Five Steps to Becoming an Edupreneur
Here at SAGrader, we like entrepreneurs. Without them – or a certain one, I should say – we wouldn’t exist! But thanks to the passionate and innovative spirits of individuals like our founder, the world of education is able to incorporate today’s technology into the classroom and offer a modern, connected, and just plain cool approach to learning.
Alas, entrepreneurs in the world of education have earned the name “edupreneurs” for obvious reasons. But how do you define “edupreneur”? One source states that an edupreneur is someone “who has served as an educator prior to organizing a business related to education and has invested time, energy, and capital to create, develop, and market a program, product, service, or technology to enhance learning.” For the most part, we agree.
So, we know edupreneurs have a few things in common – chances are the currently are or once were educators, who started education-focused businesses that aim to improve learning for students on any level. Many, according to the source above, even leave “the system” in which they work in order to pursue their edupreneurial endeavors. But how exactly does one become an educational entrepreneur? Here are the first few steps.
Step 1: Have an idea. This step is a rather important one. Perhaps the most important one. Entrepreneurs create new products or services or improve on those that already exist. In an ever-changing world, there is always room for improvement. The same goes for the world of education. Where is there a need for an innovation? What do you use everyday that could really use some improvement? Thinking about things like this will help lead you to the perfect “idea” to pursue.
Step 2: Believe in the idea. Ever heard the saying, “Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion”? This is certainly the case in the field of edupreneurship. Change is driven by people who believe in making the world around them a better place, by people who have passion and believe in their own ideas and the ideas of others. If you have a truly good idea, stand behind it, believe in it, and go to step three.
Step 3: Research and make a plan. Doing the research and making a plan for the future of your idea is vital. Most obviously, a little research is important if for no other reason than to see if anyone else has already started down the path you’re intending to follow. Beyond that, how will you know when to move forward or hold back? How will you know where you are going without having a map of how to get there? Plans can and do change – revise your plan as needed. Do what works best for you. Just try to stay away from the “fly by the seat of my pants” method.
Step 4: Find investors. While the bottom line for entrepreneurs is usually to make a buck, edupreneurs sometimes have a different goal in mind – to improve some aspect of education. In the world of business, an investor is someone who will hand over some of the funds necessary to get a business up and running. In edupreneurship, an investor could be anyone who is willing to put up some financial backing to someone who believes in your idea enough to volunteer time, energy and skills to help you accomplish your goal. Some things you just can’t do alone. If your idea is one of those things, find others who are willing to help out.
Step 5: Get other people on board. Similar to step four, finding people to stand behind and support your idea is vital to its growth. Education is a bureaucracy – the more people you have backing your idea, the better.
A few more general tips:
Hang out with other edupreneurs. Sharing ideas or just getting to know like-minded people who are passionate about similar things can be inspiring.
Take calculated risks. It’s a common misconception that entrepreneurs take wild and crazy risks. In fact, many successful entrepreneurs take very calculated risks and pursue ideas that have a lot of potential. Follow their lead and apply the “calculated risk” rule to your endeavors.
Network, Network, Network. It’s not what you know but who you know. Okay, so maybe “what you know” is important in education. But for entrepreneurs, “who you know” is just as, if not more, important. Being able to make connections with the right people can take your idea and turn it into a reality.
Are you an edupreneur? We’d love to hear your story. Shoot us an email or share your ideas in the comments. Or, tweet at us sometime.
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