We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carissa Rolle a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Carissa, thanks for joining us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

My business started very small and something I had to do part-time after teaching at a school during the day. I had a vision of running my own tutoring business but I knew that it would take time, hard work, dedication, and perfect planning. Every day after school I took some students to the library and we did tutoring on homework or things that confused them. The parents were so appreciative of the help because some of them worked late. When I gained enough clients I started to offer more classes and more days. After I moved to Atlanta, I started teaching in the public school system here. When COVID-19 started that is when my business took off. I was able to run my business full-time with my first client in Georgia. I was a Kindergarten teacher for a family of 3. Once I started I was able to find more clients over time. After that year with my students, they went back to school and I was able to find more families that needed a teacher/tutor. My business increased because of word of mouth and the scores that my students received in school.

Carissa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Caring for People Worldwide Royally Inc. is a non-profit organization that I created to share our youth’s talents and create a mentorship-like atmosphere with them as well. I have conducted many concerts where the children can go to the studio and record music that they perform on stage in front of many people: some sing or rap, and some sing and dance or rap and dance. I also have mentorship classes where we have a family-style environment and lean on each other for support, an extra ear, or a shoulder when needed. I also have girls’ retreats. During the retreats, these middle and high school girls get together for a weekend at a resort and have fellowship with one another. We have a topic that we focus on, and we have a great time sharing ideas and things that need to be discussed in a safe place. These retreats are a blessing to everyone, including myself. It is a great time and something that all the girls and myself look forward to.

Rissabae’s Classroom is a tutoring/teacher company. I homeschool the kids that the parents are looking for an alternative to traditional schooling. I also tutor kids who require some extra help, are right on track, or want to continue to be ahead of the learning cycle. I create personal plans with each of my students and provide the parents with a partner in their child’s academic life. My clients are all like family, and building these fantastic relationships helps my business flourish. It was not easy starting this business, but it is well worth it at the end of the day. I learned that it takes hard work, long hours, and dedication to keep your business going and flourishing. I wouldn’t trade it for the world! What sets me apart from other similar companies is that I am not just a teacher or tutor, but I explore the students’ talents and give them a chance to learn using their abilities. I bring back the joy into learning.The mission of Rissabae’s Classroom is to create a platform so that every person can discover their true potential by facilitating the development of higher-order thinking skills. Through the joy of learning, students will use this thinking to solve cross-curricular academic and real-world/life problems and imagine their childhood dreams. Can you imagine what it would feel like to have the necessary tools for success, so you do not have to worry about failure! Rissabae’s Classroom is an affordable and highly effective tutoring/teaching/mentoring program open to all learners. We also offer other educational and social-emotional resources to support all ages and walks of life. “Every learner deserves the right to knowledge and wisdom, and it is our responsibility to facilitate the development of these future leaders! ~C Rolle~

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source of new clients for me would be word of mouth, educational websites, and social media. The work that I do helps so many students. The families that I work with become family to me as well. When you have good customer service and empathy for people you will naturally get more clients.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

What helped build my reputation within my market is the work that I do. I make sure to personalize all student’s plans and make sure to keep up with their academics in school as well. The students that I work with have been with me for many years. The relationship that I build with the students also plays an important role in my reputation.

Image Credits
Paul Douglas