Teachers Find New Small Business Niche — Monetizing Lesson Plans

Some teachers don’t want to spend all their time after school creating lesson plans. Others don’t mind the extra work. And now they’re finding they can make a little extra money — or sometimes a lot! — selling to that first group.

Teachers Selling Lesson Plans

Online platforms like Teachers Pay Teachers help to facilitate these transactions where teachers purchase pre-made lesson plans from other teachers. This has made it easy both for those looking to free up some of their after school time — and for those who want to earn extra income or even create their own businesses.

The plans usually only cost a few dollars. And the teachers who buy them just pay out of pocket. But there’s a growing demand for these lesson plans, leading some to make selling lesson plans into their main source of income.

Hadar Harstein is a former teacher who estimates that she’s earned about a million dollars from selling lesson plans online. This business has allowed her the freedom to stay at home and raise her kids instead of spending all day in a classroom.

There are some critics who worry about the practice creating a relationship among teachers that is too much about profit and makes the individual teacher’s approach less personal. And there are also some school districts that have barred teachers from selling their lesson plans.

But as in any other industry, teachers have found ways to collaborate for years. And the supply and demand in this market has led to a booming new market that’s worth keeping an eye on.

Image: Teachers Pay Teachers

This article, "Teachers Find New Small Business Niche — Monetizing Lesson Plans" was first published on Small Business Trends