A Kumon franchisee shares guidelines for entrepreneurs who are thinking about a franchise takeover.
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If there’s a very important factor that Latha Pattisapu knows, it’s math. She fell deeply in love with the subject as a kid and continued to double major in math and physics at her university in India. Upon graduation, she volunteered for a company that designed standardized tests. After arriving in the U.S., Pattisapu made a decision to have a break and concentrate on raising her children.
Hoping to instill that same early love for math in her children, she enrolled them in the Kumon Program if they were just three and four years old. Their Kumon Instructor found that Pattisapu had a solid background in math and asked if she’d be interested in learning to be a volunteer assistant at the guts. It had been the same instructor that eventually encouraged Pattisapu to consider opening her own Kumon Center. It had been obvious that she had a bright Kumon future before her.
Image credit: Kumon
When Pattisapu began looking at Kumon as a home based business, she was offered the chance to take over a preexisting Kumon Franchise location that was on the market. Fast forward to 2018 and Pattisapu is currently the proud owner of her own Kumon Centers.
With eight years of franchise ownership under her belt, Pattisapu offers, in her own words, five bits of advice for individuals which may be thinking about overtaking a franchise.
1. Gain the confidence of your present customers.
Immediate, consistent and quality communication may be the key to overtaking the operations of a preexisting business. Whenever a business changes hands, it is usually unsettling to current customers, which explains why I wanted to enter front of it. I actually worked in the guts for four months ahead of becoming the state owner. My first goal and objective was to become familiar with just about every student that was enrolled at the guts and establish a type of communication with the families. It’s vital to keep your present customers happy and I really believe among the easiest methods to do that is usually to be open and honest. I needed each of the enrolled families to learn my background, my passion for quality education and the vision for my Kumon Center.
Image credit: Kumon
2. Ingrain yourself within the city.
Smaller businesses will be the backbone of communities. As a business proprietor, it’s vital to root yourself inside your community. There’s a face to every business and you will need to make certain that your community knows that person and recognizes that you care. For me, I’ve connected with the neighborhood school corporations, I built trust with school board members, I take part in local youth activities and I’ve developed relationships with members of the neighborhood government. Actually, the town’s mayor typically attends the award events I coordinate for my students. Showing that you care goes quite a distance to making a notable difference. This can make your franchise takeover a lot more successful!
3. Know your product and have confidence in it.
Look for a business you are passionate about and that you truly have confidence in. I’ve always had a passion for math and fell deeply in love with helping students achieve a higher degree of academic success, which explains why Kumon was a straightforward fit for me personally. Whether you are beginning with scratch or overtaking a business, you’ll want understanding of your product, but it’s a lot more essential in a takeover because existing customers expect the same or better degree of service from you. This isn’t a thing that could be taught in a business class or overnight in training. There are no shortcuts to get that knowledge. You need to be willing to roll-up your sleeves and become prepared to work. Communicating some great benefits of your product is vital to your success, and employed in the business as I did so and having my kids in Kumon was a fantastic path for me to seriously find out about Kumon.
Image credit: Kumon
4. Commitment, commitment, commitment.
My currently enrolled families, along with members of the neighborhood community, can easily see the passion that I’ve for Kumon. I cannot stress enough how important it really is for any business proprietor to establish and keep maintaining a certain degree of commitment. I truly value every single one of my students and also have attempt to help them reach their maximum potential. It’s the most rewarding and challenging career I’ve ever endured. I am focused on influencing future generations. When you dominate a franchise, your success will be directly linked with your commitment.
5. Conduct target marketing.
It’s vital that you remember that not absolutely all companies are the same. You might read a whole lot of business related articles and believe you are likely to run and market your business one way, but by the end of the day, you must pay attention to the marketplace you are in. What works in a single community might not work in another. It took me quite a while to figure out exactly what will work for my specific market. Rather than forcing your vision upon the city, take time to get to know the marketplace and what your visitors want.
Visit kumonfranchise.com for more information about the Kumon franchise opportunity or call (844) 480-1575.