Ian and Dick Rydholm Celebrate 30 Years of Transforming Lives Through Sylvan Learning in El Paso, Texas

Ian and Dick Rydholm’s journey with Sylvan Learning began in 1990 when they were parents seeking extra support for their son. That experience transformed into a thriving business that has served thousands of families in El Paso over the past three decades. Combining Dick’s corporate management background and Ian’s expertise in special education, the Rydholms have built a family-run business rooted in community impact and educational excellence.

1851 Franchise spoke with the couple to learn more about their backgrounds, their journeys with Sylvan Learning and their plans for the future. 

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Dick Rydholm: I was a store manager for JCPenney for 22 years.

Ian Rydholm: Most of my teaching experience has been with students with special needs. I taught in the classroom and also worked as an instructional specialist for one of the regional education centers in Texas, working with schools and setting up programs for students with special needs.

1851: What was your perception of franchising prior to becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?

Ian: We were looking for a business that we could do together, combining our backgrounds.

1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?

Ian: We actually got involved with Sylvan as parents at first. My son was struggling, and it can be hard to work with your own child. I had a colleague who knew about Sylvan Learning. When we decided we wanted to get out of the corporate runaround, we started thinking about Sylvan because of how good of an experience we had. We investigated and thought it'd be a good fit. We talked to the franchisee in Tulsa where our son had gone and then started talking to the team.

Dick: We went to a discovery session with Sylvan Learning and determined where they had availability. They didn’t have a franchise in El Paso, which was my hometown, which is how we ended up here.

1851: How has the business been going over the past 30 years?

Dick: We really started from scratch. But as we started to grow the business, we were able to negotiate the county of El Paso. We started out on the west side and eventually expanded to the east side. Back in about 2007, we acquired the Las Cruces franchise.

Ian: We’ve partnered with the Boys & Girls Club for the past 14 years. We were part of the pilot of that service. We serve students that are in those clubs and provide them with Sylvan Learning services. We’ve also, in the last couple of years, partnered with Gaston Independent School District. We are working with three different centers in that area. It's really nice to be able to give back to the community and work with some of the kids that might not have an opportunity to come to Sylvan. Our staff love Sylvan and love teaching.

Also, we are a family business. Not only do Dick and I work together, but my son — who originally was there as a child — is now our contract services director. Our daughter is a director of one of our centers as well.

Dick: We are also now working with parents who came to us as children. We have been around a while, and everybody knows us here in El Paso. We started on the ground floor with the Boys & Girls Club, and it's been growing ever since. We’ve seen it grow to six clubs that we are working with right now. We are working with about 40 kids per club, so we’ve worked with hundreds of kids over the years.

1851: How has it felt to watch the franchise grow?

Dick: Sylvan Learning has been our family for the last 30 years. It's fun to see how the brand is evolving even now.

1851: What does the future look like?

Ian: At some point, we will retire and we hope our kids will take over. We are looking forward to that.

1851: What is the one thing about your story you want us to know?

Ian: It's really amazing to see children we’ve served in the past return to us as parents with children. They tell us they wouldn’t have made it through school without us and they want to give their children the same opportunity. We’ve heard so many great success stories over the years. I worked a lot in the centers in the beginning and it was so exciting seeing their lightbulbs come on. It really makes it worthwhile. It's a great business and it's great to give back to families.

Dick: In the community, we are always talking to families who sent their kids to Sylvan back in the day. I was just talking to someone whose son became a doctor after they came to Sylvan when he was a kid.

1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming franchise owners?

Dick: Once you get into this business, you are in it, and you have to do everything you can to be successful. Coming from a corporate background, you have that comfort, but as a franchisee, you are responsible for the business at the end of the day. It's very gratifying to build your own business and take control.

For more information on franchising with Sylvan Learning, visit: https://1851franchise.com/sylvanlearning.

ABOUT SYLVAN LEARNING

With more than 45 years of experience and more than 710 points of presence, Sylvan Learning is the leading provider of personal learning for students in grades K-12. Sylvan is transforming how students learn, inspiring them to succeed in school and in life. Sylvan’s proven tutoring approach blends amazing teachers with SylvanSync™ technology on the iPad® for an engaging learning experience. Sylvan also leads the way with Sylvan EDGE — STEM and accelerated courses and Sylvan Prep — college and test prep courses. Sylvan supports families through every stage of the academic journey.  For more information, visit www.SylvanLearning.com.