Educational Side Hustle Turns Into Financial Boon For Oregon Teacher

While on maternity leave, kindergarten teacher Becky Powell embarked on a digital venture that transformed her career.

According to CNBC, Powell utilized her child's rest periods to craft educational materials. By leveraging the platform 'Teachers Pay Teachers,' the Beaverton, Oregon resident shared her resources with other educators.

This online marketplace offers an array of educational content for various academic levels and subjects. Powell’s online shop, Sight Word Activities, focuses on literacy resources for young learners, especially kindergarteners and first-graders.

Initially, Powell earned $21,000 in her debut year on Teachers Pay Teachers. Last year, the store generated $125,500, translating to an average of slightly over $10,400 monthly.

"I have worksheets that I created eight years ago that still yield thousands [of dollars] in passive income every year," Powell said. “Even when I find myself unable to create ... the sales still come in.”

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Powell's husband, a full-time computer engineer, contributes to the family income through his store, Editable Activities, which earns about $50,000 annually.

The couple transformed both ventures into a unified S-Corp in 2021, optimizing their tax benefits while keeping their seller profiles separate. As premium sellers on the platform, they retain 80% of their sales minus a yearly subscription fee.

The Powell's judiciously use their extra income for mortgage payments and leisure, including trips to Disneyland and Aruba.

Now Read: 71-year-old Shares 22 Most Important Lessons Young People Should Know

This story is part of a series of features on the subject of success, Benzinga Inspire.

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Image: Pixabay