So You Wanna be an Educator
How to Become a Public Speaker and Small Business Educator
It’s about more than just having something to say
Being an educator is more than just standing in front of a crowd and talking at them. It's about sharing your experience, advice, and tangible takeaways all in the name of helping someone get better at something. But for a lot of people who want to become public speakers/educators, there’s some stuff you gotta learn. So in this episode of the Pretty Okay Podcast, I was so excited to have Laylee Emadi as my guest! Why? Because not only is she a seasoned speaker, she’s a coach for creative educators, the community builder behind the Educators Lounge, former classroom teacher, and hardcore auntie. She and I talked all the real talk about public speaking vs. educating and here are some of the top takeaways for you if you’re wondering how to become a public speaker.
Understand what it means to be an educator
If you want to become a public speaker, you have to know what it really means. Cuz there is a difference between being an educator and public speaker. According to Laylee, an educator is someone who communicates with authority and expertise, guiding others toward knowledge and understanding. And it’s not just about transferring information from your brain to someone else’s—it's about creating an environment where learning thrives. An educator inspires curiosity, fosters critical thinking, and encourages growth. As a public speaker, your goal might just be to motivate someone…and that’s a different thing.
Your motivation matters
Before diving into public speaking, you should absolutely think about why you want to do this. Because if financial gain is your primary driver, it might be time to reconsider. True educators are motivated by the desire to help others learn and grow. I know it sounds cheesy, but this intrinsic motivation is kinda the only way to do it authenticity—and we know people want authentic.
If you can’t replicate your results, hit pause
The thing that separates great educators from not-so-great ones is whether or not what you’re teaching actually gets people results! So step one in becoming a public speaker is making sure that you have replicable results to share. Laylee says that whatever you're teaching, you should have firsthand experience and proven results that others can help others do themselves. This not only establishes your credibility but also builds trust with your audience—you don’t want to people to think you’re selling snake oil!
Finding your educational format
Which brings us to the point where you’ve gotta pick the type of educator you want to be and the format that suits you best. Public speaking can take many forms, from keynote speeches and workshops to online courses and one-on-one coaching. So be sure to think about your strengths, interests, and the needs of your audience when choosing your format. Are you a dynamic speaker who thrives on stage, or do you prefer the interactive nature of workshops? Or maybe your jam is creating online courses that reach a broader audience. Figure out your format so you can take things from there!
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Episode transcript
Tayler - 00:00:05:
Welcome, welcome everyone to the newest episode of the Pretty Okay Podcast. I am your host, Tayler Hollman. And today, I mean, I feel like I say this all the time, but it's just my MO with the podcast. I have all of my favorite humans on as guests. So I have another one of my most favorite humans, Laylee Emadi on. And today we are going to be talking about educators, public speaking, the space where this world collides. I am so jazzed to be having this chat because both Laylee and I have a background in actual education, like teachers in a classroom creating actual curriculum that people need to learn from. And so we're going to have a little bit of a different spin on all of this. And so if you are meeting Laylee for the first time, welcome, welcome to the pod. And would you give the folks a quick and lovely introduction of yourself?
Laylee - 00:01:00:
Sure. Thank you so much for having me. And I love whenever I say like, we have a background in real education, I'm like, no, it's actual. We're trained to do this. It's very different. Yeah. So I'm Laylee. I am the founder of The Creative Educator Conference and the Educator's Lounge. And my whole job in my entire business centers around speakers and course creators, coaches, anybody who monetizes their knowledge in order to help them really help their students. So that's kind of like the quick and dirty of what I do. And I love every minute of it. And it's super fun.
Tayler - 00:01:34:
Yes. And one of the reasons that Laylee and I became Fast and Furious friends, we are both living the auntie life to its fullest. We are obsessed. You just have nieces, right?
Laylee - 00:01:46:
No, I have a niece and a nephew.
Tayler - 00:01:48:
Okay. So we both have a niece and a nephew. I have another nephew that's currently baking in the oven. But yes, Laylee and I are also like hardcore aunties. And I love meeting other women who just have chosen this path for themselves and still love on the little kids around us. Because I think that that's super special. But I digress. I can't teach my niece to dance. Actually, my sister-in-law is a dance teacher. So I don't have to worry about that. But I'm glad that your niece gets the actual love.
Laylee - 00:02:24:
Yeah, you get to take the flowers and the presents. It's great.
Tayler - 00:02:27:
Yes, yes. Okay, so let's dive into this chat about educators. And like I mentioned, we both have backgrounds in it. And so I'd love to just sort of clean the sort of slate and talk about what the word educator means to people like us in a classroom versus what the word educator means in the world of business. Because loaded, I mean, you guys, this is a super loaded question coming from me. You should already be able to tell that Tayler thinks it's two separate things, but I would love to hear what you think about that word straddling those two worlds.
Laylee - 00:03:07:
Yeah. So, I mean, I feel like now my answer is probably much different than it was a few years ago. I mean, I think that coming from education, I always heard educator and I associated it with actual classroom teachers, professors, people who actually were trained, qualified, certified educators in the education industry. That's its own world, its own realm. And then looking at it from the creative business, small business owner standpoint, I thought of educators as like course creators. I think over the past few years, it's kind of taken on a wider net of, like I said, speakers, course creators, even like digital product creators to just anybody who educates their niche or their industry. For me personally, it is kind of hard to reconcile the two and to have those two, because I still am involved in the community, like the education community. And so I think for them, it's even harder than it is for me to let those two terms mean very different things. But I think for our business community and our creative entrepreneur community, educator has kind of morphed into meaning. One who talks in a way that has leadership attached to it or expertise attached to it. Like people just throw that word around. Just real hard these days.
Tayler - 00:04:42:
They do. They totally, it gets thrown around. And, you know, one of the things that I'll be curious to know Laylee, if you've ever gotten this piece of feedback from presentations or lectures that you've done. For folks is, you know, I am constantly told that my presentations are no fuss, all action items. Here's what I want you to do. Here's how to do it, right? And that is very much the, I'm using finger quotes only because educator now in this context of this conversation means two separate things. But like as a teacher, that's how we teach, right? We take these big abstract concepts and need to break them down into little bits that make sense for people's brains. And when we're talking about educators in the general business space, When I'm watching presentations, a lot of the time, I feel like there's, what they've put together is on the opposite end of the spectrum, where it's a lot more focused on storytelling. There's a lot more feels involved. And typically it's founded on what they have done as an individual and seen success with versus. Like the whole thing, like what, what is the industry? What is the best practice? Like, not just my personal experience. And so, yeah, it's like, it has been hard. I liked what you said where it's hard to sometimes reconcile this one word. Manifesting as two starkly different people it approaches and both people calling themselves educators. So yeah, if there's like a tinge of shade in this conversation, you guys, you're catching what I'm pitching. There's a tinge of shade being thrown here, but also with all the love, because if you do have some genius to share, both Laylee and I are always super jazzed in wanting to help you share that knowledge with the world. So with this, I think the next thing that I wanted to chat about is the sort of spike in the number of people who have started calling themselves educators. And I'm curious to know, what do you think is the reason for that? Or like what sort of, what got in the water and made everyone want to be an educator?
Laylee - 00:07:24:
Oh my gosh. So many things. Okay. So I'm going to preface this. I give a lot of caveats when I do podcast interviews about education, because obviously my job is to help people do this successfully. I want people to become educators, but I want the right thought process to go along with it. So I always say, it might sound like I'm throwing shade and maybe I am, but also I do it with the best intentions and just like you said, Tayler, like I, we want to, we want to help, but sometimes that means keeping it real. So I think a couple of things. One, I loved everything you just shared. And I felt like there were so many things where I was like, oh my gosh, this makes total sense. And as I'm thinking about it, people are really confusing the word educator with motivational speaker in our industry. That's a huge thing we should talk about for sure. But to circle back to why there's a spike, I've done a lot of research on this, obviously, because like I said, it's my job. And I think a few things. One, there's always like, even when I think back to 10, 11 years ago, when I was going to my first conferences in the creative industry, you see someone on stage and it's human nature to envision yourself in the position of those who are at the top of their game. And those people at the top of their game are typically the ones that are on the stages. And so I think a lot of people in the audience are like, well, I could do that. I could help people or I can do that. I can be super amazing and take that spot. So I think that there is, and I say this really like understanding how it sounds, but it's just a fact.
Tayler - 00:09:02:
Safe space. Safe space.
Laylee - 00:09:02:
Yeah. I think it is. I think there's a lot of ego attached to it. I think that people see that and they think that looks super glamorous. It looks like a really fun way to get attention. And I'm going to seek that out. So that's one thing I think that has to do with a little bit of that uptick. The second is obviously social media, the industry has changed a lot with. I mean, I remember I had my business before I had an Instagram. It's changed a lot in the past decade. And I think with the rise of influencers and large audience sizes and numbers, we, again, the ego, we see that and we're like, I want to seek that out. I want to be the best of the best. And how can I do that? I can be an industry leader. And how can I do that? By being an educator. And then the last thing that I'll say is just probably the most prevalent is around 2020, obviously when a lot of businesses that are service-based were suffering, a lot of coaches came out. And at that time, I already had my signature program called The Creative Educator Academy. And it helped people become educators. At that time in like 2018, 2019, most educators and speakers were holding that knowledge really close to the best because they didn't want competition. Come 2020, a ton of people came out and became coaches for coaches and coaches for course creators. And they started pushing this messaging that you can create a course in three days and become rich. You don't even have to have it. Let's just do it. And I think people saw that and they thought quick buck, nice, easy money. I'm suffering anyway. And so they fell prey to that message. And then for most, it didn't really work out. So I think there's still some of that there, like that quick money grab feel. And there's nothing wrong with making money. Obviously, we love making money, but-
Tayler - 00:11:03:
We love it. That's why we're doing this thing.
Laylee - 00:11:05:
We got to do it. We need the money and we want the money. But, if that's like the only thing that's driving you, that makes it a little bit difficult to be successful as an educator.
Tayler - 00:11:16:
Yeah, you know, in that 2020 timeframe. I mean, the word of the season was pivot. Education, I can understand why people think it's an easy pivot, right? They just take this process that they already do themselves and then, oh, yeah, I'll just teach other people to do it. And then I'm an educator because I'm teaching people. I highly recommend you watch the video clip for that one because I'm sure my face was just all sorts of things. But, you know, there is this... I agree with you wholeheartedly that there was this moment where people thought, okay, well, my business is in the shitter right now. How do I keep this alive? And someone opened the box or kicked the door open and it just sort of kind of caught on fire. I want to circle back to the motivational speaker versus educator comment you made. I was like, make a fucking mental note about that one, Tayler, because let's buckle up and let's dive in.
Laylee - 00:12:25:
Yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean, I think when you were talking about the differences, right? In the way that you deliver a talk and the way that I probably deliver a talk. And then the way that a lot of "educators" in the creative space at conferences and at events and even at virtual summits will deliver a talk are very different. And I think, I'm not saying one is worse or better than the other, but I am saying that they are completely different. Like completely different beasts. So when I think of a business conference or a business topic, I'm going to deliver education in the way that I was trained and the way that you were likely trained. By actually creating a plan that provides tangible and tactical transformational information, like actual information that I'm then conveying. And I do enjoy, I like to incorporate storytelling in all of my talks. And I know you do too in little bits here and there. I'm more of a humorous. Like I have, I try to be, I don't try to be funny. I'm just usually awkward and then people laugh at me. But-
Tayler - 00:13:30:
Same, same, same.
Laylee - 00:13:31:
We love it. We'll self-deprecate all day long and it's great. But it's not a dry talk, but it's definitely informational. Whereas I do public speaking and as a public speaker in a different industry. So like, I'll go speak for a corporation and they want to hear about, like, if I do like a, let's say like a women's association and they want to hear about imposter syndrome or something that's a little bit more motivationally centered.
Tayler - 00:14:04:
Yeah. That feeling centered
Laylee - 00:14:06:
That's going to be the feelings. And, and so I don't really bring the feelings into business events, whereas I've noticed the trend. I mean, we've all seen the trend that a lot of people go real deep and real like, let's make the people cry and let's have some feelings. And I'm like, that's up choice.
Tayler - 00:14:29:
I don't want anybody fucking crying in my talk.
Laylee - 00:14:32:
Nobody cry. Thank you so much.
Tayler - 00:14:35:
I mean, it's okay if you cry. Like, it's okay if you cry, but, like, it's not going to be for – it's not going to be because I did it. It's not our goal to make you cry.
Laylee - 00:14:43:
Yeah. It's never our goal.
Tayler - 00:14:44:
Yes. I definitely have sat in a lot of rooms where I can tell that the speaker on stage, that their objective is to pull so hard on the emotional strings that they're trying – that that's the emotional reaction and connection they're trying to make is by having us all cry tears. And, you know, I'm a cynic. I'm a realist. When I start to sense that, I immediately just shut it down. Like, the soundtrack or the sound effect from Star Wars of like the Death Star, like that is me 100%. And I know that about myself. But I love that distinction because for a lot of larger or even corporate events, right? Where tactics are not the end goal.
Laylee - 00:15:39:
Right.
Tayler - 00:15:41:
Their end goal is rah-rah.
Laylee - 00:15:43:
Yeah.
Tayler - 00:15:44:
They want someone to come in and hype up their people. And that's what a motivational speaker can do. But that is not education, right? There's nothing tactical coming from that sort of experience. And so, yeah, I love making that distinction as well. There are all these layers. Speaking in general is just so faceted that you can do it in one of many ways. It doesn't, it's like squares and rectangles. Just because you get on a stage and public speak doesn't mean that you are an educator.
Laylee - 00:16:18:
Oh, 100%. I always, I feel like the thing I'm a broken record about is that there are professional speakers and there are professionals who speak. And those are two very different things. I think that sentence I've said probably a thousand times in my career. And I also think that there is a time and place for everything. I know like the first round of my conference, I got a lot of feedback that it was almost like, there was no motivation. Like there was no – they were like, there was no fluff, which we love, but also there was no fluff.
Tayler - 00:16:52:
Yeah.
Laylee - 00:16:53:
So then this last round I brought in – like I had Natalie Frank came and she is a great motivational speaker. I mean it was a shorter – because I'm still me, I made it like a 15-minute and she hyped everybody up and she brought the energy and she brought that motivation and that clarity. But that was the only one. Like the rest of the two days were fully education based because most conferences in the creative space aren't. But people need a little bit of that. And I think, because I'm also like you. And when I see those, I'm usually like cross my arms and I'm like. Cool, cool, cool. Next.
Tayler - 00:17:33:
Yep. Yep. You're like our body language gives it away.
Laylee - 00:17:36:
Yeah. Not everyone's like that. And some people really need that. And so, I can recognize that there's definitely room for both. And, and like I said, like, I think I work with a lot of speakers as a coach for speakers. And when somebody comes to me and they're like, hey, I really want to get some corporate gigs. I'm like, okay, let's, we'll work on your story. Like we'll work on story for that. And that's a very different situation.
Tayler - 00:17:58:
Yes. I love that so much. And Natalie Frank is like, She's, there's a couple people on my list. And like, every time you just walk out, you walk out of the room feeling like you could conquer the world. And that is her superpower. But then if you want the plan to conquer the world, then Laylee and I will hook you up with that. Natalie will make you feel like you can conquer the world. And Laylee and I are going to like give you your plan for world domination.
Laylee - 00:18:26:
Right. I mean, it's so funny because she spoke the first round and like, it was like. I told her, I was like, no fluff. And she delivered. She was like, numbers, numbers, numbers. And the next year I was like, I got some feedback that I did a bad thing. So can you come hype everybody up?
Tayler - 00:18:43:
I love that. But you know, we learn, we learn and we adjust. Okay. So for people who are wanting to become an educator and we'll, we'll confine this to that corner of the space where it's, you want people to leave with tactile, like things to do. What are the first one or two steps that you think they need to take?
Laylee - 00:19:11:
I think one is making sure that whatever it is that you're teaching, you've had results that are tried and true, not only for you, but you're also able to recreate those results for somebody else before you start to sell anything. I am a huge, huge advocate for testing things unpaid or really low ticket. I do not, I mean, this is like probably, I feel like I share this a lot and I'm like, at some point somebody's going to get mad at me, but whatever. I just like, I get that it's sexier to say like pre-sell and then beta test live. And I think there's exceptions to every rule. I think if you are an experienced educator who knows you can deliver, that's one thing. But if it's like your first foray, like you asked if someone wants to become an educator. Please don't just like pre-sell and live teach and take people's money. Like you've got to put in the work and test, test, test, and make sure that it's actually creating success for people because you only have one reputation. And also it's unethical to do it the other way. So there's that. And then the second thing, if I had to choose like the top two, that would be the first. And then the second is just understanding, like really taking the time to understand and be self-aware about what type of education you feel comfortable delivering. Like, what kind of format? So are you more of like a course creator? Are you more of a speaker? Do you thrive on one-on-one? Do you do in-person events or do you want to have as little interaction with people as possible? And you just want to unload your genius. Like there's so many ways to be an educator. Without looking at what someone else is doing and like copy pasting it.
Tayler - 00:20:56:
Yeah, those are really great tips. You know, my brain is going back to what you said about there being an ego involved in this. And that's not a bad thing. Like I think most of the time when people hear the word ego, that it's got this negative connotation attached to it. But if you've read Freud, then we all have an id and ego and a super ego nerd alert, but we all have it. We are humans. It's just a part of the human experience. And to me, one of the most important things that you need to be able to do as an educator is also put that ego aside. And it is very often that I am, whether it's in person on a physical stage in front of humans or at a virtual thing. I get asked questions I don't know the answer to. And you know what? I say I don't know the answer to it. And I don't try to give some bullshit answer. Just to save my ego, right? Like to make it a softer blow on the ego. It's like, no, I don't know the answer to that. I'm happy to go figure out the answer and follow up with you to make sure you get the information you're looking for. But in addition to those tactile things, I think you also need to do some introspective work as to why you are doing this and what you need to be as a human in order to, you know, be a good educator.
Laylee - 00:22:33:
This is how I know we're meant to be like friends because I've said that those exact words of like, no human should know everything. And it's okay to be honest and say you don't know the answer. I just love that because I feel like nobody really talks about that.
Tayler - 00:22:47:
Yeah, no, I mean, like, I feel shitty. I will be totally candid. It feels shitty to be on a stage, have just given this kick-ass presentation, and get people's wheels turning. I mean, I just had this happen to me over the summer. I gave this great talk about AI and marketing. And I have learned that whenever I even utter the phrase ChatGPT, people think I fucking work for ChatGPT and know it in and out. Lesson learned. But people were asking me very specific questions about ChatGPT. And I'm like, I do not know the answer to those questions. And I could see that people in the audience were like, you know, basically talking shit on the fact that I didn't know specifics about how, like the happy path to do something in ChatGPT. And I'm like, but I'm on the stage going, I literally don't know. It's worse for me to try to answer that question and give you the wrong answer than for me to just admit that I don't. And so it is very uncomfortable to do, but it is super important. And I think that that is directly tied to our classroom time, to our collegiate education about what you actually need to do as someone who's teaching folks and the responsibility that comes with that. I think that's a whole nother conversation, but there's a lot of responsibility. And the sort of next thing that I wanted to talk about, the segues are just naturally flowing today, Laylee. You know, if we're talking about what makes a good educator. And someone wants to make sure that they're doing this ethically and responsibly and all of those things. And they're not like slinging products that people buy and then are like, oh, well, this was a waste of money because I think we've all been there. What would be your, if you're just listening, you're not watching. Laylee just threw an eye roll. I have to know that. That was great. What would be your advice to make sure that people, in addition to that experiment, right, like not using actual customers as guinea pigs, what would be your other piece of advice to make sure that people are really using this position responsibly?
Laylee - 00:25:13:
Oh my gosh. I have so many, so many things to say, but I feel like a huge one that a lot of people don't think about is the follow-up and understanding how important it is to once you start creating the thing and you have people go through whatever that education is. Making sure that they got a result from it. And if they didn't, being willing to go back and change things. So currently, I mean, I always like to use myself as an example because like you said, I mean, we have such a high responsibility as educators and I don't take that lightly. And I am by no means, even though this is my job, I don't know everything at all. I'm only working off of my experience. And so I'm also constantly having to revamp my own products and programs. And so, you can't buy the Creative Educator Academy right now because it's under development to get recalibrated basically. Like I'm in full audit and then we're auditing it. And then in 2025, I'm probably going to have to redo a lot of it. And I think, so that's an example of ways to truly be a quality educator is by understanding that things that are passive aren't really passive and they take your attention and it takes making sure that it's actually giving your people results. Because when you say so many of us have bought things, I mean, we all have bought guides, products, mini courses that like don't pay off, but those are usually not a huge deal, maybe a few hundred here and there. I've spent $10,000 on programs that have been just completely lackluster and did not pay off one bit. And just were not, I mean, they weren't worth it. And we don't ever want to put ourselves as educators in that position, right? We want to take that responsibility with the immense importance that it has and serve our people well so that we're doing this for years to come as opposed to showing up on a Reddit page as somebody who's been like swindling people.
Tayler - 00:27:24:
Nope. I do not want there to be any subreddit thread about my shit. That would be terrible to Google your name and see that. Terrible, terrible, terrible. You know, the going back and making it better, that is something that teachers do, right? You build your base curriculum. And then after every school year ends or every semester that you taught it, you go back and you make adjustments to it to make sure that it's still timely and relevant. And maybe there's a gap in something that you didn't recognize beforehand, but you do. It's this anything related to education is a living, breathing thing because we also are just humans on this spinning rock that's like constantly fucking changing. And so our shit needs to change on a regular basis. And I love what you said about having a proven something, right? Whatever your course or your resource is. And this is actually something that Enji is in this product-led academy startups doing nerdy startup things. But one of the things that we were encouraged to do was to come up with a guarantee for Enji. And I was like I'm made very uncomfortable by this. I am, I'm made very uncomfortable by needing to say 100% guaranteed you will get this if you use Enji. I was like, you guys, I think I'm going to throw up. I can't do this. I can't do this. Because the nature of what Enji is, it's software to help facilitate people doing their marketing. But there's still a human component to this, and I can't control what the humans do, right? And so I was actually having a conversation with Candice Coppola, who I know you know, and I had texted her something super random and then just like spilled my guts to her about a bunch of things that I was struggling with. And we ended up having a chat and she was like, well, Tayler, you know, because she uses Enji and so she could give me this really insightful feedback. She's like, well, it's not necessarily just about like the actual outcome of their marketing. Sometimes what you're trying to prove to people is, you know, for Enji, it was things like, you're going to feel more connected to your marketing strategy. You're going to be more consistent in doing it. You're going to start to understand where your wins are coming from. And so I actually put together a quick survey and I've been sending it out to folks and holy shit, now I have things to say, like numbers to back it up about the transformation that Enji is providing to folks. And so I share that to encourage people to think about how they are communicating that like tried and true proven methodology and what the output is because it's not always. I made $40,000 more in sales, right? It's not always that. There's a different lens that you can look at things through. And sometimes you need another human to help point it out, you know? Okay, so speaking of me texting friends and commiserating over the life that is a small business owner, I joined the Educator's Lounge, which is the opposite of like a commiserating space. It's a very happy, joyful space. And I'm so excited to be in that community. And I was curious because I haven't, you and I have just been like Instagram DMing and things like that, but I wanted to know what was your big motivation for bringing the Educator's Lounge to life?
Laylee - 00:31:24:
Yeah. I mean, honestly, it was one of those, I feel like everything in my business has just been such an organic. It's just been on its own organic path of, of things that kind of pop up and I'm like, yeah, this is a great idea. So The Educator's Lounge is a membership for creative educators. And it was honestly like, I had an idea to do a membership for years. I mean, who doesn't? Any educators probably thinking to themselves like, yeah, no shit. Like everybody wants to have a membership or thinks at some point, should I have a membership? For me personally, it didn't really make sense until I had the conference. And after a few years of hosting the conference, what I noticed was when everybody was together in the room, like in person, we were thriving. Everybody was so excited. Then we'd leave. And some certain groups would form that would help each other throughout the year. But then a lot of people would just kind of wait for the next year's event and be like, I wish I had this all year. And I heard it so many times. I wish I had this all year. I wish I had this in my back pocket. I wish I had access to you. And I don't, I mean, there's very little, like there's only one of me. So there's very few people that get access to me. And those people have to pay a lot of money. Like it's just, it's, it's a lot. Like I, everything I do that has access to me is very high ticket. And I don't, other than the podcast, which is free. So after hearing so often, like, I wish I had this all year, I was like, I should just create a space where they have it all year. And that would be really fun for all of us to be able to come together as educators, especially because the people that I attract to my... Like, thank goodness, knock on wood. Like the people I've attracted to the conference have been such great quality educators, like with the right motivations and with the thought that they want to be better. I mean, they're obviously paying money to show up somewhere for somebody to teach them be better educators. But those educators are typically the ones who, we're the ones pouring into everybody else and nobody is creating a space for themselves. And so I really wanted that. I wanted that for them, for us.
Tayler - 00:33:31:
Yes, for us. I feel that. Very deeply. I have found myself saying basically that to Brett a lot as of late. Let's just be, I mean, not that I'm not always totally real, but let's be extra, extra real. It's pretty emotionally exhausting at times to be an educator. And that was, it wasn't the explicit reason that I joined the The Educator's Lounge, but it was in the mix of things that I maybe didn't want to admit to myself that I just need a space where, you know, X, Y, Z, because like I said, I have literally told Brett that I am extra exhausted at the moment because I just am-People are always asking things of me. I am always helping to solve other people's problems and get them through their challenges, which I love doing. It's why I wake up and I'm so fucking fired and ready to go. But I have no one reciprocating that to me. And so it becomes really difficult to keep your own gas tank full, to use a totally like cliche phrase. And so that's one of the, I think, really special things about being in the The Lounge that even though it's not like a super top of mind daily thing. It's just a space where I know I could go and like type the ugly thing that I'm feeling and that people would get it. And that's super important, extremely valuable, and a not easy thing to create because it's such an intangible. And so it just does speak to the type of person that you attract. And I'm not – this was off the cuff, guys, on that. I'm just saying the feels. The cynic actually has feelings, you guys. Newsflash.
Laylee - 00:35:34:
Oh, my gosh. I can't believe, like, you expressed feelings for me. That makes me so happy. No, we really – we have such a – I mean, our people are incredible. Like, I get really – I get super emotional when I think about, like, I love my people so much. And I just feel like we have the best of the best in there and in person when we come together at the conference. And it's just like – It is why, like you said, it's why we do what we do, but that's not to say that what we do is ever like, it's not, it is so taxing. It can be so taxing. And if we don't have somewhere to turn, that's when people burn out. And I really, I hate for, for the amazing people who are in our community to ever get to that point. So if I can facilitate a space where people can rely on each other, like that's what I'm going to do.
Tayler - 00:36:22:
And that's why we love you. So, okay. If the humans who are listening and are like, okay, yes, Tayler and Laylee, I get it. I want to be an educator. There's a way to go about it. What are the best ways for, I mean, outside of listening to, So Here's the Thing Podcast, which is Laylee's amazing podcast and potentially joining The Educator's Lounge. What are other resources that you'd like to point them to?
Laylee - 00:36:50:
Yeah. I mean, I think first and foremost, I would say I have a free ebook, which is very helpful if you're just starting out and you're like, I just don't even know where to begin. And you can grab that at justlaylee.com/ebook. It's just super easy and free. We have The Creative Educator Academy. Like I said, it's closed right now, but it will come back at some point. And other than that, I mean, I think the biggest resource that I would send you to is yourself, is your audience. Start talking to the people about what they need from you and how you can help them. And then go from there to create stuff that actually does that for them, as opposed to, I think, relying on what other people are teaching. I think that would be the biggest thing I would recommend.
Tayler - 00:37:37:
That's extremely sage advice. So you guys, if you aren't already following Laylee, please do that in all the places. It's she's also a low key influencer, non-influencer. So if you want to know all the coolest random shit that you could potentially buy on the Internet, Laylee is going to bestow those things on you. But yeah, I, I love it. Appreciate you so much. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to record this episode with me. Depending it'll at the time that this is going live, The Creative Educator Conference will just be a few months away. TBD, if there's even going to be any tickets still available. So you might already be SOL, Lo Siento folks. I'm sorry. But if it's not completely sold out already, grab yourself a ticket to Dallas and head to the conference. But thank you so much, Laylee. You're an amazing human. And we will have show notes up on https://prettyokaypodcast.com. You can get into the Instagram shenanigans with me at Pretty Okay Podcast. And if you learned something today, which the two teachers in the room hope very much with every fiber in there being that we taught you something. Give this episode a like and subscribe and we will see you around on the internet somewhere folks. Talk to you later.