I’m not trained in business and have never considered myself to have a “business mind,” 
but I do listen to business/leadership podcasts and read books by Dave Ramsey, Henry Cloud, Malcom Gladwell, John Maxwell and John Townsend, to name a few. I was listening to an Entreladership podcast where Dave Ramsey was interviewing Seth Godin and the comment was made that customers pay in three ways: money, trust and referral. I was struck by the similarity to how I view my role as an online instructor in the MSSE Program. I know that our “customers,” the students, pay for the courses they take. I realize that in a sense I am self-employed, because without the revenue of tuition fees, I would not have receive a paycheck. Over the years of being in the MSSE Program and teaching online, I’ve come to appreciate the trust our students put in me and the Program. WIthin a very short period of time, our students learn to trust our culture, which includes individualized student support, prompt feedback on assignments, quick turnaround of email queries, and rigorous online courses that are easy to navigate. When levels of trust are not being met, our students are quick to let us know. We also get many of our new admissions from the referrals of our graduates. We spend a fair amount of money on recruitment through journals, conferences and other venues, but a majority of our new applicants come through referrals. Being in education, I’ve always viewed the business world as extremely removed from what I do. I see now that the gap is quit narrow.
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