Big Fish, Little Fish: An Education Entrepreneur’s Climb

olivershearman
Sep 16
5 min read

Updated: Sep 29

How it feels to build a tiny, principled teacher-run shop in a sea of algorithms, unicorns, and endlessly scrolling feeds - and why I’m still climbing (or trying to climb).

I refresh my dashboard and see… 0 new sales. Again. It’s not for lack of effort or heart. I design classroom-tested science resources that I use and refine with real students. I price them fairly. I even give a big chunk away for free to support the community. And yet, in a world where edtech giants and general-purpose tech companies can flood the internet with tools overnight, a solo creator can feel like a minnow circling a reef patrolled by sharks.

Still, I keep swimming. Not because it’s easy - but because it matters.

The reality solo teacher-creators won't say out loud

Discoverability is the boss fight. Making an excellent resource is only half the job. Getting eyes on it is the other half - and the harder one.
Algorithms don’t owe us exposure. Marketplaces and social feeds tilt toward the biggest catalogs, the most frequent posters, or whoever pays to play.
'Free' is everywhere. Corporations can give away entire platforms to acquire users. Competing as a tiny shop requires focus, generosity, and a differentiated promise.
Time is the tax. Every minute spent writing copy or chasing trends is a minute not spent improving pedagogy or building the next lab.

And yet, teachers keep telling me my work helps. That’s the fuel.

My stance in this crowded market

Community first. I release many resources for free - reading passages, research projects and mini inquiries - because access matters and because trust grows from consistent usefulness.
Fair, sustainable pricing. Paid items fund more development so I can keep designing better, deeper materials for teachers everywhere.
Classroom-tested design. Everything begins with real student needs: clarity, scaffolding, differentiation, and activities that survive copy-paste AI answers.
Transparent iteration. I ship, listen, revise, and publish changes so teachers can see progress.

Big fish, little fish: the mountain I’m climbing

I’m not a venture-backed platform with a growth team. I’m a person with a stack of notebooks, a messy Canva, and a stubborn belief that teacher-made can still win on quality, clarity, and heart. The climb is steep; my legs burn; the view keeps me moving.

The playbook I’m using (and refining)

1) Make discovery a feature, not a gamble

Build content clusters around core topics (e.g., Earth Cycles, Genetics, Forces & Motion). Each cluster links between lessons, vocab banks, and assessments to create a clear path for teachers.
Write pages that answer specific search intents: 'free middle school lab safety checklist,' 'photosynthesis exit tickets,' '9th-grade radiation slide deck.'
Add FAQs and step-by-step usage so humans and AI both understand where each resource fits in a unit. (Working on this one)

2) Be AI-friendly (AIO) without being robotic

Use clear headings, structured lists, concise summaries, and Q&A sections so assistants can extract accurate answers and recommend the right resource.
Include evidence of classroom alignment (objectives, standards mapping, timing, materials) to give AI and humans confidence.
Keep consistent naming for resource types (worksheet, reading passage, slide deck, project template) to reduce ambiguity.

3) Treat generosity as strategy

Offer free starter packs that naturally lead to deeper bundles.
Share teacher tips, printable anchor charts, and rubrics that are useful even without a purchase.
Invite feedback loops: short forms, quick polls, and “what would make this lesson 10× better?” prompts.

4) Make products that defend themselves

Design for AI-resilience: data-rich tasks, local observations, reflection prompts, error-analysis, and “show your work” artifacts.
Offer tiered difficulty and editable versions so teachers can adapt quickly.
Publish implementation guides and 10-minute lesson launchers so a resource is usable the day it’s downloaded.

5) Build trust in public

Collect positive reivews from those purchasing the resources.
Display clear previews so teachers know exactly what they’re getting before they click buy. Both in PDF and video formats.

6) Ship small, ship often

Move in weekly sprints: 1 significant update + 1 micro-asset (checklist, diagram, exit ticket).
I want to start keeping a public roadmap: what’s coming next, what’s under review, what just shipped.

7) Protect the maker

Batch similar work (write all intros at once, design all diagrams in a single session).
Template the boring parts: product descriptions, email announcements, standards tables.
Maintain a no-regret list: tasks that always move the mission forward (improve answer keys, add differentiation notes, fix previews).

What “free” means to me

Giving away a significant proportion of my catalog isn’t a gimmick. It’s a promise: that I’m here to support the community first. The paid side funds time, tools, and testing so the free side stays generous - and the whole library gets better. I’m not yet earning enough to step beyond the classroom, but each purchase helps me build more of the resources teachers say they want: clearer scaffolds, richer labs, and more robust assessments.

How you can help (and get value right now)

Grab a free pack and try it this week - then tell me what worked and what didn’t. Just check out (search) 'The Teaching Astrophysicist Free'.
Share a link with a colleague who teaches the same topic.
Leave a review wherever you downloaded a resource; it boosts trust more than any ad.
Email me a wish-list for your next unit; many of my best sellers began as teacher requests.

Frequently asked questions

Why do you give so much away? Because teachers deserve a reliable base of high-quality materials. Free also lowers the risk of trying my work - if it helps, you’ll know.

If resources are free, why pay?Paid items fund time and tools to create better materials for everyone. They’re often deeper (more pages, variants, answer keys, data sets).

Are you competing with big platforms? In spirit, no; in search results, yes. My lane is teacher-made clarity and classroom-tested design, not platform lock-in.

Who are your resources for? Primarily middle and high school science - with differentiation so mixed-readiness classes can learn together.

Where should I start? Try a free starter aligned to your next unit, then explore the linked bundle if it’s a match.

Key takeaways for fellow solo creators

Great products won’t save you from invisibility - design for discoverability.
Be AI-legible with structure, clarity, and explicit classroom fit.
Generosity compounds: free → trust → feedback → better products → sustainable sales.
Ship updates publicly to grow credibility over time.
Protect your energy; the best marketing is a product teachers recommend unprompted.

I may be the little fish today, but I’m learning the currents. The climb is long, the ridge is windy, and I’m still putting one careful step in front of the other - because classrooms deserve materials built by people who live inside them.

Thanks for reading

Cheers and stay curious

Oliver - The Teaching Astrophysicist