Connect with Stacey: 

• https://sidehustleteachers.com/
• https://teacherblogacademy.com/
• facebook.com/groups/sidehustleteachers

Connect with Sara

• https://www.torpeycoaching.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/uncomplicatingbusiness

Sara Torpey  00:05

Welcome to Uncomplicating Business for Teachers, Helpers, and Givers. I'm Sara Torpey. I am a business coach. I am the host of this whole jam right here. And today I'm super excited to have someone you might know in the teaching world. If you're a teacher that has thought about our business, you probably know who she is. The wonderful and magical Stacey Ogden, here with us from side hustle teachers and all kinds of things. You know, we're all kinds of ways. So Stacy, Yay, I'm excited to have you here. Thanks so much for coming to play.

Stacey Ogden  00:40

Thank you so much for inviting me. That was a great introduction, by the way. 

Sara Torpey  00:41

Oh, no these are way exactly you ALL. So first, before we jump in and talk about all the things tell people where like, Where in the world you are, right? This like where you are, and also what you where they're gonna find you right out of the bat. 

Stacey Ogden  01:04

Sure. So if you are looking for me, and you're not in the Western Connecticut region, you can find me I am at side hustle teachers.com. Or my my course is Teacher blog. academy.com. My favorite place in the world to hang out is in my Facebook group of almost 12,000 Other side hustling teachers. And you can literally just search for side hustle teachers on Facebook, and that's me. Yeah. 

Sara Torpey  01:36

Oh, it's just pretty amazing. It's one of the groups I know. And I know people are like, do you have you ever been in that? I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. We've all found it friend we have. It's, it's but it's great. Which is why why it's as big as it is. So we're going to talk business things. Today we are going to talk about the things we have learned we are going to talk about the things we wish we had learned sooner. So talk to me about the very beginning. Talk to me about why you decided and you are still teaching like different from me, in that like, for me, the teaching part is the side hustle, like I haven't reversed where businesses, my primary teaching is my sort of side secret project. You are in the reverse, you're still in a school building the vast majority of your time. Talk to me about how and why you came to the like, I'm going to do this other thing.

Stacey Ogden  02:37

So I have a daughter, she's 11. And when I she was she was she didn't make things easy. When she first came, she was two months early and spent 54 days in the NICU and the whole nine yards. So when I ended up going back to work, she was about seven months old. And I resented it. I didn't want to be there, I saw a lot of things happening in education that I didn't agree with. And it just it was it was not a good place for me to be. So I actually started looking for a side hustle as a way out of teaching like I wanted out. And so as I started looking, I was presented an opportunity to join a direct sales company. And I just jumped at it. Because that's what you do when you're desperate. And it was a colossal failure. I mean, it was a failure of epic proportions. And as you know, as I went through the process, I was trying to do one last ditch effort to make my side hustle work. And I started a blog to help promote my business. And I discovered pretty quickly that I loved the blog, but I still hated the business. So I decided, alright, let's drop this business part of it. And let's focus on the blog. Let's make that my business. But what I realized as I was going through it, and I was learning about blogging, and I was starting to see income, you know, my first month I made $2.11 And it was spectacular. 

Sara Torpey  04:26

Well, and it was like the best $2.11 of your entire life. Like I remember seeing like holy tacos looking at this. Somebody bought this. Holy God.

Stacey Ogden  04:36

Yes, exactly. I was so excited. I did a happy dance. I was like, oh my god, I made money this month. My husband like how much I'm like $2 and I love it that and he's looking at me like I'm nuts.

Sara Torpey  04:47

I get that look a lot even still. So I hear you.

Stacey Ogden  04:50

Yeah. And you know, so once I started doing this and making money, I was like, wow, this is something I could actually do because if you can make $2 you can make more than $2 So what I realized as I was going through this, this journey is that now that I had this other thing in my life, something else I could put my attention to something else I could use to grow as a person without having to go back and get yet another teaching degree and without having to take another class or take on another, you know, club or something like that. I, I was so excited, and I was so enthralled with what I was learning that I didn't hate teaching anymore. It was like, I was able to channel what I really wanted into a business which let me express myself. And that's what I was missing in the classroom as I felt like I had kind of grown as far as I wanted to grow like I was starting to outgrow my planter. And but I didn't want a new education planter, I just wanted to keep learning

Sara Torpey  05:59

well and it's, sort of the difference between taking that plant that's outgrown its pot and giving it a giant new pot, versus like splitting it. And putting it into containers, right, like it is still grow. It'll still do the same things. But it sometimes you need two containers, right? Yeah, it was. That's okay. So you've stayed? If so how long have you been both?

Stacey Ogden  06:26

for about 10 years, I've been doing both. And, you know, people look at me, like I'm crazy. I've been through several iterations of my business, like my first blog was actually a mom blog. You know, and then I brought in a couple of other like direct sales businesses into that which were much better fit, because I could sell them through my blog instead of the way I had to do the first one, which was a really bad fit. And then eventually, when side hustle teachers started taking off, I had to make a choice. And I couldn't, I couldn't do both. So I ended up selling them on blog. And focusing entirely on side hustle teachers. And I still, you know, I kind of look forward to like early retirement. But I'm not every single day going, Oh, my God, I gotta get out of here. And I gotta get out of here, which is a horrible place to be.

Sara Torpey  07:22

Well, and it's bad for everybody. But it's also like, No, I have something else to do with my brain power that I wasn't using here. I think the other interesting thing that I think people don't notice, when they look at, I think we as humans don't notice when they we look at people who are successful. We forget that like, there are two or three businesses before this one. Right that it's 10 years, like I was talking to somebody over the weekend at a conference. And she was telling the story of how she got where she is today. And I was as she was listing out years, I was doing math, because that's what happens in my brain. She's 14 years in. Yeah. And it was like, oh, and I think she's like 17 Like she's one of those super young looking people. And you're like, your 14 year you started when you were three. Okay. But but she literally has been at it for 14 years. And I think people look and go like, Oh, but this was easy for you. And the answer is like, no, no, it took a long ass time.

Stacey Ogden  08:25

Yeah, yeah, there's definitely no shortcut. You know, you have to go through and make the mistakes. Yes. And learn from them. And then move on to the next mistake and learn from that, you know, and just kind of you all and you as a teacher

Sara Torpey  08:42

we have, right? We know that as teachers, we encourage it and others we hate to do it ourselves. Yes. Like as a teacher, I want to get the a the first time Thanks for playing. But we know that that's a thing. So tell me since you've made all the mistakes I have have made I have done a couple where I was like looking back now I keep the I think I look at them and think like oh my god, what planet was that going to work? Where you turn around and you're like, Oh, brother, that was I had to make that mistake, but geez there. So what are the things, you know, that you figured what are a couple things that you think you've figured out along the way making those mistakes? That you like if somebody could hear it, and potentially maybe not make it as deeply? Right like I I don't think we can prevent people from making the mistakes, but maybe I can shorten the path through it. Right? Right. That's what I think for people. So like, what are a couple of things where you're like, maybe you'll still make this mistake, but maybe you won't make it five times like I did kind of thing. Maybe you won't bang your head into it 12 times. I'm not saying I do that at all all the time. But what Ever.

Stacey Ogden  10:00

I know it's like you're taking a walk and you keep tripping over the same damn rock in the path.

Sara Torpey  10:05

And you're like, mmm, I gotta walk back there and trip up. There's my rock. That's great, isn't it? We're like, oh my god, I just did that again. Okay, yeah. Cool. So what are some of those things for you? So

Stacey Ogden  10:19

the very first one, the very first mistake I made, and it took a long time to either see this as a mistake and then fix it is staying too long in a business, that was not a good fit for me. Because other people were having success with it. So I am an introvert, like a hard core introvert. Like, if I could live in a cocoon, I would probably do that. So for me, that first business was one that required me to go out and talk to people and go to networking events. Oh, and, you know, go to classes. And even just saying those things right now. I'm like, Oh, why would I do that to myself? Because I thought that was the way to do it. And the truth is, there's no one way to do it, you can build a business that suits your life and personality, just the way you want it to. But I think a lot of us don't understand that. Like we maybe maybe we've heard it intellectually, but we don't understand it like really in our gut, until we actually have a wrong fit business. And we're like, Okay, how did I get here?

Sara Torpey  11:38

Well, and I think that's exactly it. There is such a thing as a wrong fit. When I think internally, what we do is we look at it is something's wrong with me? Yes. It's like putting on a pair of shoes that are two sizes too big and being mad at your feet. Right? Like, it's like, my feet are wrong. No, no, those are the wrong size shoes. Like this is not a good fit for you. I think that that's a different thing. It doesn't always occur to us that like it's the fit, not the human. Right. And that's really hard, right? Like, it's not me.

Stacey Ogden  12:11

And I think I think that stops a lot of potential entrepreneurs from from getting where they could be because they feel like, if the first one didn't work out, or for the first one wasn't the right fit, then I'm not cut out for this. Not that that wasn't the right business, you know, and I think the only reason I actually figured that out and didn't, didn't give up along the way, was because my, my blog, started as an attempt to keep that last business, that first business going. And when I started the blog, I was like, Oh, this is great. I can, I can stay home and I can write in my pajamas, and I don't have to talk to people. And when I take my daughter to dance class, I can sit on my computer and write blog posts. And, you know, and I was like, This is what it can be

Sara Torpey  13:17

Well, and even the idea that it could be that like that that's also a valid business and entirely different. It's like on a different planet. But yeah, also possible, is like, Oh, the distance here, the range of what's available is way bigger than I realized. And that's what

Stacey Ogden  13:38

I never like thought of that. Yeah, I never like I knew that there were people who made money with blogs, but I didn't really get it. So when I started one, I you know, I just kind of started it, like I said, As a last ditch effort to keep this business going. Then I was like, Oh, this is really cool. Because I can this is a business that actually fits my life where I'm at right now. It fits my personality, it fits my it fits my like, strengths as a person and

Sara Torpey  14:11

Well, and you actually like it, which I think is I want you to go like but I actually like it. It doesn't feel like pushing the rock up the mountain, ya know, 

Stacey Ogden  14:19

And I don't I'm not filled with dread when I think about working on it. Like, I didn't know that was a thing.

Sara Torpey  14:25

Well in like, the idea that it doesn't have to hurt, right? That like if you can, you don't have to, like bleed for it to work. 

Stacey Ogden  14:36

Yeah, and that doesn't have to be you know, the thing about teaching is that everybody loves the part where we get to teach the kids and all the other crap is just stuff we have to deal with. To get to the part where we teach the kids we have to deal with all that other stuff. You know, we have to deal with the paperwork and the you know, under Write for parents and the behavior issues and the other things so that we can get to the part that we love, which is teaching my children. And then, you know, when we start a business, we don't realize that we don't have to take on all that extra stuff. If it doesn't feel good in our business, most of the time, you don't have to do it.

Sara Torpey  15:21

Well, and like, like wholesale, you don't even have to pay someone else to do it. Yeah, at the time. Like there are just whole swaths of things that are a part of my business. Yeah. Including owning to me, right? Like, including people I don't want to work with, which is a teacher was a I can remember that being a huge like, whoa, wait, whoa, whoa, wait, wait, wait, wait. So what you're saying is, if I don't want to work with them, I can just say no. And being like, holy, like, oh, oh, if they're not a good fit, if that's not a good fit, that's fascinating. And I talk with people about that all the time. And they're like, wait, what? They're not a good fit. I don't have to say yes.

Stacey Ogden  16:06

Yeah. Isn't that remarkable? Like, it's not just the child shows up in your classroom, and you have to deal with them no matter what you get to choose like

Sara Torpey  16:14

Choices? You get to decide, like, what scary lunch option eat? thing, it's amazing. And so like, Okay, so that's staying too long, I think. And in knowing you get to make choices, I think is the other in there. Are there other things that you've learned from mistakes that you think like, oh, that one...

Stacey Ogden  16:39

The biggest one that comes to mind is overcomplicating things. You know, we once you get into the world of entrepreneurship, everybody has these cool ideas that you can do and wait, you know, tools that you can use and systems that you can use. And, you know, once you get into this world, and you start reading about this stuff, you're like, oh, that sounds really amazing, I should do that, you know, this guy's on tic tac, and did a thing, and I should do that, and blah, blah, blah, and, and, and, and, and when really, the simpler, you can keep your business, especially, especially if you're still in the classroom, the better, you know, all of the shiny things, all of the new tools are great. And if there's something that helps you do something that you need to do more efficiently, then absolutely. But a lot of the time, and I've done this many, many, many times myself is that, we get this idea of oh, I'm going to add this in, but it's going to be simple, because I've got this tool, first, you have to learn the tool, and then you have to do all the stuff to get everything into the tool. And then and then you have to maintain all that stuff to keep it like it's never simple. So, you know, keep things as streamlined as possible. Because the more you add to your business, it's like adding features to your washing machine. You know, like if you start to, you start to get one of those fancy pants, washing machines, then all of a sudden, one little button breaks and all of your stuff comes out pink like, and you just, you know it, it really just throws a wrench in the works. And you're like, why is this so hard now? Well, it's because over the last six months, you ended, you kept ending? Yeah, you know, and, and you ended up a spot where you can't juggle everything, you can't maintain it, because it's just too much. And you now you have to pare back.

Sara Torpey  18:40

So and I think it's also the like, see in the Fancy Pants washing machine, the thing that makes me think of is like, I have a fancy pants microwave. And I use like three buttons. Like, my husband can use like to and I have, like I can defrost. And that's like the added value that I bring to the equation. But like, I don't use 75% of what that is. So if it's a tool I'm going to buy and use 25% of why am I buying it when I could just make a Google spreadsheet out of it. Like I have so many I have a couple of friends that are what I refer to as tool monsters. Where it's like I saw this thing on AppSumo I think you need it and I'm like I I like aggressively don't. Because I did that in my first business. I bought all the things. I bought all the things and then I came into this one where if somebody says to me, you need to buy this tool. I make them explain me 17 reasons why like I am aggressively against buying basically anything tool related unless I really have to because I don't want the complications. So it's really like I have I have over compensated there, for sure. But at the same time, it's like can I do it in a spreadsheet? Yeah,

Stacey Ogden  19:58

Yeah. Or do I need to do it at all. Is this something that I need to do? Or is it you know, am I being seduced because someone else is doing it and I feel the need to either keep up. Or you know, maybe they're that self doubt is creeping in that I'm not good enough because I'm not on tick tock which by the way, I'm not on tick tock, because all my students are on tick tock, and just No,

Sara Torpey  20:24

See, and like, that's how I feel about Instagram. So Instagram, but I tick tock because I think it's fun. But it's fun for me. Like, it's fun for me to just, I like little videos. So I can do that there. And I can be happy and I don't give a crap if anybody actually watches them to be quite honest. Right? But like, it's mine. It's my thing to play with. And that's fine. So the other thing I think is interesting. The I, I wonder if you have a tool that drives you craziest when people are like, oh, you know what you need? For me it is CRMs people are like, I think you need I'm gonna buy the CRM, I drives me bananas, because for the most part, I find the reason they're buying it is to solve six problems they don't have yet. Right? If you're buying something to solve a problem you have you don't have yet you don't need to buy it. Yeah, like we're at that one makes me crazy. Do you have

Stacey Ogden  21:14

I have tripped over that particular rock a couple of times? In fact, one time I brought my husband with me, I used I bought one for his business.

Sara Torpey  21:26

That's amazing. And

Stacey Ogden  21:28

I made someone else took over the rock too. Yeah, I would definitely say CRMs are one of those sticky wickets that they feel like, they can do so many things. But do you need to do those things is the question. And do you have any? You know, do you need it now? Yeah. And do you need it at all? You know, even if you think you need it now? Do you need it now? Yeah. Or? Or are you just being seduced by fancy marketing?

Sara Torpey  22:03

 Well, it is it seduced and also afraid? Is it I get people all the time? That'll be like, but when I have 50 people, like Okay, let's get five. Yeah. And then we'll talk about it. Because my guess is, is when you get 50, you have gotten more efficient as you get 10 and then 15 and 20. And when we get to 50, you'll be like, Oh, I know how to do this. Oh, okay. Yeah, it's just afraid of volume. And that's okay. But it's, we don't need a tool to fix a fear that isn't really yet friends. It's yeah. So are there things not so much mistakes along the way that you're like, oh, stupid rock. Are there things where you're like, oh, like all kinds of moments where you are like, Oh, that's, like, I have my set where I can remember being like, Oh, wait, I can tell people I'm the expert. I don't have to wait for them to come like tapped me on the shoulder and be like, do you have anything you'd like to add? That's that was like, Oh, crap. Oh, okay. What I have is valuable. And I'm in charge of that. Do you have things like that, where you're like, oh, this was a lightbulb are there. And sorry, I still even on podcast, I have to talk. I have to take my Fitbit off when I'm when I'm talking. Tomorrow, I would take that credit, I'd be over here like waving my arms like a lunatic

Stacey Ogden  23:38

Oh yeah, I absolutely do. You know, the first one was the, your business doesn't have to feel crappy. That was, you know, the first one, which we went through already talked about. The other one that I would say comes up a lot is you don't need another certification, or another URL. You know, teachers especially, I think, fall victim to this because we because we're natural learners for one thing, and also because we are the people who feel like we can't start until it's perfect. And it can't be perfect until we have taken that course or we have that extra certification and I see it not just in my group but in like the groups for teachers who want to get out of teaching and they're like, what degree can I get that will help me get out of teaching. I'm like, you can get a degree away from your computer and, and just start sending out resumes. It's

Sara Torpey  24:40

Actually five degrees, a chair slightly so that you can get out from behind your desk.

Stacey Ogden  24:46

You know, so just just move away from the ads for you know, Southern New Hampshire University and start thinking about what you want to do and start sending out resumes like don't do Don't be concerned that you need to take another course or get another degree or earn a certification in something. Because what you have is enough. And that moment of like, what I have is enough was like Oh, mg like I, I can do this without having to I don't need to go get I actually thought about going to get my MBA at one point. And I'm like, okay, so then we're looking at like, several, several 10s of 1000s of dollars, a tremendous amount of time, which would take away from my business, my family and my school life. And because it's not a school related thing, they would not pay for any of it. And why? What would it actually earn me and I took that moment back, and I'm like, Oh, maybe I don't need that. Because maybe what I know, isn't enough. And what I don't know I can Google.

Sara Torpey  26:00

Well, and it's that like, I think as teachers, we started careers, and somebody said, Do you have the piece of paper? And we said, Yes, I have the piece of paper. And then they said, Okay, come on, in. Right. It was like the gatekeeper. And we are used to it. Since we don't know any different. We think everything has a gatekeeper. But, y'all and entrepreneurship, they don't give a crap. And that's both a blessing and a curse. But at the same time, it's like you've 20 years, people will come to me in coaching and say, I was a teacher for 20 years. And now I'm going to start a business and I have to start from scratch. And I always look at that. I'm like, Oh, girl, you're not new at anything. You're not, we're not you're going to take 20 years worth of amazing things and just pick them up and move them across the room into this new apartment you're building. Like we're literally just taking our prior knowledge and using it. And no piece of paper is required to switch the location. Yeah. And that's I even every now and then I am like, Oh, I'll see somebody gets certified in something. And I'll be like, Oh, that's Oh, what am I doing? Yeah. I've gotten really quick, where I'm like, Oh, that would be Whoa, yeah. Like, whoa, whoa,

Stacey Ogden  27:18

yeah. Maybe I need a life coach certification. No, no, I know. No. You're like, no.

Sara Torpey  27:24

I have a friend who does certifications through I think she does them with Martha Beck or somebody else. And she's done a couple and like, she's learned a lot. They've been great. And also, I don't like, okay. They aren't. But they have their for her. So it is one thing to learn for yourself. I think it is entirely another one to learn because you're insecure. And that's very different. If you're going to get the certification because you're insecure in what you're doing next, you're just going to be insecure, like we're unsure as we do the thing, there is no guarantee you're gonna have to be unsure as you do it, even with the certification, that's not going to fix it.

Stacey Ogden  28:07

Yeah, I mean, think about the first time you stepped into a classroom, you are fully certified, you had all the degrees, you had the piece of paper and made it past the gatekeeper. And it was still a terrifying experience. Because you were completely uncertain about what was going to happen and whether those children were going to take you seriously. Or they were going to Lord of the Flies in your classroom, and just completely revolt, you know, so there's always the uncertainty. But the thing, the other thing that I would say is that light bulb moment is that, that again, I've had to get hit over the head with this light bulb several times is that action brings clarity. So if you don't know what to do, if you're not sure whether you want to take path A or path B, pick a path and try it. And if that's not the right path, then go back and take the other one. Because they're there. We tend to get so paralyzed by the there's a right way and a wrong way that we don't do anything. And if you don't take action, you'll never know which is the right one because you can sit there and hem and haw. I'm looking at both paths. And this one is, you know, this one is curvy and windy. And this one over here overlooks the scenic cliff. But which one do you take? You don't know until you actually start to take those steps? Well, and you can't think your way to it. No, you can't. 

Sara Torpey  29:38

Like I have plenty of people in my world who try to think their way to the answer and I listen, I would love for that to be the answer. I really would. And the way you think about things plays a piece like there is a mindset component all that it's fine, but you can't think your way to clarity. No, you like literally can't you have To have it come out of your mouth into the world of people again and again and again. And then it gets better. And in between, sometimes you are going to be like, Oh my god, I sounded like an idiot. That's okay. Because even when you think you're most clear, I have been super clear sometimes and stood in a room and had five people be like, Oh, I totally get it in five people be like, what? At the same time?

Stacey Ogden  30:22

I know, right?

Sara Torpey  30:24

So like, there's always going to be people who get it right away. And there's always going to be people just like in a classroom who look at you, like you've got 14 heads no matter what you do. That's going to be the case, but you still have to do the thing. 

Stacey Ogden  30:38

Yep. And that's the only way to get to, you know, the quote, unquote, right answer. It's only the only way that you're going to get to the right path is to just take a couple steps and see what happens. Yeah, you know, should I, I maybe wandered a little too far down my wrong path at first. But it still, even after spending time and money and energy, and, you know, soul crushing, you know, wrong fitness path for way too long, I still was able to get to the right path. So there's no, and I wouldn't have gotten there. If I hadn't gone down the wrong one. You know, so sometimes it's not, there's no direct path to where you need to go. Sometimes you have to go down, you have to pick one. That's okay, for right now. And then the right path appears and but you'll never get there unless you start going.

Sara Torpey  31:40

Well, and I think you have to learn the lessons you learn. They're like, my second business doesn't do what it does. Unless the first business I did a bunch of things. Right? Like there, there just is no replacement for that. And I think logically we know that. But emotionally, we're like, and that sounds great for you. And also no thank you. That but it is like I always feel like there's a method to the madness, even if I don't know what the method is, right? Like, sometimes we just have to trust the path is teaching us the thing we're supposed to learn. And that's hard. But also, kind of the way it's got to be, you know, you had a student that first year that was there to teach you some things, mines, mine was called Cornelius Gibbons, thank you very much like you can, you can probably name that person all the time. And that kid was there to teach me some things about teaching and myself. Thank you very much. So as somebody out in the world who you got a lot of teachers in your world, you got a lot of teachers doing side things. What do you want them to know? Like? What are the things that you have put in place? I know like when you and I talked before we talked a little about boundaries in time. What are the things you want them to walk away with? If they listen to this, where you're like, hey, here's some things they like, for me to you that are things to consider?

Stacey Ogden  33:25

I'd say probably the biggest one is that when you're building your business, however you build it, make deliberate decisions, but make decisions and go with them, which sort of goes along with what we were just talking about. You know, if you're trying to decide what business to start, which is, you know, where a lot of people get stuck, what business should I start? What should I do first? Just you know, there are really three questions to ask yourself, what are you good at? What do you love doing? And what is there a need for in the world? And if if the thing that you want to do fills that, then give it a try and see what happens and do it without attachment to the outcome? Just it's an experiment.

Sara Torpey  34:18

Science it is. It's all science. It's all like I'm gonna throw these things in a pot and see what happens. Exactly. I mean, have you ever cooked like that? Sometimes it's great. Sometimes you're like, Yeah, we're heading out tonight. Yes.

Stacey Ogden  34:33

And you know, and if you take it all with that sort of mindset of an adventurer, that something is gonna happen. We're not entirely sure what. But let's, let's just go for it and see what happens. Then that can be that's that's the best way to actually figure out where you're supposed to be.

Sara Torpey  34:58

Well, and I think what's interesting is one of the things I tell clients all the time is nothing is more detrimental to confidence than indecision, nothing is going to hurt you more than not deciding, like, truly you want it you want your confidence to spiral into a black hole, don't decide, like, this is the way to do it the decision as much as you're like, but it's not the right one, the decision is going to build you up no matter what it is.

Stacey Ogden  35:22

Yeah. Yep. And, you know, like we said, there's no progress without action. So, and honestly, not making a decision is still making a decision. You're just making a decision to stay where you are, and keep things exactly as they are. Which, you know, if you're coming to a group, like side hustle teachers, or you're coming to a coach, or you're taking a horse, means that you already saw something that you want to change. And to not decide, you are deciding to stay where you are, which is already counter to what you've said you want. So, you know, building that business making conscious decisions, and just doing the having the the mindset of a student again, which is willing

Sara Torpey  36:10

A willing student though, I think students, I think not the one that sits in the back room. Kid gives you don't be that kid, that gives you the look that's like the Over my dead body lady like that you're not that student, you're like the eager student be that student that's like willing to try the things very different.

Stacey Ogden  36:28

Yeah. And then when you make mistakes, don't think of them as, as mistakes. Think of them as a learning opportunity. You know, that old The old adage about Edison, you know, 1000 different light bulbs before he came up with the right one. You know, the same thing is true, though, we are so rough on ourselves as teachers, when it comes to making mistakes that we you know, something happens, and it's all of a sudden, this sign from the universe that we shouldn't be doing this, we're not cut out for it, when really it's just a mistake, you know? And how would we talk to our students who make a mistake, when they're learning how to, you know, diagram sentences, I don't know if they do that anymore, or when they're learning the quadratic equation, or, you know, what would happen if, you know, we talk to our students, the way we talk to ourselves about mistakes. So when I say take on the take on the role of a student, again, it's almost like you have to say, I'm putting my student cap on because I'm doing something new. And I'm going to talk to myself, how I would talk to my students. And it's a conscious decision. Say, I'm going to talk to myself, I am no longer adult, Stacy, I am now student, Stacy, I am learning I am trying something new. And I need to be my best teacher, where I can examine things that go wrong. And I can say, Hmm, maybe I didn't need to make that 45 unit something rather without asking anybody if they wanted it?

Sara Torpey  38:11

Well, and I think I had a coach at one point, who used to talk about like, like, I was picturing in my head, like she had a towel, and it was wet in her mistake made the towel and she would ring as much out of it as she could like it, it would be like dollars falling to the floor, she used to try to get, you know, $1,000 worth of value out of every mistake. And there's something in that picture for me about like, I'm gonna make the mistake, the mistake is coming. But after I do it, I'm going to pick it apart and learn all the things and get all of the book out of it that I can then take and walk away with. So I don't have to do this one again, right? So I can check it off the list because there's a finite number of ways to fail. And every time I do one of those, I'm gonna check it off the list instead of being like, we'll do that one again, that sounds fun. It was so enjoyable the first time. So like in the idea that you can look at it like that as a learner and just like racing the learning out of it and be like, What am I getting here? Because I am going to take all of this and it's like, I'm not doing this again. I might, but I'm going to get as much from it as I can. Mm hmm.

Stacey Ogden  39:24

Yep. And, and honestly, if you didn't make those mistakes, think of all the things you didn't learn. Yes, you know. So just like we say to our students, mistakes happen. It's our recovery that matters. So let's think about what we can get out of this mistake. What can we learn from it? How can we move past it? And how can we use this mistake to do better? And if we hadn't made this mistake, we wouldn't be able to do better. We would just be continuing on you know, kind of vanilla in the middle beige.

Sara Torpey  40:02

It's the my husband refers to one of our dogs who is they told us would be giant turned out to be like 50 pounds. She's like our small medium he refers to rich medium. So it's like a medium business. Like, is that the goal? Probably not. You don't want to live in germanium land? No, no. Do you have? What are your thoughts on? Trying to do all the things at once? Because you do that I do that we do that right? Yeah. So I think a good place like this will be the last we'll sort of wrap up after this. But like, I think this is important. You know, there are even if like I run a business, I teach part time. I have children, you have children, our daughter, my daughter will be 11 on Monday. So I hear you, oh, God, I feel like we need our own support group. And, you know, talk to me about doing all of these things, and sort of the things you have in place, you told me something very interesting when we talked the first time about time and having more time now that you do all the things that you did before. So like, I want people to hear that from you. Here. Okay. Yeah.

Stacey Ogden  41:17

Yeah, it's remarkable that when I, when I first you know, teaching Tim be a 24/7 job if you let it be. And a lot of us do, especially when we're new to it, we're just all in we're, we're so excited. We we finally got to that goal, we've we met our calling, and we're there and we're in it and, and it takes a crap ton of work to get it done anyway. So we're just doing it all. We're trying to do all the things all the time, we wake up, we think about our students, we're falling asleep, we're thinking about our students, and in between our IEPs, and paperwork, and lunch duty, and you know, all the things. So for me what I realized, and this was one of those moments, like a couple of years ago that I realized I have more free time now, when I have not just teaching but now I have a family. Now I have a home to take care of. And now I have a business that is growing and thriving. And somehow I have more time now. Like, why really wasn't? Yeah. And I was like, how did that happen? Because it's really interesting, because I think a lot of people will, will not start something new, because they're like, Do do you see how many balls I'm juggling right now I can not take any more on us. But the thing is, it's not about adding more, it's about being more selective about the balls you choose to juggle because it's all a juggling act at this point in our lives. Like just, we can just agree that we're all juggling something, you know, whether it be children or elderly parents, or you know, both or a home or whatever it is, we've all got balls in the air. And, you know, what I found is that when I started my business, I started to be more selective about which balls I took on, you know, which things I said yes to, I got to a point where I was no longer on any committees. Because when they asked me, I said, Oh, I'm so sorry, I can't meet Tuesdays after school because I'm busy. I was busy working on my blog. But that doesn't matter. 

Sara Torpey  43:33

Well and that wasn't anybody but you,

Stacey Ogden  43:36

 I was busy. You know, I I don't chaperone school dances anymore. Because my Friday nights are for my family. And you know, the things that keep coming up all of those things that were asked to do, above and beyond that don't need to be done. In fact, a lot of the teaching tasks that we don't need to do, like I do not have spectacular bulletin boards in my classroom. I don't, I don't look at Pinterest anymore for you know, classroom ideas or treats I can give my kids or anything like that, because I don't have time to do it. And if I did have time, that's not how I want to spend it. So, you know, really being deliberate about the things that need to be done, that are going to bring you joy if they don't need to be done. And then and, and selecting things. So I started to back away from things that didn't need to be done. Like I don't need to be the one on the committee. I don't need to be the one coming in over the summer to help with the schedule. I don't need to be the one who's chaperoning The After School Club. You know, I It doesn't have to be me. And when we spread the wealth around, it's a little bit easier for everybody. So when I started saying no to those things, it gets addictive. Like the process of saying no and being like No, I don't think that fits my schedule. You know, it's not. Yeah, that's not a priority of mine, it's not going to move me closer to my goals. So I'm gonna have to decline is so like you get a rush rush.

Sara Torpey  45:15

Well, and it's a powerful in be like You're like oh wait, I had these choices all along Mm hmm. And like I have a friend who is always like, well, you're pretty protective of your time. Yeah, that's my job. Yeah, I'm protected of my time I'm protective of my kids time I'm protected with my family time I'm protected of my work time and like, if I'm going to choose it great and no one because I think as you're talking about committees and all of those things, I think it also applies in mom land. Absolutely. Right. Because like, it'll be like come to this ice cream social at noon on Tuesday, and you're like, ah, like, Could I feasibly do all of those things? Absolutely. Am is that no.

Stacey Ogden  46:04

Yeah. You know, like, the the PTO meetings. I'm sorry. But that's not how I'm spending my time. Like, you know, I'm volunteering at my daughter's school for an event. Yeah, she's like, I do worry here too. Yeah. You know. So that's, that's one thing. And that's because I want to Yes, go to school. I want to see her at school in that environment. I want to meet some of her friends because she doesn't do school sports. So this is my opportunity to see her with her friends. Yes, she's very worried about me embarrassing her. But I promise I will not. You know, but I get to make those choices about how I spend my time and what, you know, what? What priorities I placed on things. So the same thing is true when it comes to her schedule. Like we're very consciously not over scheduling her because I've seen I know, kids, I have them in my classes who are like, Oh, well, I can't stay for this. And I can't make the concert. Because on this day, I have this and on this day on this. Like, oh my God, when do you sleep? Right? Like, when do you do your homework? When do you just chill with your friends? And she's like, in class?

Sara Torpey  47:17

No. Well, you're like, No, I think, yeah, there's a problem. There's this intentionality around time that the more intentional you become, like the we do have more choices than we realize. But the more I have found that too, the more intentional, I've become like I pretty much am at a point in my bit, I run a business, I run two businesses, actually, I'm teaching two courses right now, My children play sports, just saying all the sports, and you know, husband, house dogs, I don't work on weekends. And most of the time, I don't work at night. And I haven't in a while, like maybe one night a week. And nothing goes by the wayside, nothing is missing. Nothing is dropped for me. I think for you, it might have happened a little earlier. But for me, it was pandemic learning. And all of a sudden, like I could just survive. And weirdly, everything got easier. I was like, Oh crap, all these things that I'm not doing any more that don't seem to have made any difference that I put down. Let me just never pick them back up again.

Stacey Ogden  48:24

Yeah, and I actively seek out ways to make my life easier. Yeah. What don't I have to do today is actually a question I asked myself a lot. You know, things like grading all the papers that land on my desk. I don't need to grade them. If I can glance through it and see that the kids have gotten the concept. They don't need a score on it, because they've got the concept we can move on. Yes, you know, the, the act of you know, over planning every single thing. I don't do that anymore. And I understand that some some people don't have that luxury because they have a principal who's micromanaging or whatever. But there are things that we do as teachers that we've been told our must dos that aren't just simply not.

Sara Torpey  49:15

Well, but I think same in life. Like I was at a conference last week, and I had a friend who was also going on. I got there Wednesday, she called me Tuesday. And she was like, so what's your plan for all your meals? And I was like, she was like, Who are you doing? Who are you seeing when and where? And I was like, huh, I figure I'll plan on that one. Like I just get I don't I didn't give it I hadn't given any brain space and I wasn't going to you know what happened? I saw all the people I met you I had meals with the people I loved and it all worked out. Yeah. Magic. This. So this is Thank you. This is amazing. I'm happy to have you here. i This is lovely. makes my day. Tell me first To remind people where they could come find you. And then is there anything particular you want them to do to come into your world? And then is there anything you want people to like, what's the last thing you want them to hear?

Stacey Ogden  50:16

So you can find me at sidehustleteachers.com. The best way to get into the world of Stacey Ogden would be to just search up Side Hustle Teachers on Facebook, and join the group, because I'm in there all the time. It's my happy place. I love that group. And there are 1000s of other teachers who are in the same position. And we've got people who are in all stages. So it's the people who are just starting to think about it to the people who have started a business to the people who have taken their side hustle, and they've transitioned out of the classroom, and they're all in there together. And it's, it's a fantastic little stew of people to just sort of get information from, I'd say, if there's one thing that you can walk away from this from, is just do one thing. today. And it's literally just one thing, if you want to start a blog, go buy a buy yourself a domain name, you know, like one simple thing. If you are, you know, just trying to figure out what your business is just start making a list of what are those things that you love doing? What are those things that you're good at, like people come to you for advice about it? Or, you know, and what are some things that there's a need for in the world that people will will pay for? And even honestly, that third question is kind of a II, because a lot of times, we're not aware that there's a need for it. So you know, just really focus on those first two, and I think the third one tends to follow that. Yep. But yeah, just do something to move yourself forward today and think about what it is you want. And just say, Okay, what's the first baby step I can take to get me there? Because sitting and thinking about it is not going to get you there.

Sara Torpey  52:12

You get on what I would add to that is that energy comes from action. Right. And I think we we expect more work to come but actually it energizes us and then we take the next baby step and we don't that's the thing. I think people don't see coming. That it's like oh, and then we get all excited. So I totally so thank you, thank you, thank you. For all of you that just need to be able to click on a link to get to things because I know you I am that you I know you exist. I live with one and I am one myself. All of that will be in the transcript notes on the podcast episode. If you want to come find me you can find me at Torpey coaching.com or at my in my happy place which is my little happy corner of Facebook which is UNcomplicating Business for Teachers Helpers and Givers. Stacey Ogden, you are a gift and a treat. And I'm so excited. We got to do this. Thank you so much.

Stacey Ogden  53:05

Thank you so much. It was a great time.