afraid to think outside the box and consider candidates from diverse

13:02

backgrounds and experiences.

13:05

We've got some homeschool moms. We've got some college students. We've got some artists.

13:09

We've got our PE coach. He runs a physical fitness gym. We've got a parent.

13:15

We've got a mom who had her teaching degree, but she was a stay-at-home mom for four years.

13:20

We have someone from public school. We got people from all over, all over.

13:25

Diversity really does strengthen the team and it fosters innovation.

13:30

Now, once you have your team, whether it be assistants or teachers,

13:33

it's very crucial to invest in their growth and development.

13:36

That is an area that we've even been talking about in the Facebook group.

13:40

How do we provide ongoing training, mentorship, and opportunities for professional growth?

13:46

And let me tell you, if somebody would have told me that whenever I had an assistant

13:49

or my mother-in-law in my living room for the first two years,

13:52

I would have been like, What am I supposed to do with that?

13:56

But I could have taken my assistant or my mother-in-law to conferences.

14:03

We could have went even to homeschooling conferences. That would be a little

14:07

bit less invasive, I feel, for a teacher assistant or a parent to come in at

14:14

a homeschooling conference. One, I think that they would connect very well.

14:18

Two, there's just so much incredible incredible quality and different ways of learning and teaching.

14:25

And I will say as a teacher, whenever I went to the homeschooling conference,

14:29

I did learn a lot about homeschooling. I learned a lot about curriculum.

14:33

I learned about a lot about myself. But you may find that your teacher or teacher assistant.

14:41

Could utilize this type of conference as well.

14:45

So conferences are really great. If you even think about Herzog,

14:50

there is the Cox Institute. So Herzog and Cox, C-O-X Institute are also very well known for professional

14:59

development and short trainings.

15:02

I think it is very imperative that you You also have meetings with your staff.

15:09

You yourself can be the one to professionally develop.

15:12

And it doesn't have to be the sage on the stage, this big presentation,

15:16

but it can be something that is a part of your vision and your mission and your values.

15:22

You can get in a situation in a conference, order some food,

15:27

like in a conference room, or just take the people that you really care about

15:32

that are on your team, all of them, obviously that you care about, but anybody,

15:36

even if it's people who volunteer and bring them together, go out to eat,

15:40

order out some food, go to Panera, get a little conference room,

15:44

share that these are the things that we've noticed in our school.

15:47

These are the things that we want to keep. These are the things that we want

15:50

to change and talk openly.

15:53

Like let's have a conversation about these things. We don't always have to be

15:56

the sage on the stage. We don't have to be a dictator. We don't have to micromanage people.

16:00

We can collaborate with others.

16:04

Which is really, really great in this realm. Communication really is key to building a strong team. So we have to foster

16:11

very open, honest, and transparent communication.

16:14

Maybe that's where you need to start. Maybe you need to have channels where team members feel heard, valued, respected.

16:22

Encourage collaboration, encourage feedback, and constructive dialogue to foster

16:27

a culture of trust and, of course, accountability.

16:31

Other really, really incredible thing that I cannot wait to show you guys in

16:36

micro school masterminds is the way I communicate with my staff.

16:42

And it's not the Google Drive. And it is not through email. And it is not through text messaging.

16:49

It is through our own project management board.

16:53

I'm super excited to share that with you. micro school masterminds because you

16:57

you have to have a way of communication. But a side note, this is super cute. My husband is in charge of the maintenance

17:04

around our school at the church. And he comes in the morning, he unlocks the school, he sets it all up for success,

17:12

he plays music, he turns on all the lights, he makes sure the air is good,

17:16

makes sure checks on the trash, gets the PE equipment out for the kiddos.

17:20

This morning, he was out blowing leaves. At the end of the day,

17:23

even though we've locked it and turned the lights off, he still feels like he

17:26

needs to go by there and check it out. He takes the trash.

17:29

He just goes and fixes anything or finds people who can fix things.

17:33

But he's also in charge of restocking.

17:35

Tool of paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies.

17:38

And the kids would come to me and say, Miss Oliver, the bathroom light's flickering.

17:42

Miss Oliver, we need more toilet paper. Miss Oliver, we need more soap.

17:45

And finally, I was like, boys and girls, that's not my job.

17:50

But you don't know that because you don't see Mr. Oliver every day.

17:53

You think that that's my job, but it's actually Mr. Oliver's job.

17:57

So let's tell him in a real fun way.

18:01

So we took a stick, a big post-it white sticky note, and we hung it outside of his office.

18:06

And there's some markers outside of the supply room. It's not his office.

18:10

It's the supply room. It's the janitor closet for crying out loud.

18:13

That's what I'm trying to say. The janitor closet. So they took a piece of paper, a sticky note paper,

18:19

big one, you know, the big white poster board.

18:21

They put it up on the wall and they just got to writing. Mr.

18:25

Oliver, the lights are flickering. Mr. Oliver, we need soap.

18:28

Mr. Oliver, we need more mop solution.

18:31

Mr. Oliver, there is beehive up in the tree where we play basketball.

18:37

And I tell you what, my husband got that note the next day, and he was on it.

18:42

And I even was writing there. And I already have a way of communicating with my husband.

18:47

But the fact is, I don't always know if he's checking our project management board.

18:52

But I know he's walking right straight into that janitor closet every day.

18:55

And when he sees those little kindergartners writing little notes to him on

18:58

the wall, seriously, kindergartners, a kindergartner literally wrote him a note

19:03

and gave it to him. So my husband, yes, he is on staff at Lighthouse Learning.

19:09

We're so grateful for that. And he too is a part of our collaboration. He got a binder at the beginning of the year.

19:15

You better believe he got a binder. He's got a t-shirt. He's got it all.

19:19

It's like he's working there. I told him I need to put him on payroll, which I do need to put him on payroll.

19:24

But he refuses not to.

19:28

But let's be honest. The money is still coming to the same bank account, right? right?

19:33

So yes, I do think it's important. I'm going to be putting him on payroll.

19:38

Hey, listen, he deserves it. If you got a husband, let's put them on payroll.

19:44

By following the tips that I gave you, making sure you've got a way of pulling

19:48

people in, making sure you have an interview process.

19:52

I failed to mention that throughout this episode is that I have a very.

19:56

Just low invasive, but important process that I go through when I am vetting

20:02

our applicants, seeing, we call it qualifying in, qualifying out.

20:08

Okay, these people are candidates. These people, we need to go ahead and kindly decline.

20:15

Now, after we get our really important stack of papers of who it is that we

20:21

want to hire, actually, it used to be a stack of papers, but we don't even do that.

20:24

We don't even we download the resumes we put it into our

20:27

project management system which i'm going to teach you at micro school

20:30

masterminds it's a free project management system you've

20:34

got to be there get in april 1st you

20:37

can start just consuming and and just being able to understand and get yourself

20:43

in a good position of learning and growing i'm excited to be with you guys and

20:48

micro school masterminds until then head over to our facebook group that is

20:53

teacher let your light LightShine micro school community and check us out.

20:56

The micro school masterminds at teachers light your light shine.com slash masterminds.

21:01

Parents and teachers, the time has come the time for us to gather together and

21:07

create the ultimate learning environment for those of us leading the movement

21:12

and education by creating micro schools and homeschool hybrids.

21:16

Now introducing micro Microschool Masterminds, the one and only program for

21:22

those of us who are dedicated to making a change and creating such incredible

21:29

opportunities, not only for our community,

21:31

for our own families, for our own life.

21:34

If you are tired of feeling overwhelmed and isolated in your journey of building

21:39

a microschool or homeschool hybrid. Microschool Masterminds is here to support you through the frustration, the uncertainty.

21:46

Music.

21:46

The building business task, the direction, the vision, the time constraints,

21:51

the fumbling through your finances, the wondering how to grow what you already

21:56

have. Your answer is here. You've been asking for this and we've created it. Microschool Masterminds,

22:02

the one and only ultimate solution to transform your dream into your reality.

22:07

Boost your success with efficient time management, financial planning,

22:12

strategic marketing, and systems and processes to streamline all your wild and

22:17

amazing ideas so you can actually move the mountains standing in your way of your greatest success.

22:23

We know what it's like to struggle with analysis paralysis, financial insecurity,

22:28

and marketing challenges in your micro school or home.

22:31

Music.

22:39

Current micro school owner, and the person who is ready to grow their existing business and mindset.

22:44

With micro school masterminds, you'll receive monthly group coaching sessions

22:48

with me, Mackenzie Oliver, private support, community access,

22:51

and weekly content filled with templates, videos, and printables to help you

22:56

with all of your business building tasks.

22:59

If you're feeling stuck in a rut, battling time management issues,

23:02

needing clarity over your budget or your finances, If you're struggling to hire

23:07

the dream team or craving accountability and inspiration, Microschool Masterminds is your answer.

23:13

We've helped hundreds of teachers pave the way to their microschool or homeschool hybrid dream.

23:19

We've created 733% of growth in our own microschool.

23:24

We're not letting stagnation, overwhelm, or missed opportunities hold you back.

23:29

Act now and join Microschool Masterminds to unlock the tools,

23:33

the guidance, and the community you need to thrive.

23:36

Don't miss out on this chance to transform your educational business and secure your success.

23:41

Visit TeachersLetYourLightShine.com slash masterminds to sign up today and lock

23:46

in introductory pricing for life.

23:50

Again, that's TeachersLetYourLightShine.com slash masterminds.

23:55

Music.