Meet a sponsor - Rachael Roberts

After a summer pause, our next interview features not a member, but the Gold Sponsor of the 38th Annual IATEFL BESIG Conference 2025 in Athens, Rachael Roberts. A business coach, entrepreneur, and ELT professional, Rachael shares honest insights on marketing, mindset, and the shift from burnout to balance for freelance language professionals. Read on for practical inspiration from someone redefining what it means to thrive in our field.

Bio

Rachael Roberts helps freelance language professionals build sustainable, profitable businesses that align with the lives they want to live. Drawing on 30+ years in ELT, she offer practical strategies, honest guidance, and a supportive community through her programmes Designed to Flourish and Project Bloom. Learn more at earnlearnthriveinelt.com.

1. You and your team help language teaching professionals to build a thriving and sustainable business. How did you come up with this idea? Did you see a need or did it ‘just happen’?

My coaching work began in wellbeing, helping teachers manage stress and burnout. But over time, I realised that many of those issues were rooted in how they were working - long hours, low pay, and little control. That’s when I shifted towards business coaching. The goal isn’t just to earn more; it’s to build a business that supports your wellbeing rather than undermines it. Sustainability, for me, means both profit and peace of mind.

2. Who are your clients today? What do they have in common?

They’re freelance language professionals - teachers, coaches, trainers, and consultants - who are ready to move beyond the exhausting hourly-paid grind. What unites them is their drive to make a difference through their work while building something sustainable. Many have been teaching for years but feel stuck at a financial or creative ceiling. They want clarity, consistency, and confidence - not quick fixes. My clients tend to be thoughtful, quietly ambitious people who care deeply about integrity and impact.

3. From your experience, what mental blocks prevent teachers from transforming the way they do their freelance business?

Teachers are natural givers, so they often feel guilty charging more, setting boundaries, or promoting their work. Many equate selling with being pushy, when in fact it’s simply helping the right people find the support they need. Perfectionism is another big hurdle: waiting until everything feels ready before taking action. I help teachers see that profitability isn’t selfish - it’s what allows them to serve better, protect their wellbeing, and keep doing the work they love

4. ‘Marketing’ could be a scary word for teachers. You talk a lot about the concept of ‘Ethical Effective Marketing’. What exactly do you mean by it?

It’s marketing that works because it’s ethical, not in spite of it. Teachers hate anything that feels manipulative - and rightly so. Ethical Effective Marketing means communicating with empathy, clarity, and respect. It’s about understanding your clients’ needs without exploiting them, showing the real value of what you do, and building trust over time. When your marketing feels aligned with your values, it becomes much easier to stay consistent, and that’s what actually brings results.

5. You have a lot of grateful alumni. What are the key aspects of your training programmes that make a difference for them, in your opinion?

Many teachers want to make changes to their business but feel overwhelmed — they don’t know where to start, what will work, or how to find the time and energy to do it all. People often join my programmes for the strategy but stay for the structure and support. I give them a clear, step-by-step pathway and the accountability to keep going. My programmes combine practical frameworks with personalised coaching and a genuinely supportive community. That mix of clarity, accountability, and compassion helps people move from stuck and uncertain to confident and in control of their business.

6. The theme of the upcoming IATEFL BESIG Annual Conference is ‘Business Unusual - Rethinking Business English for a Changing World’. How do you personally relate to this theme?

I love this theme because it captures what’s happening across Business English, and beyond. We’re all rethinking how to adapt in an age of AI while keeping our work meaningful and human. I’ve developed a series of custom GPTs to help my coaching clients with planning and reflection, but they’re not a replacement for the human connection that drives learning - they simply free up time and mental space for deeper work. For me, “Business Unusual” is about using technology thoughtfully, staying adaptable, and building sustainable careers that value empathy, creativity, and real communication. It’s about championing the qualities that make us human while using new tools to help us thrive.

7. Looking forward to the event, how would you continue the phrase: ‘For me, the conference will be a success if…’?

…people walk away feeling energised to rethink how they run their businesses, not by working harder, but by working smarter and more sustainably. Many of us already have solid foundations, but we rarely pause to ask whether the way we’re doing things still serves us. If participants leave with fresh ideas, renewed confidence in their value, and a sense that they can grow without burning out, that’s success to me. I want them to feel inspired to do business differently - and to thrive doing it.

Interview by Viktoryia Zelianko. Edited by Shweta Paropkari.