Episode 52: Why it’s totally possible to be a busy mom & start a side business or new career with Lisa Collum of Top Score Writing
Episode Description
Today’s guest and boss mama, Lisa Collum, is an educator, but not in the classroom teacher sense any more. During her time working in a title one classroom, with a masters in education, she decided to take her knowledge of what kids really needed for success in writing, and turn it into a business! It was her passion for wanting to see kids succeed in writing that launched her to create Top Score Writing which specializes in writing curriculum for grades 2nd-12th.
Because her program caught on like wildfire and has achieved a 100% pass rate with her students on the state writing assessment two years in a row, she is now a sought after speaker and leader in professional development for major school districts throughout the US.
If you follow her on social media, she is the first to admit that her success was not handed to her, nor did she have a background in business like some would assume. She encourages others to live their dreams by pursuing what they love. She truly wants moms to understand that kids are different in their personalities and learnings styles and we have to look at them individually and stop comparing.
Lisa believes being a soul mamma means you can be busy, be successful in running businesses and still be a good mom. She believes it is important for our kids to see there mom can do it all. It’s all about balance and being thankful for everything.
Take-Aways:
(12:34)
When she saw a need for a better writing curriculum in her title one classroom.
(15:40)
Reflecting on how she didn’t feel like a business woman at first and how it wasn’t an easy journey to finding confidence as an entrepreneur.
(21:58)
How it took her a while to learn how to vocalize her job title to the world.
(27:45)
When she was forced to re evaluate her priorities when she started missing her kids bedtime routine because of work.
(30:14)
Why she was forced to reevaluate her boundaries and learn to say NO when she used to always say yes to everything.
(33:10)
How your partner might not believe in you at first, but you can prove them wrong by showing them what you are passionate about.
Lisa reflects on how things can be slow successes and don’t have to “catch on” instantly to be successful.
Memorable Quotes:
“I knew I needed to come up with a way to teach them writing. And so I did that and I never really wrote any of my lessons down for like the first four or five years.”
“And that’s when everyone started calling and saying, where are those lessons used to give out? We need them, we want to buy them. So it was really a transition that was unexpected.”
“When I started this business. . .They (my family) just kind of looked at me-not that they weren’t supportive, it was just out of the blue.”
“And so I’ve always been in this juggle with motherhood and trying to run a business... it is still a major juggle every single day, but it can be done.”
“When I first learned to say ‘NO’ , I was like, wow, that was empowering!”
So for awhile I was like, I’ll just do this on the side. That way. If it doesn’t work out, I still have a job, but then it slowly started to grow, and finally I was able to prove it to myself.