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

Karla, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

In 2012 I quit my teaching job to pursue an MBA overseas. After an illness made it impossible for me to leave the country long term, I started tutoring independently. I decided to turn it into a full-time business, since at the time I was unemployed. My original goal was to pursue an MBA and then start a business offering Educational Services such as tutoring. Since I did not pursue my MBA, I was left to start my business immediately and learn as I went. Fast forward 10 years, I run Kscholastic Inc. with the help of a 6 woman-team! We have roughly 40 tutors and tutor around 200 students in the Houston area.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a Venezuelan Immigrant. My family came to the US in 1995. I’ve always had a passion for Education and I’ve always been a dreamer and a creative thinker. I started teaching high school Spanish in a prestigious Houston area private school while I was still pursuing my undergrad degree, at the age of 21. 3 years later I quit my dream teaching job to move on to bigger things. I felt like I could make more of an impact in students’ lives outside of the classroom. I envisioned myself as an academic coach and mentor for students. I like to think that those years I spent teaching in a classroom prepared me to understand what sort of assistance students needed outside of the classroom. Kscholastic Inc. offers in home and virtual tutoring sessions. We focus on Executive Function coaching, general homework help, and test prep. Our tutors are mostly college age students. I like the idea of our students working with young, fun adults that they feel they can relate to and look up to. I love pairing students up with their tutors. We have a 6-woman team running Kscholastic Inc. and roughly 40 tutors. I think what sets Kscholastic apart from other tutoring services is that I am not only the owner, but fully hands on in the whole process from talking to the clients, to pairing up the students. Coming with a teaching background and not a business background also sets us apart. Our number one priority is helping students succeed. I love when a parent tells me their son/daughter no longer needs tutoring. I love that we set up students for long term success. Our goal is that students learn the tools and skills to no longer need regular tutoring services.

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

Kscholastic Inc. has never needed to pay for advertising or marketing. Our services speak for themselves. We have grown strictly by word of mouth from both satisfied clients and school counselors. We have an honest team with a passion for education and teaching at its core.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Treat your staff and employees with respect and reward their loyalty and hard work. Kscholastic Inc. pays tutors $30+/hour to start. We’re talking college students earning a minimum of $30/hour with us. I have not heard of any other tutoring company paying tutors that much to start. We also charge our clients less than our competitors. My idea is that if you take care of your staff, they will take care of your business. Every year our tutors fill out anonymous surveys, these surveys help us figure out how to improve as leaders and managers. Although we have a smaller profit margin per completed service, we tend to have more tutors and clients satisfied, happy, and referring us to their friends.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kscholastic.com
• Instagram: kscholasticinc
• Facebook: Kscholastic Inc.
• Linkedin: kscholastic Inc.
• Twitter: kscholasticinc
• Yelp: Kscholastic Inc.

Image Credits
Paige McInturff Photography