We were lucky to catch up with Tonica Johnson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tonica, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Before I started my business, I was a high school English teacher. As I was helping my students with their admissions essays, it spiraled to helping them with other parts of their applications, finding schools that had their majors, showing them which schools they’d be most likely to get scholarships at, etc. I remember sitting there wondering why there wasn’t more personalized guidance for a process that is such a huge investment of time and money, and boom- that’s when I initially started to think about Cardinal College Planning.

I knew from seeing it with my own students how badly of a need there was for more support through the process. There are thousands of options students can choose from, thousands upon thousands of dollars invested, and a whole set of hoops to jump through for acceptances- it’s tough that they are, for the most part, expected to do this alone.

From speaking to colleagues and parents and hearing over and over again how necessary these services were, I knew that I was on to something and that the concept of offering advisory support would be successful. While I wasn’t happy to hear all of the stories of families’ struggles and stress, I got excited knowing I could be the one to alleviate some of that for them! Being a teacher was so very fulfilling, but helping students and families through such an important time in their life is so wonderful, too!

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

I’ve always valued education and have a heart for helping our young people. They really have so much to offer, and it brings me so much joy to have a role in pursuing their dreams for their futures! The college planning process is an interesting one in that it has the same main steps for every student, but it also can look different for each individual as well. I take the time to really get to know each of my clients to make sure that I am serving them and their needs to the fullest extent. For some families, they are most interested in learning about all of the schools available to them. For others, being educated on the financial side of planning is most important. All families want to ensure they are doing what they need to be doing, when they need to be doing it, in the most efficient way possible and that is the main goal when we work together.

One of my favorite parts is showing students and families all that is available to them. When we first begin the process, some students can’t name more than 3 colleges or know the difference between various types of engineering, for example. I get the pleasure of still educating them about their options and the process and mentoring them throughout which makes my former teacher’s heart very fulfilled. Getting a text about a huge scholarship that a student is awarded or that they got accepted to their top choice makes me so grateful that I get to have such a meaningful profession! I love getting to help them through such an important time in their lives!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Being genuine and serving current clients well. I know I provide a necessary service and there is no need to be pushy as families see the value. As I network and such, I just stay true to myself and I think that is important in such a personal matter. As I received my first few clients, I made sure to provide top-tier service. From there, my business is now mostly run on referrals. I think it’s quite clear that I am passionate about what I do, so people are happy to recommend me to their family and friends. The power of word of mouth is pretty incredible!

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

I think transparency and honesty go a long way! I’ve never taken on a client that I didn’t feel I could genuinely help- I’m happy to refer families out to a different consultant if I think they’d be better served by someone else. I’m also generous with my expertise. Yes, of course the goal of the initial consultation is to gain clients, but I’m happy to answer any questions a family has during that time. It is my pleasure to alleviate any stress and worry I can during this process, even if they don’t end up moving forward for whatever reason. With this mindset, I’ve received plenty of referrals from people this way because they got to see my expertise and how willing and eager I am to help!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cardinalcollegeplanning.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cardinalcollegeplanning/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cardinalcollegeplanning
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonicajohnson/