Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Adam Shlomi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Adam, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.

I started SoFlo Tutors with the dream of giving back and using the Internet to make education more affordable. I wanted to start a social impact company that helped others and reinvested its profits, rather than create a traditional business focused only on profit. I’m proud that our regular tutoring is at a more accessible price point than many of our traditional competitors.

Beyond our pricing, we get to make a real difference when we partner with charities and nonprofits to lead free SAT prep classes. This year alone, SoFlo has helped more than 500 kids with free SAT prep classes. We have led classes with Horizon Scholars’ Take Stock in Children Program, Achieve Miami, Path to College, and other great nonprofits.

The classes are normally 30 hours of total instruction with an expert tutor, and we provide all SAT curriculum and testing material: all the students have to do is show up. Even better, the class is both free to attend and free for the nonprofits to host.

The higher a test score is, the more opportunities a student will have — especially in Florida, with the Bright Futures scholarship. If a student earns 1210 on the SAT or 25 on the ACT, they are likely to qualify for the first level of the Bright Futures scholarship, which awards $19,000 over four years to any school in Florida: it is like winning a small lottery. By helping students raise their SAT scores, we are able to increase opportunity and make college more affordable.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I am Adam Shlomi, the founder of SoFlo tutors. We offer one-on-one SAT and ACT prep to students around the country and reinvest our profits from tutoring into social impact SAT prep classes. As the college admissions process becomes more and more competitive, we want to make sure everyone has a fair chance and consciously strive to make education more accessible. Our one-on-one tutoring option is more affordable than most competitors while offering similar quality. By leveraging technology, we’re able to cut costs and provide flexibility for our students while also delivering quality instruction from top-tier tutors.

There are many students who want to raise their SAT score — they just do not know where to start. We offer them expert guidance and professional curriculum so they can study the right way and not waste time. Students start with a diagnostic test so we can identify their weak points and make a personalized study strategy. Then, they drill real SAT tests for homework, giving them the chance to mimic real testing conditions and timing. During sessions, we turn the mistakes from homework into learning opportunities and teach core concepts and strategy.

Our hard work has paid off, and word is starting to get out. SoFlo has helped thousands of happy students, and we have 5.0 ratings on websites across the internet. Every day, more and more families are calling to work with our tutors because they were referred by a friend. I am always so happy when someone comes from a referral, because it means we are doing good work.

Even though SoFlo is already thriving, I continuously push myself to train our tutors to be the best they can be. Education is not only about content: we are big believers in student tutor chemistry. If a student likes his tutor, the student is more likely to pay attention, do their work, and raise their score. We invest heavily into developing meaningful relationships with our students, because it is the best way to get them to reach their potential.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

One meaningful way we keep in touch with clients is handwritten letters. Every new client receives a handwritten letter thanking them for signing up with Soflo and encouraging them to study hard during our time together. The letters take a lot of time, but are a personal way to connect with our customers.

I would encourage other companies, especially those starting out, to write these letters because so much communication normally takes place only over email, and it is nice to reach customers through another channel. People also appreciate the time and effort put into a handwritten letter.

How did you build your audience on social media?

One recent initiative we just launched is our video explanations hub. For over a year, we recorded video explanations to 2000 individual SAT questions. Many of the current video explanations on the market are long, unpolished videos or they’re hidden behind paywalls that make it difficult for students to find the exact question they need help with.

Our explanations are easily searchable, engaging, and succinct. Best of all, because of our mission to democratize education, we are giving these video explanations away for free with no paywall or even email required. We are hoping that this will be another way SoFlo Tutors can build our audience. If we give away great content, we will leave a positive impression on students who will keep coming back to us for help.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://soflotutors.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soflotutors
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashlomi/

Image Credits
No credits. All images belong to SoFlo