#12 Creating change AND making money?

In the latest Earn Learn Thrive LinkedIn Live, ‘Creating a movement’ I talked to Patrick Jackson about the incredible movement he has started through his initiative, Picker Pals. A scheme which combines self-publishing with motivating kids to go litter picking, he has created a growing business while at the same time encouraging tens of thousands of kids to remove hundreds of tonnes of litter from the environment.

To hear more about this, and the steps he took, do listen to the whole 30 minute interview (link below)

The interview got me thinking about the intersection between creating real, valuable, large scale change, and making a business out of it which can also provide a good living. And why shouldn’t both these things be possible?

In fact, several of the people I’ve interviewed recently for these lives are doing (or working towards doing) exactly that.

For example, Designed to Flourish alumna, Nicola Prentis ?? , who is passionate about helping ELTers to change the narrative of low expectations and financial?insecurity, and who has translated that into a successful group programme where she teaches us how to get confident with investing. Or Meri Maroutian , who is determined to raise awareness and make real change around the antiquated but still too frequent preference for 'native speakers', and who has recently launched a membership.

My personal mission for my business is to help freelance ELT professionals realise their true potential and the value of the services they offer by learning how to package them up and position and market them in a way that will help them help others while still making a good living - in fewer hours.

Yet we still often see having values and a mission as being incompatible with a desire to make a good living, or, in other words, to live well and comfortably. Do we think that we can’t be good people if we aren’t struggling, scraping by and working all the hours?

Does that even actually help us to help others, as we soon find ourselves burnt out, unavailable for our nearest and dearest, and secretly resentful?

Why are we leaving the possibility of making money to the people who are likely to do the least good with it? Those ‘marketing bros’ don’t need another Lamborghini.

If we ELTers made more money we’d be better able to look after ourselves, giving us more time, capacity and cash to volunteer, give to charity and generally do good in the world. Isn’t that a better business model?

So, when I work with ELT freelance business owners, or would-be business owners, I always start by talking to them about their values, and what they really care about. Sometimes that’s a global problem, like the environment, sometimes it’s something more personal, like those students who are so busy that they somehow never seem to find time to develop their English, and therefore continue week after week, month after month, terrified that they’re going to get caught out at work. If a teacher can help them, that’s life-changing for them as they grow in confidence, and can also have a positive ripple effect on their colleagues and family.

The important thing is that you care, and that you want to make a difference. This needs to be combined with something that people will actually be willing to pay for of course, but, personally, I think if you don’t really care and want to create change, it won’t be a truly sustainable business. Running your own business can be tough, and having a bigger mission is what keeps us going.

What’s your mission, and how does it impact your business? And how can you combine that with also making a business that sustains YOU properly?

Here's the link to watch the Live with Patrick:

https://www.dhirubhai.net/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:7046793556807553024/

The next Earn Learn Thrive LinkedIn Live will be early May as I take a break for Easter and IATEFL. I'll be talking to Emma Heyderman about working as an ELT Consultant- more details to follow. And if you see me at IATEFL, come and say hi!