Tutor Doctor Business Opportunity and Couples are a Match Made in Heaven

Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to talk about couples who have taken the plunge of being in business together. While a person may have thought long and hard about spending the rest of their life with their future spouse, how many actually consider being in business together? Since owning a franchise will affect your entire family, having the support and care from a spouse is crucial to the success of the business. With the ability to work from home, create your own schedule and follow a proven business model, many Tutor Doctor franchisees are in fact, couples, and they are seeing great success.

Couples who are running a business side by side must be able to work well together, which was easy for franchisees Jonathan and Meghani Sanders to know ahead of investing since the two met while working together in corporate America. After being introduced to one another by a mutual friend and hitting it off at a work event, the couple knew they were right for one another and have now been married for ten years living in Northeast Atlanta. As they started their family, Jonathan started to question his career path as travel became a large part of his role. Knowing they always wanted to own their own business but also wanted to minimize their risk, the two decided that franchising was the best option for them.

“We were looking for something that would hold a little bit more meaning in our lives by making a difference and giving back to the community. While we weren’t quick to like other franchise ideas, we were immediately enthusiastic about Tutor Doctor. We did our homework, spoke with the franchise development team and all of our initial thoughts were reinforced. It was off to the races from there,” said Jonathan.

For UK couple Mark and Jo Butler–who have two sons in high school and are soon approaching their 25th wedding anniversary–the need for tutors was what initially sparked their interest in the Tutor Doctor investment opportunity. The couple signed on in May 2014 to open a franchise in Reading in Berkshire, United Kingdom, and later expanded to Maidenhead and Wokingham–all commutable towns from London.

“Having paid for tutors ourselves and knowing that all of our friends had too, we could see that this was a growing business. We wanted to be in charge of our own destiny. Neither of us minded hard work and long hours, but we wanted to make a difference in our own business,” said Jo.

Mark went on, “It has given us the freedom and control to run a business how we like but we can utilize the support of a proven model.”

The Sanders have owned one territory in Northeast Atlanta for the past year touting 78 enrollments and $153,000 in sales. With four kids starting from three months old to 1st grade, working from home as Tutor Doctor franchisees has changed their lives as a couple and as a family. Being able to give back to the community and be more active in their children’s lives is not a balance all franchise owners or business owners are able to achieve.

When it comes to the work, couples need to be able to complement one another, allowing them to play off of their different strengths and weaknesses to create the perfect team. Being able to divide and conquer tasks and enjoy the work they are responsible for helps both Tutor Doctor couples run their businesses smoothly.

“It’s important to know your strengths and weaknesses. The sooner you know, the sooner you can delegate and not spend your energy doing the same thing and critiquing one another. Instead of being reactive, you need to be proactive and work towards one goal together. That’s worked out well for us,” said Meghani.

Meghani works on marketing and events while Jonathan works on tutor recruitment, admin, and financials. For the Butlers, Jo loves recruiting and interviewing tutors while managing administrative tasks and Mark is a great salesman and is able to see the bigger picture for the business.

“We both have our own strengths and have easily been able to share the workload and take on tasks that suit us individually while trusting each other to make the right decisions in our own parts of the business,” said Mark.

Tutor Doctor is looking for partners just like this who are interested in following the system, being present in the community by changing lives and that want to take marketing into their own hands. The startup costs for a Tutor Doctor local territory franchise range from $68,500 to $96,700 or £29,700 to £64,400, with regional territory franchisees requiring an initial investment between $73,500 and $101,700 or £39,700 to £74,400.

And while challenges may arise like, finding a balance between work and your personal lives, there are also significant benefits of working with your spouse. Jonathan explains, “Working as a couple, there’s always someone to bounce ideas off of, motivate me or take something off my plate if I’m having a rough day. As a team, we have an inherent advantage in running our business together.”