Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Collum.
Hi Lisa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
My journey in business began in the classroom. I was a young teacher in a low-performing Title I school, troubled that only 38% of my students were able to pass the state writing assessment.
Concerned for their futures and unable to find an existing writing curriculum in the marketplace, I developed my systematic method for teaching structured essay writing. I made sure it was simple and effective using step-by-step skill development and repetition. When 100% of my students passed the state writing assessment, a feat that had never been achieved before, and it happened two years in a row, people began to notice. I was investigated by the Department of Education. When it was shown that my results were not only legitimate but reproducible by other teachers using my system, my lessons became highly sought after. I had a product that needed to be shared, and although I had no prior business experience whatsoever, I began to put together lesson binders at home on my living room floor.
During the process of building my company, I continued to develop my business acumen, had four children while continuing to teach, and earned a Master of Education degree. What started as 25 lessons that my preschoolers helped me hole punch grew into hundreds of lessons and eventually a multimillion-dollar curriculum company. Top Score Writing expanded from being used in only a handful of schools to entire school districts and from a Florida-based business into a nationwide company. Our curriculum is now in 37 states across the country and is taught in thousands of schools.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There were many struggles along the way. I was a young female teacher with an effective curriculum but a short resume and no clout. I was inexperienced, had no money to invest, and knew nothing about starting a business other than what I had researched on Google. Starting from scratch, everything I undertook was a learning process.
For the first four years, I ran my business as a side hustle before dedicating myself to it full-time, and for the first six years, I was a one-woman show. My curriculum gained traction with teachers through word of mouth, but I initially struggled to get serious consideration from administrators and higher-ups in the industry. I persevered and adopted new business practices, and as higher test scores continued to be reproduced in classrooms using my methods, sales grew.
Another struggle along the way has been dealing with the obstacles inherent in the education industry as a whole. State mandates and guidelines are continually changing, and we’ve had to adapt and rewrite our curriculum to accommodate those changes. Schools also face budget cuts and shortages, and the subject of writing is sometimes overlooked despite its importance. Notwithstanding these challenges, we continue to grow. Writing matters, and we are dedicated to getting the word out and teaching this important skill that will serve students for a lifetime.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Top Score Writing is a nationwide curriculum company that provides schools and teachers with the tools and resources they need to ensure every student is successful with writing. Our unique selling point is we are the only writing curriculum that provides daily lessons that build writing skills using a step-by-step learning process that breaks down the parts of an essay into easily teachable components.
With repetition and reinforcement, students can master the writing process. Our grade-level sets cover Grades 1-12 and consist of everything teachers need to teach writing daily, including detailed lesson plans, student materials, modeling, guided and independent practice, homework, activities, full-length practice assessments, and Lexile text sets/reading passages. Our offerings include homeschool kits, teacher training, print and digital materials, and a digital license with access to our online resources and teacher-taught video lessons.
One of our brand traits that we are most proud of is that we focus on serving teachers as much as we do students. We strive to make our products incredibly user-friendly. Our program kits make it simple for teachers to teach writing and easy for students to learn how to write. Top Score Writing believes in helping teachers succeed, and when they succeed, so do their students.
An equally important highlight is the effectiveness of our program. Students across the nation are tested annually on their ability to write expository, informative, opinion, and narrative essays. The data continually shows a 70% increase in writing scores in schools that adopt the Top Score Writing curriculum. The ability to write is both an academic necessity and a life skill that prepares students for a brighter future.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I believe in risk-taking, but I also believe that risks can be measured and that it is possible to build a successful business using small, calculated steps. When I was growing my business, I had a family to support, and there was no room in the budget for large financial risks. I built my business slowly and steadily. In the beginning, I did everything myself—I was the creator, the person in charge of printing and shipping, the customer service agent, the marketer, and everything in between.
I didn’t hire my first full-time employee until the business was stable and flourishing, and in that year, we tripled our profits. On one occasion, I took a major risk, and although it didn’t pan out, it served as a learning experience. For months, I had been working with a school district to finalize a half-million-dollar contract, and everything was falling into place.
The school district had already procured the grant money, and nine out of ten signatures had already been signed. I took a risk and had all of their materials printed in advance—and then the tenth signature did not come through. It was a mistake I learned never to make again, but embracing failure is a part of the process. Every failure is a lesson learned, and every lesson learned is a step toward success.
Many of the risks I took were personal. I stood in principals’ offices and boardrooms pitching my product to more experienced educators when it was out of my comfort zone. I gave away free products to prove the value of my curriculum and hours of my time giving teacher workshops to explain my methods.
Risk-taking is essential, but when a parent whose income is needed to pay the bills embarks on entrepreneurship, I believe they can do so by using as many free methods as possible to market their product and by gradually investing a portion of their earnings back into their business as they grow. Low-risk steps are often the most sustainable, and as the saying goes, slow and steady wins the race.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.topscorewriting.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
lisacollumceo/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisa.
collum.9/ - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/
TopScoreWriting
