We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carissa Rolle a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Carissa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

The biggest risk that I have taken is leaving my full-time teaching job with benefits and income security to run my business full-time. I did this all while pregnant with my daughter. When I was 3 months pregnant with my daughter I decided that it was time for me to run my teaching/tutoring business full-time. At this time COVID was running rampant and many people wanted more in-home/virtual teachers rather than physical teachers. I knew that covid wouldn’t last forever but I felt it was a great time to step out on faith. This was the best decision I could have made for me and my family. I am still running my business now and it is growing.

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 Carissa Wade-Rolle, and I currently teach, tutor and mentor. I have experience with all grade levels. My love for teaching developed when I was three years old.

My Pre-K and Kindergarten teacher modeled what teaching is about! When it was time to leave her class, she had me promise her that I would be the best teacher and make a difference for our students. I must say that this statement changed my life.

In addition to my Pre-K and Kindergarten teacher, both of my parents have been teachers as well. My mom opened a school in Queens, NY, and my father taught at the college level and is currently making a difference in the lives of middle schoolers. Unfortunately, I lost my mom a few years ago to cancer, but she left such an impact on my life, and her love for students was passed down to me! Teaching is not only a passion for me; it’s a calling.

In my early years of teaching, I was honored by receiving the Teacher of the Year award! This was such an honor not only for me but for my family, friends, and students. I acquired my Master’s degree in Curriculum Planning as well as Educational Leadership.

Based on the theoretical and experiential knowledge that I acquired has positioned me and given me a unique perspective on developing effective curriculums for learners. Creating the curriculums for tutoring sessions has been a joy because I have included information that I believe the public school is missing. I believe every person can learn, and it is the teachers’ noble role to facilitate learning! It is crucial to bring joy back to learning for everyone! Learning to be effective cannot be drudgery but must be FUNdamental.

To maximize teaching/learning, teacher, student, and parents/guardians must work together, and the curriculum should include real-life situations. I am proud to say that I have had an excellent relationship with my students’ parents throughout my teaching career. My student’s parents/guardians are my teammates, and we work together to get these future leaders ready for the next grade. I expose my students to real-life situations and how to go about solving them. Through this excellent program, students will get the opportunity to interact with real-world experiences and excel in academics. I am here to support my parents/families in any way possible!

Caring for People Worldwide Royally Inc. is a non-profit organization that I created to share our youth’s talents and create a mentorship-like atmosphere with them as well. I have conducted many concerts where the children can go to the studio and record music that they perform on stage in front of many people: some sing or rap and some sing and dance or rap and dance. I also have mentorship classes where we have a family-style environment and lean on each other for support, an extra ear, or a shoulder when needed. I also have girls’ retreats. During the retreats, these middle and high school girls get together for a weekend at a resort and have fellowship with one another. We have a topic that we focus on, and we have a great time sharing ideas and things that need to be discussed in a safe place. These retreats are a blessing to everyone, including myself. It is a great time and something that all the girls and myself look forward to.

Rissabae’s Classroom is a tutoring/teacher company. I homeschool the kids that the parents are looking for an alternative to traditional schooling. I also tutor kids who require some extra help, are right on track, or want to continue to be ahead of the learning cycle. I create personal plans with each of my students and provide the parents with a partner in their child’s academic life. My clients are all like family, and building these fantastic relationships helps my business flourish. It was not easy starting this business, but it is well worth it at the end of the day. I learned that it takes hard work, long hours, and dedication to keep your business going and flourishing. I wouldn’t trade it for the world! What sets me apart from other similar companies is that I am not just a teacher or tutor, but I explore the students’ talents and give them a chance to learn using their abilities. I bring back the joy of learning.

The mission of Rissabae’s Classroom is to create a platform so that every person can discover their true potential by facilitating the development of higher-order thinking skills. Through the joy of learning, students will use this thinking to solve cross-curricular academic and real-world/life problems and imagine their childhood dreams. Can you imagine what it would feel like to have the necessary tools for success, so you do not have to worry about failure!

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

When I started my second year of teaching, I started my side hustle of tutoring after school. I used to finish teaching at the school, and then right after school, I would meet students at the library and tutor them. I did this for many years. After that, I moved States around four years later. When I moved to Georgia, I started working multiple jobs after school to meet clients to tutor. The majority of the students that I met were at the daycare I taught after school. I also worked at HomeGoods and that helped me network with parents as well. When COVID started, that really helped boost my business. I started doing virtual teaching and tutoring for students because at the time it was a great need while parents still worked from home. My husband was a tremendous support in this and all my business ventures. He really helped me step out as well. I landed my first full-time client that year which helped me be able to leave all my jobs and work for myself. I was able to work with one client in the morning and had other clients in the evening. I knew they would only need me for a year, so when that year was done, I made sure to have other students who would fill in the gap. This made my transition from a side hustle to a full-time business possible.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

The initial capital that I used to fund my business was my savings. What I did was take the money that I earned from my side hustle and save it to purchase things that I needed for the business. The initial start-up did not cost me too much so it was easier to get the ball rolling. The biggest thing would be making sure the clients stayed on board with tutoring and homeschooling so that I was not losing revenue.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rissabaeclassroom.wixsite.com/my-site
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rissabaeclassroom/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caringforpeopleworldwide
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carissa-wade-73a557282/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1towhjZCtE&t=8s

Image Credits
Paul Douglas II