591. River Tompkins, 17-year-old Independent Consultant

Key takeaways

River Tompkins exemplifies youthful entrepreneurship by establishing a consulting practice at just 17 years old, earning recognition for his innovative contributions to education.
Networking and proactive outreach are critical for consultants to find clients and opportunities in niche markets.
Understanding the unique aspects of an educational model, such as the learner-driven approach, is essential for effective consulting.
Creating defined service offerings and pricing structures can help streamline consulting engagements and provide clarity for potential clients.
A diagnostic framework can serve as a useful tool for schools to evaluate their educational practices and identify opportunities for growth.

Summary

River's Journey as a Young Consultant

In this episode, host Wil Bokman interviews River Tompkins, a 17-year-old high school senior from Austin, Texas, who has launched his own consulting practice focused on experimental education. River shares his experience of earning about $10,000 from five clients, which he acquired by actively reaching out to schools, showcasing his initiative and entrepreneurial spirit. His journey began when he emailed schools in Florida for a potential teaching position but ended up consulting instead. He emphasizes the importance of putting oneself out there to find opportunities.

Consulting Practices in Experimental Education

River explains his unique approach to consulting within the educational field, specifically working with schools that embrace innovative learning methods, particularly schools associated with the Acton Academy. He describes the unconventional services he provides, which include implementing systems like student governments and learner-driven accountability in schools. His personal experience at Acton Academy for a decade equips him with insights that he shares with other educational institutions.

Client Engagement and Service Offerings

The conversation delves into River's method for engaging clients, discussing how he negotiates contracts and sets his consulting fees. Initially, he offered a 'pay what you want' model, which evolved into providing specific pricing for his services, centered on ensuring that his travel and living expenses would be covered. He also shares insights about his plans for expanding service offerings to encompass defined modules, such as a guaranteed parent speech to share the Acton Academy experience.

The Acton Academy Model

The podcast discusses the Acton Academy's philosophy, emphasizing a learner-driven model where educators serve as guides while students lead their learning journeys. Class sizes are small, fostering an environment of personalized learning—students work on core materials using platforms like Khan Academy while also engaging in project-based activities. River highlights how this approach allows for students to learn at their own pace, encouraging mentorship among older and younger students, fostering a community of learning.

Developing a Diagnostic Guide

In the latter part of the conversation, Wil and River explore the potential of creating a diagnostic framework for schools to assess their implementation of the Acton Academy model. Key dimensions for evaluation could include student mentorship, academic engagement, and parental involvement, structured into a maturity model. This diagnostic could help schools identify gaps and enhance their operations—offering a pathway for tailored consulting services and support.

Show notes

Show Notes:

River Tompkins, a 17-year-old high school senior, started his own consulting practice in Austin, Texas, with five different clients. He provides services in the experimental education space, helping school owners implement systems and train teachers. His first clients were a group of schools in Florida, where he worked on implementing student government and learner-driven accountability. He has been at Ackman Academy for 10 years, a learner-driven off-the-beaten-path education, and now he is going to other younger schools to share his experience.

Finding Clients as a New Consultant

To find clients, River emailed schools in Florida to see what they were doing and potentially get a teaching job. They eventually invited him to visit for a couple of days to consult. He now seeks out clients with the primary goal of consulting. He targets schools in the Acton Academy domain, as his experience at Acton Academy is not applicable to the general masses. River discusses the unique approach to education that he has developed. He explains that the Acton Academy is a learner-driven model where teachers guide students through their learning process, allowing them to see progress and make decisions. River shares more about the Acton Academy approach and how he sets pricing and payment for his consulting services.

Educational Consulting Services Explained

River discusses more about the Acton Academy approach and his plans for expanding his practice and mentions giving a guaranteed parent speech to every school he visits, which is his journey, how the Acton approach works and why, followed by a Q&A session. River mentions that the Acton Academy is open to different school types, age groups, and staff levels.

The Acton Academy Education in Action

The conversation turns to potential education and structure models that work in the Acton Academy by breaking it down into a range of dimensions. River explains that Acton Academy has small class sizes, with elementary students ranging from 20 to 40 kids, middle school students from sixth to eighth grade, and sixth to eighth graders in the same classroom. Acton Academy runs in person classes with online courses through programs like Khan Academy Newsela, allowing students to work on core curriculars like math and reading in the same space while working at their own pace with their own computer. The first half of the day focuses on individual studies, such as math and reading, while the second half is more project-based electives, such as science engineering or real-world skills. Teachers are known as guides while students take a proactive approach to learning. The older kids are encouraged to tutor and mentor the younger ones, focusing on leadership skills. Extracurricular activities are often outside of the school, as they are often independent of the school.

Developing a Diagnostic Guide

Will Bachman talks about mentoring in education, which can be divided into four dimensions: student-to-student mentoring, academic progression, and open-ended research programs. He suggests that these dimensions should be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive, covering all aspects of the educational process. He also mentions the importance of parent involvement and homework and suggests that schools should be assessed based on their maturity model, which includes the maturity of the program, the novice stage, and the developing stage. He mentions that a diagnostic guide could be developed to help identify problems or opportunities. He suggests offering productized offerings, such as a student government module, which can be tailored to the specific needs of the school.

Timestamps:

01:07: Consulting Services and Client Engagement

02:54: Finding Clients and Initial Projects

05:07: Contract Negotiation and Pricing

06:03: Future Plans and Service Offerings

08:35: Developing Productized Services

10:24: Acton Academy School Structure and Operations

16:20: Potential for Productized Services and Diagnostics

18:43: Conclusion and Contact Information

Links:

Email: rivertompkinsone@gmail.com.

Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.