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Dr. Ai Addyson-Zhang’s transition from academia to entrepreneurship began when she realized that the education system she worked in was broken on several levels.
“Students are very disengaged,” she says. “Sometimes I joke that education is the only industry where people pay the money but they don’t really want to receive the service.”
Ai was further convinced when her own children told her that they found school boring and hated it. Disillusioned and wondering what the solution could be, she listened to podcasts and read books while on sabbatical.
“I asked myself, “Ai, do you want to be part of the problem, or you want to be part of the solution?” Because teaching at the time was already not enjoyable to me. It was like a mask I put on every semester before the class started.”
She decided to resign from her associate professor position in August 2019 and build her own school, Classroom Without Walls, an alternative educational model where she would teach public relations and social media in ways that students found meaningful and engaging. The curriculum has three important elements:
- New media: Students are trained to be active on social media instead of passively consuming it. They build their online presence, launch podcasts, and practice digital networking.
- Life skills: This category covers communication, collaboration, creativity, adaptability, and emotional intelligence.
- Mindset: Students discover who they are, what their strengths and core values are, and what they are passionate about.
The school follows a mixed-age model consisting of students aged 13 and up. At the moment, the youngest student is 17 and the oldest is 48.
“It’s really remarkable to see the interaction between the younger students and the older ones,” she says. “I just love this mixed-age model, which works just like in real life. Students get to practice how to actually collaborate and communicate with people who are of different ages, different skin colors.”
Last December, Ai launched the first program in Singapore. The 12-hour time difference created challenges that she accepted as learning experiences, but the overall response was positive and rewarding.
“The feedback from the students and their parents really helped me redesign the program. Last year, we had parents join the program. They came to me, tears in their eyes, (and said) “Thank you for changing my son’s / my daughter’s life.” That is such a great validation, and I just love that.”
Transition from professor to professional
Ai describes her entry into entrepreneurship as a personal and professional transformation. As an educator and teacher, she had skills that could be translated into her new business sphere, namely:
- She had started a school, so the ability to design a curriculum was invaluable.
- Her research and writing skills were well-developed. (However, she admits that she had to unlearn some of her academic writing ability and use more emotional language for social media classes.)
- Her interpersonal skills, acquired after years of interacting with students, made her an excellent podcast host.
For Ai, the biggest challenge was the business aspect of running a successful brand. She also had problems marketing herself and charging people for her services. After working with coaches and mentors who helped her understand what went into running a business, she became more confident and could even identify three areas where new entrepreneurs regularly make mistakes.
- Spending too much time on their business plan and less on perfecting their product or service. “You want to validate that before you start working on your colour, your logo, or your website,” she says.
- Failure to develop a methodology, system, or pathway to explain what they do. How does their product or service help customers? “It took me some time, but now I can tell others what I do in three sentences, in one sentence, and in three words.”
When working with clients who are new to social media and want to build an online brand, Ai uses what she calls a 3C model.
- Connect: The client connects with who they are, what they’re good at, and which of their passions is something people will pay for. They also learn to connect with industry leaders who can help them.
- Contribute: Contribute to a potential mentor’s content by making thoughtful and supportive commentary on their work.
- Create: Slowly develop the content that can make them a thought leader. Ai says that her favorite platform is LinkedIn. “Almost all of my business comes from LinkedIn, so I highly recommend using (it) as a way to gain visibility, to grow your business, to generate impact and income.”
For Classroom Without Walls, the future is bright. The students and parents love the methodology and curriculum, and Ai has featured thought leaders like Seth Godin, Mark Schaefer, and Guy Kawasaki on the podcast.
“I’m really thankful for the journey that I have embarked on and I think it is the best decision I have ever made for myself,” she says. “I have grown so much.”
If Ai’s story has inspired you, you can contact her on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or via email at ai@classroomwithoutwalls.ai. If you have questions about this episode or have a similar story to share, leave us a comment below and we’ll get back to you!
