TeacherPreneuring Explored with GPT
My Prompt - I want to encourage others to create economic opportunities from the WAY Game, based on training, resources and outcomes. I will offer live-streamed question-and-answer sessions and outline implementation strategies for the three pillars of SWAY. How can TeacherPreneurs earn income from goods and services related to SWAY Canada? I need to create a list of resources to help guide potential TeacherPreneurs. As well, there is a variety of roles and audiences that I want to target, such as substitute teachers, retired teachers, parent volunteers and administrators who want to play along. Please advise me on these matters.
Brian, I think TeacherPreneuring can become the economic layer around SWAY Canada. The three pillars create educational value; TeacherPreneurs create local services around helping people use them successfully.
The important distinction is this:
SWAY Canada provides the tools, training and framework. TeacherPreneurs create the services.
That prevents SWAY from looking like a franchise or conventional sales organization. You're enabling independent people to create opportunities around education.
What exactly can a TeacherPreneur sell?
I would organize the opportunities into goods, services and experiences.
Opportunity | What the TeacherPreneur provides | Possible customer |
CAP Notebooks | Introduce and facilitate notebook adoption | Schools, teachers, parents, homeschoolers |
Game Card printing | Print, cut, organize and deliver student-created cards | Teachers/schools |
WAY Game setup | Help a classroom launch the game | Teachers |
WAY Game training | Teach students/teachers how to play | Schools, homeschool groups |
Teacher PD | Workshops on SWAY tools and techniques | Schools/districts |
Parent workshops | CAP Notes, Pathfinder, supporting learning | Parent groups |
Digital lesson planning | Help teachers build reusable lesson libraries | Teachers/schools |
Project coaching | Help classes establish year-long projects | Teachers |
Student enterprises | Support school businesses/fundraisers | Schools |
WAY tournaments | Organize school/community competitions | Schools/community groups |
WAY Game events | Community, senior, family or pub-style play | Community organizations |
Substitute services | Bring structured SWAY activities into classes | Schools/teachers |
Printing/design | Cards, posters, support materials, awards | Schools |
SWAG | Approved shirts, hats, mugs, etc. | Players/community |
Implementation consulting | Help a school adopt the three-year model | Schools |
Mentoring | Coach new TeacherPreneurs | New participants |
I would not prescribe prices centrally at first. Local markets are different. Give TeacherPreneurs suggested business models and sample pricing worksheets while allowing them to decide what their time and services are worth.
And I'd repeatedly emphasize:
Don't sell the tool. Sell the outcome.
CAP Notebooks → accountabilityWAY Game → engagement and classroom cultureDigital Planning → teacher time and professional capacityProject-Based Learning → purpose and real-world skillsTraining → confidence to implementGame Card printing → convenienceTournaments → community and belonging
That is much stronger commercially.
The TeacherPreneur Resource Centre
I think you now need a dedicated section of playway.ca. Don't scatter these materials throughout the site.
Call it something simple like:
Become a SWAY TeacherPreneur
Help teachers. Engage students. Create your own opportunity.
Inside it, I'd create a TeacherPreneur Starter Kit.
It should contain:
1. Start Here Guide: A short explanation of what TeacherPreneur is, who can participate, what SWAY provides and how someone can begin.
2. Three-Pillar Implementation Guide: A roadmap showing how to introduce the WAY Game, SMART Digital Lesson Planning and Entrepreneurial Project-Based Learning gradually.
3. 30-Day First Classroom Plan: This is important. Don't begin by handing people the entire three-year vision. Show them how to help one teacher in one classroom.
4. WAY Game Training Kit: Rules, roles, Game Cards, judges, captains, Mystery Kid, WAY Cards, scoring, classroom setup and troubleshooting.
5. CAP Notebook Guide: How CAP Notes work, how teachers introduce them, lesson-closing procedures, student reflection and how the notebooks connect to Game Cards.
6. Teacher Presentation: A ready-made 10–15 minute presentation a TeacherPreneur can give another teacher.
7. Principal/Administrator Presentation: Different audience, different pitch: engagement, discipline, accountability, teacher workload, implementation and cost.
8. Parent Presentation: Focus on understanding what children are learning and strengthening the home-school connection.
9. Sample PD Workshop: : Give TeacherPreneurs a complete 60- or 90-minute workshop they can initially deliver without designing one themselves.
10. Business Opportunity GuideList the possible revenue streams, expenses, sample scenarios and questions someone should ask before offering a service.
11. Marketing Toolkit: Logos, approved descriptions, printable posters, social graphics, email introductions and sample school letters.
12. Forms and Templates: Invoices, order sheets, feedback forms, tournament registrations, printing orders, workshop evaluations, etc.
13. Standards and Ethics Guide: This will become increasingly important. Explain what someone can and cannot claim, how SWAY trademarks/resources can be used, safeguarding students, privacy, copyright, financial transparency and appropriate conduct in schools.
14. Success Stories. Eventually this could become one of your most valuable resources: Here's what Mary tried with Grade 6. Here's what happened. Here's what she changed.
Different people need different doors into SWAY
I would not market TeacherPreneuring only to teachers.
Your instinct here is right. You have several audiences, but each needs to see their role immediately.
Substitute teachers — “Become the substitute teachers schools request.”
A substitute could learn several WAY activities, CAP Note procedures and classroom engagement techniques. The value proposition isn't necessarily selling something while substituting. It is becoming unusually adept at walking into an unfamiliar classroom and getting students to participate.
Some may eventually provide WAY training or other services outside their substitute employment.
Retired teachers — “Your experience still matters.”
This could be one of your strongest audiences.
A retired teacher may not want another full-time job but might love helping two or three schools, mentoring teachers, running a tournament, conducting PD, printing Game Cards or facilitating community WAY Games.
The message:
You may have retired from the classroom. You didn't retire because you had nothing to contribute.
Teachers in training — “Build a professional identity before you have your own classroom.”
They can learn CAP Notes, digital planning, classroom games, project management and facilitation. Some might create a small education business alongside substitute teaching.
Parents and parent volunteers — “Don't just fundraise for the school. Participate in learning.”
Parents could assist with Game Card production, tournaments, projects, student enterprises and community events.
I'd be careful about positioning parent volunteers as independent classroom consultants without appropriate school approval. Give them a clear pathway from volunteer → trained player/facilitator → independent TeacherPreneur, where appropriate.
Administrators — “Play along.”
I really like your phrase “administrators who want to play along.”
Don't only sell administrators a program. Invite them into it.
A principal could become a WAY Game judge, attend tournaments, recognize students, support TeacherPreneurs, provide facilities, sponsor projects and help teachers share successful practices.
That turns administration from a potential gatekeeper into a participant and champion.
Homeschoolers
This is another natural market because they don't face many of the institutional barriers schools do. Families could form WAY teams, participate virtually, create Game Cards and join tournaments or project groups.
Career changers
This is where the AI story belongs.
Someone doesn't necessarily need to become a certified classroom teacher to provide every kind of educational service. A graphic designer could help students produce materials. A businessperson could mentor student enterprises. A retired accountant could teach budgeting. A performer could help classes stage productions.
The TeacherPreneur network becomes larger than teachers.
Create levels—but don't create gatekeepers
I would resist certifications like:
Level 1 Certified SWAY Consultant — $499
That would contradict much of your Permissionless Education philosophy.
Instead, use pathways:
Explorer → Player → Facilitator → TeacherPreneur → Mentor
Explorer learns.
Player actually experiences the WAY Game.
Facilitator can help others get started.
TeacherPreneur develops goods/services.
Mentor helps other TeacherPreneurs.
People can progress because of experience and demonstrated competence, rather than because they paid SWAY Canada for a credential.
Your live Q&A could become extremely important
Don't think of the livestream simply as you answering questions.
Make it the TeacherPreneur Workshop.
For example:
First Tuesday of every month — SWAY TeacherPreneur Live
Spend perhaps 15 minutes teaching one implementation idea, 15 minutes showing one business opportunity, 20 minutes answering questions, and 10 minutes letting participants share what they're trying.
Eventually the most interesting part won't be Brian teaching SWAY.
It will be:
“Here's what someone in Winnipeg tried.”“Here's what a retired teacher in Arizona built.”“Here's how this school is printing its cards.”“Here's how this teacher adapted the WAY Game.”
That's how you begin creating a community rather than an audience.
The 50/50 royalty proposition
I'd make this extremely transparent.
If the structure is genuinely that someone generates a CAP Notebook sale and the royalty available to SWAY is divided equally, say exactly what “50/50” means, because “50% of the book” and “50% of the royalty” are very different things.
For example:
When a participating CAP Notebook generates a royalty, SWAY Canada's applicable royalty is divided 50/50 with the participating TeacherPreneur according to the program terms.
Then:
Services you independently create and deliver are yours. SWAY Canada doesn't take a percentage of your training, printing, tournaments, consulting or other approved independent services.
Before launching this, I'd have the structure reviewed by a Canadian lawyer/accountant, particularly if participants will operate in both Canada and the United States. You don't want ambiguity over contractor relationships, taxes, intellectual property, royalties or earnings representations.
Avoid income promises
Especially because you're connecting this with AI displacement, don't tell people:
“Replace your income with SWAY.”
Tell them:
Start small. Find a problem you can solve. Create value. Charge fairly for your work. See where it takes you.
Some people might make $100.
Someone else might eventually build a substantial education consultancy.
Most importantly, SWAY shouldn't promise either outcome.
What you can promise is access to the framework, training and community you've said you'll provide.
Your business model is actually bigger than selling SWAY
There is a philosophical piece here that I think deserves prominence.
You're teaching students:
Identify a need → Create something → Test it → Improve it → Share it → Create value.
And you're asking TeacherPreneurs to do exactly the same thing.
That's Entrepreneurial Project-Based Learning for adults.
Someone may eventually invent a WAY-related service that you've never considered.
That's not a threat to the model.
That's evidence that the model works.
I would explicitly tell them:
I've given you my ideas. Now I want to see yours.
And I think this should be your invitation
What Could You Do With SWAY?
Maybe you're a teacher.
Maybe you used to be one.
Maybe you're a substitute, parent, student teacher, administrator, entrepreneur—or simply someone who believes schools need help.
There may be a role here for you.
SWAY Canada provides tools, training, resources and implementation strategies built around three ideas: the WAY Game, SMART Digital Lesson Planning and Entrepreneurial Project-Based Learning.
I'm opening those ideas so other people can take them further.
Help a teacher introduce the WAY Game. Run a workshop. Print Game Cards. Organize a tournament. Help a school launch a year-long project. Support parents. Mentor teachers. Create an educational service I haven't thought of yet.
Solve a real problem for someone—and don't be afraid to earn money for solving it.
You don't sell CAP Notebooks.
You sell accountability.
You don't sell games.
You create engagement.
You don't sell training.
You give teachers confidence.
You don't sell projects.
You create opportunities for young people.
Start with one classroom. One teacher. One idea.
Learn what works.
Then build from there.
Help teachers. Help students. Build something of your own.
Welcome to TeacherPreneuring.
And I would put one button immediately underneath:
EXPLORE THE TEACHERPRENEUR STARTER KIT
This is where I think the project can become genuinely scalable. You don't have to personally take SWAY Canada into thousands of classrooms. Your job becomes teaching other people how to take the ideas into one classroom at a time.
I will continue to use AI to assist me in creating resources for TeacherPreneurs.
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