Leaving Teaching For Better Work Life Balance - Clare’s Story One Year On as an Inventioneer
- Laura
- Feb 10
- 5 min read
For many teachers, the decision to leave the classroom isn’t about falling out of love with teaching. It’s about time.
Time with your own children.
Time to enjoy your work again.
Time to feel in control of your life.
As Clare approaches a year since she signed on as an Inventioneer, her story is one that many teachers will recognise.
This is her honest account of why she made the change, what she was nervous about, and how life looks now - one year on.
Before: When Teaching Could No Longer Fit Her Family Life
Clare had been teaching for 14 years. She was experienced, capable, and committed, but increasingly frustrated.
She was working long hours and there were no real career progression options for part-time teachers at her school. Finding part-time work elsewhere felt almost impossible and so she stayed at her school, where everything was familiar and she could get the hours she needed for her family responsibilities.
But everything came to a head after her second maternity leave when she couldn’t agree a part-time working pattern that worked for the school and for her.
Suddenly, the job no longer fitted the life she wanted for her family. She felt frustrated, burnt out and undervalued. Leaving teaching for a better work life balance had become almost unavoidable.
Why Leaving Teaching for A Better Work Life Balance Mattered to Clare
Clare wasn’t looking for an escape: she was looking for something better aligned with her life.
She told us at the time how she wanted:
enjoyment back in her work
more time at home with her young children
less reliance on wraparound care until 6pm
control over her working hours
control over what she did day to day
Most of all, she wanted her work to fit around her family, not the other way round.
Discovering Inventors & Makers
Clare first came across Inventors & Makers through the Those Who Can website while browsing other opportunities for teachers.
What caught her attention wasn’t hype or hyperbole, it was practicality:
a STEM-based franchise
a relatively low upfront investment
something that felt aligned with her teaching background
She didn’t jump in immediately though. Sensibly she took time to explore, read, and think.
Deciding to Take the Leap
Several things helped Clare feel confident enough to move forward.
She felt reassured by the recruitment process, particularly the lack of pressure. She described Laura as authentic, professional, and someone she felt she could genuinely work with.
The financial side also felt achievable - the investment was low enough that she believed she would at least make it back. And she knew she could always return to teaching if she needed to.
When Clare did sign up, her overwhelming feeling was simple: she told us she felt "excited!"
The Early Nerves (And What Actually Happened)
Despite her excitement, Clare admits she was nervous - not about delivering workshops (she felt confident in the teaching part), but about everything else.
The business side felt daunting:
registering with HMRC
tax returns
writing a business plan
invoicing
marketing
legal requirements
But once her onboarding began, those worries started to ease.
The training was broken down into clear, manageable stages, with purposeful tasks at each milestone. Nothing felt theoretical - everything moved her business forward.
As Clare explains:
“I knew I’d be fine running the workshops, but I was nervous about the other things - business plans, invoicing, marketing and legal bits. But I needn’t have worried. From day one, the support has been brilliant, with clear training and help whenever I’ve needed it.”
Within just a few weeks, Clare had:
registered with HMRC
set up insurance
opened a business bank account
started using bookkeeping software
registered with the ICO and learnt about data protection
What once felt overwhelming suddenly felt achievable, because everything was clearly set out, step by step.
Early Wins That Built Confidence
Just six weeks into training, Clare experienced her first major win - she sold out her first two after-school clubs in just 14 hours.
With this immediate income, her confidence built quickly. It was a clear signal that schools wanted what she was offering.
One Year In: Life Now Looks Very Different
Nearly a year on, Clare’s business - and life - has transformed.
She tells us that she now:
feels confident and settled delivering workshops
genuinely enjoys running her sessions
runs weekly after-school clubs that have sold out every single term
has waiting lists and has even had to turn schools away
But the biggest change isn’t just professional, it’s personal.
Clare regularly drops off and picks up children from school and nursery and her daughter even attends one of her clubs every week. Engineering has spilled into home life so much that her daughter asked for only engineering-themed presents for Christmas.
Clare has already made back her initial investment and is smashing her financial goals for her first year in business - all while spending more time with her children than she ever could before.
The Honest Reality
Clare is open about the challenges too.
School and nursery bookings initially took a little longer to build than she had hoped. She's discovered that running your own business still requires effort, discipline, and motivation. No one tells you what to do. No one checks you’ve sent the emails.
But for Clare, that’s part of the appeal.
Everything she does benefits her business - not a tick-box exercise for someone higher up. The hard work is still there, but now it's satisfying.
Clare’s Advice to Teachers Considering the Same Move
Clare’s advice is refreshingly honest:
Be prepared for some unpaid work at the start - setting things up, training, sending marketing emails, offering free assemblies. That’s normal for any new business.
But the positives, she says, far outweigh the negatives.
Her work-life balance is dramatically better. She does school and nursery drop-offs most days, finishes by 4:30pm, works close to her own home, has lost the Sunday night dread, and can take time off for appointments, sports days and family life.
Her time is her own.
And she wouldn’t go back.
A Final Reflection
Clare didn’t stop being a teacher. She simply reclaimed control over how, when, and where she teaches.
She still works with children.
She still inspires curiosity and confidence.
But now, she does it on her own terms - with time for her family, space to grow, and joy back in her work.
If Clare’s story feels familiar, you’re not alone. And if it’s made you curious about what might be possible for you too, we'd love to chat.
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