I started teaching English when I was 17, just to make a living. I had no idea it would become my biggest advantage in business.
In business, the hardest part is always people
Once I got into business, I learned quickly that the hardest challenge is people. You need to find good ones, or people with real potential. Then you have to train them, and get everyone moving together so the whole organisation works as one.
Teaching gave me exactly that toolkit. It taught me how to get to know a student fast, how to adapt to different learning styles, and how to focus on what actually matters instead of rambling about everything. That alone cut my staff training time in half.
It also helps me inspire people, so the team understands what we're trying to achieve together. I get to see someone's strengths and weaknesses quickly, the same way I'd read a classroom. And once you can see that, you can put people where they'll do their best work.
The hardest part of teaching
The hardest part of teaching isn't explaining things. It's teaching people to teach themselves. You can't be there to babysit them through every step, so you have to teach them how to learn.
The thing I care about most now is whether someone knows how to ask: "How do I improve this? How do I automate this? How do I do it faster, do it better?" The moment I see someone start asking those questions, I know I've already succeeded.
The takeaway
The skill that made me valuable wasn't a technical one. It was learning how to understand people and help them grow. Everything else was built on top of that.