Rovi - joined Kumon September 2010
My Centre is open on four days: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Tuesdays and Fridays are my busy days so we stay open until 7pm. On Mondays and Thursdays I close at 5pm. I tend to arrive at my Centre at midday and spend the first hour calling, texting and emailing parents who have had queries about their children, as well as making appointments to see parents and discuss their children's progress. In the next hour, I do my paperwork and meet with my senior assistants. Usually we will discuss students that I need to see that day, as well as staffing matters. My Centre opens at 2:30pm for our preschool students.
During Centre time, I observe my students and spend time with students that I have decided I need to monitor that day. On Mondays and Thursdays after my Centre closes, I hold information sessions for new and prospective parents, conduct diagnostic assessments of my new students, and meet existing parents who have scheduled appointments.
I leave Wednesdays free to run errands and work on my business. Once a month on a Wednesday I attend our monthly professional development meeting, where I learn the latest information and equip myself with new techniques to instruct children. This is also a time to network with my franchise colleagues and learn from them.
It is important that I analyse my Centre and student cases to keep improving. I regularly do this together with my Franchise Development Consultant and I am also participating in voluntary professional development programs such as study groups and mentoring programs. These activities let me focus on the important parts of running a Centre and make my life easier on a day-to-day basis.
Occasionally, I will spend time out of hours promoting my business in the local community. Sometimes I hold a stall at local community events and share information about Kumon. I also go to the local library to continue to build the strong relationship I have with library staff.
I'm a father of four kids and my wife works full time, so we really need that flexibility in our daily lives. With this flexibility I can take my kids to school every day and participate in school activities such as sport and music. We leave weekends free for family time. We're very active in our church so we give our weekend time to our church choir.
Being a Kumon franchisee is a full time job, as developing my students and my business takes time and effort. However, it is a job that gives me the flexibility I need for my family and the satisfaction of giving something to my local community as well.