Hey Reader,
Over the last 24 months or so, we have stripped Teach Better down a lot.
Like, a lot.
What I mean by this is that we stopped doing a lot of things that we used to do. And we used to do A LOT of things.
We stopped some of them because they weren’t working as well. (Whatever that means)
We stopped others because the industry as a whole has seen a decrease in spending, so revenue adjusted and we needed to adjust accordingly.
And we stopped some because platforms changed and they were no longer possible.
We’ve stopped doing a lot of things. Cut down on the pull on our capacity, on our time and energy, etc. However, the most important “stopping” that we’ve done is that we’ve stopped wanting to get back to any of it.
I’ll be honest, there are a lot of things that we cut, that I was anxiously wanting to get back to for a while.
But we realized something crucial:
So much of what we used to do did not come from what we built this company on.
A lot of it came from the fact that we could do a thing.
Not because we should do it. Or because people really wanted and needed it.
We built the Teach Better brand on the idea of creating what those we serve needed.
And as I wrote about last week, what people really needed was connection.
Yes, they want the PD we provide. They get value from the ideas we share and the products we put out. But what actually lead to their growth, their success, and therefore our growth and success, was connection.
It was our ability to bring educators together from all around the world. Educators who were focused on and dedicated to the idea of being a little bit better every day.
The format in which we brought them together was not the important piece. It was the WAY we brought them together. Genuinely, authentically, and without ulterior motives.
Did we hope they would tell their admins about us and maybe we would get to work with their school? Yes. Absolutely.
But did we care if they didn’t? No.
Did we stop creating that space if they didn’t buy from us? No.
We created the space for the connection. If sales came from that, it was a bonus for us.
So we’ve been getting back to focusing on that.
It hasn’t been easy. When you strip things down and keep things simple, it can feel like you’re losing, like you’re not growing.
And that leads me to one of my least favorite things - talking about how smart Chad is, lol. (If you don't know, Chad is my co-founder at Teach Better, and my best friend)
Two things Chad has said to me over the years have come back and become the foundation of everything we do.
Is there a negative impact to NOT doing it?
Any time we have an idea or think about doing something, it's really easy to see all the potential positives of that thing. That's what creative people do, what entrepreneurs do. We have ideas, and we get excited about those ideas.
This usually leads to chasing every idea and getting spread way too thin.
(Some call this shiny object syndrome)
Chad asked a question once that is now our test for whether an idea is worth our time and energy.
Is there a negative impact if we don't do this?
I'm not talking about losing the potential positives.
I'm talking about an actual negative impact that will occur if we do not do the thing.
Ask yourself this one next time. And be honest.
You'll find that not doing most things does not bring negative impacts.
Sometimes growth looks a lot like staying the same.
A lot of times we get focused on metrics like revenue, profit, subscribers, etc. But the truth is, sometimes the growth our business needs is not in those metrics. It's in the systems we need to tweak or create, the routines we need to adjust, or the positioning we need to rethink.
We've had years where our metrics do not look great, but the growth we've made in those other spaces is incredible.
These last two years have been just that. When you strip things down, your metrics will not look great for a while. You're literally cutting things out. You're pulling back on content, on sales pushes, on products and services, etc.
So numbers do no look as good as they have in the past.
BUT, we have grown A LOT. We have gotten more efficient, more focused, and more excited about our work than we have been in a long time.
Sometimes growth looks a lot like staying the same.
The next time you're judging yourself on your metrics, take a step back and figure out what you're trying to do and why. And then honestly ask whether those metrics accurately represent the growth you've had. A lot of times, they don't.
For us, these past two years, traditional metrics have not accurately shown what we've been focused on. So, those metrics don't really matter right now. We're still tracking them, but we're not judging our growth on them.
As we move forward, we're focused on the things that built our brand, keeping everything super simple, and leaning into the things we do well instead of chasing new ideas
I hope this helps.
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~ Jeff
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I appreciate you.
Jeff Gargas
COO / Co-Founder, Teach Better Team
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P.S. When you're ready, here's how I can help:
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