A renewed passion for education thanks to a franchise with Tutor Doctor

Having worked in mainstream education for over ten years teaching foreign languages and reaching the position of Vice Principal, by 2018 Katrin Dennehy was looking to leave the profession.

The long hours, increasing demands and overall stress were outweighing her enjoyment of teaching. It was Katrin’s husband who suggested franchising.

“My husband had owned a cleaning franchise in the past and he pointed out that a franchise gives you a proven, working business model. He assured me that because I have a good work ethic and am very self-motivated, I could really make a franchise work.”

As part of her research, Katrin attended The British & International Franchise Exhibition in London in February of 2018.

Why Tutor Doctor?

At the exhibition, Katrin took advantage of the free career advice on offer and started the day with a one-to-one consultation with an adviser from Personal Career Management. Katrin was helped to see that though she was disheartened with mainstream education she had a valuable skillset that was transferable to other avenues in education.

“It was actually quite an emotional realisation for me, because I really do love teaching and was sad to leave it. It was just the specific demands of working as a teacher in a school that had become untenable. However, the career’s adviser at the show encouraged me not to dismiss other education options. It turned out to be an important conversation for me.”

Katrin Dennehy – Tutor Doctor franchisee

As Katrin left the appointment, the first stand she came to was that of Tutor Doctor, a global home tutoring franchise. Katrin comments, “It was honestly meant to be – like fate had played a hand – that it was the first exhibitor I saw!”

At the stand Katrin enjoyed a discussion with Nigel Mayne, Tutor Doctor’s Franchise Development Director, but determined to explore all possibilities, Katrin continued around the exhibition exploring various other franchises.

“I felt very positive about Tutor Doctor, but it was important for me to assess how I felt about careers which would take me in entirely new directions. Though it was interesting and useful speaking with the other brands, ultimately I was drawn back to Tutor Doctor and I arranged to have a longer chat with them after the event.”

Next steps

Things moved quickly after her visit to the exhibition, as Katrin explains. “A franchise with Tutor Doctor just felt right. I spoke to some of their existing franchisees and did a bit more research but I felt I had nothing to lose by pursuing it – it was a business in an field I know lots about and I just needed to go for it!”

By mid-March Katrin had paid a deposit to secure her local area of Upminster, Dagenham and the surrounding communities. She took the Easter school holiday to reflect again on her decision and then handed in her notice at the school where she worked.

Obliged to teach the full summer term at the school, Katrin said goodbye to life as a schoolteacher in July and began her Tutor Doctor training in August.

This took her to Tutor Doctor’s global headquarters in Toronto, Canada for classroom-based training. “The week of training in Canada was intense but really good fun! I met interesting people and learned everything I needed to know to launch the business on my return.”

“Before the face-to-face sessions, Tutor Doctor provides an online training package which you can complete in your own time at home, but the classroom experience was invaluable for coaching me on areas less familiar to me, like how to deliver consultations, and the sales and business side of things.”

“The system is that you launch your franchise as soon as you return from the training, so you hit the ground running with everything fresh in your mind and your motivation levels at maximum.”

“This was great timing for me as, being the school holidays, I had some time to focus on getting organised with my web presence and booking events. Once September arrived it got very busy very quickly!”

Life as a Tutor Doctor Franchisee

Tutor Doctor franchisees are in a management role, hiring tutors to teach all sorts of subjects and matching them with families. There is the flexibility to keep a hand in teaching, as Katrin explains: “I choose to tutor a bit as I love teaching and one-to-one tutoring is so much better than dealing with a class of 30!”

An advantage of a franchise is that you are in business for yourself, but not by yourself, and Katrin enjoys being part of a network of other enthusiastic Tutor Doctor franchisees.

“All the franchisees are amazing – we have fun times meeting for drinks or seeing each other at conferences. We offer each other so much support, answering each other’s questions and sharing our experiences.”

“Head office of course also provide loads of guidance – especially in your first year – and you can tailor the support to meet your individual needs, leaning on them as much or as little as you need to. I’m quite self-sufficient but I know other franchisees enjoy a lot of contact with the franchise team.”

Life as her own boss

Katrin is a mother of two, as well as having two step-children, so she fully appreciates the better work-life balance that a franchise can offer. She says:

“Being your own boss opens up so many opportunities in your life in general because you can shape your work to fit around other things in your calendar. You benefit from flexibility that just doesn’t exist when you’re an employee.”

“I really enjoy the backing and support of Tutor Doctor and the other franchisees, but I am not being micro-managed anymore – I manage myself!”

“I am doing something I love and feel very passionate about – helping young people reach their full potential – but now I am doing it on my own terms.”

If you would like to find out more about a franchise with Tutor Doctor, come and meet them at The British & International Franchise Exhibition at Olympia London on 31 January and 1 February.