We recently connected with Sara Segar and have shared our conversation below.
Sara, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?
As a young person, I was the epitome of a homebody, finding solace in familiarity. Change and risk-taking were foreign concepts that induced fear, making me shy away from anything new or uncomfortable. However, the turning point in my life came during my senior year of college when my botany professor lit a fire, encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone.
The first monumental risk was applying for a temporary internship in Hawaii after college. Despite the overwhelming fear and homesickness, I recognized the importance of gaining hands-on experience in ecology, my career of choice at the time. This decision marked the beginning of almost four years of short-term jobs, each pushing me well beyond my comfort zone.
Even when the opportunity for a fully funded master’s degree at the University of Florida presented itself, I listened to my inner voice and declined. This was another risk, but a calculated one, as I understood that stability and a return to the Midwest were important for my well-being at the time. This led me back to Minnesota, where I pursued a teaching license and a master’s degree at the University of Minnesota to teach science to high school students.
Transitioning from ecology to education was a challenging leap, and embracing a professive, experiential, project-based approach further defied the norm. However, this risk led to ten years of fulfillment at an experiential high school, transforming my perception of education.
The most significant and challenging risk came during my ninth year of teaching. Recognizing the neglect my own kids were facing due to the demanding careers that both myself and my husband were in, I decided I would leave the classroom to be home with my kids. Leaving a secure and fulfilling career was daunting, but this risk paved the way for a deeper understanding of my options.
Stepping back allowed me to launch Experiential Learning Depot, a venture that came out of my passion for experiential learning. Despite feelings of imposter syndrome and discomfort, the risk of starting a business paid off, enabling me to share my expertise with educators around the world.
Today, as I help teachers empower their students through experiential learning, I reflect on the journey that led me here. The story of my transformation from averse to risk-taking to advocate for risk-taking carries an important lesson: true growth and learning emerge from stepping out of one’s comfort zone.
I teach my high school students and the educators I train that discomfort fosters critical thinking, inquiry, solutions, and profound learning experiences. My life’s journey exemplifies that embracing change, taking risks, and making uncomfortable choices are not only necessary but empowering.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Sara Segar. I am the founder and CEO of Experiential Learning Depot. I teach educators strategies to innovate learning and empower students to self-direct their learning journeys. I have been in experiential education for 15 years. I started at an experiential high school in St. Paul, MN, where I facilitated student-led project-based learning. Students designed and led their own project-based learning experiences. They made observations, asked questions, worked within the community, and developed innovative final products that they shared with authentic audiences. This experience, being a teacher in a project-based school, was life-changing for me in the most incredible way. It shaped my philosophy of education, which I now apply to my work with Experiential Learning Depot. I provide teaching tools, training, and consulting to program directors, teachers, and homeschool parents who want something different for their students. Those who find Experiential Learning Depot do find me through their quest for innovation, authenticity, and passion in their classrooms. They want their students to have agency and autonomy. They want learners to be prepared for real life beyond the walls of the classroom. They understand the value of learning through deep, inquiry-based learning experiences. Some teachers are tired of the same old teacher-led lectures, lesson plans, recipe labs, and more that require little critical thinking for creative problem-solving. They are looking for meaningful, personalized, and immersive learning experiences, and that is where Experiential Learning Depot comes in. I continue to put my philosophy into practice at one of our local Montessori schools. Along with running Experiential Learning Depot, I am also part-time support staff at an elementary and middle Montessori school in Minneapolis.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
I started Experiential Learning Depot with just a blog. Experiential Learning Depot wasn’t meant to be a business at first. I was a stay-at-home mom with my kids and just wanted to talk about my experiences with experiential learning, so I started writing a blog using a free plug-and-play website builder (Weebly). I learned about this free website builder from my students, actually, who used this program for PBL final products. At this point, I was literally spending zero dollars, but I also wasn’t making money either. I wasn’t selling anything. After a few months on my blog, teachers started reaching out to me asking if I offer any services or resources. This is when I learned about Teachers Pay Teachers. I started putting some of my digital resources and teaching materials on this platform using the free version, and people actually bought them! At this point, I still hadn’t purchased a single thing for my business. I was using an old Dell computer. Eventually, I began making more money through TPT and used that money to purchase necessary items for my business such as Canva Pro, a Mailchimp account for email marketing, and business courses. I also could afford at this point to get a pro Zoom membership so that I could do virtual coaching, consulting, and workshops. This gave me enough capital to purchase all of the items needed to create and launch digital courses. In other words, I managed to create a business from zero dollars because it was all digital. I used the money that I made with these digital resources and services to grow my business over time. It wasn’t quick growth, but it was growth nonetheless. If you don’t have a lot of money to put toward your business, starting with digital products and services is an option. The best purchase I ever made was for a course on SEO. Search Engine Optimization skyrocketed my business by organically getting eyes on my website, and therefore my resources and services. If I could give any advice it would be to have SEO in the back of your mind from the start.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
An important lesson that I learned in the process of developing my business is to not take shortcuts. When I first started adding resources to TPT, I was given the advice to just get resources on the platform. Don’t worry about what they look like. You can’t make money if you don’t have products on there.
Although that was seemingly logical advice, it ended up costing me a lot of time. I slapped together a bunch of products and threw them up on the platform. Not only did few people buy them because they were such low quality, but I also got poor reviews on those products.
Had I spent quality time on my resources from day one I wouldn’t have had to go back to redo all of the low-quality products I put on there.
What’s funny is that I had spent the past 10 years teaching my students to put quality time and passion into what they create, and I wasn’t taking my own advice. It cost me. I think about this every time I take another step in my business. Do it right the first time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.experientiallearningdepot.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/experientiallearningdepot/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/experientiallearningdepot
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-segar/
- Youtube: @experientiallearningdepot4915
- Other: Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/experientiallearningdepot1459/ TPT Store – https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Experiential-Learning-Depot