Monetising Your Skills – How Mentors & Educators Can Earn Outside the School System

At some point, every educator who steps beyond the system is met with a quiet but pressing question:

How do I make this work?

The leap from traditional teaching to mentorship, nature-based learning, or alternative education is often fueled by passion—a vision of something more human, more alive, more aligned with how children naturally grow. But passion alone does not put food on the table.

This is where the tension begins.

We have been conditioned to see education as a service, freely given. A teacher should be selfless, a mentor should give without expectation, and a calling should not carry a price tag. And so, many brilliant educators find themselves caught in a contradiction:

They long to guide, to lead, to share their wisdom.
But they feel guilty charging for it.

And others—well-meaning, practical-minded—remind them of the cost.

"It’s expensive."

So is a trip. Yet people book flights and pack bags because they believe in the experience. They trust that something awaits on the other side—something worth investing in.

Rewriting the Narrative

I often say: the stories we tell ourselves shape what we believe is possible.

So, I invite you to consider: what is the story you are telling yourself about being paid for your gifts?

Does it sound like:
"I love what I do. I’d do it with or without the money."
"Parents can’t afford it."
"I don’t want to seem transactional."

Or could it be:
"I am offering something rare, something profound—something that cannot be found inside a classroom."
"Families are not paying for a service; they are investing in a way of life."
"My work has value. And when I honour that, others do too."

A New System, A New Possibility

Imagine if we built a model where teachers, mentors, and guides could thrive—not just survive.

Some have done it through seasonal programs, offering rich, immersive experiences instead of fragmented lessons. Others have created mentorship circles, where families invest in a long-term relationship rather than a pay-per-hour exchange. And then there are those who collaborate with landowners, artists, and craftspeople, weaving a tapestry of learning that is sustainable for all.

There is no one way. But there is a way.

The Leader in the Woods

I think about the leaders who walked beside me in the wilderness. They did not charge for companionship.

They charged because they knew the land.
Because they had walked it before.
Because without them, I would have been lost.

Now, who is initiated to carry the torch?

It was life-affirming then. And it is life-affirming now.

So, the real question is not: Should I charge for this?
It is: Do I see my work as a path others need?

And with the current state of parents and their children—the overwhelm, the disconnection, the longing for something more—they absolutely would be lost without mentorship.

And when you know that—when you truly know that—people will follow.

Feeling stuck on pricing your mentorship?
Let’s rewrite the story together.