Elevate - the membership and directory for English language teachers

You're an English teacher with big dreams

You love teaching and your learners, but the teaching business is leaving you with a sour taste in your mouth. Platforms are taking your earnings with various and variable commission, and not allowing you to build a relationship with your learners. 😤 You're finding you still have to work hard to be visible on these platforms as they're crammed with all sorts of teachers.

You're feeling the stress of competition from so many others. You know you could serve learners so much more effectively than you're currently able to. But you're not sure how to start communicating that with learners, or if you're allowed to. You'd really like to build a much deeper relationship with learners.

You want to have a flexible online-preneur business like all those gurus promised, but you don't have space to make it happen. You want your own teaching business but you're a teacher not a business person, marketer, or sales person.

You're not quite sure where to start and there's heaps of information out there, but it's pretty overwhelming. Do you start with the education side or the business side? What even is an email list and... do I need to worry about GDPR... and how do you go around 'selling' things?...or ... and what if I don't find my own learners.

It's a lot.

Where to start and what to do first? and how do you get visible in this crowded market?

You need a clear path towards building your business. You want tasks you can complete, and buddies to help keep you accountable.

You also need to keep the money flowing and you want to teach!

I've got a solution for you

You need

Elevate, the membership and directory for English language teachers

✅ Accountability community

✅ Public searchable directory

✅ Monthly tasks to help grow your teaching business

and it's $10 USD a month

Elevate will

Help you get in front of learners who are actively looking for English teachers
Offer you the support you need to grow your own English teaching business.
Help you stay sane and calm when something “goes wrong” with your emails, learners or website
Teach you how to get your own learners even if/when you feel like no one is looking for you.
Get rid of the overwhelming ‘what do I do next’ feeling you have every time you think about your business.
Guide you to get visible in this big, ole mixed up world of ELT

Elevate won't

operate like a normal teaching platform. There are no lesson plans, no payment processors, calendar for bookings or proprietary system to follow. You are free to use your systems and preferences, and show off your lessons, courses, books in the directory - however you help English learners.
Charge you any more than $10 a month. There are no favourites and no premium levels here.
Force you to fit into a one-size fits all system. Whatever you teach, and whatever your preference for lessons or courses you're free to display them in the directory.

There are two main parts of Elevate - the public side is a public searchable directory and blog posts featuring teachers and written by teachers. You can see it at weareenglishteachers.com

The inside of Elevate is an accountability community. You'll get a monthly task to complete, that's focused on business tasks such as growing your email list, making a freebie, and getting your mindset in the right place. You can socialise in the community, online meetups and get accountability for your tasks.

There is no one “right” way to use Elevate. Either way I expect you to have fantastic returns on this investment in yourself (especially since Elevate is only $10 per month.)

Don’t let another day go by without getting in front of the learners who need you. Join us in Elevate and let’s GET THIS THING DONE. You deserve it.

How it works

Month 1

Join Elevate and your first task is to write your directory entry. The directory is a public facing website listing English teachers. You have 100 words to describe how your business helps learners. Stuck already? Watch my training to nail your 100 words. Once your entry is done and approved you'll be listed in the directory too. Come and say hello to the community on the Elevate website and join an online meet up.

Month 2

You'll get a monthly task emailed to you. Check out the task and decide when to take action. Monthly tasks will be on aspects of business for example- building your email list, or posting on social media, or about your mindset on selling and marketing. Join the monthly online meetup to chat about the task and whatever is bugging you in business this month!

Month 3

Check out your monthly task and don't forget to submit your details for an interview. The public blog will showcase English teachers from around the world. Check in with your accountability buddies for the monthly task.

Month 4

Let's review. What's gone well for you in the past 3 months? Have you completed tasks? Find this month's task and decide when you'll take action. Chat in the community to find supportive friends.

and so on....

FAQs

How much time do I have to spend on this?

The monthly tasks might take 30 minutes to 2 hours a month. You can spend unlimited time in the community!

How much is it?

It's really $10 USD a month, or $120 USD a year.

What do I actually get?

As an Elevate member you'll get a monthly task - something that will grow your business, and get you more paying learners. You'll have a community of supportive like-minded teachers, to keep you accountable.

We have a monthly meetup, twice to cover different time zones, so you can network with other teachers, get unstuck and boost your morale.

You'll get a listing in the public Elevate Directory that learners will be able to search to find great teachers like you. You'll have the opportunity to contribute blog posts to the directory's blog.

You'll also get access to a growing series of mini-workshops that will help you with business tasks, for example creating your landing page, automatic email systems, and finding new learners.

Is this right for me?

This membership is for English language teachers who want to grow their own business. If you're teaching English as a foreign or second language and want to find more learners this is for you. It is not a market place or platform for learners to pay for your lessons. It will not give you lesson ideas, or teaching methodology and there aren't any lesson plans here.

Why is it only $10?

Seems cheap right? You will get a directory listing, once you've completed your entry. You will get monthly tasks so that you can work on your business. You will get an accountability community, with a monthly meet up online.

You won't get personal coaching here, or a dense course of information to plough through. There are no certificates or qualifications to complete. This is a directory membership and a directory does need listings! I want to help teachers find their freedom with their own business, and I know what it's like to be starting out. My philosophy has always been that money should not be a barrier to education - that goes for business education too.

What is the directory?

The directory is a public and searchable database which all members of Elevate can appear in, once they've completed their directory entry. The directory will be advertised online, funded by the membership subscription. The directory will also have a blog with video and blog posts about the teachers featured. It will be free for learners to access and contact teachers in the directory. Oh and by the way I work to stop native-speakerism, so if your directory entry is focused on your 'native-speaker' status, I won't accept it.

Elevate launched in May 2024, here are what some of the earliest members have said

"I joined because I saw an opportunity to build my client base more organically than simply cold-calling or trying to sell myself through LinkedIn posts. It’s also a great opportunity to connect with fellow teachers who share the same goals. I’m looking forward to working with a variety of clients to help them achieve their professional aspirations." Jade Arthur

"Elevate seems to be exactly what I was waiting for. It seems a great idea and the beautiful welcoming space I was looking for." Francesca Mazzucato

"I joined Elevate because I'm just starting my teaching business and have a lot on my plate. What caught my attention is that Elevate serves both learners looking for teachers and teachers seeking students. And, it simplifies the process of establishing an online presence ! Also, I'll be able to write blog posts without the hassle of setting up a blog or website. For someone like me starting from scratch — and being an introvert — it will simplify many business tasks I struggle with, allowing me to focus on teaching and course development. Having everything in one place means I don't have to worry about tech issues or struggling to be noticed. Looking ahead, I'm excited to grow my business in this supportive environment and connect with fellow teachers to get advice. I'm eager for the monthly tasks to help me build and refine my teaching business" Nabila Souaber.

"I joined Elevate because I know how powerful being part of a community is. I love being able to connect with other people who are on a similar journey to share my experiences and ask all my questions! Knowing that I have a network of people who I can count on for help and encouragement is really motivating! Looking forward to learning from and with fellow teachers here. Thanks for this opportunity Abbie!" Lisa Wood

What they've said about my other work

“Thanks Abbie. It was a great experience for me and helped to gain some confidence showing up and talking about what I do” Learn English Together speaker

“There were several things I really liked, but maybe the thing I liked most was the topic of this summit. So relevant and helpful and so many great presenters and awesome ideas on how we can move on with our businesses!” Momentum summit participant.

"Thank you very much for the useful and inspiring sessions! They are very helpful for a freelance teacher like me, just starting to navigate in the freelance teaching ocean." Momentum summit participant.

"What a triumph Momentum 2024 has been! This was what my set-up looked like a few hours ago. Two cups of tea and lots of notes later I'm feeling inspired and empowered, so a huge thanks to all the speakers and Abigail Fulbrook for organising this marvellous event. I'm a newbie to the freelancing world, and the last few months have been full of self-doubting, moments of joy and a fair few of fear too. I wasn't sure what I was doing, and slowly things started working but didn't know how or why. I've got a much better idea now, and the sessions I've seen have given me the tools and knowledge I need to keep going. I reckon the biggest takeaway however - and the thing that might just have made the biggest impact - is how my mindset has changed from that of a private teacher with some online classes to a teacher with an online business. That feels quite profound!" Momentum summit participant.