Passionate Kumon Instructors Helen Goodbody and Virang Dal have recently starred in a Sky TV programme called ‘HOW TO… Start your own business’.
The programme provided viewers with information about the Kumon franchise opportunity from a franchisor and franchisee perspective and consisted of a series of interviews including Helen and Virang’s.
Helen opened the Bebington Study Centre in 2004. The centre has recently moved into new high street premises, offering a bright and spacious, motivating learning environment for the students.
Helen explains: “I have always been enthusiastic in spreading the word about Kumon so it was a great opportunity when I was asked to take part in this documentary. To be able to tell such a huge audience why I love doing what I do was a little daunting but also exciting.
“The emphasis was on what my experience had been in starting and running my own business as part of the Kumon franchise. It was an interesting opportunity to analyse how far I have come. The documentary should help to show prospective Instructors how much support there is available to us from Kumon Associates and fellow Instructors. I hope that anyone who watches it will see the passion from everyone involved in our business.
“Working with children is the most satisfying job I have had and I am very lucky to be able to instruct using such an effective and rigorous programme. Kumon gives me the opportunity to support many families, building up students’ confidence and ability. I am glad to have had many success stories which hopefully have a long-term effect on the students I have been privileged enough to work with.”
Virang is the Instructor at the Beeston Study Centre. When asked why he chose to become a Kumon Instructor, Virang explained: “Seeing how the Kumon maths and English programmes were transforming the lives of young children not just academically but in all social areas too was inspiring. I knew first-hand the problems that can occur with education e.g. falling behind, slow progression at times and lacking confidence with the fundamentals in certain subjects. Kumon works on all of these problems and enables children to achieve fantastic things – I wanted to be a part of that.
“The support available with Kumon and knowing that I wouldn’t be on my own in pursuing such a venture was fundamental. Seeing the children smiling and full of confidence as a result of starting the Kumon programme at my centre is an incomparable feeling. When you hear positive feedback from parents and students about the children having excellent parent’s evenings or achieving great results at school, it really does fill me with a lot of joy and those moments are what make being an Instructor so special – it’s the best part of the job for me!”
The ‘HOW TO…’ documentaries are produced by PMGTV. The series ‘Start your own business’ has been endorsed by the British Franchise Association and features a variety of franchise organisations across numerous sectors over eight different episodes. The episode aired on Tuesday 29 May on Showcase broadcasting on Sky channel 191 and Freesat channel 403. There were additional opportunities to watch the programme on Tuesday 24 July at 7.30pm and Sunday 29 July at 6pm, on the same channels.