Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kathleen Mulready. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Kathleen , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. The more we talk about good leadership the more we think good leadership practices will spread and so we’d love for you to tell us a story about the best boss you’ve had and what they were like or what they did that was so great?
My boss of 8 years taught me the importance of a business owner taking radical responsibility for every aspect of the business. Most importantly, he taught me that this sense of responsibility must extend to protecting everyone on the team. While the phrase “the customer is always right” holds some merit, my boss instilled in me that this only applies as far as maintaining one’s dignity. I remember taking a call from a potential customer who had an endless list of requests. He wanted a tutor that had attended an Ivy League school, who had scored beyond a certain threshold on the SAT (despite his daughter being in elementary school), who had worked with students at a specific school, and to narrow it down even further, his daughter was only available one specific hour, one day a week. Miraculously, I found a tutor for him that met almost all of his criteria, save for being available 15 minutes after his desired start time. I emailed the customer to let him know about the fantastic tutor we had for his daughter. My phone rang moments after I sent it, and the customer proceeded to scream at me about our poor service, extremely upset that I had not found a tutor who could meet with his daughter at the exact time he initially requested. I apologized profusely, but the customer hung up on me in anger. I was dreading telling my boss about this interaction, thinking there might have been something more I could have done to remedy the situation, but my boss immediately jumped in and said, “This is not the type of customer I want you or anyone on our team to ever have to deal with. The money is not worth it to me. Don’t ever again feel like you need to continue a discussion with a person who disrespects your humanity.” I immediately went from feeling like I had failed to feeling defended and understood. A team needs to know that their boss has their very best interest in mind, well above any money and success, and I’ve carried this value with me into my own company.
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 back background and context?
Oak Street Education is a network of tutors that provides one-on-one tutoring for academic support, test prep, and college essay writing in Brooklyn and beyond. I’ve worked with students for almost two decades and now have two school-age children of my own, so I know what parents and families are looking for when they are seeking help. Great tutors are more than just content experts – they are passionate about teaching and building relationships. Our tutors want to understand each student’s unique learning styles, interests, and goals so they can provide individualized, evidence-based instruction at a pace that works for both student and family. From the moment a parent calls us, we want them to feel like we are partnering with them as they navigate their children’s challenges.
I’m proud of the level of care and service our company provides for students and families, but I’m equally as proud of our commitment to our tutors. Most tutoring agencies take the majority of the fee that families pay for tutoring sessions. At Oak Street, we believe our tutors deserve the bulk of every payment that comes through our door. I’ve known many of the folks on our team for a number of years, a testament to how much we enjoy working together.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
Funny enough, I went to graduate school for music and never imagined myself as a business owner. I had worked as a peer tutor in both high school and college and decided to pursue tutoring as a “survival” career while establishing myself in the performing arts industry. It turned out that I had a knack for teaching and loved getting to witness students make connections in real-time. I worked in a number of schools and tutored privately for almost a decade while simultaneously performing in musicals and concerts in theaters around the country. Once my children were born, I knew I didn’t want to travel regularly, and my priorities began to shift. I took some continuing education classes and really started to refine my teaching skills, eventually becoming the Director of Education for a tutoring company. My responsibilities at the company grew over time, and at one point I realized that I was essentially running most parts of the business! I knew there were things that I wanted to do with the business that I wouldn’t be able to accomplish in my current position, so I decided to branch out on my own in hopes that with the knowledge and experience I’d acquired over the years, I’d be able to build a company that represented more of my values as an owner.
Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?
Brand loyalty comes from proving to our customers that they are a priority. This ethos shows up in every aspect of our relationship with families, from the moment parents call us for help, to following up with them after their child has begun working with their tutor. During an initial consultation, we want to hear not just about the challenges a student is facing or the goals they are working towards, but also about the student’s strengths and hobbies, their personality and disposition, and which adults -teachers, coaches, caretakers – with whom they have historically connected. We want parents to walk away from their first encounter with Oak Street knowing that they have given us a full picture of their child and feeling confident that we will match them with a tutor who is the best fit for them. We know the families who work with us feel strongly about our brand because they return to us over and over. Parents call us to work with siblings of current or former students, refer us to their friends and schools, and enthusiastically share good news regarding improved confidence, higher grades, and school admissions. I have students with whom I’ve worked from elementary school through high school who are now out of college and come visit me when they return to NYC. Authentic relationships have been the key to our brand loyalty.
Contact Info:
- Website: oakstreeted.com
- Instagram: oakstreeteducation