Mainstream to Multicultural

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in training and education but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Annie Wilcox, Learning Designer of Globally Taught, located in Austin, TX, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Globally Taught creates ready-to-use social studies resources that challenge students to rethink the world. Our products are aligned with national standards and focus on building the skills that students need to thrive in the 21st century. Teachers who love our resources want their classrooms to evolve as the world evolves.

Tell us about yourself

I am an educator. I spent the first five years of my career as a classroom teacher before relocating to Austin, Texas. My Globally Taught journey started in 2013. I grew up in a small town in New Hampshire. By the time I graduated high school, I was so anxious to see more of the world that on a whim, I applied to a program to complete a 5-month immersive study in France, Quebec, Canada, and Senegal. Two years later, I spent another five months studying at a university in Nairobi, Kenya, and exploring East Africa. There was a huge gap between what I thought it meant to live in Africa and what it was really like. When I started teaching 2nd grade a few years later, I realized it was a common experience for students to receive an outdated education about the world outside of their small communities. Classroom resources are not keeping up with the changing world, and students cannot make meaningful changes to the world without an accurate worldview.

At the time, I was teaching 2nd-grade social studies to a diverse group of students. I wanted them to feel connected to the lessons I was teaching while also expanding their worldview. I began creating social studies resources to bring the experience of travel into the classroom. When I realized there was a market for these resources, I launched my business.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Social Studies often loses out to math and reading. Math is important for being able to solve problems, but social studies are where you learn how to identify problems. Reading is important to be able to gather information, but social studies are where you learn how to analyze that information. When I started Globally Taught, I wanted to bring the focus back to social studies, and I am proud to have offered that experience in more than 4,000 classrooms and 35 countries.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The biggest enemy of a business owner is time. Coming up with ideas is the easy part but delivering those ideas is challenging. Not only do you have to build the idea, but you have to market it as well. In the early phases of a business, when you have no help, you are the technical person, the creative, the marketer, and the decision maker. Wearing all those hats is tough. I wasted a lot of time and resources as I was refining my business, but it is part of the deal of being a business owner. When you have a passion for what you do, those moments don't feel like roadblocks. They feel like challenges you can overcome.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Don't get distracted with bad advice. There are so many 'experts' out there telling you what you must do to build your business. Everyone has a motivation, so think carefully about where you seek advice.
Test your products before spending a lot of time and money on an idea. Build a small version of your product and see if it can scale.
Believe in what your business sells but also be open to pivoting when you learn better information.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://globallytaught.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GloballyTaught
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/globally-taught/

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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