We recently connected with Rachel Cederbaum and have shared our conversation below.

Rachel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

My hero is Karl Decker, my high school English teacher; He had a profound impact on my life and my professional journey. He was known as “D- Decker” for his incredibly high standards of grading. My sophomore year, his 43rd year in the classroom, I signed up for his English class. I remember the desks and chairs were in a circle since he ran the class like a college seminar. He motivated me and inspired me. It was in his class that I developed a love for the written word. I didn’t start the first quarter with an A-and this pushed me even harder. By the end of the academic year, I was an A student in my favorite class with my favorite teacher. I think I always knew I would follow in his footsteps and become a teacher. I wanted to influence and shape students too. I wrote my college essay about him and stayed in touch throughout college and into my adult life. I exchanged hundreds of emails with Karl over the years (took me a long time to call him Karl) in which he provided wisdom, advice, and more than anything, a kind listening ear. I saved a dance with him at my wedding. I sent pictures of each of my three children to Karl when they were born and he continued to serve as a mentor. Karl was the first person I told when I decided to leave the classroom and start my own tutoring practice (which turned into a tutoring company). He recently passed away and is greatly missed and forever influential in my life.

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.

I am a mom of three (9, 7, and 3) and a wife. I am also the owner of Gold Signature Writers, an academic and enrichment tutoring service for students in grades K-12 throughout the DMV. I started my career teaching high school English when I graduated college. The cliche that “teaching is a calling” was true for me. I wanted to positively impact the lives of my students. My first year teaching I cried most days; It was a learning curve. Teaching is a physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting job. I was lucky that I had a great mentor teacher who is still a close friend. Throughout my teaching tenure I taught 9th grade honors English, AP English, IB English, and served as the Middle Years Program Coordinator (MYP) at a middle school. I missed the students, so I went back to the classroom.
After 12 years of teaching and when my oldest turned 1, I decided to leave teaching. I was tutoring part-time, and I decided to make that my full-time gig. At the time, I could never have imagined I would start a company, grow and scale a team, and manage a business. Our experienced, personable, and effective educators strive to build confidence in our students and empower them to become independent learners. I am intimately connected to the problem I solve for our clients as it is a problem I am also solving in my own life. It is incredibly hard to teach your own child. Also, as a mom of multiple children, I often feel like an unpaid uber driver. I decided to solve this problem by offering creative and engaging enrichment classes at local elementary schools. Students get to take classes with their friends and parents don’t have to drive around in traffic.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I love listening to business podcasts on walks and driving to pick up my kids from school and activities. I was an English major with a minor in secondary education-I had never taken a business class. I mostly taught myself about marketing and growing and scaling a business. A few of my favorites that have significantly impacted my entrepreneurial journey are Amy Porterfield’s Online Marketing Made Easy, Mom’s Exit Interview with Kim Rittberg, Small Business PR with Gloria Chu, The Goal Digger Podcast with Jenna Kutcher, and Called to Both with Joy Michelle. I listen to these weekly and have applied many of their specific, concrete marketing and business strategies to grow my company.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

When I was teaching full time, I started tutoring to save money for my friend’s bridesmaid dresses- I couldn’t afford my rent and the pricey dresses. I loved tutoring since I saw growth and development in my students quickly and built strong relationships. When I became a mom, I would teach all day and then drive to two-three clients houses. I was breastfeeding so I would pump and drive. I had left my house at 6am and pulling up to my third house of the evening at 7pm. Sitting in front of my third client’s house, I accidentally dropped the bottles of milk all over my skirt. I had been working for 12 hours at that point and was exhausted and covered in breastmilk. I was getting home too late to put my son to bed and I was pregnant with my daughter; I knew something had to give. I decided to leave teaching and tutor part-time as my “full time” gig. My husband was incredibly supportive (although admittedly a bit risk adverse). I was scared but decided to believe in myself and take a risk (also, I am admittedly risk adverse). When I was pregnant with my third child and Covid was in full swing, I couldn’t really take any maternity leave unless I hired someone to teach my students. At the time, I had 15 clients a week and it was my only source of income. I hired my first tutor-he was earning his PHD and is smart, personable, and incredibly good at his craft. This one hire turned into two, then three and now a team of 60 educators. I am grateful for the spilled milk that got me to where I am today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.goldsignaturewriters.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldsignaturewriters/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goldsignaturewriters
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-cederbaum-67973b165/

Image Credits

Clare Harvey Photography