Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in training and education but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Karl Pupe FRSA, Founder of Action Hero Teaching Consulting, located in London, UK.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I help teachers become the 'action heroes' of their classrooms. I help teachers, educators, and parents engage, inspire and motivate their young people despite their negative behaviour. Using a mix of psychology, pop culture, teaching theory & a little ole common sense, I give adults a toolbox of strategies and techniques to help their children thrive in their academics and beyond. I have written two books, 'The Action Hero Teacher 1 & 2' & I have built a growing consultancy business that facilitates workshops and offers advice to schools & institutions that serve young people.
Tell us about yourself
I fell into teaching & mentoring by accident - this career snatched me & never let me go! I worked in Sales & after I lost my job, I started doing youth work in a music studio. One of the managers thought that I would make a great teacher & the rest, as they say, is history. What keeps me motivated is a simple fact that teachers and mentors actually get to change lives every day. When I was younger, I wished I had a teacher/mentor who believed in me & championed my dreams. I want to be that for the young people that I teach & I help other teachers do the same. The children are the future.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I've had a couple. Publishing my first book was a big one - to actually have something that you cooked up in your mind in your hands is an unbelievable feeling. Also, when my first book won an award, I was pretty stoked. But my biggest achievement is being awarded a Fellowship into the Royal Society of Arts, Manufacture, and Commerce (the RSA). It's a prestigious title reserved for the best & brightest minds that are trying to change our world for the better - previous members included Nelson Mandela, Stephen Hawkings & Charles Dickens. For a London boy from the wrong side of the tracks, that was a great vindication of the work I put in & made me want to work harder to help others.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Structure! When you work for someone else, they tell you what to do. When you work for yourself, you have to boss yourself around & sometimes I'm a bad employee! It's important to set daily objectives that watch your long-term goals & check in on them regularly.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Study business - you might be good at a particular skill like baking or teaching, but business is a subject all on its own. Make sure you know the mechanics of good business.
- Harness social media - We have access to tools on our phones that not even the best marketing departments in the world would have had 20 years ago. Learn how to use platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook & TikTok to promote your business. Be creative!
- Pay your taxes. Seriously.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.actionheroteacher.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/actionheroteacher/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/actionheroteach
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@actionheroteacher
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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