Education, Entrepreneurship, and Empowerment with Hannah Spence

You're in for a thrilling chat with our special guest, Hannah Spence, founder of Clock Flower Solutions. This former teacher turned entrepreneur opens up about her compelling journey from the classroom to the business world. Hannah generously shares her wisdom about the power and potential of social media marketing, a topic she recently addressed at the University of Greenwich Business School. Not only that, but you'll hear about her noble ambition to support BAME children in gaining access to top UK schools.

This episode offers a captivating exploration of Hannah's shift from an educator to a social media marketing guru. Learn from her experiences and the challenges she faced when launching her tutoring business. Hear about her passion for empowering business owners to grow their online presence and income. Hannah's inspiring journey is not just informative but also deeply personal, as she shares how her entrepreneurial journey has impacted her family and contributed to the life lessons she imparts to her own children. Get ready for a rich blend of business insights, inspirational tales, and practical strategies to fuel your own growth, whether you're an entrepreneur or a business owner looking to level up your online game.

Check out Hannah's Instagram @clockflowersolutions  
Also, her @Prep4Prospects business for 11+ Tutoring is also one to look out for!

Transcript

Speaker 2: 0:11

Welcome to the British Black Entrepreneur. This podcast exists to promote black businesses in the UK, to educate black entrepreneurs on all things business and to inspire you on your entrepreneurial journey. Here is your host, jason Lezos. I got married really young, so I got married at the age of 17. I think at the time I was one of London's youngest brides. I got married and naturally it wasn't the healthiest of relationships, so that came to an end eight years later and I really struggled with that. I was just at the beginning of my teaching journey. I'd stepped down from a previous career working with the Home Office, so my salary was hard. I lost my partner. I lost all my dreams of what it is that I thought I wanted to do and wanted to be.

Speaker 1: 0:58

Well, I hope you enjoyed that little clip from Hannah Spence. I really had a great conversation talking to her. Now, hannah is a dedicated professional who recently retired from a successful 10-year teaching career in April 2023. Her goal was to run her tutor business full-time, enabling BAME children to gain access to the UK top grammar and independent schools, but she kind of struggled to recruit clients Quite a common challenge with entrepreneurs With a passion for helping others. She transitioned into a new venture, assisting business owners in elevating their brand visibility and harnessing the power of social media to drive business growth. Her expertise has already benefited nearly 50 entrepreneurs, enabling them to launch their social media platforms, increase revenue and successfully organize events. Her credibility extends to speaking about social media marketing on stage with the University of Greenwich Business School, showcasing her wealth of knowledge in the field.

Speaker 1: 1:48

All right, well, another episode. I hope you're going to enjoy this one. I sure enjoyed recording it. It's been great recording these episodes. Don't forget to reach out to me at the British Black Trip and Earth If you want to come on the show, you want to connect, you want to talk. I would love to hear from you. But without further ado, here she is. It's Hannah Spence. Hannah, spence of Clock Flower Solutions. Welcome to the British Black Trip and Earth. How are you today?

Speaker 2: 2:08

I'm good. Thank you so much for having me, Jason.

Speaker 1: 2:11

I'm really, really excited and I can't wait to get into today's conversation. I've been looking forward to speaking with you for a while now, so I really want to get stuck in and straight into it. So now, hannah, I know you recently retired from a successful 10-year teaching career in April 2023. What motivated you to make the transition from teaching to running your own touring business?

Speaker 2: 2:30

Oh, great question. I guess for me there were a number of things that kind of built up to make me make that final decision. So I think the first one was time. I can find myself not having time to do the things that I really wanted to do, whether that was spend time with my two children or take a nap or spend time with family. I really struggled for time.

Speaker 2: 2:51

I did love teaching. I love spending, you know, spending hours and days teaching the children who I worked with and working with my fantastic colleagues. But also, as many of you know, for teachers finances wasn't great and it was after a series of strike days that we had where there was some hostility at times from some parents who couldn't quite understand why we were striking. So it was that as well. So I guess finances, time and kind of lack of respect for the teaching profession all kind of made me think, you know, is this really what I want to be doing until I retire? And I couldn't see myself doing that. So I think that's when, you know, I made the decision to to leave the profession, but after lots of conversation. So I believe I'm truly blessed. I've got a fantastic support network of friends, many of whom are entrepreneurs themselves. So talking to them to you know, get some ideas to get. That reassurance was really pivotal in me making that final decision to leave.

Speaker 1: 3:45

Excellent, now really good. And just when running a tutoring business, you know we have a focus on providing access to the top UK grammar and independent schools, for BAME children is obviously a great and noble goal. So what challenges did you face in recruiting clients and how did this experience influence your decision to explore a new venture Awesome.

Speaker 2: 4:02

Well, there's quite a story behind what I now call my first business. So prep for prospects, which, as you mentioned, jason, is a tutoring business. So when I was doing it, I didn't actually realise it was a business. It was the tax man who, a couple of years after I was tutoring as a side hustle, brought to my attention that it was, however, a business. So when I realised that it was actually a business, it gave me confidence to take it further. I already had clients, had a few clients. Mostly that came from word of mouth, from you know, the family. So I worked with them in school. They obviously recommended me in word spread.

Speaker 2: 4:35

But what was really challenging was taking that from a side hustle business into a full time business. That's going to pay me full time salary, and that's actually something that I didn't really appreciate. You know I was making good money. I was making good money on top of my full time teaching salary. So once that was gone, I found it really hard to get enough clients to be able to, you know, help me meet my financial commitments.

Speaker 2: 4:58

I think that's something that, you know, many entrepreneurs often struggle with. You know you have a great idea. You know you can solve somebody's problem. For me, as you said, jason, it was helping children from paying backgrounds get into those top UK grammar and independent schools. I knew that's a great solution, but I also didn't really think about the fact that many of my clients are in school for the majority of the day and so, yeah, I think, as entrepreneurs, you really need to think about, you know, one is this is a good solution for somebody that they're actually going to want to pay for it, and two, is there enough demands for your services? So, yeah, I mean I've been really lucky. I've had lots of recommendations and testimonials so that flow keeps coming through. But I also make sure I supplement that with my second business, clockflower solutions.

Speaker 1: 5:40

Perfect, yeah, we're going to go on to that, actually. So now you've shifted to assisting business owners in enhancing you know their brand visibility and leveraging social media for business growth. So can you share a specific example of how your expertise has positively impacted the business and leading to increased revenue or successful event organizing?

Speaker 2: 5:57

Yeah great. So I think often I'll go back a little bit, because often you know, when you meet somebody and you say you're a teacher, nobody really seems like surprised or interested in what you do. But I have to say, Jason, you know, as teachers we have so many transferable skills. It's unbelievable how many things we can actually do and how many industries we can work in. So for me, I love teaching. I love breaking things down into its very simple elements and building up, and I absolutely love that feeling when somebody gets it and somebody understands.

Speaker 2: 6:28

So for me, it was almost natural to learn something, which for me was digital marketing, and then be able to break that down and teach that to somebody else so that they could move forward in growing their business.

Speaker 2: 6:39

So to date, I supported I think we're almost at 50, but I've supported 50 entrepreneurs, many of whom have their own startup businesses, to grow their online community, launch their social media platforms, sell out events. So recently I worked with my business mentor, Bianca Miller Cole and Dr Byron Cole in order to launch their latest book, Rich Forever what they didn't teach you about money, finance and investments in school, and we had a really ambitious goal to fill a thousand seats and you know I was pivotal in delivering on that through using social media marketing to try and bring their vision into fruition. So that's just one of the projects I guess I've worked on, but there's a number of, you know, working with a body confidence photographer in order to deliver body confidence walking, making sure there's a real buzz around that on social media too. So huge variety of projects. I find every entrepreneur has their own goals, which is great, and it's for me to unpick what those goals are and to deliver on that so that they're achieved. Yeah, it's been a great journey so far.

Speaker 1: 7:43

Now transitioning from teaching to entrepreneurship, you know, is a significant change, obviously for you and in your life. What have been, kind of, the most rewarding aspects of your entrepreneurial journey so far?

Speaker 2: 7:54

I'd say for me it's learning. I found in teaching I reached a place where I didn't feel like I was learning anything new. I knew obviously I can improve as a practitioner, but I didn't know how and there wasn't anyone there to teach me how to improve. But now, starting on an entrepreneurial journey, everything is new. You have to learn everything, like even from registering your business on HMRC to understanding how to do accounting and communicating with your accountant. Everything is a learning journey for me, but I love that. I love a challenge, I love learning. So that has been one of the most rewarding aspects.

Speaker 2: 8:25

Again, I think it's also financially and you know this is interesting, jason, because I've never really been money driven. That's never been a goal. That's probably why I ended up in teaching. I'm not about the money, but actually becoming an entrepreneur. You realise that you don't have to have your income cap so you can earn as much as you want to earn. You just have to work at it. Right, they're in teaching. You know you could do as much as you wanted to do. That's your annual salary. It's probably not gonna shift from that, no matter how good a job you do. Unlimited income and being able to strive to whatever those goals are. And I guess the third reward would have to be for me is really inspiring my two children. So I've got two boys, 16 and nine, and I think them seeing me taking on a new challenge and being committed, taking a risk has really inspired them to think about their future and to be willing to take challenges in their areas of their life too. So I think that's been another unexpected but brilliant reward.

Speaker 1: 9:20

You mentioned transferable skills earlier on in our conversation and how teachers and practitioners maybe people in education can look at their transferable skills and you talked about how you moved on in your business. So if there is a teacher out there or someone in education, what skills could they highlight or identify and what type of business or what do you think they could potentially do in a new field if they wanted to move on to do something different in life?

Speaker 2: 9:44

The world is your oyster. As a teacher, for example, we've got strong organizational skills, planning skills, communications, it's so why? And then, obviously, depending on your specialism whether you're primary or you teach a specific subject at secondary then you've got that additional skill set too. So I'd say, focus on what it is that you really enjoy. For example, if you enjoy analyzing data, then you then look for a business or an industry where that's a focus. But this is, you know, our life is short and we want to spend our life doing what we enjoy. Right, you want to wake up infused about going on with our day. So I'd say, yeah, just focus on what it is you enjoy.

Speaker 2: 10:20

I found, towards the end of my teaching journey, I kind of lost sense of like what I did really enjoy. So whether that means you need to return to what your hobbies were when you were younger if that was like dancing or roller-blading, whatever that is, you know, get back in touch with your previous passions and then hopefully, that will really bring up like what it is you enjoy about that and will stimulate some business ideas for you. I think it's also great for you to connect with other entrepreneurs and other educators. So it's fantastic that we connected, jason, because you know, just having this conversation and being able to talk about these things will naturally empower you to take the next decision in your life and in your career.

Speaker 1: 11:01

No, that's brilliant. Yeah, hence why I asked it. I think for you know someone, I had a teaching background myself kind of still do it as well, so it really resonates with me what you're saying. So now this is really good. So we know that social media marketing is a crucial element in today's business landscape. How did your passion for helping others lead you to focus on digital marketing, and what role has it played in the success of your new venture?

Speaker 2: 11:21

Yeah, great question. Well, I really went into marketing because I was trying to learn how to use marketing to market my tutor business more. I wanted international clients so that I could teach during the day and then have the evenings free to spend with my children. But I didn't really know how to go about that. I'm not from a marketing background, I've never studied marketing. I'm not even from the sales background, so it was a real struggle for me.

Speaker 2: 11:44

And again, talking to other entrepreneurs, I know that was a similar challenge for them too. They often had outsourced to companies abroad or, you know, within the UK, that element of their business and didn't really see any success or didn't understand what it was that was involved, to be able to take it on themselves. So I mean, naturally, as an educator, at the core of my very being. I thought it best if I learn and I teach you, then you'll be able to move forward. You know I very much live by the saying you know you can. It's better to teach a man to fish than just give him the rod. So I thought, you know, if I can teach other people how to do this and their business grows and thrives, then that's a great thing. Right, that's how it came about, really, yeah, and I'm loving it.

Speaker 1: 12:26

Brilliant. Now I know you've spoken at the University of Greenwich Business School about social media marketing. Could you share a key takeaway or insight from your talk that highlights, maybe, the importance of social media in the business world?

Speaker 2: 12:37

Yeah, definitely, I think, social media. Many people are frightened of it, and rightly so. I mean, we know particularly young people can be influenced negatively by it. But for me, it was about taking something that dictates our lives and finding the positive in it and chatting in it positively and that's very much what I talked about at the Greenwich Business School but not to shy away from it, to really embrace it, because you know it's in our life, you can't hide from it. And it's also about when you use social media that you really think about how it is you want to be portrayed. And it's not about, you know, creating this different avatar that's separate to yourself. It's about how you want to communicate your values and what's important to you. So not just following trends or doing dances for the sake of it, like what, what is the purpose? Like, how are you showing up there? And also thinking about, like, who is your audience? Who do you want to connect with? And being able to speak their language, okay, so that they, they automatically connect with you and you know your values align with theirs, and then you have this harmonious connection through social media. So that was what we talked about and I guess if there was like a practical takeaway that I would share today.

Speaker 2: 13:44

It would be to use social media to record your face, to not be afraid to do. Things like this can be scary. I'm not gonna lie, jason, I was a bit scared before. I was like, oh my gosh, let me tidy up this corner of my room. I don't have headphones or my can. I might not be able to do this like get over that. Like, as long as you've got a camera, like a webcam or you know a phone, you, everybody's got a camera. Now it's like just step in front of it, show up and speak, speak your truth that's phenomenal, really encouraging.

Speaker 1: 14:13

I think sometimes we let small things or minor things get in the way of the pursuit of what we actually want to do. So thank you for the advice and I think my audience would really resonate with that. Would you mind maybe sharing something from your personal or maybe your professional life, maybe a challenge that has happened or where you've had some real difficulty in life, maybe with family or in business, and how you overcame that or what you did to navigate through that particular challenge?

Speaker 2: 14:37

yeah, great question. Well, I guess I'll share something that's quite personal. I don't tend to share it, but I got married really young, so I got married at the age of 17 I think at the time I was one of, like, london's youngest bride got married and naturally it wasn't the healthiest of relationships. So that came to an end eight years later and I really struggled with that. I was just at the beginning of my teaching journey. I'd stepped down from a previous career working with the home office, so my salary was hard. I lost my partner. I lost all my dreams of what it is that I thought I wanted to do and wanted to be, so that was that was super tough for me. I mean, I'd been married whole of my adult life. At this point I now had two children and half the salary that I was earning before.

Speaker 2: 15:19

I think what's important is to know that challenges are temporary, that you will always get through them and come to a better place, and so I think it's just remembering that it doesn't feel like that in a moment, but that's definitely true. So I think the power of vision, like thinking okay, what am I, what is it I want to do and want to be and what does that look like, and then working towards that can get you through. It's like I don't know about you, jason, but like when I go on holiday and come back, I immediately book another holiday because it just gives me that thing to look forward to. So in those tough times I remember that's what's coming next. So even if that's what it takes for you to you know, to power through your challenging times, then yeah, definitely, definitely do that. No.

Speaker 1: 15:59

I resonate with that, because I came back from Santa really earlier this year and I remember thinking, oh, I'd love to go away again. Then wife and I was talking about booking another holiday and we thought, all right, let's just let Christmas go fast and let's save a bit and let's see how that goes before we, you know, venture on out there into the world. So no, I definitely hear that and thank you for sharing that and being one of the one open. I really do appreciate that. So, looking ahead, hannah, what are your future goals and aspirations in your entrepreneurial journey and how do you see your experiences continuing to shape your path?

Speaker 2: 16:25

Initially, when I set up this well, my businesses, I said to myself right, I want to make 3k a month, that's what I want to make. And I said this to my business mentor and she was like, add a couple of zeros to that. Sometimes in our community you think a bit too small and often that's because I were afraid that we're not going to achieve it. You know, we don't want to disappoint the parents, or for some of us it's just we've never seen that. We've never seen that in our circle.

Speaker 2: 16:51

Like I said, I'm very blessed. I'm surrounded by very driven people. My mother is a huge inspiration as well. Behind drive, the driving force behind me sometimes when I, when I'm struggling for motivation. So I guess my vision is that to meet that financial goal. But it's also what I'd also love to do is to help 1000 business owners to grow their online communities on social media, generate revenue and, you know, add a couple of zeros to their monthly income as well. So that's definitely the vision for my social media propped flower solutions business. But my prep for prospects businesses in a way, is quite similar. So again, it's to help 1000 people from the Bain community to get into their top choice independent and grammar schools. So that is, that's the goal. I'm sure when I share this in my business mentor, she'll say add a couple of zeros. But for now that that's the goal and that's that's what I'm working towards.

Speaker 1: 17:47

I wanted to ask you actually asked this before, but like what is it like running two businesses simultaneously? You know, I'm sure there are similarities between the two, but what are some of the challenges that you face with doing that?

Speaker 2: 17:57

time management.

Speaker 2: 18:00

Time management, jason. I wish you saw me three minutes before we started this podcast. I'd say, yeah, definitely, it's managing time. Like I said, you know I left teaching to gain more time but unfortunately for many business owners, you know, in those initial stages of starting your business you have to invest a lot of time. So actually at the moment I feel I am working more then when I was teaching. I do hope I reach the place where I do have that time freedom. When I have my team and my team is fully trained and they can take on much of the roles that I'm currently having to do myself, I'll have that time freedom back.

Speaker 2: 18:35

So I'd say, definitely, time like juggling the different priorities in both businesses is tough. Again, I've got great people around me. So another huge inspiration to me is the boxing life coach, so Kieran Ekledu, who juggles lots of different projects and ideas and just makes them happen. So I think you know if people, other people can do that, there's nothing the whole doing me back to do the same. So having faith, I think, is important, having faith that you will deliver. And I don't know if you're particularly religious, jason, I don't often open up in terms of my relationship with God. But you know, in time, those challenging times, you know prayer really helps, or even being in a space where other people are praying for you and rooting for you also really helps. So those are the challenges of running more than one business, but also there's ways to overcome that. Yeah, that's fabulous.

Speaker 1: 19:22

Absolutely fabulous. Yeah, really really good. Thank you for that. And finally, because before we end the show and it's been great talking with you today could you leave maybe some words of wisdom for our audience business owners in the UK who are black maybe they're starting a business or they're in a thick and what kind of advice or tips could you give them, based upon your experience and the challenges and opportunities that have been presented to you in your career?

Speaker 2: 19:44

I'd say the number one is grow your network. Or the pick himself London Golemy will say fix your circle. Yeah, so those two things it's about. For me, having my circle is no pivotal to the successes that I've had in life, like my life could have gone two ways. You know, I got married at 17,. I had a baby at 18, I could have been a statistic, but the people around me made sure that I wasn't just through the words of encouragement, sharing opportunities with me. You know, and it's not always about the taking, it's also about the given. Okay, so whenever you meet somebody, talk about how you can add value to each other and then deliver on that. Okay. So, jason, you and I met. You know you were interested in my journey, I was interested in yours. I asked how I could add value to you, you asked how I could add value to me, and here we are today. So it's that. It's. You know. Fix your circle and elevate each other.

Speaker 1: 20:33

Number one tip that's absolutely phenomenal, hannah. Spence of Clock Power Solutions. Thank you so much today for being on the British Black Tripp and Nightspin and honour hosting you today.

Speaker 2: 20:42

Likewise. Thank you so much.

Speaker 1: 20:43

Okay, well, I hope you enjoyed that episode from Hannah Spence Really great because I got to talk to her afterwards and she really gave me some advice, because some of the things that she's been trying to do, which is have a podcast, launch, tune a program which I am going to show a little bit about in future episodes so the challenge of running multiple things at once me podcasting during business working and I know that she's doing something similar as well doing her pre-posspex business and also Clock Flower Solutions, which is a business helping entrepreneurs with their social media. So I think she's doing incredible things. Reach out to her if you need help with social media and if you have a child that's around the 10-11 age, doing the 11 plus, wanting to get into a top grammar school, she should go. Really had a great time recording with her. So, yeah, really good episode. Again, reach out to me if you want to come on the show or if you want to connect and talk about your business. I would love to share and speak.

Speaker 1: 21:30

Thank you for listening to the show. Keep listening to the British Black Tripp and Night Comment to see you guys soon. All right, take care, nala wants to say something. So bye, bye, see you soon. Bye.