Nearly 3 months to the day after I completed my Kip McGrath training, and after an agonizingly long wait for my new premises to become available, I finally opened my doors this past Monday, and here I am blogging after surviving my first week!
And what a week! With very little marketing prior to opening (apart from networking everywhere possible!), in no time I had 16 sets of parents queuing up to have their children assessed! Naïve me, I assumed that the majority would take up the offer of a free assessment and walk away. But no, 100% of the parents enrolled their children, in some cases more than one child!
It was a timely reminder to me that there is a real value to the Kip McGrath approach, which is of course why I chose to become a franchisee in the first place. My assumption now is that if parents are willing to invest the time talking through their concerns with me by phone, they are serious about getting support for their child when they walk through my door.
As a non-parent, it has been gratifying to find that there are many wonderful parents out there who truly want the best for their children and will do what is necessary to give them the head start in life. Interestingly, price has been the last discussion point in every case.
From a personal perspective, I am very pleased to say that after 26 years of working, half of which has been in education, this is the first time that my job has literally had me leaping out of bed in the morning. My poor longsuffering husband will testify to this, and has several times woken in the night to find me making notes because I am bursting with enthusiasm and just can’t wait until the morning!
There truly is nothing more rewarding than unlocking my front door every morning, turning on the lights and realising that my little business will make a difference to children today. I know that this is a business, and I know that the service I provide is worth every penny, but there is a part of me that would happily do this for free, and that is how I know that this is my vocation, not just a job.
Some of my teacher friends do wonder why I’ve gone down the franchise route and not set up on my own. I answer this by talking them through the curriculum, which they soon realise is both comprehensive and well-researched, and would have been both difficult and time-consuming for me to replicate. Add to this the computer-based teaching software, extensive teaching resources and a back office function that leaves me free to focus on teaching, and it is difficult to argue a case of going it alone.
Having said all of this, my husband reckons that I am my own ‘USP’ (unique selling point). And all modesty aside, I think that is probably as it should be. Parents recognise the Kip McGrath name, and they know the high quality service that it stands for, but like any business it is only as good as the people who work in it.
Having a passion for this job is important. I look forward to every opportunity to work with ‘my’ kids. Some people say that I am a natural. I’m not sure if that is true, but I do seem to have a knack for connecting with kids and getting the best out of them.
This week I had a shy boy to assess, but as an ex-golfer I was able to connect with him by talking with him about the game and his brother’s handicap of 8! I had another boy who likes fencing, so I immediately put him on one of the computer games – ok, it was archery and not fencing, but he loved it. Then there was the family with four children aged between 9 months and seven years, who pretty much took over the place for an hour! Luckily, I have filled my centre with colourful games and activities, and managed to keep them all entertained through two assessments! All four went away with Kip McGrath balloons and the excitement of two of them joining me next term. I also had a family of three children and had to complete simultaneous assessments on a five-year-old and a seven-year-old at the same time! I’m not entirely sure how I managed that one, but both are now enrolled for at least 10 weeks.
A common topic this week was the need for extra literacy and numeracy support for children using video games, iPhones and Facebook. Hmmm, I feel another blog coming on for that topic!
I am one of the lucky ones. I have known for many years that my vocation is teaching, starting as an English language teacher in Barcelona in Spain, sitting on the floor using mini whiteboards to teach English to Spanish-speaking children. Since then I have taught in the UK and Australia, working with both children and adults. And now here I am, back on the floor with children. But this time it is my floor!