On this week’s episode, Ali and JoDee sit down with Aaron Reller, a former teacher who now, along with his wife, runs their family owned art studio, Abigail Reller Art. Together, they will discuss what held Aaron back from leaving teaching, creating an exit plan from teaching, and taking the leap into entrepreneurship.
Want to learn more about Abigail Reller Art?
Website: https://www.abigailrellerart.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abigailrellerart
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachershift
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Teacher Shift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/teacher-shift
Ali’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisimon/
JoDee’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodeescissors/
Website
https://www.teachershiftpodcast.com/
Episode Transcriptions
https://www.teachershiftpodcast.com/blog
On this week’s episode, Ali and JoDee sit down with Aaron Reller, a former teacher who now, along with his wife, runs their family owned art studio, Abigail Reller Art. Together, they will discuss what held Aaron back from leaving teaching, creating an exit plan from teaching, and taking the leap into entrepreneurship.
Want to learn more about Abigail Reller Art?
Website: https://www.abigailrellerart.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abigailrellerart
Connect with Ali and JoDee:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachershift
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teachershift
Teacher Shift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/teacher-shift
Ali’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisimon/
JoDee’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodeescissors/
Website
https://www.teachershiftpodcast.com/
Episode Transcriptions
https://www.teachershiftpodcast.com/blog
Ali 0:06
Teachers are natural innovators, entertainers and problem solvers. They dream of growing old into the profession, teaching their kids kids. But sometimes career goals shift, and that makes opportunities outside of the classroom seem intangible questioning, who am I, if I'm not a teacher? I'm your host Ali Simon.
JoDee 0:29
And I'm your co host, JoDee Scissors.
Ali 0:32
And this is Teacher Shift.
JoDee 0:43
Teachers wear many hats, making them multi skilled and adaptable to different work scenarios. Today, our guest tells us about planning for his exit from the classroom, and how he took a leap into entrepreneurship.
Ali 0:56
Aaron Reller and his wife are former teachers turned business partners at their family owned art studio, Abigail Reller Art. Welcome to the show today, Aaron.
Aaron 1:07
Hi, thank you.
Ali 1:08
Well, I've been following your art business page on Instagram for a while and I just love the work that you all do. I'm still trying to convince my husband to set up a session because I just think it's the coolest. So if you, if you haven't heard of Abigail Reller Art, you definitely to follow them on Instagram. And what I learned through the page that you had left teaching, to join your wife in the family business full time, I knew that we had to have you on the podcast. So thanks so much for joining us today.
JoDee 1:35
You guys are really representing New Orleans. I think this is our fourth New Orleans guest. If I'm counting right. And Ali's right, the art is beautiful. I'm totally inspired just by the mission itself. So congrats on that endeavor. It's it's really lovely work.
Aaron 1:53
Thank you.
Ali 1:53
And so what I just learned before this interview is that you and your wife were both teachers. So can you tell us a little bit about that?
Aaron 2:01
Abby and I actually met teaching. So just a little background. So I taught Spanish for 14 years. And I never saw myself becoming a teacher. And I had a really life changing study abroad experience. And I'll attribute a lot of that positive experience to my host family that I was living with in Mexico. And afterwards, it just seemed like a no brainer. Like I loved Spanish. I wanted, I wanted to teach it. And so I did a teaching program through Notre Dame called ACE, Alliance for Catholic Education. And they placed me in a school called St. Joe in Madison, Mississippi. I had a two year requirement there. And then I stayed on for three years after. And the third year of my teaching career. So the first year that I that I decided, you know, on my own to stay in teaching and to stay at St. Joe, instead of going back home, which is Minnesota, I met my now wife, Abby. I moved some books into her classroom, and then helped her build a bookshelf. And I didn't do it right, and the raw wood was showing, but it still sealed the deal.
Ali 3:15
I've totally done that before. That is such a sweet story. And what a great program to. I've heard about the ACE program and to get people trained to be educators you serve in a you know, in a school, and then you chose to stay at education. That's awesome. I also love how you met your wife teaching. So you know, fast forward, you taught for 14 years. When did you resign? And how long did it take you to make that decision?
Aaron 3:41
Yes. So this past May, I actually resigned. So I started in August of 2009. And then just resigned this past, this past May. And I've been working for or with Abigail Reller Art since then. Now in terms of like when did I know that I was going to be leaving. It was something that over time, it kind of took its toll on me I think. But kind of the the last thing was in March of 2022, we had an anatomy scan for our fourth child and we found that he had a heart defect. And so Thomas, our fourth, needed open heart surgery. And I realized that I was always kind of you know, teaching is just such a big part of your identity. Like if you feel like you're doing it sufficiently. That's just part of your makeup. And so I didn't really know who I was outside of that. But when that happened, I knew that that's a scary thing. The identity part, like it kind of just shrunk. The things that scared me before that I realized weren't, weren't the really the super scary things for me. And so when that occurred, the school that I was at, I just have a great respect for. They really knew that I needed to be with my family. But even when I came back after the first quarter of this past year, I just wasn't the same, you know. And I felt like, students need creativity, and they need enthusiasm. And they need a motivated teacher. And I didn't feel like... as a teacher, you feel guilty, like, you're like, you don't want to let anyone down, you know that there's a teacher shortage. You don't want to let down your colleagues who you've grown close with. You don't want to let down your students who are like, the best part of the job. But you don't want to let down your family. So I knew for a while.
Ali 5:50
Well, I can really relate Aaron because that's a very similar story to mine. I left teaching at the end of the school year because my daughter got sick in February, March of that year. And she's okay now, thankfully. But it really put things into perspective for me, like, I thought I would always be a teacher. I loved teaching, but it made me realize that it's very demanding. And you can't really be all in to that, and all in for your family at the same time. And you're really the first person that I've heard have such a similar story to mine that that made you take that step back. How's your son doing now?
Aaron 6:34
He's doing well. He recovered after the surgery. He just turned one back in July. And so we're very grateful for just brilliant minds who were at work and hands that were at work with them. But it's just one of those things that kind of leaves the stamp on your heart, like it just changes you forever. And so I knew that I couldn't go back to teaching. I just, my heart was elsewhere. And I also knew that with where we were with the business, it was doing well. And if we didn't take our shot, then it was going to maybe it would continue to do well, maybe it wouldn't. But we wanted to have our shot at, okay, if all this doesn't pan out. I want to make sure that it's because of us, you know? I want to make sure that this was something that we can look back on and say, We gave it everything and it just didn't work out. And so this is like, once you leave teaching you you think okay, well, you know, we talked about this identity part. Like Alright, so what, what's next, like? What do you want to do? Or anytime you think about leaving teaching people, what do you want to do? Like, I don't know, this is all this is the only thing that I've ever done was teaching Spanish like I didn't, I didn't know what else I wanted. But I knew that I wanted to help build this dream, like of this art business. But it wasn't like I had that in mind, really, outside of just like, thought I was always gonna teach.
JoDee 8:01
You left to put family first, and you love to build a dream. And those are two really big reasons to keep someone motivated for their next step. And that's awesome that you did that I left for a completely different reason. But in that equation, being there for my family was part of it. Because I had spent 13 years giving everything to my students and their families, going to even events outside of school to be there for them. Providing language services tutoring, which is going beyond what was I was allotted for in the timeframe that you know, you're paid for as a teacher. But even though my child didn't have a health scare, I was not as present as I wanted to be or should have been for things like checkups at the doctor. My husband pretty much did all of them because his schedule was much more flexible. And to walk away from the office, he didn't have to have a day's worth of sub plans, you know, which is work in itself. So I admire you for making that decision. And I think it also goes to show that you're well equipped to make really challenging decisions in an informative way. And being a teacher probably equipped you with some of those skills to be that savvy. So how long did it take you to really process all of that and make the leap? Like what was that moment that you and your wife may have had that was just like, it's time?
Aaron 9:38
Yeah, that's a great question. I think that I'm still processing not teaching because this is now we're in September. And in my head, it's still like, oh, okay, maybe I'll be going back, like, you know, in the next couple of weeks just because it's kind of built into you. But this past... I mean, really, it was in the spring. And I had in my head that I was going to be going back because I enjoyed the school. I enjoyed my students. I didn't feel like I was going to be making any huge change. And then I want to say it was even in May, when my wife and I were just talking more and more about this idea of like, okay, well, you know, be crazy as if we did this, you know? I would say that it wasn't something that was determined over a meal, or, you know, was even a one day thing. It was like this battle, because I enjoyed the people that I worked with. It was weeks long. And I'm just going forth with confidence that I made the right decision. Because like you had reiterated, like, it was what we needed for, for my family. I wanted to be able to help my own kids learn how to tie their shoes, or learn how to count, or be able to run something by school in case we forget it at home. Which are all things that you just like, can't mess up on when your parents or teachers, you know?
Ali 11:05
Yes, I mean, there's there's no room for error. And it's so horrible. Like, it's so stressful when you, when you're in that scenario. Yeah, you just like your kid just doesn't have their lunch that day, and you have to send money or whatever, and they're not used to it.
JoDee 11:20
I think that kind of what you were describing, though, in terms of like coming to terms with the decision, like, we were talking about identity and like, What do I do? But really, like there is that part, this like discovery part of like, what am I going to do. But the leaving part, it wasn't the work, I was afraid of leaving, it was the people. My colleagues, the families, the families, I never got to teach. That was really a struggle. And it wasn't the day to day like tasks that I was completing.
Aaron 11:53
Yep, relationships, for sure. People or like the kid who said, Oh, next year, you'll have my you'll have my little brother, those were really hard things to kind of come to terms with. But I was also really excited about the idea of being able to be more present for, for my own family. I know the narrative with teaching is that like, Oh, it is really flexible, and you have summers off. So I don't know why people are complaining. You know, things like that. And it's just, you have to be such a strong foundation for some of these kids who aren't getting, you know, X, Y and Z elsewhere. And that's a really tough position to be in when when you're taking care of your own family, too.
JoDee 12:37
You're now in this new position where you're wearing an entrepreneur hat, which is awesome. Because we think teachers make really great entrepreneurs. But aside from talking specifically about entrepreneurship, something that comes with that is the decision for how to take care of your family in terms of benefits, such as health, or retirement or some some things like that. So a lot of our listeners are nervous to leave behind the benefits. What was that like for you? And how did you...How did that play into your decision to leave?
Aaron 13:10
Yeah, so it didn't feel real when we started kind of searching. You know, we were lucky to talk to a few different people in insurance. And they led us to someone who specializes in plans for husband, wife owned companies. And so we were at least able to get answers as to okay, in my head, it was always well, if I were to ever leave teaching, like health insurance right there. Like that's, that's a really big expense. I mean, that part hasn't changed, like, it still is a really big expense. But I also look back and think, Oh, like this was one of the things that scared me about leaving was like, the health insurance part. We'll figure it out like, well, we'll make it work. Like I don't, I don't have any regret with that. Like, it's, it's scary. And it's super expensive. But like, that kept me in the classroom for longer than I realized, because I just thought that that was something that I would never overcome. Like, what the smart thing to do. You have a job with health insurance, like why would you leave that?
Ali 14:19
I think that's part of the narrative that keeps teachers who want to start their own business or go and do something, you know, maybe not work for another employer, in the classroom. And we've we heard that before from another guest who started their own art studio. You know, that, that was that was like her one hang up was that she was worried about the health insurance and it was her mom, I think saying to her, if that's it, that's the one thing.
JoDee 14:42
And it's not to devalue the benefits that teachers get like not at all, but it's that there are options. And the fact that you just gave very specific advice about how to do that when you have a small business. That's great advice.
Ali 14:58
That is great advice. Of course the These things all factor into your decision. But that doesn't have to be the reason why you, you know, you don't make a decision that overall is best for your family. Maybe it's a little bit more than you expected, but also your earning potential can be more than what you're making in the classroom, as well.
JoDee 15:18
So, back to the entrepreneurship, what hats do you find yourself wearing in this new endeavor? You have all these like skills as a teacher. Do you find that you're transferring them into the business? What does that look like for you in this new role?
Aaron 15:37
There is such a learning curve with it, you know? I'm so used to this structure of, okay, well, what did I have in my lesson plans. What was I going to be doing during this period from this time to this time? And like, the structure just doesn't look the same now than it did. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. My focus has been growth, expansion, like brand alignments, media relations. So again, it's still like, a jack of all trades, much like in teaching. But I feel like I can really champion for my wife, and what we have built together. And so not to say that I wasn't passionate about teaching or what I was doing with my students, but I'm also just really proud of what I've been able to build with my wife. And so every day looks a little bit different. And then there are some days where one of our kids wakes up, and they can't go to school, because they're because they're sick. And I know that I've got to switch the hat for that day. And I know that we're gonna have to push things back, because it just looks different. But it's also, it's not a problem. It's definitely an opportunity to be able to do things that I just never thought that I'd be able to do. Like, there's a whole different world out there, like a huge world out there. And I was just living within the confines of this, of this school atmosphere for so long. But like the rest of the world doesn't run on school time.
JoDee 17:10
The atmosphere is a big part of it. Because you're right, like your day, every part of your day, is planned down to the minute. And it's not just that it's like, you go a lot of your day sometimes, or at least I did without even interacting with an adult, because you're just with students all the time. And there's the lounge. And then there's after school activities, and just the ambiance. It is like a fully immersive type of job. And it does, I feel like narrow people's scope about other careers and what's out there and how it can be transferable. Because we aren't, we're just we're just in there doing our thing and that's our norm.
Ali 17:57
Yeah, I think when you first leave teaching, there's so much to process, because you are used to like this really regimented schedule, or, you know, like, I'm, by nature, a planner. So for me, like I like to have things planned out. But in the real world, or the, you know, not teaching world. And teaching also can be unpredictable, but like, you know, you have to go by other people's plans or schedules, especially I think, when you're providing a service, right? Because you have clients that you're working with as well. But I think it's, it's really like, for me, it took me a long time to get used to what my life was like, not being a teacher. Who am I, if I'm not a teacher? And you, you hit that in the beginning of our interview. You started with that. So, I mean, you're in the beginning. It's okay to have all of those feelings. I mean, even a couple years out, I would talk to JoDee, and be like maybe I'll go back to teaching, I miss it. But I think I'm finally, this is five years for me now that I haven't been teaching. I think I've finally realized that now that I am used to a non teacher life, it would be very hard to go back. I'm not saying I wouldn't. I still do think about it sometimes. But you know, it would be hard because like, you could plan a family trip now. You could miss two school days and your kids get you know, I don't love it when my kids miss school, but like, your kids could miss two school days over a three day weekend, you could take a family trip, whereas the teacher couldn't really do that.
Aaron 19:29
No.
JoDee 19:31
I miss just the joy of seeing children learn. That's the essence of what I miss is just the joy and then friendships. But lifestyle, it would be really hard. For me I feel to adapt back to that. I don't think it'll ever go away that I miss kids learning. I mean, it's joyful to to learn yourself and but then to see the impact of your own instruction. It always feels good. Or I mean even the opposite, like when you when you deliver something that you know, in a way that you wish you had done better, that's still impactful. It empowers you to do better.
Ali 20:08
And I'll say like my own kids, they keep me busy. And I tried to stay involved, you know, in their schools. And that I feel like brings me joy. That I can be more sympathetic to their teachers. Like if they ask parents to bring something in like, I'm like, Yes, I will get whatever that thing is that you need for class. And I make sure that they're supported in that way. And I think you have that too it already sounds like. Where you're able to enjoy being with your children in a different way than you would be if you were a classroom teacher. So to kind of end our episode today, what advice would you give someone who might be in a similar situation as you. They're thinking about leaving, but they have something that they're looking forward to transitioning to. What would you tell someone?
Aaron 20:55
I think it probably wouldn't be much different than just advice on, if you're leaving one field, and you're joining in another, or trying to, to establish something elsewhere. Like, it always goes back to relationships. Like don't burn bridge, with the people that you're working with. Build genuine, authentic, trusting relationships even if you're not in a school setting. I think that you just need to, or at least for me, what I needed to do is to reevaluate, like, is this problem that I have, like, is it really scary? Or is it just something that I don't want to do? Is it an opportunity to grow in another way? And there are times where I think, I think back like, oh, I kind of, you know, maybe I should have left teaching earlier, because, you know, whether whether it's the faculty lounge, or the, you know, griping I'm doing at home. It's just like, so it's just negative. But that's totally within your control, too. And if you see your days as more negative than positive, you're not doing anybody any favors, whether it's the kids, your co workers, the administration, you're not doing anyone any favors by staying on. You are just warming a seat and collecting a paycheck. And if you don't still love it, you're really you really should look into maybe seeing what else is out there. So you're not resentful. And you're not just feeling stuck, you know?
Ali 22:34
Yes, I hear what you're saying. And I want to kind of connect back to the beginning of our interview, where you told us why you went into teaching. You were a, you know, a student that had studied abroad. You had a great experience with a host family. And you felt this desire to teach the language that you learned to love so much. And you brought that joy to the classroom for 14 years. So even if the last year was a little bumpy, because you know, you kind of knew that wasn't the ride you were gonna stay on forever. You brought so many years of your expertise. The joy that I heard from you, because I love Spanish as well, I taught Spanish that we have that in common. Like, my Spanish teacher in high school made me want to be a Spanish teacher. So I'm sure that you impacted so many lives in the time that you were teaching. And I think we have to give ourselves permission to leave and to say, I did this job. I did it well for a number of years. And now I'm going to do something else. And that's okay. And I think there's a lot of pressure and guilt that gets put on teachers that like you're selling out or you're you're you're leaving students in the time of need. But the truth is, we served our students and we, we gave a lot of who we were to the classroom and to those students. And I can tell just just from hearing your story, how much you impacted your community, both in Mississippi and here in Louisiana with teaching.
JoDee 24:01
And thank you for just providing a really good example of how a shift is normal. That sometimes we grow out of things or we grow into new things that where we find our joy. And that it is okay to embrace those new joys in a different way which is I think what you did.
Ali 24:19
Thank you so much for your time today, Aaron.
Aaron 24:22
Thank you.
Ali 24:32
Are you interested in suggesting a topic for Teacher Shift? Being a guest? Or recommending a guest? Please see the episodes page on our website to make a submission. And if you'd like to write for us see our blog page. If you liked Teacher Shift, give us a five star rating and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Apple podcasts, Spotify and Amazon music. Today's episode was written and recorded by me, Ali Simon, and my co host, JoDee Scissors. Executive produced by Teacher Shift. Produced and edited by Emily Porter. Original Music: Emoji by Tubebackr.