What if you could do hours of market research in minutes — and actually get answers specific to your TPT niche? In this episode of Two Wacky Teacherpreneurs Tell All, Amanda and Jess test three powerful AI prompts live on screen using Claude to uncover exactly what middle and high school English teachers are buying, complaining about, and searching for on Teachers Pay Teachers right now.

The results are surprisingly specific — and packed with product ideas. From the SEL and neurodiversity gap in secondary ELA, to the AI cheating crisis breaking the homework model, to what's almost completely absent on TPT that teachers desperately need, this episode is basically a free business strategy session powered by AI.

The 3 market research prompts tested in this episode:

Prompt 1: "What are my customers buying right now?" — Claude identified SEL resources, adolescent literacy and reading intervention, AI literacy and digital citizenship, neurodiversity-affirming classroom resources, and no-prep engagement-driven formats as the top categories where demand is surging for secondary ELA.

Prompt 2: "What are my customers complaining about right now?" — The top pain points: AI cheating has broken the homework model, student behavior and disengagement are worsening, parents are becoming adversaries, burnout from non-teaching work is at an all-time high, students can't read at grade level, and there's no clear AI policy from administration.

Prompt 3: "What's missing in the Teachers Pay Teachers marketplace?" — The biggest gap Claude identified: neurodiversity resources for general education secondary teachers. When you search neurodiversity on TPT, you get bulletin board crafts for awareness month and self-contained special ed resources for early elementary — almost nothing for the regular 7th or 10th grade ELA teacher with neurodivergent students already in their classroom.

Also discussed:

• Why Claude's memory feature matters for market research — and how it personalizes results based on your store and niche
• The difference between Claude Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku (and which one to use for this)
• Why you should pair AI market research with SEO keyword tools like YDP to validate demand on TPT
• What AI gets wrong: why you still need real human conversations to spitball ideas and validate assumptions
• Jess's cautionary tale about a three-ingredient AI recipe that was pure slop

Watch this episode on YouTube.

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A TPT seller posted one TikTok about test prep strategies — and made $200 in an hour instead of her usual $15 for the whole day. A teacher influencer made $900,000 in three years just filming her daily life. So should you drop everything and start posting on TikTok? In this episode of Two Wacky Teacherpreneurs Tell All, Amanda and Jess dig into the real numbers behind teacherpreneur TikTok success stories and debate whether this is a real opportunity or just the latest shiny object.

Jess brings the proof — screenshots from the Wallflowers Facebook group and a juicy Reddit thread — while Amanda plays devil's advocate, asking the questions every skeptical seller is thinking: How long has this person been posting? How many followers do they have? And can you really replicate someone else's viral moment? The result is an honest, unfiltered conversation about social media strategy, the attention economy, and why consistency matters more than any single platform.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The real story behind a TPT seller who made $200/hour after one TikTok went viral — and the context most people leave out
• The teacher influencer making $900K in three years on TikTok by filming her entire day, including brushing her teeth and grading papers
• Why Amanda calls this "shiny object syndrome" — and why Jess thinks TikTok has crossed over from fad to permanent platform
• The 80/20 content rule: 80% entertaining content, 20% sales content — and how the viral seller broke it
• How reframing your product with a creative spin (like calling test prep a "hack book") can be the difference between $15 and $200 in a day
• Why Jess deleted all her websites but Amanda still swears by email marketing — and how both approaches make about the same money
• Amanda and Jess's different marketing philosophies: social media vs. email lists, and why both work
• Using AI to brainstorm creative product angles and viral hooks for existing TPT products
• Amanda's potential TikTok idea: documenting her family's move to Uruguay
• The attention economy explained: why being in the right place at the right time matters, but consistency is what gets you there

Mentioned in this episode:

• Wallflowers Facebook Group (5,800 TPT seller members)
• Claude by Anthropic
• Cassie the English Teacher (YouTube channel about moving to Uruguay)

Watch this episode on YouTube to see Amanda in her magical fairy butterfly field and doing jazzercise moves while Jess tries to have a serious conversation.

Subscribe and leave a five-star review — and remember, if you share this podcast with 10 other people, you'll have good luck forever.

AI can generate a slideshow in two seconds, a video you can't tell from real life, and an email that sounds just like you. So what's the point of even trying anymore? In this episode of Two Wacky Teacherpreneurs Tell All, Amanda and Jess tackle the scarcity mindset head-on and share why the market isn't actually as saturated as it feels — and what teacherpreneurs can do right now to find their people instead of trying to beat AI.

The conversation kicks off with a reality check: Jess sent Amanda an AI-generated nostalgia video that looked completely real — until Amanda's kid instantly identified it as fake. If we can't even tell what's AI anymore, how do teacherpreneurs compete? Amanda and Jess break down the three things AI can never replicate about your business, debate Claude's list of "moves that work right now," and get honest about imposter syndrome, invisible TPT stores, and why chasing hot takes on social media might be making you blend in more, not less.

In this episode, you'll learn:

- The 3 things that differentiate you from AI and every other teacherpreneur: your story, your opinions, and your specific people
- Why AI content feels "too perfect" — and how that's actually your competitive advantage
- Amanda's bestselling TPT product story: how the worst year of her teaching career accidentally created her most successful resource
- Jess's secret to building a loyal customer base: treating every follower like a friend, not a transaction
- What makes TPT sellers invisible: low-effort products, jumping on cringey trends, and "hot takes" that aren't actually hot
- Why Amanda left social media — and how she reframed "standing out" as "finding my people"
- The Superfans mindset: why 25 real people engaging with your content is a room full of supporters, not a failure
- Claude's controversial list of strategies for standing out (and which ones Amanda hated)
- Why the real reframe isn't "how do I beat AI?" — it's "how do I become undeniably me?"
- Amanda's idea for creating AI video versions of the hosts (and Jess's very real concern about being turned into a political puppet)

Mentioned in this episode:

- Superfans by Pat Flynn
- Claude by Anthropic
- YDP (Your Data Playbook) for TPT analytics
- Speechify for AI voice cloning

Watch this episode on YouTube to see Amanda's jazzercise moves, her balance ball, and Jess bouncing around the screen from 10 feet away.

Subscribe and leave a five-star review — and remember, if you share this podcast with 10 other people, you'll have good luck forever.

Should you pivot your teacherpreneur business — or are you just chasing the next shiny object? In this episode of Two Wacky Teacherpreneurs Tell All, Amanda and Jess have an honest conversation about every major pivot they've made in their teacher businesses — what worked, what flopped, and what they wish they'd done differently.

From starting on TPT to launching blogs, memberships, web design services, webinars, and podcasts, Amanda and Jess have tried it all. They share the real reasons behind each pivot (spoiler: most of them started because someone else said they should), what they'd go back and change if they could, and why the ability to pivot might actually be your biggest asset right now as AI reshapes the teacherpreneur landscape.

In this episode, you'll learn:

- Why Amanda has pivoted her business so many times — and the one pivot she's genuinely glad she made
- The pivot both Amanda and Jess regret most: not going all-in on TPT product creation during the 2020–2022 digital product boom
- How "shiny object syndrome" shows up differently for neurodivergent entrepreneurs and AuDHD business owners
- Why Jess's blog getting hacked and held for ransom taught her a hard lesson about owning your platform
- How AI is forcing even massive companies like Grammarly, WordPress, and Squarespace to pivot — and what that means for small teacherpreneur businesses
- Jess's latest pivot idea: physical bookmark products suggested by Claude, sold on both TPT and through a membership
- Amanda's take on building websites with Claude Code and GitHub instead of WordPress or Squarespace
- Why sitting in the "pivot zone" for a few months and thinking it through beats making snap decisions — even when you're someone who loves to just go for it

Mentioned in this episode:

- Hard Fork podcast (New York Times) — the Grammarly story about using writers' likenesses without permission
- Claude by Anthropic — for brainstorming business ideas and product strategy
- TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers)

Watch this episode on YouTube to see Amanda's Montevideo, Uruguay background and Jess bouncing around the screen thanks to Zoom's latest "feature."

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Is AI threatening your teacherpreneur business — or is it the biggest opportunity you've never had? In this episode of Two Wacky Teacherpreneurs Tell All, Amanda and Jess break down a viral Substack article from Risky Women and Anthropic's recent labor market report that reveals which jobs and businesses AI is disrupting the most — and why women-owned businesses are taking the hardest hit.

If you've noticed your TPT sales dropping 20–40% over the past couple of years, you're not alone. Amanda and Jess share what they're seeing across the teacherpreneur community and dig into what the data actually says about who's most at risk: older, female, more educated, higher-paid knowledge workers. But this isn't a doom-and-gloom episode — it's a strategy session.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What Anthropic's AI labor market report reveals about women in business and white-collar job displacement
• Why TPT sellers and teacherpreneurs are seeing 20–40% sales dips — and what's really driving it
• The "4% rule": how to identify the work AI can't touch and make it 80% of your business
• Why community, human connection, and authentic personality are your biggest competitive advantages
• How to audit your offerings and pivot toward high-judgment, relationship-intensive, creative work
• The case for showing up on social media as your real self (and why AI influencers like "Jessica Foster" make it even more urgent)
• Dollar sales, hashtag sales, and physical products: alternative revenue strategies TPT sellers are exploring right now
• AI agents explained: what they are, what they can do, and why most people still need help using them
• The one reflection question every teacherpreneur should be journaling about right now

Articles discussed:

• "Your Business Isn't Failing — The World Is Changing" on Risky Women Substack
• Anthropic's "Labor Market Impacts of AI" report (March 2026)
• Washington Post coverage on AI's impact on women in white-collar jobs

Subscribe to Two Wacky Teacherpreneurs Tell All and leave a five-star review. And remember — if you share this podcast with 10 other people, you'll have good luck forever:) :)

TPT just rolled out a brand new Seller Discounts feature — and in this episode of Two Wacky Teacherpreneurs Tell All, Amanda and Jess walk you through it in real time. They screen-share the new Discounts dashboard, activate every available discount type, and talk through how TPT sellers can use these tools to increase sales without slashing prices across their whole store. Here's what you'll learn in this episode:

- Where to find the new TPT Seller Discounts feature (under Shop → Promotions → Discounts)
- How to activate the first-time buyer discount, abandoned cart discount, and follower discount
- How to customize and schedule discounts (including the 20% cap and "ends never" option)
- How discounts differ from TPT sitewide sales and the auto opt-in feature
- Dollar sales and hashtag sales: how TPT sellers use Facebook groups to run flash promotions
- Why half-price launch day pricing can train your followers to buy on day one
- The role of email lists in driving TPT sales — and whether AI is changing that
- Tips from Jess on Shelly Rees's TPT Seller Success Facebook group and collaborative selling strategies

Resources mentioned:
- TPT Seller Discounts page (found under Shop → Promotions → Discounts in your TPT dashboard)
- TPT Seller Success Facebook Group
- TPT Share: Teachers Pay Teachers Share Ideas Facebook Group (73,000+ members)

Subscribe to Two Wacky Teacherpreneurs Tell All wherever you listen to podcasts, and leave us a five-star review if this episode helped you out.

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https://www.wackyteacherpreneurs.com/

Jess and Amanda discuss major AI platforms for teacherpreneurs, focusing on ChatGPT versus Claude. Jess admits she used ChatGPT exclusively until Amanda introduced her to Claude about four to six months ago. Amanda explains that Claude is Anthropic’s large language model, led by CEO Dario Amodei (a former OpenAI employee), and describes Anthropic’s emphasis on ethics and user privacy settings, including an option not to let the company see chats. They discuss reports about a Pentagon/Department of Defense controversy in which Anthropic set “red lines,” including no use for fully autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance, contrasted with OpenAI’s involvement. They also reference Anthropic’s “Constitution of Claude,” framing Claude as values-driven rather than rule-driven. Jess and Amanda compare outputs and prompting styles, describing Claude as more long-form and complex (a “PhD”) and ChatGPT as simpler with strong brand recognition.

00:00 Cold Open Banter
00:39 Tell All AI Showdown
02:03 Podcast Intro Theme
02:41 Why Jess Switched
04:55 What Claude Is
07:26 Ethics and Privacy Angle
08:43 Pentagon Contract Controversy
11:30 Jess Reacts Values Clash
14:48 Claude Constitution Explained
17:19 Head to Head User Experience
21:02 When Bots Trash Talk
22:47 Grok Joke Wrap Up
23:21 Final Outro and CTA

Amanda Werner and Jessica Martin discuss their evolving views on AI, debating the ethics of using tools like Claude to create teacher resources and whether it’s acceptable to sell AI-assisted products on Teachers Pay Teachers. They describe earlier anti-AI concerns about uncredited “borrowing,” environmental impact, and threats to creative work, alongside current reliance on AI for heavy workloads, including generating 35-page weekly lesson plans that save significant time. Amanda shares she has created multiple AI-assisted, password-protected free slide decks via an email opt-in and feels tempted to sell them, while weighing transparency and the risk that AI “flatters” users. They also consider how AI could flood marketplaces, reduce value, reshape educators into editors, and push classrooms away from busywork toward discussion-based learning and human connection, including time outdoors.

00:00 AI Ethics Debate Setup
01:19 From Anti AI to Hypocrisy Fears
03:20 Using AI for Lesson Plans
05:42 Selling AI Made Curriculum Dilemma
08:58 Amanda Uses Claude for Slides
15:18 Claude Weighs In on Ethics
19:58 Transparency and Market Flooding
25:40 AI Changes Classroom Learning
31:29 Human Connection in AI Age
33:36 Nature Unplugging and Wrap Up

This is Part 2 of our conversation about leaving the classroom. In this segment, Amanda and Jess shift gears to talk about building a sustainable business outside of TPT. Jess has been working with Claude AI to create a backup plan, and shares what that looks like - including the membership website idea she's been debating. They talk about pricing strategies, passive income myths, and why it's so hard to build a business while teaching full-time. Plus, Amanda shares her experience running a membership that hit 120 members at its peak. If you're thinking about diversifying your income or wondering what comes next after TPT, stick around - this one's packed with real talk and practical insights.

• Jess shares Claude AI's recommendation: build a membership website as a TPT backup plan
• Debate over pricing: Claude suggests $15/month, but Jess wants it lower (under $10)
• Examples of successful low-cost memberships ($1-$5) with high subscriber counts
• Two membership concepts: Teacher health & wellness vs. picture book library resources
• The challenge of being a full-time teacher while building a business
• Why the "wake up at 3:30 AM" advice from a TPT millionaire didn't work
• The importance of not relying solely on TPT or Instagram
• Passive income myth: TPT spoiled us, but constant marketing is needed for memberships
• Amanda's past membership experience: $25/month, 120 members at peak, years to build
• The motivation factor: memberships create accountability for consistent content creation
• Dad's wisdom on getting rich: marry it, inherit it, or get really lucky

Key Takeaway: Building a sustainable business requires strategic planning, consistent marketing, and finding what truly serves your audience - while accepting that luck and timing play a role.

In this episode Jess and Amanda discuss the experience of leaving the classroom for good! This is part one in a two part series about leaving the classroom.

• Amanda shares why she left teaching after working part-time for two years
• The reality of part-time teaching: working full-time hours for part-time pay
• Life after the classroom: more time for passion projects like podcasting
• How consistency in content creation led to an unexpected opportunity with Adrian Martinca  (Kids Dream Dreams Matter)
• The inspiration that sparked new product creation around AI and future skills
• New stresses replacing old ones: homeschooling, household responsibilities, and limited time despite no job
• TPT strategy insights from YDP: focusing on what people actually need vs. what you want to make
• The 80/20 rule: Only 5 of Amanda's 59 products generate most of her income
• The importance of getting top products to page one for increased sales

Key Takeaway: Leaving teaching doesn't mean less stress - it means different stress. Success comes from following your interests while being strategic about the marketplace.