TPT Journey Vlog: ITALY – Episode 27

Where does your TPT Journey take you? In May, I went to Italy to visit fellow TPT Seller Enrica. We spent the whole day talking about our TPT business and where to go from here!

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VIDEO TABLE of CONTENTS

• 0:00 Introduction (Ottawa, Canada)
• 1:05 Thinking about TPT niches
• 2:51 Boston: Nervous about TPT Forward 2023
• 4:50 TPT Forward 2023 Day 1: Chatting with Paul Mishkin, CEO
• 9:22 What kind of TPT Seller goes to TPT Forward?
• 11:24 Don’t use WooCommerce! Agree or Disagree?
• 13:27 TPT Forward 2023 Day 2: Motivation and TPT blogging
• 15:52 TPT Forward 2023 Day 3: Email Lists, Niches, Facebook Ads
• 19:30 Anxiety vs Performing Mode
• 21:58 After TPT Forward 2023 Thoughts: Energizing, Your Voice, Helping Teachers, 
• 24:22 The most impactful insight: Niche down
• 25:41 What strategy will I implement: Artificial Intelligence
• 28:00 What happened to our car!?
• 28:56 Be so good, they can’t ignore you

Transcript

(00:00):
Hey, TPT Sellers, it’s Mike from SEOTPreneur. In today’s episode, it’s kind of exciting. I’m heading on a train to go chat with my friend Enrique. You might recognize her. She co-hosted the master class on TPT search, SEO stuff. I find one of the hardest things about it being a TEACHERpreneur or a TPT seller or a digital nomad is that you work alone. You’re constantly in your own little bubble working on creating content. So one of the things I’m trying to do is to create spaces for like-minded people like yourself, people who are watching this video, TPT [00:00:30] Sellers, the true SEOT. And one of the ways I’m trying to do that is through Zoom meetings. Super excited because Nuke and I, we’re going to do our weekly zoom meeting with SO entrepreneurs in our little homework club and maybe chat with some people in the States. Who knows what’ll happen. By the way, if you are going to TPT forward in Boston this year, I’d love to hang out. So let me know in the comments if you’ll be there. Otherwise, let’s see what happens on today’s episode. Alright, check this out.

(01:00):
[00:01:00] So I am in France right now and it got me to thinking, because I’m heading to Italy and I’m kind of used to things in French and now I’m heading to Italy where I don’t think things will be that different, but it’ll be different just enough that it’ll be a little bit hard for me to figure things out, right? I don’t speak Italian. I’m sure I could figure it out, but then that’s sort of got me thinking about how TPT sellers we [00:01:30] love, oh, I’ll try selling on TPT. I’ll try selling on T. Simple. I’ll try selling on other things. I imagine French and Italian and Spanish, they’re all kind of similar yet all kind of different for me. I don’t have a lot of energy points to sort of sustain learning different things I can, but I think I’d rather focus on one area that’s my choice, whereas of course lots of other people think there’s an advantage to be the first mover. And so maybe if you’re the first mover aren’t too simple, there’s something you’ll be there. I dunno. What do you think?

(02:00):
[00:02:00] Hey there. So I just got into Italy and I’ve been thinking about this. I’m from Canada, and you know how when you travel someplace there’s a little bit of culture shock because everything is similar but slightly different. Same, same but different. And so then I wonder is being a teacher and a TEACHERpreneur kind of like the same thing being a TEACHERpreneur, it’s more than just being a teacher because being a teacher, you just create the content, [00:02:30] you deal with the classroom management. But being a TEACHERpreneur, you have to figure out how to market the package, the resource. You can have the best resource in the world, but if you don’t gain traction, if people don’t see it, if you don’t get sales, you just don’t get movement, you don’t get noticed. Even though it’s the best product in the world, you may not succeed. Likewise, you could have a mediocre product, but if you have great sales, great marketing, then maybe you get left off in a way that seems unfair. So I wonder if you’re a teacher and then you become a TEACHERpreneur, it’s kind [00:03:00] of like, I wonder if it’s not like culture shock where you have to sort of figure out things are similar but different.

(03:10):
You meet people a personal line from the other side of the world and you think that you will never meet him in person. And then one day we’re here, we are hugging, we’re hanging out together and it’s amazing.

(03:25):
And we’re talking on a Zoom meeting, but not side by side because of the [00:03:30] echo. So yeah, going to different rooms,

(03:32):
It’s fun. It’s something special that I will remember

(03:36):
For a year. Me too. And I think what was interesting was because your store has done better, I wonder if you’ll get a chance to work full-time TPT and go to a TPT forward or something. Would you ever do that? If you could,

(03:53):
I’d love to do that. I don’t know if I would be interested in TPT four. I think I would find [00:04:00] it overwhelming. It’s really too much. But I do, I would love a TPT on conference. It’s something a little less formal in New York and I got to see the Central Park and I dunno, who knows, maybe I would be able to do that right now. I’m really far away from that. But who knows? I don’t think they’re that far. If someone [00:04:30] told me three years ago that I would’ve been where I am now, I would say you are crazy. Someone told that the beautiful thing of TPT is that the sky is limited. You have no limit, you have no, potentially you can grow in an incredible way. And I think that this gives tip a lot of energy.

(04:57):
I love that you feel that way. And I wonder who’s watching [00:05:00] if there’s old school TPT sellers who are jaded? No, if you didn’t get here right at the beginning, then you lost all, you can’t crack that ceiling.

(05:10):
Everybody can crack everything. The problem is that the time and the effort that you put in it, because it’s not free. What is it? TPT, you can’t create a couple of resources and spit it there and then forget about it. It requires [00:05:30] constant work.

(05:31):
Yeah, it’s a lot of work.

(05:31):
Yeah, a lot of work. And it depends how much you enjoy doing that work

(05:38):
Lot. If you don’t like it, you’ll give up because

(05:40):
It’s, I think TPT is full of this store that open and then a couple of resources and then realize that it’s not so easy and then

(05:54):
Quit. How much time would you say you work on your store now? I

(05:58):
One, two hours

(05:59):
A day. And how [00:06:00] much did you start with? I

(06:01):
Think I started with something more. Most of days my work on TPT is on the evenings from nine to 10:00 PM and that’s it. What I’m able to do in that time is what I got done in the

(06:18):
Day. If you were going to tell past you one piece of advice, what would it be?

(06:24):
Study, learn before doing it because [00:06:30] I had no idea what I was doing really. I really had no idea. And if I had studied a little more at the beginning, probably it would’ve been easier and faster. But this is why I am the one who never reads this instructions. And so that’s what I had to do things about.

(06:54):
That’s so funny. I have the exact opposite point of view, which is why I think I like working with you because [00:07:00] I would’ve advised to just start. Because if the sooner you start, the sooner you make the mistakes and

(07:08):
You learn what not to do. Maybe I made too much mistakes. The best piece of advice that I think both of us could give to a person who wants to start, enjoy the journey.

(07:22):
Because if it’s not fun, you’ll stop.

(07:25):
You’ll give up.

(07:25):
Okay, so final question. The real final question, if future you built [00:07:30] a time machine and said hello to you now and gave you advice, what do you think future you from five years would come and say to you now?

(07:40):
Create more principals.

(07:43):
Yeah, the principals are the way to go. You’re not wrong because that’s because people,

(07:47):
Teachers, 90% of teachers wants printables. I have 17 printables in my store and 434 digital resources.

(07:59):
So I [00:08:00] think future Mike, five year from now, Mike coming here would tell me, I need to get a virtual assistant or just outsource some of the things. But I think future. Mike would also say to you, if you have 400 resources, you should outsource that. Start with your bestsellers, come up with criteria of what the person to do.

(08:24):
I should,

(08:25):
But we need is future Mike, to tell us the names of the VA to work with. Yes, [00:08:30] yes. That’s what we should do. Future. Mike, come here

(08:34):
And tell us the

(08:34):
Name. We’re ready for you. So I always forget to say that to

(08:38):
And

(08:38):
Subscribe, like, and subscribe. And we’ll see you next time.

(08:41):
You also forget a piece of me, not only Mike,

(08:45):
She’s a SEOTpreneur network, which means you should sign up. So Mike

(08:49):
Will visit you.

(08:52):
All right, we’ll see you next time. Bye

(08:53):
Bye.

(08:59):
So today was a lot [00:09:00] of fun. I got to hang out with Ika in Italy and spend the whole day just talking about DPD, just talking about our stores and things that we’ve observed. And we did a Zoom chat, it was kind of funny and make sure you watch to the very end. She and I have actually completely opposite advice for previous. If we could go back in time and give ourselves advice, she and I have completely opposite views on [00:09:30] what we would tell our past selves. And I thought that was fascinating. Last night I had a dream where I was teaching and my class was listening and I was trying all these things. I didn’t have my voice and eventually I was able to win ’em over and I missed that. I missed performing in front of the classroom and engaging with the students and sort of putting them over and acknowledging where they’re at and getting them to recognize, [00:10:00] trying to get through that learning experience.

(10:04):
And I miss that. But I also now, I like being able in the middle of May to travel and to connect with other sellers. That’s something I couldn’t have done before. I would be right in the thick of teaching right now, trying to get marks. I do enjoy this process of slowly trying to reinvent myself. And the long picture goal is just to become [00:10:30] so good canid for, and I’m talking about active citizenship and we need to talk out about just things that we see in the community and that critical thinking piece, especially with ChatGPT here and artificial intelligence that is a game changer. I think the message to pass Mike would be, especially if I think about a couple of years ago, I would’ve been right in that mental health crisis. I remember at the time thinking, well, I don’t know what, I know there’s a path through the mountains.

(10:59):
I just [00:11:00] don’t know what that path is. And I don’t know if it would’ve helped to see where I am at now, to know that I am able to get through things, but right now I’m in a better place and I’m happy in a better place. I mean, don’t get me wrong, there are moments, right? Lots of moments. But I’ve learned a lot about myself and I think that’s something that I want to share with sellers and other people do. And it’s a great game. Find, enjoy the process. And if you like selling Ont [00:11:30] PP or being a teacher peer or being an entrepreneur and you’re going tot PP board, you should absolutely hang out. I would love to connect with you. So please leave a comment. Let’s go from there. Alright, see you next time.

(12:00):
[00:12:00] Hey, you’re still watching. That’s awesome. I’m not in Italy anymore. I’m actually in Boston right now. Getting ready for TPT Forward, which starts tomorrow. Kind of excited. Kind of nervous. It’s kind of like the first day of school. You’re not really sure what’s going to happen. You’re not really sure if you’re going to make a friend, but I’m kind of excited to see what happens. So if you’re curious to hear about how TPT [00:12:30] forward went, leave the message. TPT forward in the comments before Thursday and I have something special for you. Alright, we’ll see you next time. Bye-Bye.