Think you need to be a teacher to succeed with Tutor Doctor? Think again. Contrary to popular belief, a background in education isn’t required to be a Tutor Doctor franchisee, but there’s a good chance you’ll be tapping into your corporate experience like one franchisee has been! 

In our latest franchisee feature, hear from Kimberly Selchan in Gilbert, Arizona and how she is applying her corporate experience to her Tutor Doctor franchise every day. 

Before Tutor Doctor, Kimberly was in the mortgage industry for about 20 years and in her last role, she was a senior vice president over a sales center. While working in Corporate America, she was already dreaming of owning her own business and making a difference, and like a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs, she had a “five-year plan” but life as it turned out, took a different turn. 

Kimberly’s Five-Year Plan

Kimberly’s original plan was to work in the corporate environment for three more years, then she was going to get her own business. But her five-year plan was cut short when she was laid off. Her career, however, had served her well and she would soon be putting her skills to work in the franchise world. 

She learned a ton in the corporate environment and was in people leadership for 16 of those 20 years – bringing people in, running the business, working with marketing. As she pondered her next career move, she asked herself, “Why do I really need to wait? It was just fear, really. I wanted a safety net,” says Kimberly.

Working with a Franchise Broker

Two months after Kimberly was laid off, she started working with a franchise broker, and she wanted to do something with wellness because it just felt right. According to Kimberly, she ruled out several franchise opportunities before Tutor Doctor sent her the sales documents. What drew her to Tutor Doctor? Kimberly thought the Tutor Doctor model was more about the confidence in the students and alleviating strain on families than the grade, and she liked that. 

“The model of having the consultation in the home, in person...you don’t get that anywhere. No other tutoring service does that. It’s over the phone, but this is more about how do we make a personalized difference? That really resonates with me on the well-being side,” she says.

What Has Been the Most Rewarding?

When we asked Kimberly about the most rewarding aspects of her Tutor Doctor franchise so far, she shared a heartwarming story about one of her tutors, who called to tell her about his breakthrough with a student. Her tutor was developing a bond with an autistic student he was tutoring; the boy was high-functioning, but had great difficulty with social interaction, she explained. 

“They started having jokes and conversations between them during their sessions. He knew he was getting through to the boy,” she says. The tutor had been teaching for 42 years, so for the tutor to be so impacted by that one-on-one interaction, Kimberly was very moved by it. 

Kimberly also shared a story about a mother who called her one day out of the blue. Before Tutor Doctor, her son was failing the first grade, getting 0 out of 10. The mother only scheduled tutoring two days a week because she shares custody with her ex- husband. “She called me almost in tears. Her son came home and he had 9 out of 10 on his spelling tests.” 

The boy gave his mother an assignment and it was so good, the mother thought his teacher did it. “Now, he can’t wait for the tutor to come and he’s so excited about his grades!” says Kimberly.

Tapping Into Her Own Talents

Since becoming a Tutor Doctor franchisee, Kimberly has been discovering her talents. Conversing with people comes naturally to her and she loves sharing her own brand. “I’m building a mini-culture within my community tutor by tutor, family by family, vendor by vendor,” she says. As a part of running her business, Kimberly does lots of events, and she has a tutor who helps her run her booth so she can talk to people. 

Kimberly is a natural networker who truly enjoys having genuine interactions with people. “All I really do is just meet people and the things coming out of my mouth are coming from my heart,” she says. 

What skills are vital to success with Tutor Doctor? According to Kimberly, being personable and engaging are essential. She followed those with being able to manage customer expectations and customer service. 

Since becoming a Tutor Doctor franchisee, Kimberly feels fulfilled and like she has a purpose. “When I wake up and go to sleep, I feel like I made a difference. I’m not just going through the motions to collect a paycheck.”