Teachers are special, extraordinary, brilliant, and creative. And they make amazing entrepreneurs!

One of the living examples of it is my latest podcast guest Michelle Smit @digiteach! Michelle is an ESL teacher turned teacher business coach who proves that once a teacher, always a teacher! She always felt the need to educate and be of service so turned her language teaching job into educating others on how to build online businesses with online courses. And damn is she successful!

In this fascinating episode, we talk about all things her journey to her dream life of freedom, GREAT money, and fulfillment, and how she ended up moving from her native South Africa (I mean if you can't find good reasons to listen to the episode, at least do it for the accent...) to the Netherlands and achieved so much before ever turning 30! This girl is a true inspiration!!!

We also had an amazing deep dive talking about mindset, copycats, internal work that is involved in building a business and many more things. Come and let us have this conversation in your ears - you won't regret it and will definitely feel more empowered to take action because you too can make a great teacher entrepreneur!

Listen to it via the link in my bio. Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and all other podcasting platforms.

Definition: imposter syndrome, also called perceived fraudulence, involves feelings of self-doubt and personal incompetence that persist despite your education, experience, and accomplishments. To counter these feelings, you might end up working harder and holding yourself to ever higher standards. (healthline.com)

Most people feel it, but usually, it comes with a feeling that we're the only ones.  Why?

In this episode, I talk about different types of imposter syndrome that you might experience and share which one I am as well. I also offer some advice on reframing some of the beliefs that come with it!

Just DO the thing!

People will always have opinions about what you do. But that's none of your business! Just do your thing, try that idea and see how it feels afterwards.

I had a fantastic chat with Jo Gakonga - a teacher trainer, CELTA tutor, Cambridge assessor, University lecturer, and online teacher trainer and entrepreneur. She hosts a YouTube channel and her own website with professional development courses for teachers of English as a foreign language. She is a living example of the fact that you can and should try things out, as most people will likely LOVE them.

Jo has had a fantastic journey in the ELT world. Most recently, she quit her Uni job to go on a road trip around Europe. She told me she wanted to try out making short videos for Instagram about her digital nomad life, and SHE IS! Check them out on her profile @elttraining - lots of fun and bits of wisdom from Jo's travels.

But most importantly, Jo proves to us that ideas are only helpful when you act on them. She has created a community of engaged fans online because she provides value and is not afraid to try new things out (including new higher prices)!

Listen to this inspiring episode to get your dose of inspiration, ideas, and a positive kick up your bottom to stand up and give a go to whatever it is you're thinking of doing!

Just DO the thing!

People will always have opinions about what you do. But that's none of your business! Just do your thing, try that idea and see how it feels afterward. 

I had an amazing chat with Jo Gakonga - a teacher trainer, CELTA tutor, Cambridge assessor, University lecturer, and online teacher trainer and entrepreneur. She hosts a YouTube channel and her own website with professional development courses for teachers of English as a foreign language( https://www.elt-training.com/). She is the living example of the fact that you can and should try things out as it's likely most people will LOVE them.

Jo has had an amazing journey in the ELT world. Most recently she quit her Uni job to go on a road trip around Europe. She told me she wanted to try out making short videos for Instagram about her digital nomad life and SHE IS! Check them out on her profile @elttraining - lots of fun and bits of wisdom from Jo's travels.

But most importantly, Jo proves to us that ideas are only useful when you act on them. She has created a community of engaged fans online because she provides value and is not afraid to try new things out (including new higher prices)!

Listen to this inspiring episode to get your dose of inspiration, ideas and a positive kick up your bottom to stand up and give it a go whatever it is you're thinking of doing!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other podcasting platforms as well as on my website: https://olakowalska.com/episode9/ (available in my bio)

So you've got your social media profile set up.  You start posting and are even starting to show your face on stories or in other forms of video content. Woo hoo!

But are you actually connecting with your ideal audience?

In this episode, I share some great tips on how to make sure that you do. The real secret is to start thinking about what THEY need rather than what YOU want to say.

I won't tell you more because it's a short and practical episode you can listen to while doing the dishes. 

We all know consistency is essential. But how do we actually achieve it?

In this episode, I enjoyed talking to the fabulous duo from @hotshotenglish - Naomi and Clare. They both created a unique brand in the online ELT space and are definitely super consistent with every aspect of it!

We talked about their journey to building Hotshotenglish and how it ties in with their other commitments in life - including teaching, teacher training, a nearly full-time job, and kids - that's a LOT! But they still plough on, show up and never give up! CONSISTENCY is absolutely key for them.

Naomi and Clare are long-time friends, and even though they actually live in different countries, they managed to share the responsibilities of running their Instagram profile perfectly. Their colours are outstanding, the content highly relevant to their audience, and they are just themselves so it rarely feels like a chore. It helps that they both have years of experience in ELT :)

We all know consistency is important. But how do we actually achieve it?


In this episode, I had a great pleasure talking to the fabulous duo from @hotshotenglish - Naomi and Clare. They both created a unique brand in the online ELT space and are definitely super consistent with every aspect of it!

We talked about their journey to building Hotshotenglish and how it ties in with their other commitments in life - including teaching, teacher training a nearly full-time job, kids - that's a LOT! But they still plough on, show up and never give up! CONSISTENCY is absolutely key for them.

Naomi and Clare are long time friends and even though they actually live in different countries they managed to share the responsibilities of running their Instagram profile perfectly. Their colours are outstanding, the content highly relevant to their audience and they are just being themselves so it rarely feels like a chore. It helps that they both have years of experience in ELT :)

I am fascinated by their journey, progress and plans for the future. Make sure you listen till the end to find out what they're cooking behind the scenes!

The episode is available here: https://olakowalska.com/episode7/ , via the link in my bio
and also on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all other podcasting platforms. Enjoy!

Let us know whether you struggle with consistency in your online presence?

Here's my beginner's guide to a new online ELT business.

In this episode, I had an inspiring chat with the excellent Deepika from @acquireeng.

The topics that came up in our chat were really deep and inspiring. We started talking about the magic of feeling that teaching is your vocation. Then we moved on to our perception of Instagram and how it changed over the years. We both felt that Instagram is not a platform for educators or people who offer actual valuable knowledge. But we changed our minds when we started seeing people post some amazing stuff and met some really inspiring people, and eventually when we met each other!

Deepika describes how her journey with Instagram looked, how come she still doesn't feel very confident even though she is so active there and proves one rule that I always repeat: Do it despite the fear and before you are ready! She is a living example of the fact that it is possible!

Deepika runs a really original account where she obviously talks about studying the English language studying but also touches on reading as her favourite language skill that she likes helping her students develop and some critical social issues as well. She is very engaged with her community and makes the ELT world a better place with her original approach and positive attitude. Give her a follow and make sure to check out her Sunday Clubhouse lounge for teachers. It's really cool!

What an honour to have a guest like that who clearly stands out in ELT (even if she doesn't always believe she does)!

In this episode, I had an inspiring chat with the amazing Deepika from @acquireeng. I absolutely loved getting to know her better and finding out about her teaching journey.


The topics that came up in our chat were really deep and inspiring. We started talking about the magic of feeling that teaching is your vocation.

Then we moved on to our perception of Instagram and how it changed over the years. We both felt that Instagram is not a platform for educators or people who offer actual valuable knowledge. But we changed our minds when we started seeing people post some amazing stuff and met some really inspiring people and eventually when we met each other!

Deepika describes how her journey with Instagram looked, how come she still doesn't feel very confident even though she is so active there and proves one rule that I always repeat: Do it despite the fear and before you are ready! She is the living example of the fact that it is possible!

Deepika runs a really original account where she obviously talks about English language studying but also touches on reading as her favourite language skill that she likes helping her students develop and some important social issues as well. She is very engaged with her community and really makes the ELT world a better place with her attitude, original approach and positive attitude. Give her a follow and make sure to check out her Sunday Clubhouse lounge for teachers. It's really cool!

What an honour to have a guest like that who clearly stands out in ELT (even if she doesn't always believe she does)!

Link to the episode: https://olakowalska.com/episode5/

Also available via the link in my bio, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify etc.