Tutor Doctor was founded as an alternative to the “one-to-many” teaching model most extra-curricular learning centers had on offer, providing a personalized one-to-one, in-home and online tutoring service to students of all ages. With the belief that all students can achieve academic success through two components – academic foundation building and academic discipline – Tutor Doctor continues to lead the private tutoring industry.
“As we continue to evolve and develop our model, Tutor Doctor has become a brand that represents more than simple, traditional tutoring,” explains president Frank Milner. “There are so many things that can affect a student’s academic success, and we believe it’s important to focus on more than just improving grades.
“One way we achieve this is through our innovative X-Skills program. X-Skills help develop students’ vital executive functioning skills. In the age of information overload, learning how to focus, being organized and managing time effectively are the life skills students need in order to thrive.”
A passion for education
Tutor Doctor is led by 350 franchisees operating in over 721 territories across 17 different countries. All franchisees have access to its support model, including one-to-one business coaching, monthly boot camps, weekly global webinars, regional calls and more.
“Everyone at Tutor Doctor seemed to have one thing in common – a passion for education. They all wanted to have an impact on the formative years of a person’s life, and I knew that I had to be part of it,” says Piyush Gupta, who invested in Tutor Doctor’s Empire Builder scheme in 2019, which helped him expand into two additional territories. His business’ revenue grew over 100 per cent and in the first quarter of 2022, Piyush’s franchise ranked number two for revenue not just in the U.K., but globally.
Adapt to thrive
The pandemic changed everyone’s lives and businesses, but thanks to Tutor Doctor’s agility, it adapted its model to become 100 per cent online – today, facing a new buyer landscape, it remains a hybrid service.
“Throughout the pandemic, our mantra was ‘speed to change’,” says Frank. “In 2020, we quickly deployed our innovation squads – groups of cross-functional teams working on everything from lead generation, product enhancements, and virtual sales.
Everyone at Tutor Doctor seemed to have one thing in common – a passion for education”
“Our hybrid model now works purely based on the preference of the student and family. Everyone works and learns so differently, so it is our job to offer our multitude of services to suit the needs and preferences of the student.”
Learning loss and COVID catch-up services have now become critical. For instance, the U.K. government has committed £4.9bn to education recovery. In true Tutor Doctor style, it saw the opportunity to innovate and help franchisees make significant inroads into the school’s market.
The culmination of nearly two years’ work, during which a U.K. schools’ taskforce was created that was made up of franchisees and Home Office staff, who worked together to create a bespoke suite of marketing collateral, process documents and bolt-on systems, how-to webinars for franchisees, tutor e-learning courses including how to work within schools and training modules.
“This process is something that the entire U.K. network has been able to benefit from,” explains Piyush. “These solutions meant we could continue delivering education to those in need and help address the learning loss.
“Working with schools, combined with our partnership with a local youth center, have been huge factors to our success. We’ve proven ourselves to be a trusted, reliable partner and as such, now have a close relationship with the local authorities. This has also seen us become the main education provider to children in care or not in education.”
Tutor doctor for the win
New revenue stream sees 30 per cent turnover increase
The head office and a focus group of franchisees created a bespoke suite of marketing collateral, process documents, how-to webinars and even tutor education programs to help all 78 members of the U.K. network capitalize on the new revenue stream. “We have just had our biggest ever quarter and this growth is driven by our work with schools,” says Rob Kerrison of Tutor Doctor Cambridge and Norwich. “Our school revenues in March (2022) are three times more than last year as the programs we are now running are far broader and more complex and we need to provide a stronger team with more tutors, more variety and flexibility. We deliver an exceptional service to these schools, and they really value the work we do.”
Acquiring Code Wiz
Many supplementary education providers today offer just one specialist subject or service, but Tutor Doctor is in the process of becoming the specialist authority on all modern education, with that progress already visible in its international growth. Understanding the vital importance of digital literacy, the franchise has committed to increasing its offering to become the go-to supplementary education provider. The Tutor Doctor- Code Wiz partnership allows both companies to take quantum leaps forward in achieving brand goals and reaching more students.
Accelerated growth
In 2022, the franchise saw accelerated growth in its emerging South African and Latin American markets, achieving 58 per cent and 28 per cent revenue growth respectively, as well as 13 per cent revenue growth in Tutor Doctor U.K. It is also focused on propelling its international growth by developing further in the U.K., Mexico, Australia and South Africa.
Driving community spirit
In a collaborative effort steeped in social responsibility, two Tutor Doctor franchisees joined forces to give free English Speaking Language (ESL) lessons to Ukrainian children who were uprooted from their homes.
Suzie Boon of Tutor Doctor Winchester and Adie Twining of Tutor Doctor Central Southampton and Salisbury worked closely with the Southampton Ukrainian Community Support Group to help connect them to children and families who needed support. 11 children now attend classes in the purpose-built classroom. Having identified a further 17 families who would benefit, Adie and Suzie hope to give this opportunity to as many children as possible.
“When I started the franchise, I wanted it to be community-focused,” says Suzie, “and although we’re part of a wider network, this is our community business. We’re such a small part of this very large, community-driven process and it makes us very proud as local franchise owners to make a difference in these children’s lives.”
