Erynn’s Story: Earning More Than Her Teaching Salary Working 3 Afternoons per Week
Posted on Mar 05, 2026Erynn was a first grade teacher. Wife. Mom to a four-year-old and a toddler.
If you've ever worked in a school, you already know what her days looked like. Up early, on her feet for hours, managing thirty small humans and all their needs, then driving home to two more who needed her just as much.
She loved every part of it in theory. In practice, she was running on empty.
She loved working with kids. She just couldn't keep doing it the way she was doing it, leaving the house exhausted and coming home with nothing left to give.
Then one night, she was lying awake. At 3am, she found us. By morning, she had a spreadsheet.
Fast forward less than a year: 40 kids enrolled, partnerships with 6 schools, a new early learning program launching, and a resignation letter handed in.
But here's the part of Erynn's story that really gets us.
She nets more from her club than she ever did from teaching (and she only works three afternoons a week).
Not just a little more. Enough that leaving was, in her words, "a no-brainer."
She could have talked herself out of it and gone back to sleep. We're so glad she didn't.
Watch our interview with Erynn to see how she went from schoolteacher to thriving club owner in less than a year.
The Math That Made Leaving Teaching a No-Brainer
Here's the calculation Erynn ran, and it's one we want every teacher or childcare worker reading this to sit with for a moment.
Full teaching salary, minus full-time childcare for two kids. That's what she was actually taking home.
Now compare that to running a craft club on her own schedule, three afternoons a week, home with her kids the rest of the time.
As Erynn put it: "I net more money being able to do this than I would having two kids in full-time daycare with my full teaching salary, which is really crazy to think about. So that's a no-brainer: if you're netting more money, spending more time with your kids, absolutely take the leap of faith."
That's the number that made the decision easy.
It's not a story about someone who got lucky or had a huge head start. It's a story about someone who ran the numbers, liked what she saw, and went for it.
Zero sign-ups in August. Six schools by September
When Erynn started, she had a space booked through her church. She had her lessons planned. She was ready. But signups were slow.
For a lot of people, that's where the story ends. You take the silence as a sign, quietly pack up the dream, and go back to what you know.
Instead, Erynn pivoted.
She spent two days driving to 20 schools. She dropped off personalized letters to every principal, explaining what her club would look like and why kids would love it.
She was bracing herself to follow up with emails a week later.
She never had to.
Schools started reaching back out on their own. By September she was running classes. By the end of the year she had partnerships with six schools and 40 kids enrolled.
A New Lease on Life
The version of Erynn who came home with nothing left to give? She doesn't exist anymore.
She teaches three afternoons a week. The rest of the time, she's home.
Her husband told her she's "just like such a different person this year." Happy. Energized. Present.
Her four-year-old told her she wants to grow up and be a mom just like her.
That's what the real trade-off looks like.
And it all started with a sleepless night and a spreadsheet.
HERE'S HOW WE CAN HELP YOU:
If Erynn's story resonated with you, we'd love to help you take your first real step.
Our FREE Get Started Workshop walks you through exactly how to launch your own kids' craft club, find your first students, and grow your club without having to figure everything out on your own.
In under 60 minutes, you'll learn:
- The 4-step process for getting your first paying students
- How to find a venue for free (or get into schools like Erynn did)
- What to charge and how to structure your sessions
- How club owners are earning $2,000+ per month working just a few hours a week
It's completely free, and you can join from anywhere.
