Purely hypothetical. A friend of mine brought this up.

Let's suppose you're a school teacher. You start an online business to supplement income. Let's say it's selling widgets. In a few years the business takes off to 6 figures a year.

Do you quit teaching?

Or apply the scenario to other occupations that may seem to serve a "higher purpose", or something you've always loved.

A deep discussion came up with some colleagues of mine about where people's priorities are these days. What are people after. What's your passion.

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From the scenario given, I would have to assume that one would preclude the other, that at some juncture an affirmative choice between the two would have to be made.

Its going to boil down to how any particular individual will perceive the pros and cons of owning a business vis-a-vis being a teacher.

Nevertheless, I would say the choice is obvious. Choose the business. If, in the end, running the business wasn't for you, you can always go back to teaching. If you choose teaching, 20 years from now you may have lingering regrets about not fulfilling the potential of the business. Of course you could always start another business in the future, but I would say that getting a job teaching is probably easier than starting a successful business. (typically teaching is considered 'secure')

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I'd have to think hard about which one I really enjoyed the most. If it was running the business I'd give up teaching. If it was teaching I'd try to find someone to help me run the business and keep the fun job.

what's a widget?

im kidding, anyways, I would agree with cw to some degree - I would continue teaching especially considering the probability that someone who decides to be a teacher doesn't do so for the money - I wouldn't.

I think I would try to continue teaching, even if it was night classes or something but that's just me, one of my goals is to become a teacher someday.

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I agree. If you really love teaching, it will be your passion and where you expend most of your energies. If you are frustrated with the crappy pay and whatever-all-else, you will put your energies into making the business work as a way of getting out of teaching.

There are a lot of people in my family that ARE teachers and this is a very real question.

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I would stick with the day job because it would, more than likely, have a benefit package and long term security that is rare these days. One of the negatives about the economy we're experiencing is the trend to follow our noses across the fence for greener pastures and then are surprised when such "dream job falls flat. People need to be more stable and not divide their attention to some situation that looks better.
Nothing wrong with a productive home based, online business because it can expand in many ways but these can die on vine and then you got nothin'.
Using the teaching skills in your online home business venture will get you miles ahead of the competition.

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My dream has always been to "run a business". Currently that is an internet company but running the business has always been my dream. I employ 22 people and help support their families. My company support locals charities by doing "internet stuff" for them. I am comfortable that this is my "higher calling".

Just because you run a successful business doesn't mean that it isn't also a "higher calling".

Arthur

We do what we do to make money to do what we enjoy.

Whatever you wanated to do, do it, and let the high paying endeavor enable you to do it. Run your business, and if you love to teach, do it on your own terms: public, private, tutoring, etc. without regard to money.. of courst if that pays as well, you are a double winner.

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Several ways to look at this. If the person is a good teacher and has a positive influence on students and their futures, I hope the person would keep teaching.

I had the same struggle from 1968 to 2004 when I retired from teaching. I was in business for myself while in college and had to get out of it when I started teaching. My first teaching contract was less than what I made working for myself, but the intrinsic income from teaching was great. All the time I was teaching, I was in business for myself also.

I retired from teaching in 2004 and now I'm working seven days a week in my own business. I'm enjoying it, but I don't regret teaching. I have yet to have any customers from my decades of being in business look me up and say they really appreciated me being there for them so they could buy whatever my business happened to be. On the other hand, I've had a number of students contact me and say thanks after all the years.

When I was doing graduate work, a professor told a class I was in that many teachers thought about things backwards. He said they were trying to find a way to make enough money to quit teaching. His advice was that they should be trying to find a way to make enough money that they could continue teaching. I bought into that theory and never regreted it.

I would say that cottonwood's response was a great one,
but if you have an internet business that is doing 6 figures,
I'd say you were big enough to hire someone to manage
the day to day business operations, (taking orders and fulfilling
them) so that you could continue teaching, or continue your education
to a higher level, or even develop a way to teach online, thereby spreading
your teaching skills to more students.

Many universities are moving to online curriculums, because
of cost (to student and institiution) and I see it as the wave
of the future in education. Currently there are many technical
skills that can be obtained through online study, and eventually
I expect nearly all major universities to offer classes and even
degrees online.

puamana

I think school teachers are like farmers. It's a passion of love. You certainly don't do it for the money. Therefore they are not the best Entrepreneurs, IMHO.

In this case, the guy found out something that works. I would keep teaching because that is better than money (for this situation) and I would develop a way (at night and weekends) how to show other teachers the way to make money and subscribe to your model, so you can make the same 6 figures while they do all the work and pay you for your idea.

Isn't that teaching too?

Anyhow, my opinion is that people leave for the immediate gain too quickly and don't think about all the things on the other side.

T.

I actually faced a similar situation. Before heading off to university I was making a good living as a web developer. I was offered a 6 figure job. Instead, I decided I would fulfill my childhood dream of training to become a vet. It will be 6 long years, I'll have massive student debt and when I qualify I'll be lucky to be earning £29000/year. But I'll be doing something I love.

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----- I agree with CW

First of from the way you state the question I know your not earning 6 digits on the internet and just putting a hypothetical out there.

And to that end, here's some answers to your question from someone who has for over 10 years:

First, I love what I do, and I have gotten to mentor many many up and coming people in the fields I worked in for years where they go on to be successful professionals and artisans.
(isn't that what a teacher does??)

Second, I provide salaries to hard working people so they can pursue there dreams for themselves and their families.
(isn't that important?)

Three, I maintain a mold library of Artistic work and prevent it being lost to the present and hopefully next generation
(isn't that what librarians, museum operators, historians and teachers do?)

Four, I constantly endevour to learn increase my business and work with interesting technologies to solve problems
(Don't teachers do that?)

fifth, I will not talk about Quote giving back, if one is trully philanthropic we don't talk of such things we just do it already.
(doesn't that address your morals question with out make a carreer choice?)

sixth, 5 digits, 6 digits, 7 digits... if you think about life in those terms... we already have your answer.
(isn't it just about personal ethics?)

I always loved the saying
"Those that can do.
Those that can't teach."
and the caveate:
"Those that can't teach, teach gym."

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I was a teacher for twenty five years before starting a business almost by accident. The business took off to some extent and I was faced with a situation where I could not give enough time to the business and was in danger of being worn out trying to do both jobs.

I decided that I had to go with the business. The regret and nagging feeling of 'what if' that would be there if I had continued teaching and abandoned the business was too strong. Nearly ten years later I am earning less than from teaching and maybe working more hours but the feeling of independence and being in control of my life leave me with no regrets.

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Hmm not an easy question.
It is easy to say "I would keep teaching" but to be honest without having that dilemma I'm not sure if that would be the truth. On the other hand I'm not sure if I 'could' keep teaching due to I would always be in fear of being let go because I can afford to be. So what is worse... being laid off just because I have other income where others may not or leaving on my own accord. That is what I would be pondering. Lastly with all the budget cuts and such I would be looking at if I left would it save someone else's job who may need it more than I do.

Again unless I'm in that dilemma I could not answer honestly.

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I think.
If you have a 6 figure income and the income restricts your ability to move on or spend time on your first love or even your second love, the 6 figure income become a restriction on your freedom.

Money (supposedly) is to give you freedom. . not to restrict it.

Never let it trap you, you could spend the rest of your life protecting something you never needed. .

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I taught high school and college for 39 years. During some 15 years of that time I also helped to develop several businesses up until 2005 when, as the president of a company, I could no longer do both. The time committment became overwhelming. Teaching takes a lot of daily time and energy the likes of which no one who has never taught cannot understand. I weighed the two professions and decided to quit teaching - sadly so - and I'm now developing my fourth successful business. It all depends on where your heart finds its tug.

Plus after 39 years isn't the pension system worked out that continuing to work as a teacher would be (economically) pointless? I think I've heard teachers say where the pension is let's say 75% (?) of their salary, so if they continue to work, the pension doesn't get paid so effectively they're only getting paid the additional 25%....they should probably fix that to keep qualified teachers in the profession.

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I love this question. If you're business was that successful you could mentor high school students who are planning to become teachers. Help them with advice as well as financially. Teachers teach...not necessarily in a structured classroom.

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If I had been teaching for a long time, I would probably quit and just enjoy my life, or I would still teach if its near my retirement to be able to enjoy my retirement benefits...

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If had set up the business in first place, obviously wasnt fully committed to current career, so yes run the business.

Can you still teach and run the site successfully? I would think that the time constraints of a business would be the biggest challenge, even an online one. If you find that you quit teaching and do have extra time, there are plenty of volunteer opportunities that involve teaching or applying the skill set to provide that need philanthropy.

By some definitions, a business isn't really a (successful) business until you can walk out the door and it continues to function. In other words you have a working crew that keeps the ship afloat.

I'm planning on hiring a bunch of robots, and maybe one or two people to work in customer service.

A working crew will never take care of your business as you do. :O)

It is a fun question to think about, I'm sure harder to face. I've heard it said, if you do what you love, you'll never work another day in your life.

The fact is if the business requires lots of management in order to maintain, at some point you have to make a decision. You can certainly trying to do both, but eventually you would burn out. I would like to think if the business gave me financial freedom, I would continue my first passion, but on my terms. As someone else mentioned, you could also use the freedom to teach others how to achieve it. Thus, you are still teaching and still making the impact you believed you would.

cd :O)

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(Without reading through all the replies) If teaching is your passion, and you are a good teacher (I've had passionate teachers who were lousy at teaching), and your side-business doesn't affect your teaching, then why not enjoy the best of both worlds? If you need help with the side-business, it seems you're making enough to hire help and sit back and watch the money roll in. If, OTOH, the side-business starts affecting your teaching, then you need to make a decision. 'Course, if you're nearing your 20 years with teaching, that pension is nice, too!

Just my $0.02.

Lyle

I was a teacher in the 70s. At the beginning of the 80s I started a private college — my first attempt at business. I learnt from those experiences about what aspects of teaching and business I really enjoyed and what aspects I hated. After a period in magazine journalism, I went freelance.

Now I work for myself because I learnt from those experiences that I did not enjoy acting as an employer and that I could not have been the very best of employees.

I include software training in the services my business offers. I do that because I learnt that what I enjoyed in teaching was working directly with people who wanted to learn and seeing the glint in their eyes, and sometimes their smiles, as something I had shown them worked for them.

I was not a great journalist, but I have always enjoyed writing. So now I enjoy writing copy for websites, course notes, marketing stuff and reports for my business and my clients.

My answer to your question, jawn_tech, is to pick the things to do that give you the greatest enjoyment. Consolidate your activities around these. This approach has brought me to the most satisfying way of occupying my time.

Your friend may end up splitting their time between part-time teaching and running a business, or like me wrap it all up into one. Whatever, they should not give up the things that they enjoy and bring them satisfaction.

I detect in your post a slant towards money, money, money. I wonder what replies you might have received had you asked for a choice between being a school teacher and a director of a business of unspecified turnover.

Regards, David.

It's a good question and I ever asked myself before: should I work in the big company or go on my business?

With all reasons for the good life, I should choose to work in the big company. Finally, I chose my business because I enjoyed to do it although my income is not as much as the salary from the company.

However, I'm happy and proud of my business. Everyone said I'm lucky but I said to myself it is because of my working hard. So I can tell myself that Yes! you can do it.

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It's a great question, but I have an easy answer (for myself, anyway...)

No, I'm not a school teacher or any other profession which gives me satisfaction I've been in the IT business (mostly insurance) for 25 years. Would I give it up for a work-from-home internet business? In a heartbeat. My only requirement would be that my internet business has replaced at least 100% of my current salary. Sure, my combined monthly income would decrease by eliminating my current job. But with the extra time I'd have, I can work on increasing the business.

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The answer lies in the question "What's your passion?" And, in an understanding of the differences between "vocation" and "occupation."

vocation

Etymology:Middle English vocacioun, from Anglo-French vocaciun, from Latin vocation-, vocatio summons, from vocare to call, from vox voice — more at voice

1 a: a summons or strong inclination to a particular state or course of action ; especially : a divine call to the religious life b: an entry into the priesthood or a religious order

occupation

Etymology:Middle English occupacioun, from Anglo-French occupaciun, from Latin occupation-, occupatio, from occupare

1 a: an activity in which one engages <pursuing pleasure has been his major occupation> b: the principal business of one's life

One should endeavor at the latter only to the extent that pursuing the former makes necessary.

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I'm a teacher but I'm not teaching... about a week after I graduated, I was hired as an account. exe for a web firm. After almost 3 years of working in the company, I decided to take the Board Examination and luckily I passed w/o taking any reviews ( I was lucky and very thankful with the thought). Now I plan to take sidelines as tutor w/o quitting my job... As for your question, well for me I want both but can't decide... I'll just stick where I'm secured more.

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i would like to be a successful businessman but the teacher is also good job. i want this opportunity to be a teacher.

i would like to be a teacher of economics student because economic is my favorite subject.

It depends on them,,,, if she is having a passion of teaching then she no need to quit the job,,,, she can continue and carry on the online jobs also....