Life and Work with April Smith

Today we’d like to introduce you to April Smith.

Thanks for sharing your story with us April. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
In 2012, I was teaching in a fifth-grade classroom when we adopted new standards. Prior to this year, I had been using a lot of printed worksheets left by past teachers, along with some outdated textbooks. We were expected to find or create new resources to go with the new standards. We all understood that we probably wouldn’t get any new textbooks or resources to use to teach the new standards due to funding issues. I set off to develop my own resources to use with my students. The same year, I discovered a website called Teachers Pay Teachers. On this website, teachers sold lesson plans to other teachers for $2-$3.

I worked nights and weekends creating these resources and blogging about them. I have always loved marketing and design, so this side job really merged all of my passions. 2014 was the first year I made the same selling lesson plans as I did teaching, and it just kept growing. I left teaching in 2016 and began working on my “side” business full time. At this point, it had grown into a full-time job and company, with several teachers helping me part time. My first big success after leaving the classroom was writing my book, Project Based Learning Made Simple. I’ve been able to really concentrate on passion projects within my business now that I’m not juggling two full-time jobs.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being an entrepreneur is never a smooth process. Looking back, most of my struggles have been self-created. I think that women especially second guess themselves way too much. They also compare themselves to others and that often leads them to think they’re not good enough. My advice is to go for it, and never stop. I’ve had many projects where I second guessed myself every step of the way, and they ended up being wildly successful. I’ve also had projects that were complete duds. If I had decided I wasn’t good enough and just given up, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

Please tell us about Performing in Education, LLC.
All of the teaching resources I sell are focused on two things: ease of use for the teacher & hands-on learning for the students. Growing up, I excelled in classrooms where we did a lot of collaborative and hands-on learning. I got in trouble a lot in the classrooms where we did a lot of book work and worksheets. I want students to enjoy coming to school, and that means they need fun lessons that make sense. If you can’t explain to a student why they need to know something, and how it really works, you’re going to lose their interest. Kids are extremely smart. They know the difference between meaningful learning and wasting time. As a kid, I’d rather be home working on my business (I had a car washing business in our neighborhood, and a jewelry business after the car washing business was shut down by our apartment manager) than sitting in class doing a worksheet I didn’t understand.

I think my focus on project-based learning is what made my business really take off. Having access to an online marketplace like Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) has really changed the landscape of teaching. If teachers don’t have an engaging way to teach something, they can search on TpT and find something that’s not just a worksheet.

Were there people and/or experiences you had in your childhood that you feel laid the foundation for your success?
I always had the entrepreneur bug. In elementary school, we got a computer with AOL internet. I created my first website and mailing list (called a “webzine” back then) for girls. I even had sponsors, one big one being Steve Madden. I think having access to this technology early on shaped who I am as a business owner. I was constantly learning about all the new things I could do online, and I’m still like that today. I spend a good deal of my time listening to podcasts and watching YouTube videos now to learn how to use new tools to grow my business.

Another experience that set me up for success was creating my own business as a kid. I started a business called “Speedbump Helpers”, where I washed cars in our apartment complex. I made flyers and promotional coupons that I left on everyone’s cars. My dad still laughs about how we were still getting calls for Speedbump Helpers years later. After I made my first $20, I did two things: I bought myself a coffee drink at the local ice cream shop, and I invested in a better hose, a bucket, and new sponges at the Big Lots next door. Later on, I hired some neighborhood kids to help keep up with business. After our new apartment manager shut the business down, I moved on to making beaded flag pins and selling those at school. My parents were always really supportive of my little businesses, and I hope to encourage these skills in my own kids when they get older.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://performingineducation.com
• Email: april@performingineducation.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performingineducation/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/performingined
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/performinginedu
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/performingined/

Image Credit:
Desert Bee Photography (book photo), Lauren Tchinski (escape photos, candy store)

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