Confession of a failed entrepreneur - Part 2 - "A" Star Zone

In my last article, https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/confession-failed-entrepreneur-part-1-savio-dewdrop-shaheena-/ , I discussed my first business and pondered why and how I failed it in large numbers.

Indeed, success is the result of continued effort. Sometimes we win, and other times we fail. That is quite okay because we are in darkness until we leave the ego behind and become learners. In this article, I would like to focus on my second entrepreneurship, a tuition centre.

Becoming a tuition teacher came (in 2010) from a need to be with my boys. I became a single mom while my elder son was 7 and the younger one was just 5. According to the tradition we live in the Maldives and maybe some other countries too, the moment a couple goes through a divorce, the children of their life become an entire responsibility for the mother. This was what happened to me. While suffering from bulged vertebrae, I had to work and earn to feed my children. I was working as an Accountant at a trading and construction company.

However, I felt that the home environment, the crowd outside the house and society were affecting my children badly. To conquer the challenge, I decide to work from home. The idea to give tuition at home developed when a former colleague, Dhaliku, said she would make an investment. The idea was that she would invest in the classroom, and I would do the teaching. We could share an equal profit. However, as we brainstormed more on the idea, there was disagreement over where to build the place. I wanted to do it at my place, as the purpose of leaving the job was to be near my children. She wanted to do it at her home. When we couldn't agree, and more input was collected from other people, I gave up the idea of working in a partnership.

In June 2010, I got married again. When I discussed the issue with my husband, he agreed to fund the classroom. In December 2010, I registered "A" Star Zone and stepped into entrepreneurship for the second time. The idea was to add value to children by introducing a missing component in the normal education system. Students who studied in the local islands in the Maldives were a bit behind in English speaking and writing when compared to those studying in Male'. Because my children were studying in Male', I experienced the education gap and worked to close the gap. Therefore, brought an English Teacher, Ms Sandra Kelaart, from Sri Lanka.

Our endeavour became very successful with an experienced teacher on board. We served around 100 students with English Enrichment Classes. However, we could only continue with her for a year. She became involved with a parent and left at the end of the year. The parent's family created such a bad story that I opened a nightclub, and my role was to give their son-in-law a prostitute.

Along with English Enrichment classes, we focused on reading and writing classes from 2 years onwards, normal tuition from grade 1 to 7, and subject tuition in English, Economics and Accounts for secondary students. We also conducted a computer training program and art classes.

Furthermore, we got a franchise contract with UCMAS Malaysia through UCMAS Maldives Pvt Ltd. UCMAS is a mental mathematics program. The program focused on developing the left and right sides of the brain through an abacus and numbers. I am very grateful for the role played by Mr Sathis Kumar in training me and having confidence in me to be an instructor and a trainer for my staff. We had students from Maradhoo, Maradhoo Feydhoo and Feydhoo and served more than 275 students. We also operated a class in Maradhoo Feydhoo for students from Maradhoo and Maradhoo Feydhoo.

On this platform, I got the opportunity to practice multiple roles. I was the owner, manager, teacher trainer and coordinator. Simultaneously, I was a secondary students' English, Economics, and Accounts teacher. I was also one of the UCMAS instructors, taking classes while training other instructors. Additionally, I played the role of the bookkeeper and had to visit the bank. I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve more than 500 students during the 4 year period.

We stopped classes for the enrichment component by the end of 2013 due to the non-availability of committed teachers. Several youths joined us but could not survive the consistent daily work. We ended UCMAS classes in October 2014, as I was the only instructor, teaching 35 students. I got the opportunity to work as the Finance Manager of Hithadhoo Port Limited. I was simultaneously operating a printing business "Alpha Print." UCMAS was designed with a daily homework page of 5 to 10 minutes. Most of the students couldn't adhere to the guidelines, so I felt that with other things on my plate, it was best to concentrate on things that worked for me.

Managing a tuition centre was very tiring and mentally straining work. Daily, I had to deal with my parents' pressure. Some parents were worried about a picture used by the teacher in the class. Another parent will complain about the student sitting next to her son. And then, there were challenges in collecting monthly payments. The ill reputation the English Teachers' behaviour created took all my energy out. The purpose of serving the community was to add value to the younger generations. However, when my parents found all the faults in what we did, I believed my purpose couldn't be achieved.

Moreover, during this period, I learned from famous self-help books. I spent several free time exploring my purpose, creating a vision and mission and writing life-long goals, some of which I have achieved over the years.

The learnings I take away from 4 years of work are;

1. Hiring a foreign employee for the first time was not an easy thing to do. Requesting for quota, making several calls to the government officers, and riding from Feydhoo to Hithadhoo 3 times a week was draining. Getting the work permit and bringing her to the Maldives took three months.
2. We provided a much-needed service; therefore, I did not have to concentrate on marketing, but rather we got the advantage of word-of-mouth marketing.
3. Managing people is not easy. Especially managing employees who lack discipline is totally nerve-wrenching work.
4. Having close family members in a business venture creates additional chaos.
5. Once a rumour is spread, it will be difficult to be in normal situations. And this becomes worse if you have people within your circle fueling the fire.
6. The satisfaction and joy it creates when you serve others without expectation.
7. If you have a wonderful team, you can do wonders. All our achievements over the four years were because of the team's awesomeness. I am very grateful for the opportunity to work with each and every one of them. Thank you.

I would define this endeavour as one of the most awesome experiences I had in life. Look forward to writing about the "Alpha Print" experience tomorrow.