Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Isaacson.
Hi Lauren, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I began pursuing a career as a teacher after interning abroad with a non-profit organization in Southeast Asia, back in 2016. Upon returning I completed my first Master’s degree in Education from Liberty University. I began teaching in the Roanoke City school district in Special Education, where I worked with students in kindergarten to fifth grade. During the pandemic, I had an opportunity to teach at a secondary school teaching English to 7th-12th grade students in rural Thailand. I returned to the Baltimore area, where I grew up back in the Spring of 2023. I was hired in a local school district as a special education teacher, but found myself advocating for the students in my school. In January 2024, I had a dream of creating a business that partnered with parents to build a better relationship with the public school system, while advocating for students with disabilities to get what they need inside the four walls of the school building. By the Spring of 2024, I had created a sector of my tutoring business that was geared towards advocacy, known as The Tutoring Hub: Tutoring & Advocacy. Since beginning the business, we have been able to work with many students from age 5 to 35, now operating in multiple states with students and families. We have grown our team in our first two years of operation and are expanding more in the coming years with more resources for families and students across the globe.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Walking away from something you have pursued for so long, is never easy. The constant questioning of did I make the right decision is one thing, but then add managing a new business on top of that, and reaching out of your comfort zone, is an entirely separate challenge! Learning how to market my skills and justify to clients the value we bring to the table has been the most difficult piece to navigate. Even with four university degrees and a decade of experience in the field, is not enough of a reason for a lot of people to continue with us. Yet, without fail, I have clients asking for a discount or walking away because they want a cheaper solution–sending me into a downward spiral, questioning my worth as a business owner. Don’t get me wrong, we want to help as many families as possible, but what we do is not teachable or able to be replicated by anyone else to the degree that we individualize the support, which means we cannot operate for free. Navigating this challenge and numerous others is just a part of the job we signed up for when creating this business. Though we are in the business of teaching others, we find ourselves needing to consistently learn from others in every facet of business management to minimize the challenges we face.
We’ve been impressed with The Tutoring Hub: Tutoring & Advocacy, LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The Tutoring Hub: Tutoring & Advocacy is a small business specializing in individualized tutoring in the areas of reading, math, and writing from preschool to adulthood, as well as special education advocacy through our individualized process of walking the journey through special education with parents of students with disabilities.
We specialize in educating parents on how to navigate the school systems in regards to special education. We offer guidance and advocacy for IEP and 504 meetings to assist parents in understanding and advocating for what their child needs to succeed.
Our mission is to empower students, support families, and advocate for success. We at the The Tutoring Hub: Tutoring & Advocacy are proud to have helped numerous students and families in our first two years in business, including graduating 3 students in our first year from various levels of tutoring and career readiness support.
The Tutoring Hub: Tutoring & Advocacy wants you to know that our educational services are built upon the desire to help serve families in the local community.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
If we were to offer any networking advice, we would have to say “try everything at least once”. By that we mean marketing in magazines, going to events where you run a table or booth, talk with everyone and share what you do. Try it at least once and if it isn’t your thing or as successful as you’d hoped, then it is your decision whether or not to try it again.
From a naturally introverted person, I do not enjoy promoting myself or business and it can definitely be scary to go up to a complete stranger to hand a business card out. However, some of my best clients came from those quick moments of courage. So go be bold, even if it is just for a minute. It is “better to have tried and failed, than to have never tried at all” {Sean-Paul Thomas}.
Now, for finding a mentor, look for similar small businesses that are right there alongside you. Maybe it’s that coffee shop you always stop at, the little boutique store downtown, or an online marketing firm you see on social media. Reach out to the owners and managers to see what they are doing and what advice they have. Even if they are in year one of their business, they will have something to offer. Who knows, it could lead to a great partnership in the future, too!
Pricing:
- Free first consultation
- Free first tutoring lesson
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.the-tutoring-hub.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.tutoring.hub
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Tutoring-Hub-61561334963231/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheTutoringHub
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.tutoring.hub_?_r=1&_t=ZP-93SbEhBLFPi
