Creating Turbo Tutoring

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(Written by Dan Harris)

I have never taken a business class at any level of education. Not in high school. Not in college. Not in graduate school. All of my friends in college were business majors, yet I never found it appealing at the time. Sometimes you discover your passion after school officially ends in your life.

My passion is helping people in math – making sense of it. Math is really confusing for a lot of people – it is a different language. Students all around the world have to take the SAT if they want to go to a 4-year college. It sucks for most everybody, and it is 3 hours and 45 minutes of pure hell. How could I make a difference for people with my passion for math?

One day, an outstanding English teacher at school approached me about a concept: what if we came up with a product together – a class that could teach kids everything they need to know about the SAT in 2 ½ hours in all of the subject areas? What if we took everything we have learned in the last 20+ years of seeing that test, and teach kids about the styles/tricks/ways to master the test?

We decided on a name: Turbo Tutoring. My PASSION was ignited. I had a spark.

This is what I wanted to devote my time to. Many students don’t need 2 months to prepare for the SAT exam. They don’t want the 3 hour long classes on a Thursday night after dinner… the parents don’t have $1,000-$6,000 for that kind of test preparation.

We could make it affordable to everyone
We would give scholarship opportunities to all who come
We would be different
We would be unique
We would be affordable
We would be effective
We would reshape the way students prepared for the SAT

How do we start? How could I make a difference?

%tags Inspirational People I didn’t know about how to create a website. I didn’t know how to establish an LLC. What is a business license?

I had no idea about how to effectively use social media for a business. I DID however have a passion–a spark–for Turbo Tutoring.

I’d figure it out. I’d make it work.

When we were told “no” for something, we’d find another way. We’d compromise with people. We’d give back. We would STAND OUT in some positive way. I wanted to make a difference.

It’s been about 2 years since we started our company, Turbo Tutoring. We have helped hundreds and hundreds of students.

We have given back about $15,000 to the community so far. I want to double that this year. We want to be entertaining, and FUN, and productive for the students that come to our class.

It is humbling to hear comments from kids and their parents about how effective our class was – how students have gone up over 200+ points on the test after having taken our class.

We are making a difference. We still have more opportunities to create and to explore, but I’m enjoying the journey.

Do NOT let a lack of experience dictate what you can or can’t do. Find your PASSION. Find your SPARK. Make an impact. Dare to be UNIQUE and DIFFERENT. Make a positive DIFFERENCE for people. You CAN do it. Think about how you can do it, and go after it!

Here are 6 things I have learned about the business world in the last 2 years:

“If you have a passion for something, find a need in the community, and fill the need. Convince people that you can help them fill a void with the service you provide. Find that void, and attack it.”
This is a quote from a friend of mine who teaches in the Business School at Georgetown University. Take that to heart. Think about it. Use it.
I used to think reporters sought out stories to write about and wrote them. Not true entirely. If you have an idea, or something that you want them to know about, write to them. They may want to write about your product/service especially if it helps the community the paper/media source serves! Hello! Free advertising!
Is experience in business education helpful? YES. Is it a prerequisite to starting your own business? NO.
If you are in a partnership for a business venture, find someone you like. Business ventures are like a marriage – there is a lot of communication and decision making. Find someone to work with where that experience will be enjoyable. Does the partner have to be good at what they do? YES. Communication is paramount though.
Realize that most people don’t give a damn about your service. Cater to the people that do. Market only to the people that are relevant to your service. Don’t waste your time and money in areas that can’t help you.
Sometimes you need to suck it up and do things for free at first. If the service is good, word will spread. Business will come back to you.

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Creating Turbo Tutoring

(Written by Dan Harris)

We decided on a name: Turbo Tutoring. My PASSION was ignited. I had a spark.

I’d figure it out. I’d make it work.

Here are 6 things I have learned about the business world in the last 2 years:

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