We were lucky to catch up with Tristan Hunter recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Tristan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
Education has always been something that was close to my heart. By the time I was in the 11th grade I knew I wanted to be a teacher because I knew I wanted to instill a love for learning into the next generation. My business was birthed through the realization that people want to deepen their knowledge and understanding about certain topics, however, access was one of the biggest factors that either allowed them to move forward with deepening their knowledge or just letting it continue to be a subtle desire. I am huge fan of a traditional, K-12, higher education, advanced degree learning pathways. However, I believe that people should have the ability to learn without being constrained to the four walls of an educational setting. Especially in today’s society where education is somehow become more and less accessible. Initially, I wanted to create a program that allowed people to freely explore passions and interests. Similar to a non-degree seeking program, but again without all of the traditional “constraints.” I sat on this idea for a few month before doing anything with it.
Months later, in my full-time job, I began working as a “Teacher Coach” to other teachers and was able to support their various needs as classroom teachers. In this role, I realized that just like other professions, teachers needed support that was relevant and personal to the work they were currently doing. I finally decided that I would start a business (instead of a program) that focused on meeting the educational needs of teachers, students, and families.
To do this successfully (and effectively) I knew I needed someone to departmentalize how this work would be done. I organized the work in three tracks: educators, students, and the community. All three of these communities work so closely together and all (to some extent) share a desire to deepen their knowledge about something. The question I asked myself was, “How can I reach all of these groups of people in a way that would remove the barriers that most traditional organizations would have?” The answer was simple, but harder to implement than I thought: remove the access barriers and redesign the experience.
These two answers guided how I developed the learning courses and also the other services that I provide to the community. My logic is always, “If it can be free or cost as little as possible, shouldn’t it?” Alongside this, I also believe that new learning platforms/meeting applications such as Zoom and Teams made it easy to offer workshops and courses because people could engage from their own homes. I still believe that education was never meant to be a “profit-generating business” and if removing barriers such as cost can increase someone’s willingness to deepen their knowledge, I’m absolutely willing to do so!
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
When I say I’ve been in school my entire life, I mean it (LOL). I received my Associates of Arts in General Education from Nash Community College (Rocky Mount, NC), my Bachelors of Science in Middle Grades Education with a Specialization in English and History from East Carolina University (Greenville, NC), and received my Masters of Science in Education with a Specialization in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS). I am currently pursuing my Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Phoenix (Phoenix, AZ).
In addition to these things, I am licensed as a Teacher in the state of North Carolina. Also, I am finalizing steps to become a licensed Administrator and Curriculum Supervisor in the state of North Carolina. I’m a former teacher teacher and instructional coach. My areas of interest include Trauma-Informed Educational Settings, Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Curriculum/School Reform, Interdisciplinary teaching, and supporting beginning teachers. I have dedicated the majority of my graduate level and doctoral level work around these areas.
Schoolin Life, LLC (DBA as Teaching with Tristan) was founded in 2020 under the belief that education is not (and should not) be confined to the walls of education institutions such as grade schools, colleges, and universities. In the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, educators all around the world found innovative and exciting ways to provide access to learners and to address the diverse learning needs that these learners possess. This proved that education is not something that can only take place inside the four walls of a classroom and that quality instruction has the ability to transcend both space and time. While this was proven to be true, the pandemic also highlighted (even more) the challenges that many individuals face within formal educational settings. Specifically challenges that stem from issues of equity and access.
We provide a range of services including teacher support/coaching programs, educator workshop sessions, tutoring services to students, alternative learning courses, and more recently programs that focus solely on supporting beginning teachers.
The thing that I am most proud of in relations to my work is that not only do I preach equity and access, I am providing it as well. When you take a look at my website, one of the things that I appreciate is that almost everything up there is free or offered at an extremely low-rate. I believe that education is a powerful tool and that everyone deserves a right to it. I also believe that educators and community stakeholders deserve quality training and support at little to no costs, so I’m going to provide every chance I can.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
When I initially transitioned from a classroom teacher to an instructional coach I also wanted to completely shift the way that I provided services through my business. The interesting thing about this was that majority of the income that came from my business during this time came from the clients that received tutoring services. I had to decide if I would fully pivot to fully supporting educators or if I would continue to provide tutoring services. The pivot called for me to restructure the business in a way where I could do both effectively. This called for me to reorganize training schedules and tutoring appointments (on top of my full time job) so that I could accomplish the goals that I set for myself. Making this pivot was scary (because remember most of the income came from the tutoring services), but it allowed me establish three new (hopefully long-term) district partnerships. Sometimes major pivots can lead to major wins. I’m grateful that this one did.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
My biggest advice to anyone trying to promote their business on social media is to figure out where your target audience is hanging out and invest into that space! When I first launched my business I single-handedly was running all of my social media accounts and I was exhausted. Later, I joined Tik-Tok and noticed that I received far more engagement on that platform than any of the others, so that’s where I invested my time. Thankfully, that is also where I have met many of my clients. Another consideration would be to invest in a hosting app or platform that will allow you to post to all of these platforms at once. If you can afford it, invest in a social media manager to help you develop a strategy plan for your promotions.
Contact Info:
- Website: teachingwithtristan.org
- Instagram: @TeachingwithTristan
- Facebook: Teaching With Tristan
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/tristan-hunter-127760125
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@teachingwithtristan1949
- Other: TikTok: TeachingWithTristan