Work From Home: Teachers Pay Teachers

Are you looking for a way to work from home? Recently, I learned about a new job that allows you to earn money from home from selling resources to teachers from a Frugal Fanatic reader as a part of my Work From Home Interview Series. Tiffany works from home as an office manager.

Most of you know that I have done a few positions working from home so this series is a great way for me to share with you all of the possibilities of earning an income outside of the typical day job. It is so much fun learning about new opportunities to earn a part-time or full-time income. I was excited to hear the responses of this interview because this is completely new to me!

My number one source of income working from home is blogging. If you are interested you can check out my guide on how to start a blog or watch the video tutorial. 

I will be adding more interviews over the next few weeks, so sign-up for my email newsletter so that you do not miss out on any of the work from home jobs that I post.

Other interviews:

Graphic DesignDaycareTutorOffice ManagerFreelance Writer The questions below were answered by Heather, a stay-at-home mom who sells resources online at Teachers Pay Teachers, does Virtual Assistant work, and teaches online courses for teachers. She blogs at HoJo's Teaching Adventures and HoJo's Life Adventures. When she's not with her computer, you'll find her spending time with her husband and son, reading, cooking, and walking.   1. What is your work from home job and how did you get started?One of the jobs I do at home is sell teaching resources on the website Teachers Pay Teachers. I started listing items there in 2009 or 2010. I didn't really consider it a business until 2011, when I bought a premium membership, started a blog, and really took it more seriously. Four years later, it's one of the positions I hold that allows me to work at home and raise our baby boy. I also do Virtual Assistant work and teach a few online classes that deal with continuing education for teachers. 2. Why did you decide on this position?I honestly just sort of fell into the position. As a teacher, I used to spend a lot of time creating printables to use in my classroom. One day I happened to Google something, hoping to find what I needed online and not have to recreate the wheel. That's when I came across Teachers Pay Teachers. I started downloading items for free, and then I realized, "Hey, I could list my things on here too!" I listed a few freebies and loved it! I never intended to have this be my job, but I'm glad it's helping me work from home! 3. Is this job full-time, or part time? How many hours a week would you say you spend working?My Teachers Pay Teachers work is part-time. I purposely put in about 10 hours a week. My goal is to schedule social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Google+) to go out once a day. I also use Tailwind to schedule pins on Pinterest around the clock. Remembering to post to Instagram daily can sometimes be challenging, but I'm getting better about it. Then I also blog at least once a week. In a perfect world, I also get a new product posted once a week, but that doesn't always happen. So while I put in ten hours, I know I also put in a few more checking in with everybody on social media. However, that part really doesn't feel like work since I love sharing and creating resources for teachers! 4. How do you find time to work with your other everyday obligations?Since I'm home full-time with our son now, I have a weekly "to do" list. There are certain items I need to get done by the end of the week, and then there's certain things I need to have done by the end of the day. However, my son is my main priority! Cuddling and reading are two items we do every day, regardless! It can be hard balancing everything, but being home full-time has given me more flexibility. It also helps that my husband is extremely supportive of me. He'll take our baby in the evenings if there's something I have to get done. Even though I try to plan everything out the best I can, it's still a balancing act. 5. What is your favorite part about working from home?I think what I like best is the flexibility! I can wake up at 6, or I can sleep in until the little guy wakes me up. I can go to bed early, or - if I'm feeling inspired - I can work late into the night. Being able to set my own hours and get things done on MY time is great! The other thing I like is the connections I've made with other teachers and bloggers from around the country. It's great to know I've helped impact students around the US and sometimes even around the world! When someone leaves a comment in my Teachers Pay Teachers store saying they used my product in Australia, I squeal! 6. Did you need any training or experience for this position? Any particular qualifications?There wasn't any specific training for this job, although I suppose my education degree was probably indirectly necessary. Without that, I don't think others teachers would have been willing to buy my resources. The skill set that has helped me the most is my typing/writing skills, as well as those using the Microsoft Office suite. That's how I create all of my products and the photos I post on my websites. Finally, I've learned a lot about social media along the way. 7. What affect does your income have on you and/or your family?Giving up an elementary principal's salary to stay home, the income was definitely something that worried me. Between Teachers Pay Teachers, my VA work, and teaching online courses, I currently have enough to pay for my and my son's health insurance. I'd obviously love for this to go up in the future, but right now I'm just glad I have this time at home with him. 8. Would you recommend this position for someone who is looking for a work at home job?If you're a teacher or homeschool mom (or were a teacher) who already creates printables for your students (or your own kids) - then YES! Teachers Pay Teachers is not a site where you're going to get rich overnight, but you can definitely make legitimate money on it if you work at it. 9. Any advice for other people who are looking to get started with this position?There are forums on Teachers Pay Teachers for sellers. You can learn a lot by asking questions there. I also highly recommend blog stalking other TpT seller/bloggers. If you do those two things and check out Pinterest, you'll find a wide range of tips that will help you out. Also, buy the premium membership sooner than later. For roughly $60 per year you'll get 85% of your profits. It's a better deal in the long-run than the free membership.

Thank You Heather!

Check out other interviews in this series and keep checking back for more posts on different work from home jobs. Some of the positions you can expect to see include daycare, tutor, web designer, photographer, freelance writer, laundry care and more!