Early on in elementary school, Maria Washington’s son was struggling to sit still and pay attention. “His teachers wrote him off,” she says. “They said he’s not capable of this, or this, or this. They were telling me he wouldn’t amount to anything.”
But the Washington family disagreed. Maria’s husband, Aaron — her son’s stepfather, and a former adjunct chemistry professor at the University of South Carolina — started tutoring the boy. They soon discovered that he learned better with visual prompts, so they tailored a plan to his needs. By the end of fifth grade, “My son’s teacher said he should move into general education classes,” Maria says. “He finished with all A’s.”
So when the Washingtons decided to start a business, it was Aaron’s success with tutoring Maria’s son that drew them toward the education franchise Tutor Doctor. “We thought we could duplicate our experience for other families,” Maria says. Their location in Evans, South Carolina, opened in 2022, and served just 37 clients their first year. In 2023, they were up to 195 clients and had tripled their revenue. Here, Washington talks about tapping into government resources and the unmet needs of her community.
How did you triple your business between year one and year two?
In year one, the focus was on the individual families and learning more about the Tutor Doctor model. I’d also just had a newborn and was learning to juggle an infant and the business. But my husband had spoken with someone who mentioned there was federal money out there that schools had access to, through the Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS)program. So I registered our business as an EANS provider in South Carolina and at least seven other states, so we could gain visibility with the schools.
Then in January 2023, I received a call from a private school that enrolled about 50 students for services. I had another school reach out over the summer to request one-on-one tutoring for about 30 students. Establishing partnerships with schools is what really got us the growth.
When you scaled up that fast, what challenges did you encounter?
The main challenge was recruiting high-quality tutors. I had to become more selective. I asked more behavioral interviewing questions, which was a game changer. My process now includes an interview with a dedicated tutor recruiter and then 45 minutes with me to review a PowerPoint presentation that I designed to ensure all applicants understand the requirements of this position and the impact we intend to have on our families.
How has owning a franchise impacted your life?
I have the flexibility to design my schedule. I can take my kids to doctors’ appointments. I can have lunch with my first-grader at school. I can take off to go see my son’s swim team. I don’t have to miss these key events. Then I can come home and work from 10 o’clock to midnight to get payroll processed.
What other areas of potential growth do you see for the business?
We want to offer tutoring services as an HR benefit for large companies. Everyone has kids, grandkids, nieces, and nephews. Maybe the company pays 50% and the family pays 50%. I realize it’s something that hasn’t been done before, but I like to do new things. If we can get a larger company to offer tutoring support as an HR benefit, that would be massive.
And your son? How is he doing?
He’s in eighth grade, and he had five A’s and two B’s — and two of the courses were high school credit courses. He is now an independent learner. That’s our goal with all our families. A lot of our success stories no longer need tutoring.
Related: The Role and Responsibilities of a Franchisee, Defined
