Start an After-School Program as a Side Business (Ep. 24)

Episode 24 · June 25, 2026 · Guest: Spencer Rubin, Play.Fit.Fun

Yes, you can start an after-school program while you work full time. Spencer Rubin ran Play.Fit.Fun next to a sales career for about three years. His model: one champion inside one school, one afternoon a week per school, himself as the first coach, and new schools added as principals asked. Expect evening work, and play the long game.

Listen or watch: Spotify · YouTube · Apple Podcasts

This episode of The Youth Enrichment Leader is School Partnerships: How Play.Fit.Fun Reached 30 Schools with Spencer Rubin. Spencer is the founder of Play.Fit.Fun, an Oregon program built on physical play, and he has spent 14 years figuring this business out. He fell into it as a second career. I asked about the early years, because a lot of you are living them right now.

Can I really run a program and keep my day job?

Yes, if the day job runs on muscle memory and you're willing to work nights for a while. Spencer described his days like this. Sales calls from early morning until early afternoon, in a collared shirt. Then a quick change in the school parking lot, a bag of balls over his shoulder, first aid kit in the backpack. Coaching until about 4:30. Home. Then the day job's homework at night.

Two things he was clear about. You owe your employer your best work while they're paying you. And you and your family agree up front on what gets sacrificed, like some evenings out. His other point: you can't fake it. You have to love the work and love working with all the kids, including the ones having a hard day. Sleep, eat well and keep your energy up, because kids get the second shift of your day.

How do I get my first school without a sales process?

Find one person inside a school who already believes in what you do. Spencer's first school came from a PE teacher who had seen a community play campaign he ran and told him it should be a program. That teacher walked him into the principal's office with the groundwork already laid. The answer was yes.

His second school was the one his own kids attended, where the principal knew his family. She said yes before he finished explaining. Then she told other principals. He opened that fall with a handful of schools and never made a cold pitch.

I see the same pattern at Journey to STEAM: the strongest way into a school is through someone who works in one. Start with how to get school referrals and the full guide to getting your program into schools.

Why run one afternoon a week at each school?

It keeps the program an enrichment class, and it fits around a job. Spencer looked at running five days a week in one school and decided against it, partly because in his state that would have made him a licensed child care program. Rules differ by state. Check with your state's child care licensing agency before you set your schedule.

The schedule math is simple. One coach has 5 afternoons. One school per afternoon is 5 schools before you have to hire anyone. Spencer started with four, Monday through Thursday, because he assumed Friday would be a bad day. He was wrong. Fridays work. The day a second school wants your Tuesday is the day you hire your first coach. That step is in when to stop teaching every class.

Who helps me before I can afford to hire?

Spencer went to local high schools and asked for students who needed volunteer hours, like leadership and honor society students. They became extra eyes in the gym, and the younger kids loved them. He stayed the lead coach and told parents plainly what he could promise: care and control of the room. Check each school's volunteer and background check rules first. When more schools asked for the same days, he hired strong adult coaches.

What is the year-one mistake to avoid?

Forcing every child to take part your way. Spencer told me that early on, when a child didn't want to play the game the way most of the class did, he pushed. He thinks he lost a few kids over it. Now he meets them where they are. An anxious child can sit and watch. He loops back, invites again, and celebrates the small win loudly when it comes. He's also willing to look silly first, which gives kids permission to try.

My own year-one mistake went the other direction. For my first camp I over-planned everything. I paid someone to write curriculum I could have written, it came back pitched too old for my kids, and I bought bins and bins of supplies. When I'm nervous, I plan. The camp went well, and it didn't need all that. The calmer version is in the first 90 days of an after-school program.

What does a principal need to hear from me?

That you won't be a burden and that you add to the school community. Principals are stretched. Spencer's advice is to be quick, be efficient and let them see the value fast. Then ask what kind of community they're building, and show how your program helps kids feel they belong there. As a former principal, I can tell you that lands. Belonging was what I worked on all day. More in what principals look for in an after-school vendor.

Do I have to keep adding schools to grow?

No. Fourteen years in, Spencer isn't chasing a bigger number. He's adapting. Schools now bring Play.Fit.Fun in for field days, team building and grade-level celebrations during the school day, when his afternoons-only calendar used to sit empty. He keeps relationships warm so that when one school pauses, another is ready.

What is the starter plan, step by step?

1. Find one champion who works inside a school.
2. Offer one afternoon a week, and coach it yourself.
3. Confirm your state's child care licensing rules for that schedule.
4. Add a school only when a principal asks.
5. Bring in volunteers, then hire when two schools want the same day.
6. Give it years. This is a long game.

Who should listen: anyone with a job, an idea and one school in mind. It's an hour. The whole path from idea to first term is in our guide to starting an after-school program business.

Listen or watch: Spotify · YouTube · Apple Podcasts

Frequently asked questions

How long should I keep my job?

The episode gives no formula. Spencer ran both for about three years before the program became his full-time work.

Are Fridays bad for after-school classes?

Spencer assumed so and skipped them his first year. He was wrong. Try one.

Do I need a curriculum before I approach a school?

You need a clear description of what kids will do and why it's good for them. Spencer started with what he knew, coaching kids and making movement fun, and refined it every year.

Create your first registration. Free for businesses. Live in under 5 minutes. Or click through a sample registration first.

Arielle Hammond, Ed.D. is the founder of enrops and host of The Youth Enrichment Leader, presented by enrops.