Teachers Make the Leap

From Poetry PhD to Financial Marketing: How Derek Pollard Found Success in Business

• Kristin Macintyre

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In this episode of Teachers Make the Leap, Derek Pollard shares his unexpected journey from earning a PhD in Poetry to founding Constellar Creative, where he helps financial advisors tell compelling stories through content marketing.

Key highlights:

  • How poetry and financial marketing share surprising connections
  • Transferable skills from academia that create magic in business
  • Derek's POET framework for content marketing success
  • Why academic credentials carry unique value in the business world
  • Building a successful business while maintaining your teaching spirit

Connect with Derek:

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Welcome to Teachers Make the Leap, a show that empowers educators to build online businesses they love and revolutionize the way work shows up in their lives. I'm your host, Kristen. And I'm your host, Hillary. We're two former teachers who have successfully made the leap from classroom to entrepreneurship. If you dream of finally leaving teaching to be able to make your own schedule and increase your earning potential, join us each week as we explore real ways to get there through online business.

Kristin:

​Welcome to another episode of Teachers Make the Leap. Today, we're chatting with a very special guest and I'm very, very excited to hear his story and kind of unpack it with y'all. Derek Pollard is the founder of Constellar Creative. He helps advisors in the financial services space really solve marketing problems, connect with more ideal clients. And what's so unique about Derek is he uses his PhD in English and Poetics to do that. Derek, we're so excited. To have you on the show.

Derek:

Kristen, thank you so much. And, I feel like we've already run through about three episodes prior to hitting record. So I'm looking forward to continuing the conversation. I've said this several times. I really deeply appreciate the work you and Hillary are doing in providing, these conversations in this resource. Which I so wish I had access to as I was going through all of the professionalization in my PhD program that was leading me down a singular path. I'm really grateful for, the opportunity to sit down and talk with you and I, I hope that we're able to provide value for your audience today.

Kristin:

It's going to be amazing. And we hear all the time, Derek, that the audience's most favorite episodes of the show, ironically, are not when Hilary and I are chatting, you know, business strategies, but it's when we have people like you on the show, who share their stories from being teachers or academics, and kind of what their life looks like outside of the classroom a little bit, or how their skills have translated to. Brand new careers that they, they hadn't considered before. You know, when you spend so much time in academia and you spend so much time devoted to maybe your craft, uh, for you and I, Derek, that's poetry for other teachers that may be a different subject matter. it's not all that uncommon to feel very precious about that journey and that experience. And it's not all that uncommon to also reach a point of pivot in, in your career journey where you say, Hmm, I'm not quite sure if teaching or if being in the classroom is all there is for me anymore. And maybe, maybe there's something else I can do too. and maybe there's other chapters for me to explore and, and use those skillsets in a different career setting. So we're so excited to hear from you. why don't we start at the beginning? That's a great place to start. can you share with us just a little bit about your journey through academia and, and what your PhD is in and, and what that was like getting your PhD?

Derek:

It was extraordinary, and exhausting. it started, that journey for me started in high school. and I remember distinctly the moment at which My understanding of what a PhD was came into clear focus, and I'm not going to pretend for a second that it didn't scare the hell out of me. we were having dinner, um, we, we did, uh, every evening, uh, our family would get together. I'm very, very fortunate in that regard, uh, and I'm very grateful for those experiences. My stepfather, after, uh, we had dinner, we were clearing the table. I forget what prompted the question. I think he may have been going through files of his. But the question came up, and I think it was, was one of my stepbrothers who asked the question, What was your PhD in? And so he, he started to, to explain it. And the point at which I realized that this was something that really only crazy people pursued was when he said, My dissertation was 385 pages long. was like 14, 15 years old at the time, and of course, you know, we were writing five, maybe 10 page papers at that point, which were already a struggle. And I just thought to myself, I can't ever do that. That is absolutely impossible. terrifying. And so I spent the bulk of my early career and much of my early adult life running as far away from that as I could. So I took a very circuitous route to finish up my BA. I dropped out of college. I was a 17 year old matriculee to the University of Michigan. I don't trust anyone who says they don't have regrets in their life. one of mine is that I did not take full advantage of all of the extraordinary opportunities that, uh, having the chance to go to Michigan opened up for me. I was working with some extraordinary people, and given opportunities that were they presented to me now, I would have leapt at. But I was, I was too young and too unprepared and frankly was fatigued. I mean, I'd been in school forever at that point. and so I found myself drifting away from my studies. I wasn't as engaged. and of course I already was writing and publishing at that time. I started a small press with two friends of mine while we were still in high school. it ran for 10 years. We managed. This is. pre internet or at the very beginning of, of, widespread internet availability. We managed to get international distribution, um, started to publish, a limited, edition chapbooks, uh, along with the journal that we were publishing. So I already had that experience. I got to Michigan and that's what I wanted to do. And I didn't find myself in a situation in which that could be my focus. and I always, for whatever odd reason, kept my writing life and my academic life separate. And so, it was only once I got back to my BA. So, dropped out of Michigan, spent a number of years wandering the country, living and working all over the place. This is when you could still hitchhike with some relative amount of safety. I did. I lived and worked all over the country. that is not a regret of mine. That was invaluable experience. I just reached a point, not surprisingly, where I realized I was not really going to be able to move forward in my life. unless I went back and finished my formal education. So after a stint living on the streets in San Francisco, attending the San Francisco Art Institute at 19, I found myself back in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I finished up my BA at Western. It was at that point which I had the great good fortune to meet Herbert Scott, who had founded New Issues Poetry and Prose. He brought me on board in an editorial capacity. We worked very, very closely together throughout the remaining years of his life. That led me out to Salt Lake City where I did my MFA. Then more fatigue set in. a lot of my friends at that point were going directly onto their PhDs. Many of them have had tenure track jobs for 10, 15 years at this point, probably longer. I like to drop a few years just to keep myself young. But, I didn't feel as though that was the right path for me at the time. So I wound up moving with, my partner at the time to, uh, central New Jersey. She and I both taught at a private day school for a number of years, attempted to start a PhD, in central New York. Uh, circumstances didn't quite align, came back down to New Jersey. taught at that same school for a year, taught as an adjunct for a couple of years at Brookdale Community College in Lyncroft, which was phenomenal, and then had the great good fortune and opportunity to head out to UNLV to take my PhD. and that's the short version of the story.

Kristin:

I love it. So many twist and turns. I, I could relate to you really quickly on the, circuit of, the bachelor's degree. I have a very, very similar story, But yeah, what a lovely journey Now, I'd love to kind of maybe ask some follow up questions in terms of your academic experience, because ultimately we know the end of the story where you're still in academia, you still teach, and also help folks in the financial space with some of their content marketing and also connect with other ideal clients of theirs. But before we get to the end of the story here, I'd really love to ask you a little bit more about what felt special about, your academic journey. And if you could help us kind of bridge the gap a little bit, where did you start to think outside of academia in terms of what could be next for you as well?

Derek:

yeah, I mean, I think if I'm honest, I think throughout my academic career, as a student. Again, as I was professionalizing through graduate school, as I was starting to gain teaching experience, no great surprise. I was on the adjunct wheel for a number of years. that experience teaches you a lot. about the state of the profession, the ways in which our educational system, I don't want to make blanket statements, um, but it needs work. and I think that that is one of the areas in, in which we can really focus on a, a need to make systemic changes. supportable model. No one wins. whatever bottom line drives that decision making ultimately is a weakness, not a strength. you need stakeholders, at every step, and, and they need to feel validated, appreciated. They need benefits, they need a salary that's commensurate with the work that they do. And going through that process for as many years as I did, I developed, and I think it's very hard not to, a cynicism. About the role of educators within the educational system and It became challenging to me to reconcile how I was being treated with how I was treating students because as every educator knows, uh, your priority, your mission, it's the reason almost all of us go into the profession is to provide inspiration, to give people the opportunity to arrive at those aha moments that are going to transform their lives, to provide a safe space. to have students push themselves, to encourage them to demand excellence of themselves, to create community, to make change happen. and, it's really hard to feel that you are, um, Affirmed and that that commitment that you are bringing day in and day out. And this is one of the things that the people who are not educators, uh, who don't have educators in their lives do not understand. It is a ceaseless endeavor. an 80 hour week, that's conservative. You are on call and on point every minute of every day, often, even when you're sleeping. And to be in a profession that routinely disregards and even disincentivizes people from Bringing that passion, those ideas, that innovation to the table, where it will be valued, appreciated, incorporated, it's really, really hard. And I just don't know how you can't develop an ambivalence and a sense of fatigue. if you find yourself in those circumstances or are on faculty and are surrounded by anywhere from six to eight out of 10 of your colleagues who are in those circumstances. and it's hardly unusual. I can't tell you how many of my friends and colleagues at one point or another were teaching anywhere from a five, five, To a six, six, a seven, seven load. And I don't mean at one school. I mean, across campuses, sometimes an hour apart by car. So I just think that it's very, very difficult for us as educators. If we have that experience to not be impacted by it and to not really question what does the future look like here? What does this ultimately, even if I'm given the opportunity to pursue a tenure track position, and I, I haven't even looked at the statistics in the past, I'd say, 18 months in terms of, of what the likelihood of that is, or a tenure track adjacent position. What are the responsibilities that you're going to be asked to, to, to carry? Um, how much committee work, how many courses are you going to be teaching? and I, I think you're going to find it's going to be really hard to tune out all of the voicelessness that you're surrounded by. Because you're, you're going to be keenly aware that it exists. Um, so my hats off to every department, to every college and university, to every faculty, to every union, that is prioritizing that because ultimately the, the students are robbed of opportunity because you just can't teach effectively when you're teaching 130 students across four separate campuses.

Kristin:

Yeah. Wow. I know our listeners can't tell, but my, my head is just going nodding, nodding, nodding. It might fall off. yeah, I relate to so, so much of this, Derek. And it is funny because I guess we were talking about this earlier. With such a fondness for academia and such a fondness for the type of things that you learn and the way you, you learn to think and the human you grow into at the hands of, of academics, right? Of your teachers, of, your students, of your colleagues, your classmates, uh, it's such a fraught place to be when you, when you serve in that environment and then you, start to see all these things around you and it's almost like you know, somebody pulls the sheet down and you're like, oh, this is not what I hoped it would be. there does come that kind of point of introspection where it's very hard. To say, what does the future look like for me here? You know, you start to be a little selfish and say, well, what does my life look like if I'm constantly giving in this space and I don't feel compensated in the ways that I need to be feel compensated and and I think a lot of teachers can relate to that feeling of. I love this place, I love it here, and I don't know if I can be here anymore in the capacity that I am, something needs to change, ultimately. Most of those things are beyond our individual power to change, and we do what we can. but, yeah, I think we all find ourselves at that crossroad. and I'm not trying to speak for everybody, but, I found myself at that crossroad for sure. And I think it's an interesting precipice to be at, because the questions you start asking, Are kind of like, well, what skills have I developed here that I can apply elsewhere? who am I as a, a teacher? And, what can I contribute to other work environments? What's my skill set? What's my expertise? Um, what do I bring to the table? So I'd love to hear you maybe talk through some of that. As you were thinking about what's beyond the academic setting for you, or if there was anything beyond it, what was that like to find yourself at that, crossroads?

Derek:

It's a crisis of identity. I firmly believe any dedicated educator is devoted to the profession and the mission. We love providing students with that, space in which they can arrive at those aha moments. it's at our core, it is who we are, and so it is often, uh, one of the, the highest hurdles that we face for those of us who are looking to pivot, away from our academic careers, because it's not just, I'm going to, you know, I'm going to start a new job or I'm going to pursue a new career. It's this person that I have become, that I know that I'm, I'm proud of this person who gives and is selfless and is, is in service of others. What do I do? And not just what do I do? How do I do it? Again, I, you and I were talking before we started recording about this. I really applaud those colleges and universities that are providing resources to graduate students for alternative tracks to a teaching career in higher education. That is, it is and should be part of the curriculum and part of the support infrastructure in every graduate program. Because so many. MFA students, PhD students. And again, we're, I'm going to speak about my own experience in, in the discipline of English, but so many people that I went to graduate school with, particularly at UNLV, when I was one of the elder statesmen, you know, in that program, you know, like I was old, everybody else was, was, you know, in their twenties and I was not in my twenties, um, when I was doing that, but A lot of the people in the MFA program, for instance, at, UNLV wound up moving into different careers, different, different fields. and I, I was really grateful just as I was finishing up my PhD, the university was really starting to incorporate, more materials, resources, more panel discussions, so that people could. begin to proactively explore this again for what many of us who wound up teaching full time will call a crisis of identity. So do want to say my journey toward entrepreneurship was accidental. I didn't have a five year plan, right? I, I'm, I'm still building the airplane while I'm flying it. Uh, and I think that that's true for a lot of people who start their own businesses, but. I realized a change was necessary. the pandemic certainly brought that into clear focus. I did the thing that most people who are panicked, about not having a clear path forward do. I reached out to the people closest to me and just asked for help, uh, asked for insight, asked that very question. Even on a practical level, one of the biggest obstacles, how do you turn a CV into a resume? I mean, by the time I was actively moving in the direction that I moved in, my CV was like 25 pages long, right? How do you get that down to a page? And also to your point, And again, I, I apologize for, for the jargon because all of these words are loaded words, right? But how do I brand myself? And then how do I market myself? how do I, figure out what my skill set is, what are all these transferable skills? How do I then package that and sell it? And that is just the little steps sometimes become prohibitive because you just don't know, and you're sitting there thinking, I've got a PhD. I should be able to figure this out, right? I have an MFA. this should not be an impediment. You get so caught up again because we're so detail oriented. We work with language at the granular level that translates into to our, our way of being in the world or our mindset. It can sometimes be very, very difficult and challenging to do things that a lot of other people are like, um, you just do this and this. Because we are so deeply reflective and thoughtful, and I will be honest, that kept me from making this decision years before I wound up making it. And taking that first step, doing that thing of finally just getting a resume, I can't even begin to tell you how empowering that was. To be able to start to see myself. In a different role, in a different space, and to begin to develop that confidence that I had developed over 20 years of, of being in a classroom.

Kristin:

Yes, and I think that a funny kind of phenomenon happens with folks who have expertise in a certain area, which is a lot of academics because we, we devote time to learning a certain subject or industry or area and thinking about that and applying it and having conversations with other people about, you know, all these nuanced ways into this. One area that we are very passionate about and then it can be quite, for lack of a better word, daunting to say if I were to leave this space, I'm going to be new again at something else. And so I've spent all this time kind of climbing this mountain and then Am I going to have to start a new all over again, you know, at the, at the bottom and, and there's, that's such a fraught way of thinking. That's certainly not true. There's so much this transferable and also you do have to bring with you a little bit of that beginners student mindset to things. Right? Where are my knowledge gaps here? how can I fill those? What questions do I have about this thing I want to do? Who can I ask? Who can be my teacher? all of those things come into play and they're quite scary

Derek:

you have said so many important things just now about how this feels. The ways in which we truly do put up barriers to our own success in making this transition. I mean, honestly. you know, as a poet, I'm used to talking about like the spatial poetics of, of Steve McCaffrey. Like how is this going to work in content marketing for financial advisors? And it really takes a minute to step back and realize, well, wait a second. I've just spent five years of my life, 15 years of my life. Again, in my case. We're going up on 25 years of my life, occupying one of the most challenging heated sales environments that you will ever face the college English classroom every four months, I had to walk into anywhere from four to six separate classrooms filled with anywhere from 20 to 35, sometimes more, complete strangers. Most of whom wanted to be anywhere, but in that room facing 15 more weeks of showing up talking about something that in many cases, they'd been told they were bad at, they had developed an incredible skepticism about, they hadn't had positive experiences with, and I had 15 minutes. To get them to buy in, to come back next Thursday, next Monday, next Wednesday. And over and again, I did it all of us as educators can relate to that. And it's just one example of the skillset that you bring without even realizing it. Right. I never thought when I was teaching, wow, I'm a really good salesperson. Or, Oh, this is going to translate to a career in marketing. Those two things didn't line up despite the fact that so many of the artists and writers that I have gravitated to over the years, whose work continues to impact and inform my own, had a career in advertising, in marketing. In banks, in, uh, you know, it's, it really is amazing how much you bring to the table without even realizing it. And I can't, emphasize enough. I was going to say stress, but no, there's too much of that already in that situation. I can't emphasize enough, draw on the resources that are available to you. Uh, if you have friends who are, are in business. for themselves. I did. I was very fortunate in that regard. Pick up the phone, get on a, virtual call and just ask the beginner questions so you can develop the confidence to do what you have been doing as an educator in a different space. And I think you're going to find during that process of self reflection and those conversations and that sort of sense of, of starting over. you're going to make some incredible headway very, very quickly. And I think you're going to find yourself in a situation where you're going to be able to do some of those things that have kept you from taking that initial step, whether it is translating your, your CV into a resume, whether it's figuring out, okay, How does, does my degree in math figure into this? And what is the next step? What do I envision myself doing? Do I want to start my own business? it ain't easy folks. there is so much uncertainty attached to it, but I got to tell you. There are very few greater rewards than having a successful day running your own business. and I think that, that you will find that there is a lot of overlap between that sense of accomplishment and what you're able to do in a classroom working with students, that there's just something deeply fulfilling, because the truth is, Regardless of what you're doing and where you're doing it, you're still an educator. You're still doing that work. You're helping people understand things that they might not be aware of. You're helping to break down complex ideas into more understandable chunks. You're doing so much of the work that you were doing in the classroom, just doing it in a different context.

Kristin:

I love this perspective. You know, the human brain loves predictability, right? we love to know what's going to happen. We love things that are familiar just by nature that helps us feel safe. And some of the most exciting things can happen when you take the story or the narrative you, think is supposed to be that way, right? set of beliefs. I'm a teacher. Uh, I'm only good at this in the classroom. I bring this type of value to this particular situation. And this is, this is, what I'm good at. But when you can shake that up a little bit, what does it look like in a different setting? What do your teaching skills look like in a business? what do your poetics look like if you're helping folks in marketing or finance? Those things can seem antithetical or paradoxical upon first glance, but it with some investigation, those connections. are so there for the taking. And it's really exciting when you can break the mold a little bit, Or just re imagine. It's the re imagination that I think gets me very excited. And maybe that's the poet in me or something, but I really enjoy that perspective of I'm still a teacher. I don't have to not be a teacher. What if I was a teacher in my own business? Like, what would I be good at? What questions would I have? One other thing you said, Derek, that was really important was, to reach out to some other folks who might be in your network, or if you don't have anybody in your immediate network, Maybe one step removed, a friend of a friend, put out some feelers. It's really, really so heartening, in most teacher circles and in academia in general, folks are generally in my experience, just so willing to help. if you put a little word out there, Hey, I'm thinking about starting a business. Do you know anybody? I can imagine there might be someone who says, Oh, you have to talk to my sister or Oh, my neighbor just started this thing. You might want to connect. One of the reasons that's so important is because, like any space, we can get very stuck in our own bubbles, in our own echo chambers, so to speak, and it's really important to even just see what's possible by reaching outside of the spaces that we're really comfortable in, and welcoming those other voices in, that was a part of my story as well.

Derek:

Well, and two, I mean, for those of your listeners who are thinking, um, I feel like it may be time. for me to, really start taking steps, don't feel like you need to launch your new career tomorrow. while you're still employed as an educator, start building your off ramp and your new on ramp. Start having these conversations, on social media, subscribe to groups. of people with shared interests or follow people who are in the space you're thinking about going into. Don't hesitate to reach out. I think that is such an important point for any of you who are listening. I'm available. Don't hesitate to be in touch. I know that's true for you, Kristen and Hillary as well. you know, we've had the opportunity to, Learn some of those beginner mistakes that we can help you, spare you from making, and I think that you'll find that there are a lot of other people available. Communities are an excellent resource. I remember one of the most instrumental, opportunities that I had very, very early on, Andrew McIntosh had started a community, first generation entrepreneurs. he had, had founded and exited a very, very successful I. T. company, and he had built this community specifically designed for people who were running a business for the first time. A diverse range of industries, diverse range of perspectives. It was absolutely wonderful. And I can't tell you how much I learned about some of the fundamentals about accounting, uh, about how to set up an LLC, about, uh, software platforms that help automate some of the backend tasks you are in many cases going to be starting at zero. And needing to get to 60 pretty quickly. but I 60 is very achievable if you do what you are so good at doing, surrounding yourself by people who are not only inclined to help but have the skillset, the expertise that have the, the experience who are gonna be able to provide you with some of that insight. And there's so many great resources available. So those are some other things to consider too. One of the things that you can be doing if you're thinking to yourself, okay, I think I'm ready to take the next step in my career. I, don't think this is how I want to continue working, or I just don't see a future in this. Put together a plan. and put together some very, very achievable steps for yourself over the course of the next three months, over the course of the next 12 months. So that by the time you're at the end of this semester or at the end of spring term, when you're at the end of your, your academic year, you have some, things that you have already accomplished in terms of building that on ramp for yourself to make that transition. Three months, 10 months. That's a lot of time to be able to take some very actionable steps to be able to, to ready yourself for making that step.

Kristin:

I want to talk about really quickly, Derek. This, this thought that just popped into my mind, which was, I think teachers and academics in particular, we are practiced in, whether we know it or not, having a sort of faith in, want to say, I want to say ourselves, but I don't want to say ourselves. let me, let me give you this scenario I'm thinking of, When I started my MFA and the task I was looking at over the course of three years was to create a collection of, of poems and, and to write something from scratch, a book that had rhyme and reason to it, That, was a labor of, of attention and care and, and all of these things. I had, I had no idea how I was going to accomplish that. I had no idea what it would look like, and hindsight, you know, gives us so much perspective looking back, I could have never guessed in a million years what that collection would become because it takes on this its own life, right? You discover things, about what you're doing that you, you couldn't have guessed. And. if you did guess them and take all the magic out of it, right? So, so like there's this inherent, I'm going to set out to accomplish this thing. I don't know what it's going to look like. I don't even know if I could do it, but I'm going to try and we'll see what happens. And I, I find that there's a parallel though with business because sometimes the business world can feel really opaque. What, what is a business? What do I do every day? What is accounting? What taxes do I need to file? Like all of these questions, some of it's skill based, but some of it's just kind of like, I can't really grasp what this will look like, and that's okay. You can still take steps forward toward that thing. You can still write you know, a page of the manuscript. You can still think in that direction. You can still think in the business direction and take small steps. Even if. You don't have that fully crystallized picture in your mind of what it will be. And I really appreciate you giving out this advice, build your on ramp slowly, you're not going to snap your fingers and have a business that runs perfectly there. It's putting little pieces together, to create the picture as you go.

Derek:

Well, and, if somebody 20 years ago, if somebody 10 years ago would have said, Pollard, you're going to wind up. In content marketing for, for financial advisors, I would have said no way I would have bet the farm on that one. I wouldn't have a farm at this point because that's where I am, but that's, you're exactly right in that. you know, again, this is not the path for everyone. it isn't owning your own business. As I said, it, it ain't easy. And I'm helped by the fact that I have a lot fewer obligations than many people would have at this point in their lives. Um, so I recognize that some of the challenges that many educators would face were not challenges that I was presented with. So I, I, takeaways to be, Oh, this is going to, this is going to be easy, right? Just put it together in your head and go for it. You want to be much more intentional than that. And that's another one of the things that, that I, I want to emphasize, from what you've just shared. Intentionality is key, but that sense of discovery is too. and I think that that often gets overlooked. In fact, I have spent the past couple of years developing a framework, a marketing framework for clients that I work with, this is not going to come as a surprise to you at all. The framework that I have developed is the POET framework. The OET part is going to be familiar to anyone who's in content creation or content marketing. Organize, execute, and test, right? It's the P part. And this is where I think so many people make missteps because they forget this. And it's easy to forget as we grow older, but every great idea, every innovation, every memorable accident started with play. And so before you get to organize, execute and test in terms of, of your content from a marketing perspective, you've got to give yourself time to play. You've got to do the thing that looks to most people like you're doing nothing. You've got to go for a walk. You've got to give yourself a day away from your desk. You've got to cogitate. You've got to give yourself permission to lay in bed and read, to get in the car and drive, to be aimless, which is terrifying in a world in which hustle culture and productivity are privileged. But without that spirit of play, And without actively engaging in it, whatever it looks like to you, however serious it is, without play, you're not going to be able to come to the next idea that is going to set you on this path or to provide you with that extra boost of confidence you need in that moment to find that, that pivotal idea that you've been looking for. If you haven't given yourself time to just be messy and to be aimless. and that needs to be part of your process. And again, this can be a very, very frightening step for a lot of us to take. It was for me. Um, again, there's a path forward, and I think it's a lot nearer than many of us think. We just have to allow ourselves to find our way to it and not feel like that needs to necessarily all be predetermined. Right. The overarching idea, the intentionality needs to be there. And yes, you should put together a business plan as soon as you can. Right. Just like you should put together a content calendar once you start marketing. but the truth is, I, I think that that often gets lost you know, when you're facing, Hey, you know, I had a steady job as a teacher for X number of years, and I'm thinking about not having that. stability. what is that going to look like for me? Like, Where does my next paycheck come from? What does this look like when I suddenly have operating expenses and I've got a budget for all of the pieces of my business that are going to allow me to have it run smoothly. And I'm going to have to commit time to marketing and getting out and making connections and building awareness, it can really seem like play needs to go out the window. But please take my word for it. That is probably the most important part of the process. So again, if you're thinking about making a move, whether it's a full time position that's career adjacent, whether you're thinking about starting your own business, start to take action now. And while you still have the security of your current position, Give yourself time to play so you can come to those ideas, like what is this new identity? Who is this person that I'm growing into? How is that going to reflect in my business? And what is that business going to involve? What problems am I going to be solving? Who is my ideal client? How am I going to connect with them? Where do they expect me to show up? So you begin to develop that brand guide, an ideal client profile for yourself. And the more that you have in hand before you hang your own shingle, the greater chances of success are for you.

Kristin:

Wise, wise words. Derek, my last question for you, just because I dine to know, why financial services? How did that come about? where does the, the financial services industry come into play for you?

Derek:

Yeah, yeah, because that was my background as somebody who was in English his entire academic career, right? Um, one of my first phone calls was to one of my dearest high school friends, Matt Halloran, who was one of the co founders of Proudmouth. this absolutely phenomenal influence marketing companies in the financial services space. And he was instrumental in helping me go through many of the steps that you and I have been talking about, just helping me reframe the skillset that I would bring to marketing, the expertise. I think one of the things that gets lost for so many of us are the value of our credentials outside of academia, It's crazy how few people have the degrees we have. And that doesn't mean the degree is, is of value in and of itself. It means all of the time spent to arrive at that particular credential that Is so valuable in the context of business and we look right past it. I mean, I can't tell you how many it's, it's not like I wake up in the morning and I'm like, Ooh, Dr. Pollard, good morning. I forget. More often than not that I went through that, that process, And it was my PhD at UNLV was three years from start to, to finish. the average is nine, if you can believe it for a degree in English, a PhD, the average is nine years to go from matriculation to through ABD. To the, the granting of your degree. That's longer than med school and law school, everyone. All right. But we often forget that in these new contexts that we're finding ourselves in this new positioning that we're doing, don't forget about the value of all of the time spent, all of the skills that you have acquired, all the experience you have accrued that has resulted from led up to been a part of the credential that you have. received. Um, and that really helped me start to think in new ways. And that's really what we're talking about here, is we're just talking about thinking in new ways about all of the extraordinary work that you, you have been doing as an educator. So again, never in a million years would I have thought, oh yeah, content marketing for financial advisors. That's where I'm headed. but I just so happen to know somebody who, is just a real guiding light in the industry and he was invaluable. And through that, I've met so many, wonderful people, many of whom have become strategic partners, many of whom I've either worked with, uh, in some cases done work for. and again, you're going to be astonished. Just like for so many of us in the communities within academia, uh, Kristen, you and I were talking about this before we, we started recording. Poetry community is pretty small, for as diverse and as global as it is. It's amazing. Like, it's, I don't even think it's six degrees of separation for us. You're going to find the same thing when you move out into a different environment, in terms of your career. It's just amazing how many people you're going to meet. And you're going to find people who either you went to school with or who were in education with you, who are now doing it. Doing the thing you're doing. and that's really wonderful too, because suddenly you're having very different conversations. and you have that relationship. So continue to cultivate those relationships and just don't be hesitant to reach out. And You know, I, again, I, I think you, one of the most important things you said is that you need to engage in humility, you really need to take ownership of that beginner's mindset so that you don't get in your own way and you don't stop yourself from asking all of those softball questions that you need answered in order to move forward. And I got to tell you, I mean, how many times it is such a tired cliche in education, there. Is no such thing as a stupid question. There is nothing truer, And so take your own advice, do the thing that you have been teaching generations of students to do, and just start asking the questions that you need answers to. And you're going to be astonished at how much help you get.

Kristin:

I love that. You can even turn it into a challenge. Like it can be such a relief actually to have that, you A beginner outlook, That student outlook of like, I'm going to challenge myself to ask the most basic question about this thing I want to learn. What is the most fundamental questions I get? Like, what are those questions? And start there. Like, that is refreshing

Derek:

and not, not only that, that's exactly, that is my day today, is inviting the clients that I work with to do exactly that thing. Walk back the complex financial information, pull out all the jargon and let's get as close and hey, guess what? I don't have a background in financial services. So how much closer to your ideal client am I than you are? Yeah. So I'm going to go ahead and ask those questions. And it's a wonderful opportunity for us to role play. I keep learning. I learn about this, this profession every day. That's fascinating is as an educator, like I'm rewarded every day. I learned something new. I mean, in my case, it's great news because I learned about. Financial vehicles are going to allow me to build my retirement things that I wouldn't have been familiar with otherwise that I can share with other people. But that's exactly it. So much of the work we do in marketing is that very thing is just walking back these ideas and these concepts. So you can get as close to your prospect as possible and ask those questions. And if you're a financial advisor, in my case, you can answer them before they're even asked, That information is showing up on your social media feed, it's showing up on your website, it's a free downloadable that allows you to, to, to continue to grow your email list. So, uh, you, you'll be astonished at how valuable that Socratic approach that for so many of us is, is second nature as educators. Comes in handy.

Kristin:

Derek, this has been so, so fun. I, I cannot thank you enough for sharing your insights and your experience and for walking us through what it's been like going from this PhD to starting a content marketing business. please let everybody know where they can find you online.

Derek:

Absolutely. Please don't hesitate again to reach out, particularly if you have questions about moving from academia into a new career. you can do that by sending me a DM on LinkedIn. I seem to live there. uh, and LinkedIn is, is the channel you'll find me on. I also have an account on X. I have segmented my social media channels. So you're going to learn a lot more about my work in editing and publishing and in the, the poetry space on X. You learn a lot more about my content marketing business on LinkedIn. you can also visit the website, ConstellarCreative. com and you can always send me an email at Derek. At ConstellarCreative. com be thrilled to hear from you. And if there's any way I can help be happy to do it.

Kristin:

Thank you so much, Derek, and thank you so much to our listeners. We'll catch you next time on the next episode of Teachers Make the Week.

Thanks for joining us on this episode of Teachers Make the Leap. We can't wait to help you make the leap from teacher to thriving business owner. If you liked what you heard today, subscribe to the show on your favorite listening app and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. We'll see you back here next week.