The day Lisa Collum started her side hustle in 2011, she went to OfficeMax and bought five binders with the last $99 in her checking account, she says.
She filled them with copies of her fourth- and fifth-grade writing curricula, sliding pages reading "Top Score Writing by Lisa Collum" into the front plastic covers.
Today, Collum, 41, is the CEO of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida-based Top Score Writing, which sells K-12 writing curricula and consulting services to schools and teachers across all 50 U.S. states, she says.
That same year, Collum used funds from her business to buy Coastal Middle and High School, a nonprofit private school in Lake Park, Florida.
Top Score Writing now has six full-time employees, 10 part-time staffers and nearly $1.9 million in annual profit last year, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.
Persons:
Lisa Collum, Collum
Organizations:
High School, CNBC
Locations:
Collum, Palm Beach Gardens , Florida, Lake Park , Florida