Bright Stars Education

What’s your business called?

BRIGHT STARS EDUCATION

Can you describe it in one sentence?

PRIVATE TUITION AND PARENT WORKSHOPS

When did you start it and what inspired you?

2013. I had decided not to go back into teaching due to having 3 children and wanting to be a stay at home mum; teaching is a demanding job when you have a growing family. I had been tutoring over the years successfully at home so decided this would be a perfect way of earning money and doing a job I loved with out the stress. The parent workshop idea came to me while I was hoovering!

After my first year of trading I asked my friend and colleague to join me as my business partner and we haven’t looked back!

How did you find your start up?

I found it relatively easy as I had an office to work from and my mum was able to look after the children. I also had a reputation from word of mouth which was helpful and I didn’t need to retrain due to using my profession as my business idea.

How do you manage working around your children?

The hours I work are quite tricky as its after school hours and the weekend but I’m incredibly lucky my mum has the children and my husband at the weekends.
Rachel is also lucky to have a very helpful mum on hand!

Can you describe a typical day?

I’m a normal stay at home mum during the day and my working day starts at 3.30-6pm and all Saturday morning. We run workshops during the day and in the evenings in addition to our tuition during the week as well as attending networking meetings during the month.

What have you found hardest?

Funds to put our plans into action

What’s the best thing about being self employed?

I love being my own boss! I love that I’m still teaching but don’t have the paper mountains that colleagues have in school which has made them lose the love of the profession. I love that I have a business that has seen speedy growth over our three years of trading which is based on word of mouth and great relationships.

What are your plans for the future?

We have a lot of plans! We are taking on more tutors, we have plans to move our workshops into schools and moving into the preschool sector.?

What advice would you give for someone just starting out?

*Write all of your ideas down as soon as you have them- even if you’re hoovering!! Many of my original ideas have come to fruition.
*Keep on top of your books especially if accounts aren’t your thing. I hate spreadsheets but I’m learning that keeping them up to date is vital!
*If you have friends and family that run businesses take their advice and if you know an accountant and they offer their services use them and show your appreciation!
* Use your friends and family as sounding boards for your ideas- that’s how I decided on my name by sending out an email of ideas and going with the majority. I also searched to make sure no one else had the same name.
* if you’re planning a website buy the domain names ASAP even if the website doesn’t happen straight away. Also! Get yourself a proper website designed alongside flyers and business cards. It’s the best thing we ever did as we have so many comments about the professionalism of our website. Money well spent!
* join some networking groups. We are part of a fab networking group for women. We’ve learnt lots about blogging, social media, etc.
* learn to leave the business alone and have ‘time off’ as being self employed with a smart phone means you can be available or working 24/7!

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?
Take advice and then step back and ask yourself if it is relevant to your business.

www.brightstarseducation.co.uk
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www.twitter.com/brightstarsedu

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