Meet Clary Torres

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Clary Torres a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Clary, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

I developed confidence and self-esteem by being willing and open to learning. About seven years ago, my personal life coach business wasn’t going anywhere. I met someone who I admire. He had started his own university and was also a mentor and coach. I shared with him about my lack of confidence and asked him to give me some pointers. He said, “Maybe you lack education. The way to overcome lack of confidence is through education.” I know that the second those words came out of his mouth he was wondering if he was too harsh. But I smiled at him and said: “Thank you”. I was sincerely thankful for his candid response. It was the truth and I needed to hear it. I decided to stop my personal life coach business and work on myself. I had to find a job that gave me a bit of flexibility with my time so I could go back to school and continue to homeschool my son. So I started working at a special needs school as a teacher assistant and went back to school full time. Little did I know then that this was going to be the foundation of where I am now.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am the Director and Founder of International Home Education. We provide live online classes for homeschooled children K-12. What is special about our program is that we truly cater to each child’s needs and academic goals. Every child is assessed and based on what level they are at, and their needs we do an academic plan to reach their academic goal. We do not have a one-size-fits-all-all curriculum like other homeschool programs out there. We work with multiple resources to make sure we can customize each child’s education.

Some of the children that we work with have special needs such as learning challenges or are diagnosed with ADHD, ASD, etc. Others are simply looking for a work-life balance that fits their families’ lifestyles.

But most of our families seek us out because of the lack of attention their child is receiving in traditional schools and are looking to make a positive change in their child’s life. Families have stayed with us because they have seen the transformation and improvement in their children, academically and in their mental health.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back, three qualities or skills that I feel were most impactful in my journey were my willingness to learn, resiliency, and competitive spirit.

As I mentioned before increasing my knowledge helped me to overcome a lack of confidence. And as I increased my knowledge I realized that you don’t know what you don’t know until you learn what you don’t know. I know that is a mouthful but it is my response when someone asks me if they need a college degree to build a business. The short answer to that is no but wouldn’t you want to know as much as possible to make your business the best it can be? For me, being in the Educational industry, going back to school, and getting a bachelor’s degree in Business, gives me that moral authority that is very important to have.

Resiliency is a must quality for an entrepreneur because bad days are going to happen. You are going to get beat down but only those who rise again and again see the fruits of their labor.

I have a competitive spirit. I see this as a useful skill. The second someone tells me I cannot do something, it triggers my competitive side and it becomes a challenge that I have to overcome.

I started my current successful business from home with no money at all. I was living in a mobile home with my family. When I mentioned to a childhood friend my idea for the business. Her reply was “Sorry, Clary, but no one is going to drop off their kids at your “mobile” home. Talk about being beaten down! But I did it anyway! Both my resilience and my competitive spirit kicked in and in a few months, I had a living room full of kids.

My advice to others is to be teachable, be open to receiving knowledge from others, and accept criticism. Good or bad criticism just may be what propels you to do great things.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

It is easy to become overwhelmed when you are self-employed. There is no clocking in or out and you can easily find yourself working 10 or 12-hour days.

My advice is to make sure you have a work-life balance. Set a schedule and stick to it. Schedule many breaks during the day so you do not burn yourself out. You’d be surprised how taking breaks can spark your creativity. Pick up a hobby. For example, I started baking and hiking. Baking gives my brain rest from thinking about work. Hiking does the same but it also helps me to be present, in the moment, therefore practicing mindfulness which helps relieve stress.

And finally, give yourself grace. Mistakes and failures are not a bad thing. They are a necessary step towards our success. They become part of your story that makes you unique and sets you apart from everyone else.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.inthomeeducation.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inthomeed/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IntHomeED
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clary-torres/