Unleash YES (Your Entrepreneurial Spirit) with Tom Schimmer & Natalie Vardabasso — Business, Education, Mindset

For years we were sure that becoming an education consultant was a risky move. Leaving a steady salary, benefits, and a pension felt like walking off a cliff. Then we actually looked at what's happening inside education and across the wider workforce, and realized we'd been asking the wrong question all along. What if staying isn't as safe as it used to be? In this episode of Unleash YES, we dig i...

  If you've been telling yourself, "Maybe someday I'll start consulting," this episode is your roadmap to making that someday this summer. Natalie and Tom break down the exact five moves they'd make over the next 8–10 weeks if they were starting from scratch with one goal: landing their first consulting opportunity before September. You'll learn why most educators spend the summer preparing instea...

What if the fastest way to grow your consulting business isn't getting selected to speak at someone else's event—but hosting your own? In this episode of Unleash YES , Tom and Nat pull back the curtain on how they grew from a 45-person provincial event to a 270-person national conference that generated consulting contracts, referrals, partnerships, and a stronger reputation than any marketing camp...

Someone just slid into your DMs with a collab idea and suddenly you're spiraling. Are they legit? Should you say yes? And if there's someone more established you admire, how do you reach out without sounding desperate or transactional? In this episode, Tom and Natalie break down the real art of strategic collaboration for educator-consultants. You'll learn how to evaluate opportunities from clarit...

Today's episode takes you behind the curtain of the Educator Freedom Lab. Each week inside the Lab, we host six live coaching calls designed to help experienced educators sign paid consulting clients. These calls are built around the three core systems we help our clients develop to create consistency in their businesses: Visibility — how people continuously discover you and understand what you do...

Traditional professional development rarely leads to lasting change. It is typically one-size-fits-all, event-based, and quickly forgotten once educators return to their daily reality. In this episode of Unleash YES , we introduce online group coaching as a more effective alternative. This model focuses on structured, community-based experiences that move educators from intention to implementation...

Think education consulting is only for keynote speakers with massive followings and published books? Think again. In this episode, Tom and Nat break down exactly what education consultants do, who hires them, how they make money, and — most importantly — whether you could be one. You'll learn the different consulting delivery models (from in-person PD to online group coaching), who's actually writ...

Most educators think marketing means advertising, promoting, or "selling yourself." And if you've ever felt that resistance rise in your chest at the thought of doing marketing, you're not alone. In this episode, we break down our biggest takeaways from Seth Godin's bestselling book This Is Marketing and explore why educators are actually uniquely positioned to thrive in this new era of marketing....

You finally receive the email you have been hoping for. The subject line says, "PD Request." For a moment you feel excited, and then you open it and see the question: "What are your rates?" Suddenly the confidence you had about your expertise disappears. Most educators were never taught how to talk about money. In schools, you show up, do meaningful work, and move up a salary grid. But consulting...

👉 Feeling called to make a bigger impact in education? If you're curious about building aligned, paid work beyond your current role, you can book a clarity call with us here: [ Book a Time ] Some people talk about innovation in education. Rae Hughart lives it. In this episode of Unleash YES , we sit down with Rae Hughart—former middle school math teacher, education leader, and founder of Teachers...

You're posting. You're speaking. People tell you your work matters. And yet… your business is still stuck. In this episode of Unleash YES , we name the real reason so many educators stay under $25K—not because they lack ideas or expertise, but because they're giving hobby-level consistency to something they want to be real. It took both of us far longer than we want to admit to cross our first $10...

What does it actually look like to go from classroom teacher to in-demand PD consultant —and hit the one-year tipping point in a learning-based business? In this episode of Unleash YES , we're joined by Kendra Jacobs ( @mathematizing247 ) , a mathematics thought leader who, in just one year, grew her audience from 2K to 11K, launched a thriving membership community, created an online membership, a...

The Unleash YES Bootcamp is officially becoming the Educator Freedom Lab . In this short bonus episode, we share: Why "bootcamp" no longer fits the educators we serve What freedom actually looks like when you go independent Who the Educator Freedom Lab is for (and who it's not) If you love education but feel like your role can't hold you anymore… this episode will land. 👉 Curious if the Educator...

If you've ever wondered why the school system loved you… until it didn't , this episode will feel like someone finally turned the lights on. Natalie and Tom unpack the research-backed pattern behind why innovative educators go from "golden child" to "too much," and why the very qualities that once made you indispensable are the same ones pointing you toward your next chapter. You'll hear what 95 i...

If you've ever dreamed of stepping onto a stage and delivering a keynote that actually moves people — this one's for you. Most educators approach keynotes like extended lessons… but an unforgettable keynote doesn't teach. It transforms . In this powerful episode, Tom and Nat break down the exact process they use to help educators design keynotes that spark paradigm shifts, generate speaking invita...

If you're a teacher or school leader ready to start consulting but can't decide what to focus on, this episode is for you. Tom and Natalie reveal how to uncover the niche that's been right in front of you: your own transformation story. You'll learn how to trace your lived experience, tap into the emotions behind your expertise, and test what schools actually need so you stop chasing trends and st...

Thinking about joining a consulting firm in education to get your start as a consultant? Before you commit, this episode breaks down what it's really like to work with these organizations, and what every  teacher entrepreneur should know first. In this episode of Unleash YES , Tom Schimmer and Natalie Vardabasso unpack the truth about consulting firms in education : how they actually work, the per...

If you've been hustling hard, overthinking every post, and gripping your business so tightly that you've stopped feeling inspired—this episode is your reset. In Flow vs. Force , Natalie and Tom unpack what really happens when strategy alone stops working and your energy turns from expansion to exhaustion. You'll hear: How both of them fell into the trap of  forcing their business—and what finally...

You don't need an MBA or a huge following to land your first paying clients — you need a clear plan. In this final From Crickets to Clients episode, Tom and Nat walk you through their proven five-step Freedom Formula (Define, Empathize, Prototype, Test, Accelerate). You'll leave with a crystal-clear 90-day roadmap to go from "I'm not a business person" to "I'm fully booked." Grab the free roadmap...

If no one knows you exist, they can't hire you. In the 4th episode of our From Crickets to Clients series, we're pulling back the curtain on our simple, repeatable visibility system — the one that's turned our social profiles into a sales machine. You'll learn how to: ·        Build your creative muscle so showing up online becomes second nature. ·        Write scroll-stopping posts that actually...

This is Episode 3 of our From Crickets to Clients series , a five-part roadmap to help educators launch and grow consulting businesses that actually bring in paying clients. In this episode, Tom and Nat unpack the Offer System , the piece that keeps you from rebuilding the exact job you just left. Because saying yes to every random request might feel like progress, but it only leads to burnout and...

If you've been hustling on Instagram or LinkedIn hoping dream clients magically slide into your DMs, you're not alone. But here's the truth: posting once a week or chasing the algorithm isn't a system. In this episode of From Crickets to Clients , Nat & Tom break down their $100K Webinar Framework — the exact 5-part system they've used to consistently turn one presentation into six figures of cons...

Most K–12 consultants are hustling hard — posting, networking, trying every tactic they see online — and still hearing crickets. The truth? Hustle and heart aren't a business strategy. In this kickoff episode of From Crickets to Clients , Tom Schimmer and Natalie Vardabasso reveal the 3 simple systems that took them from side hustling to nearly 7-figure consulting businesses. You'll discover: ·   ...

Are you a K–12 consultant tired of hustling, posting, and hearing nothing but crickets?   In this limited series, From Crickets to Clients , Tom Schimmer and Natalie Vardabasso pull back the curtain on the exact systems that took them from side hustling to a combined yearly revenue of nearly 7-figures in their education consulting businesses.   Across 5 progressive episodes, you'll learn: The 3 sy...

Back-to-school energy hits different when you know you've outgrown your role. But what if this was the year you finally started your consulting business — for real? In this episode, we're sharing the five things we'd do if we were starting from scratch this fall: ✅ The mindset shift that changes everything ✅ The habit that builds unstoppable momentum ✅ The system we wish we built sooner ✅ The...