huntington Learning Centers

wOrking yOur way up

how a paSSion foR helping childRen tuRned a Job into a buSineSS

Everyone’s path to entrepreneurship is different – some people know from the beginning that they want to be their own boss, and some just happen to stumble into the opportunity.

For Viola Feld, a Huntington Learning Center franchisee, her path to becoming a business owner began with her love of children and helping people. With a background in both the business and education industries, Feld worked with students and parents her entire career in both public and private sectors. In 2015, she found Huntington Learning Center and was hired as a Center Director at the Bay Ridge center in Brooklyn, New York. When she was transferred to the Englewood center in 2018, an opportunity presented itself for Feld to consider becoming an entrepreneur. In 2019, Feld learned that the Englewood center was looking for a new franchisee, and seeing firsthand the tremendously talented teachers and staff, she knew it would be a rewarding opportunity. After speaking with her father, Boris Feld, they decided to become co-owners of the center and embark on the world of business ownership.

Even though Viola had owned a small tutoring business at one point, taking on an established learning center was a whole other ballgame. While it is always alarming to take on new challenges, Feld believes many of the things she learned while working for Huntington as an employee made it an easier transition to becoming a franchisee.

training and support Gave Her confidence

Starting as a Center Director, Feld received a lot of hands-on experience and training that helped her learn what it took to run a Huntington Learning Center. Working under an Operations Manager, she was learning everything from executing marketing plans to creating a monthly revenue and action plan. She was also encouraged to continue to grow her skills and learn to problem-solve. On top of the help from her mentors, Feld found immense value in the monthly training provided by Huntington to help her gain confidence in her new role.

When considering becoming a franchisee, Feld felt comfortable in moving forward in part due to the tremendous training and support offered by the franchisor. Huntington Learning Center provides a comprehensive training program with the corporate team that helps train new franchisees on every aspect of their new business, as well as ongoing support and coaching. This includes training on marketing, how to enroll students, how to hire teachers, Huntington’s curriculum, how to continue to grow your business, and much more.

Business ownership is always harder than it looks, but having a recognizable brand behind you that offers lots of training, support, and resources can help make the opportunity to succeed more attainable.

curriculum showcased Positive results

With years of experience in the education industry, one thing that stood out to Feld about Huntington was the methodical research behind the curriculum. As the premier provider of test preparation and tutoring services, Huntington works with each student to identify their strengths and weaknesses in order to create an individualized tutoring program that is unique for each child’s learning pace and style. It was important to Feld to work for an accredited tutoring service that wasn’t just one-size-fits-all for every student.

Huntington Learning Center has a long track record of helping students achieve academic success since opening in 1977. For over 40 years, Huntington uses a high-quality curriculum based on comprehensive research to give students the best education possible. The proven curriculum and methodology continues to evolve and change based on new learning trends and feedback from teachers and students. improvements, especially now as students are behind due to the effects of COVID and remote learning. Huntington students see an average of 2+ grade level increase in reading and math, as well as greater confidence and motivation in school.

Feld chose to work for Huntington because she believed in the curriculum. After experiencing the results in her position as Center Director, it confirmed that she wanted to become a franchisee.

Passion Fueled Her Decision

Filled with passion for child education, Feld decided to take the plunge and become an entrepreneur because she saw the potential for what the center could be, and all the children the teachers, including herself, could help.

She always had a passion for working with students, and working at Huntington gave her the opportunity to experience the positive impact firsthand. The Englewood center has been open since 1997, and in the four years she has been there, Feld has seen several generations of families come through the doors who spoke so highly of Huntington. One past student loved their experience so much they came back to work as a teacher.

Her passion truly fueled her to become a franchisee to continue to grow and help more students in her community. After the success of their first location, Feld and her father decided to purchase a second location in the Park Slope area of Brooklyn, New York this year in February 2022 – proof that passion can turn into a thriving business.

Regardless of how you decide to become an entrepreneur, it is important to have a thorough understanding of the industry and business operations. With Feld’s experience working for Huntington Learning Center as a Center Director beforehand, she felt she understood the interworking of the business and was confident that her training, the support she received, and her passion for helping students could benefit her in becoming a successful franchisee.

For more information about franchising with Huntington Learning Center visit https://huntingtonfranchise.com/