Episode 13: Creating an Education Consulting Business with Locha Brooks of 1st Class Educator
There are many of us that want to leave the classroom, but have a love and passion for education that we want to continue to stay in the field in some capacity. The challenge can be finding a mix between the two. My guest today, Locha Brooks, has done just that. Wanting to take control of her own career, financials, and impact to help other educators, has led her to creating her own education consulting business called 1st Class Educator.
Throughout our conversation, Locha shares her journey from a classroom teacher to running her own education consulting business. She has a passion for helping other educators find their niche and using their specific skill set to help other organizations and businesses.
Any time someone starts their own business, they learn a lot of valuable lessons and information. Since Locha is all about supporting other educators, she shares the key to starting that process and how your mindset is connected to knowing your worth in business. Listening to her talk about her education consulting business will inspire and motivate you to utilize your own skills towards a new career.
Topics Discussed:
The foundation of Locha’s organization and education consulting business
How to use your specific skill sets towards a new career outside of the classroom
Locha shares a hack for creating a staff in a business with high standards
A deeper look into what Locha has learned and advice she’d give to future entrepreneurs
Resources mentioned:
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Meet Locha Brooks
Locha Brooks is the Founder of 1st Class Educator LLC, an educational consulting firm specializing in staff development with a DEI focus. She is also assisting other educators to start and launch their school consulting businesses.
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Read the transcript for this episode:
Lily
Locha Brooks is the founder of 1st Class Educator LLC, an education consulting firm specializing in staff development with a Diversity Equity and Inclusion focus. She's also assisting other educators to start and launch their own school consulting businesses.
Lily
Hi, Locha. So glad that you're here with us.
Locha
Hi, Lily, so glad for you to have me.
Lily
Wonderful. Well, I always love to start with a really broad question, which I always kind of giggle to myself, because I'm like, this is a gigantic question for most of us. But tell me about your journey as an educator.
Locha
Okay, so I think my journey is slightly different from other educators in I did not know that I was actually going to go into the field of education. I was a straight English major in college and freshman year, me and my then turned into husband, were expecting our first child, and I was like, Oh my gosh, like I really I haven't, like wrote a book. I'm not an established author.
Locha
So I switched my major from straight English major to education major with a content emphasis on English. So I always loved to read and write, and I'm like, I can make this thing work. And that's how I became an educator.
Lily
That's amazing. And also kind of similar to my story. I also was an English major, I was an English and aath major in college. I just like couldn't ever decide between English and math. And so I couldn't get into one of my English classes one day, and it was like, Well, what do I do now? Like, I have no idea what to do.
Lily
And I took an education class on a whim, just like I needed to fill the spot in my schedule and get these credits, and then ended up totally falling in love with education. Yes. So where do you go from there, you got your did you then get a credential or what happened after that?
Locha
After I completed, it took me quite a while to finish school, I'd probably say maybe about almost nine years to get my bachelor's in education, but I've always worked very closely in education as substitute and permanent sub. I did the whole in school suspension, you know, going up the ranks and all of that.
Locha
And then once I got a certified position, I've been in my district for quite a while as a permanent sub doing the in school suspension, and I was like, You know what, all of these teachers keep coming to me like Miss Brooks, how do you have so much student engagement, parental participation, and I was like, You know what, I can turn this into something, especially looking at the facts.
Locha
And we'll probably talk about this more. But just looking at the pay scale, I'm like, this is kind of, you know, not really conducive with the life that I want to live. But I love education. But I saw so many people coming in administering professional development and that's how I kind of pivoted, got my masters in administration, but my focus was always on starting my own school consulting firm.
Locha
So you know, I stopped at a master's degree, I wouldn't mind going back. I really don't want to pay for it. I wouldn't mind going back. But this is truly been a nice journey so far. So I'm absolutely loving the school consulting. Education is just, I can't think of doing anything else.
Lily
Yes, No, I totally relate to that. I mean, that's how I started thinking about leaving the classroom too was actually when my first kid was born, and thinking about like, I want to be there for my kids. And then also, I need to make more money now. You know, like, it's not sustainable.
Lily
And I think it's true looking at pay scales where you go up so incrementally over time. It's like, oh, okay, maybe in 20 years, I'd be making what I need to make right now. But like, that's not gonna happen. So I felt that same like torn feeling, though, like, but I want to be an education, like I feel passionate about education about like, what else can we do?
Lily
So tell us what you started doing. I love how you have this vision from the beginning, like, Hey, I could do some consulting, I could do some PD, like I could do these things I've seen other people do, but tell us how that worked for you.
Locha
So originally, you know, I had many English teachers coming up to me that had PhDs and I knew they were making like two times more than me and they're like, Ms. Brooks, can I get your lesson plan and I'm like all for it because I really took very great intentions and creating lesson plans that I feel were culturally responsive to my students needs and demographics and so forth.
Locha
And just to keep them engaged, I always pulled in, I would say, just creative literature. And so with it, always presented it, our professional learning communities, our PLCs a time that we had to meet. And I just thought, like, how could I strategize and make this work for me like long term?
Locha
And so with that, you know, once I went back to school, was working on a masters I just really start, you know, putting my business sense embedded with the education just kind of married the two. And I just figured, you know, this is something that I can offer to district.
Locha
So I actually I relocated to Texas after being in Missouri for several years and education while I was in Missouri my whole entire life up until I turned 30. And then I relocated. But I told my principal, when he hired me, I was like, Hey, I have a timeline, I gave myself 10 years in education, and then move forward with my school consulting firms, I just want to let you know, I'm in my 10th year, and I do desire to move forward with it.
Locha
And so I think he kind of took it with a grain of salt, but I let him know like that year, I was truly working on it. So there was an opportunity for me to do like my marketing and promotional materials. And I was doing a photo shoot. So I mentioned it to my principal.
Locha
And I was like, Hey, we're doing a photo shoot for my school consultant firm, would you like to be a part of it? But I was being strategic, because I knew that he was kind of known in the Texas Education industry at the same time. So just been a little crafty there.
Locha
But everything truly worked out. I went to my first conference as a vendor, and I secured two contracts that double my damn income as an English teacher. So it was just from then I was like, kind of hooked, I was like, I'm gonna finish this year off strong. But that really gave me the confidence to know that I can actually succeed as an educational consultant and secure contracts.
Locha
So that's kind of my journey to like where I am now. And then, you know, now ushering in other educators who are interested, I don't want people to feel like they have to come work for my organization. And I truly just have a passion for just helping educators.
Locha
I like you mentioned, you know, sustainable income, if we're looking at in 20 years, I'll be making maybe 15,000 more than what I'm making now. And it's like, people have families, we all you know, want to take the vacations with our family or want to spend extra time.
Locha
And I saw teachers like, I'm just gonna work seasonal at Macy's, so I can make a little extra cash. And I'm like this kind of working backwards. If you want to spend more time with your family, and get a little bit more money, now you're taking away the time to be with your family to get a little bit more money.
Locha
And it's literally only a little bit. So now, I'm also showing other educators have to get into school consultant, so that they can monetize their skill set as well as an educator.
Lily
I love that. Yeah, totally. And it's like thinking about that, like $15,000, it's like, or you can go out and get a contract for $15,000. And cut down that 20 year gap, or whatever it is. So yeah, I think it's like, I work with a lot of teachers who haven't worked in this world before.
Lily
And it's really hard to see beyond what you know, you know, it's really hard. I think we all get ingrained, like in the school system and salary scale and pension and like all these things.
Lily
But when you start seeing what's possible, like I totally relate to that too like, Oh, that's a whole different ballgame. And I think we're taking on contracts too, you can really scale your income so much more than if you're tied to a certain salary.
Lily
So tell us about is there a certain focus that you do for your consulting? Or what types of consulting? Sometimes when I say consulting people, they're like, what does that mean? And I think it can be pretty broad. So tell us about what you do.
Locha
Okay, so and if I could just give like a working background of educational consultant or school consultant. So there are so many different angles in which you can approach it. We specialize in staff development, the name of my organization is called 1st Class Educator, very strategic with the name. I really wanted people to know that when we come into the organization, it they're going to top quality master educators in there, right.
Locha
I have everyone from superintendents, retired superintendents, K through 12 educators, university professors on staff and our niche is diversity, equity and inclusion. But we also do leadership development, we worked with beginning your teachers, at colleges for their teacher preparation programs, just giving them a toolbox before they entered the classroom.
Locha
But to break it all the way down, I truly found my organization on the premises that I really saw a need in the industry, to help educators make those relationships that were grounded in understanding their, you know, maybe hidden biases that they have, cultural differences, things like that, and understanding the importance of integrating culturally responsive material so that they can optimize student engagement.
Locha
And so finding my organization on diversity, equity and inclusion instruction, but staff development or school consulting can look many different ways, whether you're going in and just helping them analyze their data and coming up with a strategic plan, or just assisting them. I have a gentleman that administers board trainings, so going in and helping newly formed school boards understanding the process and procedure.
Locha
So school consultant literally can look however you want to it doesn't matter if you know math content, science content, whatever your focus is as an educator, I tell people, there are so many opportunities out there. I have a young lady right now that I'm working with. She's a math teacher, but she's excellent at pairing math with SEL. And I'm like, that is just so amazing.
Locha
You know, so whatever your niche is, as an educator, there are other organizations that are looking for people to come in and assist them within their organization, administer that content.
Lily
Yes, I love that. And I love that you got you started from a real need, right? Like I've seen, like, Alright, there's a need out there. This is how I find the success in my classroom. And then how can I kind of scale that through consulting and bringing on other people too.
Lily
So talk to us a little bit about how did you build because you now have a team working with you, right? How did you build that team? And why did you build that team I guess?
Locha
Okay, so this is like a really amazing hack. When I thought about putting together my consulting firm, you know, being strategic with the name 1st Class, I'm like, I just want to be associated with amazing, amazing educators. And so I thought back to some of my own educators.
Locha
So I actually I started off with two educators on staff in my first year, one was my university professor at the HBCU I attended in St. Louis, Missouri, Professor Gregory Carr. He's African American.
Locha
And then I decided to reach back to one of my high school teachers, Dr. Robert Good. He is not minority, Caucasian. And I just thought in my head, like, if I really want to do some really awesome things, and know these two master educators will work well together.
Locha
So I introduced them to each other. And the relationship, like grew so much that we were on a call one day, talking about a contract that we were working on. And as we were ending the call, I think Greg says, Rob, alright, I'll see you Tuesday. I was like, What do you guys doing on Tuesday, that was like, Oh, we've been going golfing together.
Locha
But I say all of that to say I just reached back to the educators that truly made a difference in my life. And it's been so wonderful.
Locha
So I can't say a good percentage of my staff or some of my former educators. So it's just really awesome because in a way, it feels like this full circle moment, they really poured into me, as a student really gave me the confidence. I attended a high school where I was a part of the desegregation program.
Locha
So I always speak to the fact that there are a lot of systems in place where us students being bussed in, it didn't feel really good. It wasn't a good experience. But Dr. Rob Good, he makes me call him Rob now, he says I'm his boss, so he makes me.
Locha
But Dr. Good just always really tried to go the extra mile with building relationships with the minority students. And from all we had some students that were minority that stayed in a community within that district. So it didn't matter if we were bused in or if they lived in a community, he still went the extra mile to make us feel, you know, very welcomed at the school.
Locha
And then Professor Carr, he was just such a champion for students at the university. And I just knew just having those two on staff, number one, it would make sure that I held my organization to a high standard, because we're talking about phenomenal, amazing transformational educators.
Locha
And I'm like, What do I need to do to get them on board. And I was like, you have to operate to a high standard. So just reaching back and getting those educators.
Locha
And then also bringing on board educators that I had the privilege of working with at the same time, and knowing that they were master educator, so that's really how I found my organization. And then also like, word of mouth, majority of the people that are on staff, though I have had a working relationship with or they have been previously my teachers, and then word of mouth.
Lily
That's awesome. And yeah, it seems like it truly is first class educators, right? Bringing all those people and I love that is an amazing hack thinking about people that you've been inspired by and then sharing and amplifying their work is beautiful. Absolutely.
Lily
And we all I mean, it really is honoring teachers too, right that like, hopefully everybody has had a teacher in their life, at least one you know, where they feel that connection, just like yeah, right. I mean, hopefully more. Whereas transformational so then like elevating that and bringing on some many other people is so awesome.
Lily
So I love hearing about that. And then let's talk a little bit about the business side of things. I know for me going from a classroom teacher to running a business, like I had to learn a lot. And so what have you learned from starting your own business?
Locha
So pretty much it has been, I would say an easy process for me only because I've had entrepreneurs in my family. My mom, you know, seeing her as I grew up, she has a real estate company and just really seeing how she operates and business. I think that really kind of gave me a leg up.
Locha
But one of the things that I truly noticed is that collaboration is key when it comes to scaling your business. And so I've never been the one like oh, I just want to do it on my own. And so one of the things that has been beneficial for me is is networking, really talking to others, and then creating the space to where people feel comfortable with being able to ask questions that they may not know the answer to.
Locha
Because as we know, a lot of educators don't have the entrepreneurial background or backbone. And so for me, just even being intentional about creating this space for other educators to feel comfortable. So collaboration has definitely been key in regards to business and working with others.
Locha
I think that is detrimental to the success of any business, especially school consultant is that partnering with other businesses, so that's the biggest thing that I've learned is just making sure that you collaborate and just be willing to be open and collaborating with others.
Lily
Yes, I love that. Yeah. I mean, I think collaboration is so key in everything we do. And that there are so many people doing amazing things. So I might as well collaborate and help each other out.
Lily
And I always talk about this thing called shine theory, where it's like, you can lift each other up, you know, rather than feeling competitive, like you want everyone to shine, and like we all shine brighter when we're helping each other shine. So I love that idea of really like centering collaboration.
Locha
Especially with this type of work, you know.
Lily
Totally, totally, absolutely. And having teachers lead it, you know, like, I know of a world where it's like a bunch of EdTech companies or even consultants who don't have that classroom experience. And so I think, really, when we can collaborate and like lift up other educators, that's the best way to do it.
Lily
So how about I know some of your work is thinking about or helping other people go into the world of education consulting. Can you tell us a little bit more about that? And what advice you'd give to people who are interested in starting their own consulting businesses?
Locha
Yes. Okay. So I actually, I started a school consultant accelerator program, because I had so many educators that were just asking me like, Hey, Locha, I'm thinking about getting into it. But I literally don't know anything about business. And I was like, you know, what I documented the process. So my business has been in operation for the last three years, and I've documented every single step of the way.
Locha
And so the most important thing that I tell educators is your mindset is knowing that we can actually go out there and there are opportunities for us, versus just operating in a lack. I think we're so used to, you know, the principal or whoever has given us our roster for the year, you know, maybe an extra duty contract, you want to coach or, you know, do chair attracting something like that.
Locha
But it's actually just your mindset of knowing that you are valuable, and that you have a skill set that other organizations can greatly benefit from.
Locha
And then another thing is getting comfortable with getting paid your worth. I think so often educators are used to Okay, you'll get an extra $25 If you cover this class, because there's no sub, and it's like, Hey, listen, you can go out and perform a two hour session actually get paid how much you would make, it would take you to make in a matter of two weeks as an educator, and it's okay to charge that.
Locha
You know, I'm really grounded in a lot of research. So anytime we go into an organization, I always look at their budget, I look at what they're paying other consultants to come in. And I truly make sure that my pricing is aligned with it simply because I know that I have value. But it's another thing to actually put that in a contract and submit it and have faith that this is what you're supposed to be getting. Like don't settle for anything less.
Locha
So if there's anything that I can submit to educators, is understand that we have been through school, we've been through so much school, you know, many of us got that letter saying that your student loans are forgiven, but they got one little technicality, so they're not really forgiven yet. But we owe so much money, like we deserve to truly get paid our worth.
Locha
So if that's something that I can submit to other educators, is just do it. It's okay, it's okay to charge your work. There are so many opportunities. And if I can offer them something Miss Jones, if you don't mind, if you just want to see what opportunities are out there, you can look in your neighboring school districts, right, and go to their procurement department.
Locha
On their website, they will have a place where there are different RFPs or request for proposals that are published that will say what services they're looking for somebody to come in, and we just look at those opportunities and see how you can service that need.
Locha
Or even take it a step farther, look at that district's five year strategic plan and see if there's something in that plan that you can address with your skill set. And there is a simple way of just constructing your proposal. So it's very easy, very simple to get into school consulting, like literally that easy.
Lily
Yes, and I think we hold ourselves back from so much. You know, yeah, once you start doing it or trying you're like, Oh, I could do this, but it takes us sometimes so much time to get out of our own way. Yeah. And I think that's the best advice, like, just try it out, see what's out there.
Lily
And I love that too of like charging what you're worth. Because even if you're getting paid for like a two hour presentation, you're not just getting paid for that two hours of your time, you're getting paid for all your past experience and all your time in the classroom and the time you went and got your BA, or whatever it was, you know, it's not just those two hours.
Lily
So I think it's a different way of thinking, though. And it's again, like the whole system of being a teacher, it makes you be like, oh, you know, I worked point six of an hour. So I get this, you know, 20 bucks, or whatever it is,
Locha
Oh you absolutely hit it on the nail, Miss Jones, like it is more than just working those two hours, you know, especially if, like I said, I'm a nerd. So I'm, like, really grounded in data. So we're pulling in data into our slide decks, we're pulling in, you know, relevant content, articles, all those different things.
Locha
So it's more than just the two hours, it definitely is the education as you went to school and received the certifications that you had to take those four hour test to get certified. I really don't know many educators that pass it on the first time. So, you know, you may have had to take the test twice.
Locha
So it's definitely all of that experience, combined into you know, your pricing and just feeling comfortable and knowing that you you absolutely deserve it, you have a family, you know, whether that's just two cats and a dog, or if you have a husband and children, whatever your family looks like, they deserve you to get compensated, what you are worth, so that you guys can definitely live the life that you deserve.
Lily
Yes, absolutely. And it's a good model for other educators. You know, it's like, if you see other educators doing that, you're like, oh, I should do that, too. So it's like and for students, honestly, right? Like, it's not a good situation for students to see teachers like taken advantage of over and over again, or not treated well over and over again.
Lily
So it's like being able to stand up and create this new pathway, and also share your knowledge and help other people can be so powerful in so many ways.
Locha
Yes. And you actually, what you just say is like, one of the main things that I love about going to school consulting is that many of my students who I've had the privilege of being their teachers, they participated in some of the mentorships that I've previously done.
Locha
Last year, you know, I was introducing people to different streams of income, through entrepreneurship, whether that was real estate, or getting into E commerce. This year, I really just wanted to focus on school consulting, because I just absolutely love education.
Locha
But some of my students, they contact me all the time, because, you know, they're thinking about this idea or that idea. And I think them seeing me just operating my passion and calling as an entrepreneur gives them the confidence to really move into that as well.
Locha
One example that comes into mind, I had a young lady, she was going to school for nursing after the second year, she had contacted me she was Mrs. Brooks, I think I'm gonna drop out because, you know, it's just, it's a lot of work. And I was like, Well, hold on, you know, do we have a plan? What are we thinking about?
Locha
And so you know, just talk to her about some of my friends that were in the nursing industry and what they were experiencing with travel nursing, and those people who were staffing them not having that background, she actually started a nurse staffing agency, because she loved the nursing field.
Locha
And now she's literally in her last year of school about to graduate. So she's about to graduate nursing degree, has a nurse staffing agency and has also purchased her first income property as well.
Locha
So it's just so awesome to know, it's not always just about, you know, the content area that you are teaching. But these young people are actually looking up to us as inspiration about how they should lead their lives just to you know, be happy citizens, productive citizens. So it's so it's beautiful all the way around. There's just so much involved in it.
Lily
Yes, it is beautiful. And it's like, not limited to education, like you're saying, right? Like, so much is universal, of empowering people to go after their dreams or to know that they can do it, or they have the support network that's cheering them on, and that they can learn these things.
Lily
So much of it is kind of like that mindset piece and that supportive community piece of like having your people telling you you can do it, whether it's education, or nursing or whatever it is.
Locha
Yes, yes. In fact, Gregory Clark, the first consulting that I mentioned it to my previous professor from the HBCU. And when I mentioned it to him, I said, Hey, you know, I'm thinking about starting my school consulting firm, and you know, what do you think about he was like, do it.
Locha
Like he never and I think even just that having, you know, my old professor, just do it. It was like, I felt really good. I was like Professor Clark just said, Just do it. And I just did it and it's been amazing.
Locha
But to have him just give me the reassurance like, Just do it. Like if that's what you're thinking about. Just go ahead, give it a try. And oh, my I'm just so happy that And I think he probably thinks nothing of it. Like he was just encouraging me, but it truly meant a lot to have my teacher, you know, to support me, he never gave me a well, you have to consider this or consider that. It was like just go for it just do it. And it's been amazing.
Lily
Yeah, and what a gift it is to have somebody to tell you that, you know, and I think for teachers, like I work with a lot of teachers who kind of feel the opposite of that sometimes, right? Like that. They're like, Oh, everybody around me says I have to work another 10 years.
Lily
So I get my pension, or everybody around me says I can't do anything else. But be a teacher, you know, so creating that flip side of like, No, you can do it, you know, and there are so many things you can do is so powerful and life changing.
Locha
Even with you, Miss Jones, hosting this platform and getting this information out to others, like this is a form of being able to do something else in the education industry, providing a value asset to other educators, and just letting them know, like, yes, we can do more than just be inside our little silos in our classroom.
Locha
With our students, there's so much more that you can do, such as starting a meaningful podcast where people can then come on, and just, you know, be thought leaders and exchanged these type of ideas.
Locha
So thank you, again, for allowing me to come on your platform, because this is also a part of, you know, doing that good work and inspiring other educators that they can do more, be more, and they just have so much value, more than you know, just being inside the four walls.
Lily
Oh, thank you. That's very sweet. And I hope so, you know, like, I really want teachers to know that they are way more valuable than I think our society tells them they are Yes. And they need to be at the forefront of all the things in education.
Lily
We just had an Educator Forever student get elected to school board in Austin, you know, and like, there are people creating curriculum, doing consulting and like coaching, and they need to be educators, you know, and that there can be these different options for us.
Lily
So I appreciate you coming on and sharing about your work too, and inspiring folks to go down that route, if it feels good to them. So I'd love to hear where folks can find you if people would like to connect with you.
Locha
Okay, so I am on all social media at @lochapowermoves. And it's L O C H A power moves. I'm very active on Instagram, I just love, love, love Instagram. So I try to put a lot of value content on Instagram, not super active on Twitter, especially if you know Elon decides that, you know, he might shut that down one day.
Locha
But you can find me on Twitter, but Instagram is better Facebook, and then you know all of the links and handles that you need to access.
Locha
I have a webinar on school consultant, it's an hour long, it gives you nothing but Jim's is free certainly tap into that if you're interested in learning more about school consultant, that webinar will certainly point you in the right place. So again, you can find me on Instagram @lochapowermoves, and I am here to be of service to other educators.
Lily
Amazing. And we'll put all those links down below in the show notes as well. And then folks can find out about your consulting at 1stclasseducator.com. Is that right? The right address?
Locha
Yes, yes. 1stclasseducator.com will tell you everything you need to know about my school consulting organization, and all of the services that we provide. And again, I like to tell educators, I don't want anyone to feel like you have to come work for 1st Class Educator to get into school consultants.
Locha
So again, we do have the eight week course that is available. Definitely you can find out more information once you tap in with me on the social media.
Locha
I definitely want people to know that this is something that they can do something that you can actually feel good and you can still work in your respective positions, whether it is central office, classroom, whatever the case may be. But yes, you can get all of that information once you connect with me.
Locha
So 1stclasseducator.com is for the school consultant website, my business and then @lochapowermoves on all social media will definitely get you to the right place.
Lily
Wonderful. Well, thank you so much, Locha for joining us. It was really a great pleasure to connect with you.
Locha
Thank you. Thank you again, Miss Jones. I appreciate you for sharing your platform with me.