It's story time!
Hear about some of the wins that my clients have achieved.
Not sure what support you need?
Ilana King, Education Pathfinder
An already-established tutor, Ilana and I work together to develop her business and attract clients to her tutor-training programme.
Dwight Faulkner, Tutor & Career Coach
Dwight and I met in the midst of the 2020 lockdown, and he wanted to set up a tutoring business. Within four months he was fully booked and ready to scale.
Zoe Holland, Tutor & Anxiety Coach
When Zoe and I met, she wanted to build a business that enabled her to go part-time in her teaching job. She now earns double what she aimed for.
Ama Owusu-Afriyie, Nova Tuition (agency)
Ama runs a tuition agency, but the lack of processes, automation or people management elements, makes it stressful and time-consuming. We strategised, crossed the t's and dotted the i's.
Emma Cann, Life Coach
When Emma and I met, she knew she needed to automate her processes, but didn't know where to start. We discussed ways for her to buy back time through technology.
Anika Choudhury, Harvard Business School
Anika needed training and mentoring when she started working in the education sector. We speak each week to discuss what went well and challenges, and I provide her with IT training.
Ilana King, Education Pathfinder
"Sumantha has been instrumental in helping me understand my customers' journey and how to turn awareness of my brand into actual bookings.
I have particularly liked her straight talking style, the way she personalises her advice to my needs, and the feeling that she is there in the background supporting me between our meetings."
When I met Ilana she was struggling with social media and how to take her business forward. She was already established as a Home Ed Tutor, but was having little joy in attracting tutors to her entrance exam course.
We streamlined her social media.
By selecting the exact platforms that would attract paid customers, Ilana cut her workload and overwhelm and consequently, started turning browsers into buyers.
We created a tailored content strategy.
You'll often hear about getting people to know, like and trust you. But we formed tailored content pillars so that Ilana could position herself as an expert.
We mapped customer journeys.
Very few people will meet us and want to instantly part with money. Ilana and I mapped specific customer journeys that take people from the 'awareness' stage all the way to taking action.
We strategised.
As educators, we can do so much. But we can't be everything to everyone. Ilana and I regularly review her business and form ideas on how to develop, scale and expand her current offerings.
Dwight Faulkner, Maths Tutor & Recruitment Consultant (new business)
"I have the pleasure of working with Sumantha on a regular basis and cannot speak highly enough of her.
She is a specialist in her field with tremendous business acumen, thoroughly knowledgeable and extremely generous with her time.
Sumantha is also willing to help her fellow professionals and share her expertise , and I for one can testify that.
She has been a tremendous source of support. If you're looking for an education professional, look no further than Sumantha."
When I met Dwight he wanted to transition from the corporate world and return to teaching, in the capacity of a private tutor. He didn't know where to start with the teaching or marketing.
We created a sustainable social media strategy.
As a newbie to social media marketing, we started with the key platform that would attract clients straight away. Over time, we developed this to create a captive audience and nurture existing clients.
We focused on client attraction.
With a mortgage and bills to content with, the pressure was on to earn a baseline amount. We focused on pricing, attracting paid clients and encouraging recommendations. Within four months, Dwight was fully booked and had hit his financial target.
We created multiple income streams.
Now that Dwight was fully-booked and earning enough, we focused on how to, diversify the business, fill daytime availability and create multiple income streams.
Zoe Holland, Tutor & Anxiety Coach
"When I met Sumantha, I wanted to earn £xxx per month. I'm now almost doubling that so thank you for your advice and suggestions!
From the point of our Discovery Call, I realised that Sumantha is so insightful and I'm grateful to her for sharing her expertise. Only downside is that I have loads to do!"
When I met Zoe she wanted to create a business that enabled her to go part-time in her teaching job, with the eventual aim to run the business full-time. Her challenge was creating a steady income while teaching non-core subjects.
We defined her business.
With a family and a job, Zoe's time is limited. So we started by defining her business so that it wouldn't be exhausting, but would set her up with a high enough income to reduce her employed working hours.
We focused on sustainable marketing.
Since time was a limiting factor, we found ways to create consistent and robust marketing, that attracted paid clients, without it being time-consuming. We also ensured that she had enough information published for potential clients.
We networked.
Zoe didn't want to rely solely on her own marketing. So, we researched and built connections with people through whom she would get referrals.
We automated and streamlined.
Zoe is time-poor, so we frequently look at her business process, systems and automation.
Ama Owusu-Afriyie, Nova Tuition (agency)
"The mentoring call with Sumantha was very productive.
Sumantha helped me define an effective business strategy for my tutoring business and provided actionable next steps to achieve future business goals.
The call was really clear and efficient and I am excited about what the future holds for NovaTuition. Thank you Sumantha for your guidance!"
When I met Ama, she already had a tuition agency, but with no planning, she was overwhelmed with record-keeping, handling correspondance and managing the back-office side of the business.
We mapped her processes and customer journeys.
Ama and I started by defining journeys that everyone she works with, takes. Although this was currently a manual process, it helped us understand how to automate.
We crossed the i's and dotted the t's.
One thing I noticed was that Ama didn't have any means to protect herself or her business. It already meant that she was fire-fighting, so we created Terms and Conditions (for everyone) and handbooks for tutors.
We improved her current marketing.
Ama had marketing in place, but it wasn't structured or focused. Instead of creating content with confidence that clients would take action, she was posting and hoping for the best. We created a strategy that was sustainable.
Emma Cann, Life Coach
"I knew there was more I could be doing to automate and streamline my business, but I was unsure where to start.
I had an excellent call with Sumantha who showed me what's possible and how different systems could work for my business in detail.
She's very knowledgeable about creating and using systems to maximise the time spent running a business and by the end of our call, I felt empowered to research my own solutions, ask the right questions in my search and find my own way forward.
Without this insight from Sumantha, I wouldn't have been in that position.
I have found Sumantha incredibly supportive of others in business and very easy to chat to and share my thoughts, questions and worries. Whilst she shared a LOT of detailed information with me, I didn't feel overwhelmed by it as it was explained clearly and patiently. I felt excited by the possibilities of what she showed me! Sumantha as has a lot of insight and knowledge to share!"
When I met Emma, she knew that doing everything manually wasn't efficient. With big plans for business growth, Emma needed ways of using automation to buy back time and give clients a professional experience.
We mapped her processes and customer journeys.
We started by mapping the journeys that her customers typically take. This helped Emma clarify her processes and decide which areas needed to be stronger.
We mapped these to automated solutions.
Once we had an idea of journeys and processes, we were able to think about the apps that could help. I walked Emma through how certain solutions worked e.g. email marketing platforms, alongside showing her how to connect them all together to create a seamless experience.
We knew our next steps.
My aim was to show Emma possibilities instead of telling her what to use. This insight helped her feel confident to research and apply the mapping method independently.
Anika Choudhury, Harvard Business School
"Sumantha supports me with training and consultancy with the work our team does at Harvard Business School.
She's very knowledgeable and her style of training is like none other that I've experienced. She has a unique angle in how she approaches issues, and breaks the solution down so that we can tailor it to different situations.
Her ongoing support was a lifeline for me when I started, and continues to be invaluable."
When I started working with Anika, she needed confidence, a second brain to join hers for data analysis and IT training, to help her get started in her new position with Harvard Business School.
We navigated her requirements.
We started by scoping out her needs, so that we could select the apps that would meet her requirements.
We talked!
Bouncing around ideas, going through different possible scenarios and having action plans helped Anika prepare for situations she was unsure of.
We continue.
Our regular sessions means that Anika can continue to develop in her role, with skills, confidence and certainty.
