Good Neighbor Podcast: Cooper City
Bringing Together Local Businesses & Neighbors of Cooper City
Good Neighbor Podcast: Cooper City
EP #305 - Tutor Zone with Keyla Gomez and Laura Felipe
When passion for education meets entrepreneurial spirit, something remarkable happens. That's exactly what listeners discover in this candid conversation with Laura Felipe and Kayla Gomez, the mother-daughter powerhouse behind TutorZone – a rapidly expanding educational support company with four Florida locations opened in just four years.
Step inside their world as they reveal TutorZone's comprehensive educational offerings. Beyond traditional one-on-one tutoring with personalized learning plans, they provide convenient after-school programs with transportation, homework assistance, and snacks. Their innovative micro-schooling option essentially delivers homeschooling services for busy parents, complete with certified teachers and curriculum aligned to state standards. Most impressively, they've made these services accessible through Step Up scholarships, opening doors for families who might otherwise find private educational options financially out of reach.
The conversation takes a fascinating turn as Laura and Kayla discuss the dynamics of running a family business. They acknowledge occasional heated discussions when perspectives differ but emphasize how their shared mission ultimately strengthens their bond. They tackle common misconceptions about tutoring head-on, particularly the expectation of "magical" instant results rather than understanding education as a consistent process requiring patience. Their message to parents hesitating to seek help resonates deeply: "It's better to start now than wait until it's too late." As Laura insightfully notes, today's educational methods differ significantly from what parents experienced themselves, making professional support increasingly valuable. Discover how this dynamic duo is transforming educational support one student at a time, and learn why consistency might be the most underrated factor in academic success.
For more information visit https://tutorzonefl.com/ or call (954) 900-4624. Follow us on social media for up to date information https://www.instagram.com/tutorzonefl.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Jeremy Wolf.
Speaker 2:Hello, hello, friends, family, wonderful community. We are back for another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast. You know, I just got done with my son's fifth grade graduation at Griffin Elementary School. I got two kids and I, as a parent, know how. Fifth grade graduation at Griffin Elementary School. I got two kids and I, as a parent, know how difficult it can be to raise children. I only got two of them. So anytime I encounter a business that's sole focus is on educating children, my hat goes off to them and I really am thankful for the work that they do.
Speaker 2:And our guests today kind of fit that bill. They are Kayla Gomez, a mother and daughter team. So we have Laura Felipe and Kayla Gomez from TutorZone, who recently opened a location right here in Cooper City. So I'm so happy to have you, ladies, on today. Thank you for joining us, thank you for having me, thank you, of course, of course. So let's start off with some basics here. Why don't I mean everybody? You hear tutoring, everybody has an idea of what tutoring companies do. Why don't you talk a little bit about specifically TutorZone, what types of services you offer, what your mission is and what you plan on offering our great community?
Speaker 3:So yeah, absolutely so, just a range of services that we offer. Obviously, we do the private tutoring, so that's one on one. We do the subject that they need. We have a personalized learning plan for them that we base off. That we do, and that's complimentary as well.
Speaker 2:We also we love our furry friends. Don't worry about I have dogs and they bark all the time during these things. This is completely cool.
Speaker 3:Walking by and they go crazy.
Speaker 2:You're good.
Speaker 3:After school programs as well. So we pick them up from schools, local schools in the area. They do their homework with us. They get a snack too, and then they just chill and wait for their families.
Speaker 2:So you actually go. You go to the schools after school. You have transportation, they take them straight over. Also, joy for the kids, they get them at school and they get to go to more school.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, we always try to keep it fun for them as well. They play games, they make friends, so it's learning and fun. That's what we're all about too. We always like to implement learning and everything that we offer, so we also do camps as well. So when there's no school summer camp, we have an academic summer camp, actually before this summer, and we're almost at full capacity. So we've reached to the community, so we're very happy about that.
Speaker 2:Very cool. Now did I also. I think I read on the website you guys also do micro schooling.
Speaker 4:Yes, we do. So basically is homeschooling for parents, so we do the work for them. So we offer a full schedule like regular schools and there's also a scholarship that pays for the tuition.
Speaker 2:That's the step up for students? Yes, that's right, okay, that's a wonderful resource that a lot of folks don't even know about.
Speaker 4:Yes, we accept three, so two will be for the program in the morning, and then the new worlds is for students that achieve one or two on the fast test, so they can apply for that scholarship as well, even if they're in public school.
Speaker 2:Okay. So, if I understand correctly because I actually had I did some research around COVID times and I came across micro schooling 'm a certified teacher. That's my background.
Speaker 4:So, basically, I do have a team of certified teachers, so we all plan together everything that we're going to cover with the students and everything is aligned. Everything that the students do is aligned to the state standards, so they can come back to the public schools at any time and they will be on grade level.
Speaker 2:Perfect. So you brought me to my next question. You mentioned you're a teacher. It's always interesting to learn about the background story behind entrepreneurs because some people grew up from a very early age and they have a passion for what they do and they end up getting into that and some do one thing and then end up in a totally different career. Why don't you talk a little bit about the evolution, Like what was obviously being a teacher? That probably gave you your inspiration to start TutorZone, but when was it founded? I know from meeting Kayla at your grand opening here in Cooper City. You guys have other locations so you're growing rapidly. Talk a little bit about the origin story and kind of the path that you've been on to lead you here to Cooper City.
Speaker 4:Okay, so basically my background is in management and business, but always my passion was education. So then I completed all the certifications on the side, so by taking the state exams, so, and I started working for Miami-Dade County. I worked for several years. I was doing tutoring in the afternoons and then, after COVID, I saw the potential and I opened the first location in 2021 in Coral Springs. So we have four locations now.
Speaker 2:Wonderful. So 2021 after COVID in just four short years, you have four. So it's like one location a year, right, and you keep going.
Speaker 4:Yes, so we opened 2021. It was Coral Springs, then Coconut Creek was open in 2023. 2024, we opened Cooper City and recently a few weeks ago in Pompano.
Speaker 2:Congratulations, this is really exciting stuff, so is this the plan, the long-term plan to do a franchise or?
Speaker 1:are you keeping it?
Speaker 2:all in-house. Yes, so mother-daughter dynamic. Kayla, how did you get involved with this? Do you also have a background in education? Tell us a little bit about how you ended up linking up with mom to start this venture.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely. Well, I've always had a passion for helping children. Since my mom is a teacher, I used to volunteer at the school. I also did an early childhood education program so I got real hands-on experience in the classroom for pre-K children. So, yeah, I've always had a passion for learning and early childhood education. So then in 2021, once my mom opened TutorZone in Coral Springs, I started working with her there. I tutored there, I was management, doing administration. So yeah, that's kind of how I started with her and obviously it was like, OK, mom, open a business, it's time to hop on that, but it was something that I enjoyed doing, so it doesn't feel like work to us. I feel like it doesn't feel like work yeah.
Speaker 2:So I always ask this when I have dynamics, family dynamics that run businesses, whether it's a husband and wife, mother daughter dynamics that run businesses, whether it's a husband and wife, mother and daughter what is the most challenging thing about working together as mother and daughter?
Speaker 3:And on the other side of that, what is the most rewarding thing about working together? So I'll talk about challenging.
Speaker 2:Definitely Tread carefully, Kayla Okay.
Speaker 3:It is definitely difficult working with family. I think everybody knows that. Like our mother and daughter dynamic, I feel like it's actually improved since we started working together than previous. I don't know if you agree, mom, but I feel like we've definitely grown our relationship as mother daughter when we started doing business together.
Speaker 4:It sometimes can get heated, but I feel like from the outside perspective, but then we're like oh, we're fine, like we'll argue for a second and then we'll forget five minutes later and we're back to our normal routine, yeah, but it's always something like different decisions that we need to make and then she has a perspective and then I have a different perspective, so kind of we clash and then we always try to make the best decision for the business, for our students.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's one. You mentioned a word that's big in my life right now perspective. That's one of the things that has evolved probably most drastically as I get older. I'm very I should say very good, but I'm getting a lot better at putting myself in other people's shoes and really trying to see things from another perspective, because you get locked in your own head and you have confirmation bias and you create feedback loops for things that may or may not even be true and you believe it to be true. So I'm really like I listen to all the information and I have a very, very open mind and the older I get, the more humble I get, which is great, that's part of it.
Speaker 4:Absolutely, I agree. The aging process and then the rewards will be like we spend more time together, we're always calling each other and we're like bye, I have to go home and then I didn't finish, but bye.
Speaker 3:Every time we close at six usually, so around I would say seven or eight o'clock, we always call each other and we just recap on everything that's been happening, obviously because we work at different locations now. So it's just funny because we like just chat back and forth and we're always brainstorming and obviously we do get to enjoy you know all the hard work that we put into the business we get to enjoy that together, like family trips or shopping and things like that. So that's what we do and relaxing together. So we do that as well, to enjoy Very cool.
Speaker 2:So one of the reasons we do this show is it's all about education. I mean, you ladies know you're educators, but people out there like you know what you know and you don't know what you don't know, and it's in all these different industries across the board. People have various myths and misconceptions. They're confused about things. What are some of the biggest things that you run into when dealing with parents when they when they've never gotten tutoring before and they come in and they have questions. What are some of the things that people are just flat out confused about when it comes to what you guys do?
Speaker 3:Well, I would say a misconception. I feel like people think that tutoring is going to work instantly, like it's going to be magical.
Speaker 2:Well, we all want instant gratification, right.
Speaker 3:And that's just not the case, and I'll let my mom kind of elaborate on that.
Speaker 4:I always give my clients examples that. So if you start the gym it's not that you go one day and then you're going to see the results. So you have to have consistency and depends the level of the child. You know each individual is different. So it might take more sessions for a student to improve, but in the long term you're going to see improvement if you're consistent with the tutoring. You can't expect, you know, change in one or two sessions. I would say after maybe six or eight depending on the student's level.
Speaker 3:And the effort that they put in as well.
Speaker 2:Yes, frequency and consistency over time. It's all about building habits and programming your mind for success absolutely and everything you do. There are no shortcuts. That's another thing that I've learned for 45 years is that nothing. Nothing comes easy and nothing should come easy yes, it requires you learn that too me.
Speaker 4:Yeah, running a business is not easy. It's not so, basically, you need to develop a lot of different skills in order to yes.
Speaker 2:And it's great that you come from a background of not only education but also like management. Yes, it's like a perfect storm. What would be one piece of advice, piece of wisdom, something that you'd like to? Let's say, you have a family out there where their kids are not doing as well as they should and they're reluctant about reaching out to get help right. They think they can do it alone. It's just not working. But you know, people are resistant to change right. Sometimes they don't want to make the investment. Sometimes maybe it's a pride thing they don't want to go ask for help for their kids. They want to handle themselves. What would you say to a parent out there that's like that, that's having trouble right now, to kind of ease the burden and kind of open the door to a conversation to potentially help or get help.
Speaker 2:Kayla Not everybody, all at once.
Speaker 3:I would say honestly, we see this a lot. I always tell parents that there's nothing wrong with reaching out for a tutor and it's better to start now than to wait until it's too late. I've seen a lot of cases where you know they're really behind. They've been struggling the whole year trying to play catch up and then in the last few weeks of school, when they're doing testing, they're trying to cram in a bunch of sessions and it just you know, like we said previously, it's about consistency, putting in the work, and it's not instant gratification. So I would say there's nothing wrong with asking for help and the sooner you do it the better.
Speaker 4:Yes, I agree with that and it can be.
Speaker 2:it can be really easy, because I go through this frequently in my life. When you're going, when you're in a difficult situation whether it's you know you're doing poorly in school, maybe things aren't going so well in work, whatever it might be, it's very easy to get into that situation and and feel like it's impossible to change and that things are hopeless. But what always happens is time goes on and things get better, inevitably, because you can't stay bad forever and it's just about getting to the other side of that as quickly as possible and not sitting there and ruminating in despair and desperation and hopelessness and sometimes reaching out and asking for help from somebody, whether it's a friend, a family member or, in your case, getting help with tutoring. That could be a great impetus to the change that you're looking for.
Speaker 4:Yes, and also the relationship with parents and kids is different, so they want to teach their kids. They don't know how we're teaching nowadays. Everything is different, so the kids get more confused. When parents try to help, in reality they're not helping.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I think my kids teach me more than I teach them at this point, and they're they're only 10 and 13. So, wow, I don't know if that's good or bad.
Speaker 3:It's just things are so different now. The the system has changed so much and our kids have changed a lot too, Like it's a whole different generation.
Speaker 2:A whole different ball game with social media and everything.
Speaker 3:Yeah, all of these kids, they're more developed than we were at their age. So definitely, you know, we need to kind of keep up with them.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. For anyone out there that's listening that would like to get some more information, what's the best way to reach out to you guys? Maybe share your phone number or your I know you have multiple locations maybe the website, social media. What's the best way for our listeners to connect with you?
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely. They can go on our website if they're looking for more information. That's wwwtutorzoneflcom. We'll have all our locations posted there and the contact for the emails and the phone numbers posted on our website.
Speaker 4:And all of our services.
Speaker 2:Yes, Perfect, and we will of course drop a link in the description below to the website, your contact, your phone numbers, your social media handles wherever people can go to learn more and follow you and then ultimately connect if they'd like to get some help. So with that I mean, I'll leave it at that. It was a pleasure meeting both of you. We give you a grand welcome to our wonderful community here in Cooper City. We're so grateful and happy to have you. We wish you continued success in your endeavor and I want to see TutorZone all over the United States over the next five, ten years.
Speaker 3:That's awesome. Thank you so much for having us.
Speaker 2:Pleasure is all ours and thanks, as always, to our listeners for tuning in and remember support local businesses and especially those that are educating our children, because our children are our future. Everyone thanks for tuning in. We will catch you next time. Take care and be blessed. Stay blessed, Be happy. We only got this one life to live.
Speaker 3:Bye, thank you, bye Thanks.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to the good neighbor podcast Cooper city. To nominate your favorite local business to be featured on the show, go to G N Percitycom, that's GNPCoopercitycom, or call 954-231-3170.