We were lucky to catch up with Sharon Goodwin recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sharon, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Early in your career, how did you think through the decision of whether to start your own firm or join an established firm?
Sharon is the Owner of Tutoring Club of America, Pearland, TX Center. She has more than 16 years of experience in the chemical industry as a chemist, technical chemical buyer and technical service manager for sales and marketing of aircraft deicing fluid.
Sharon is a native Texan. She was reared in Brazoria, TX along with three older brothers and one younger sister. Although Sharon has no kids, she has always had a passion for children. She is committed to giving back to the community by helping children to achieve their potential.
She has worked as a volunteer for several children programs that include: Child Advocate, Junior Achievement, Big Brother Big Sister, DARE, the United Methodist Women program that’s dedicated to helping women and children in need, and the Exchange Club.
She made a career change from the chemical industry to education because of her passion for younger generations to achieve their highest potential through supplemental education. She opened the location in Pearland, Silverlake Village complex in July 2001. Five years later she relocated to Shadow Creek Ranch where she outgrew the center and moved to a larger space within the same center January 2015.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
We help K-12 grade students catch up, keep up or jump ahead. I’m most proud of helping failing students to pass and do well in class. Most of my failing students end up on the A/B Honor roll. Some of my high school students did not believe they could go to college and ending up not only going but graduating as well. I have also help several students enroll and serve within the Armed Forces.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I believed in what I was doing and the service that we provided. I was the first Tutoring Club franchise in the Greater Houston area. No one had heard of Tutoring Club. I joined the chamber and several area organizations in Pearland. I invested in branding whereas everything I wore had Tutoring Club on it. People liked it and would always comment. More importantly, it connected me to Tutoring Club. The more I connected with people, the more they trusted me and started bringing their kids and recommended me to there friends. I have had people to bring me their kids in elementary then return once they reach high school.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Your team needs to know what you believe in and what you stand for. I’m very upfront and detailed in my approach in hiring new people. My initial training includes my vision and purpose. I also had what our culture is all about. I created a list of values defining who we are and what we believe and value. This approach will weed out people who are not here to really help the kids. Sometimes it will be tight in scheduling but I do not want to put someone in front of a student that is really not here to help them. Once the team is established, the morale is always high because we reach out to parents and keep up with the students and genuinely care about their progress. I seek input and ideas from the team and let them take the lead in developing new and improved procedures.
Contact Info:
- Website: tutoringclub.com/pearlandtx