Talkin' with Tutors (Part 19)

Welcome to Hot Topics! In this episode, host Gabrielle Crichlow talks with fellow tutorpreneur Raven Marshall, who shares her journey in the tutoring field and her experiences as an educator.

Raven explains how she shifted from a successful career in the insurance industry to teaching. She initially worked in a traditional classroom, where she developed her skills and became a certified reading specialist, earning a master's degree in education. However, she realized that homeschooling her two sons would better suit her family's needs and lifestyle, allowing for a more personalized learning experience. This change highlighted the importance of tailored instruction, showing how customized tutoring can create valuable educational experiences that meet each child's unique needs.

Raven focuses primarily on students in kindergarten through 5th grade, with a strong emphasis on reading. She is dedicated to helping her young learners develop essential literacy skills, such as phonemic awareness and letter recognition. Along with her work at the homeschool co-op she co-founded in East Texas, which promotes collaboration among families, Raven also offers private online tutoring. This allows her to connect with more students and provide individualized support.

One of the most rewarding aspects of homeschooling for Raven is the freedom it gives her to be more creative in her teaching. She enjoys breaking away from the strict rules often found in traditional schools, enabling her to try different teaching methods that truly engage her students. Throughout the episode, listeners will gain insights into Raven's "big" teaching style, which keeps students interested and helps them learn effectively. She finds joy in watching her students progress in reading and their overall development.

Raven encourages listeners to follow their dreams and pursue their passions, highlighting the flexibility that homeschooling provides. This flexibility allows families to adapt their educational approaches to better fit their children's individual needs.

Join us for this informative discussion that explores important educational topics, emphasizes the value of community support, and celebrates the creativity that inspires a love for learning!

Who is Raven Marshall?
From Raven: "I'm Raven Marshall, a reading specialist and homeschool teacher living in beautiful East Texas on a farm with chickens, wide-open pastureland, and our cat, Naomi Michelle. I’ve been married for 20 years and have two amazing boys, ages 15 and 12. After earning my BBA in Business Management from SFA, I went back to school and became a certified Reading Specialist with a master’s in education. I spent 16 years in both public and private school classrooms and now homeschool full-time. I co-founded a thriving homeschool co-op that’s going strong after four years, and I currently offer online tutoring. Recently, God placed it on my heart to open an in-person tutoring service with three incredible women—and we’re excited to make a real impact in our community. In my spare time, I love reading, staying active, and spending time outdoors."

You can find Raven:
On the web: https://reading-roots-tutoring-gbdey7k.gamma.site/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576677821273
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reading_roots_tutoring/
On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Readingrootstutoringservice
On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raven-marshall-b8046b9b/

Deal for you: "We're offering a lower hourly rate with the 9-week Report Card package. $30 an hour 1x for 9 weeks and $35 an hour 1x for 6 weeks. Just mention 'Report Card Package.'"

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/o_uNylaJjzo

Rate this episode on IMDB: TBA
********************************************
Follow Gabrielle Crichlow:
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gabrielle.crichlow
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabrielle.crichlow
On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielle-crichlow-92587a360

Follow A Step Ahead Tutoring Services:
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/astepaheadtutoringservices
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/astepaheadtutoringservices

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:25):
Well, hello, hello everyone, it's your girl, Gabrielle crich Low.
Welcome to a brand new episode of Hot Topics. Let
me tell you what the show is about. So, this
is the show where we like to have real talk
about real things. As we are under my tutoring company

(00:48):
A Step Ahead Tutoring Services. We like to focus our
topics within a particular realm, a particular scope. We tend
to focus things within education, within health, mental health. All
that must su Gushi stuff, right, but all with the
purpose of bettering you, for you to be more informed,

(01:11):
for you to be better than how you were yesterday,
so to be more knowledged than how you were yesterday.
So that is our intention with Hot Topics. We want
you to learn something from Hot Topics, and today is

(01:32):
no different.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
So I'm looking.

Speaker 1 (01:33):
Forward to today because I have a repeat topic. I
love it when I bring topics back, but a brand
new guest. So first let me tell you what that
repeat topic is. So the title of this episode is
talking with Tutors. This is part nineteen. So this is

(01:57):
the nineteenth time that I have I've discussed this very topic,
not necessarily the nineteenth guest, but the nineteenth time that
I have brought this topic, so make sure you guys
check out the previous episodes in our catalog regarding this one.

(02:18):
But yes, talking talking with tutors, that is our topic
for today. And as a tutorpreneur, whenever I have an
opportunity to talk it up, chat it up with other
people in the industry, I jump right on it. All right,
So let me tell you who my guest is today.

(02:42):
So her name is Raven Marshall, and let me tell
you about her. So who is Raven Marshall? Well, let
me tell you.

Speaker 2 (02:52):
So.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
She's a reading specialist and a homeschool teacher living in
beautiful East Texas on a farm with chickens, wide open
pasture land and her cat, Naomi Michelle. She's been married
for twenty years and she has two amazing boys, ages
fifteen and twelve. After earning her BBA in Business Management

(03:14):
from SFA, she went back to school and became a
certified reading specialist with a master's in education. She spent
sixteen years in both public and private school classrooms and
now she's homeschools whole time. She co founded a thriving
home school co op that's going strong after four years,

(03:37):
and she currently offers online tutoring. Recently, God placed it
on her heart to open an in person tutoring service
with three incredible women, and they're excited to make a
real impact in their community. In her spare time, she
loves reading, staying active, and spending time outdoors. Fabulous. Without

(04:00):
further ado, I'm gonna go ahead and bring Raven to
the stage. Hi, Raven, how's it going.

Speaker 3 (04:07):
Hi, y'all from Texas.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
How's it going? How's it going?

Speaker 3 (04:14):
It is going well? Thank you?

Speaker 1 (04:17):
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Well, welcome to hot Topics. Welcome to
the hot seat. So you know, as a fellow sentrepreneur,
I love bringing people like us to the stage to
get our origin story, to see how we tick. So
I so this is what's one of the reasons why

(04:40):
I love doing this topic. So I am going to
highlight you today. So I would love to learn more
about how you got started. So you know, let's I'll
start off with a basic question, what made you decide
to become a tutor?

Speaker 3 (04:58):
Well, let me back at that little bit. So after
high school, I went to SFA Stephen F. Austin in Acaduchis, Texas.
Thought I was going to be a business woman, which
looks different. Now still a business woman, but looks different.
I was going to be one of the women on
the Forbes magazine, so if you know, that took a

(05:21):
little bit of a turn. So as I was working
in insurance for a little bit, I decided to go
back for my teaching degree. So went back to and
got my teaching certification in grades four through eighth. Started
teaching in a rural school that is nearby and really
enjoyed it. Went to a different school and started having

(05:46):
kids whenever I was there, and then just realize, Hm,
I just don't know, I don't know. I think this
we may have a better fit for our family and
our kids. My husband and I started talking and praying
about homeschooling, and that's when the door opened wide with
confirmation and we started the homeschooling journey. And as we

(06:10):
have homeschooled, I've been able to tutor, and this summer
I'm online tutoring and have three kiddos that I'm online tutoring.
Have really enjoyed just a different sector of the teaching
realm and interacting with those kids from home and personalizing

(06:37):
instruction for them and just learning and growing as we
go along.

Speaker 1 (06:44):
Wonderful, wonderful. So, now you started off as a teacher. No, no, right,
you started off as a teacher. I did.

Speaker 3 (06:57):
I started off in insurance and then whinning to.

Speaker 2 (07:00):
Teaching and that teaching.

Speaker 1 (07:01):
Yeah, okay, So how did you make How did you
go from insurance to teaching.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
That's an interesting leap there.

Speaker 3 (07:08):
Absolutely, Well. What a big factor was the schedule. I
was young, I was in my twenties, and I thought,
you know what this this is a good schedule, a
teaching schedule, and did I know you really still work
all the time, even in the summer. So I decided,

(07:29):
you know what, I'm not married right now, I don't
have any kids. This is the time to do it.
So I went for it, and I got that teaching
degree and started at my first school and had some
really it made some really sweet teacher friends that helped
me along the way, and that's where I started.

Speaker 2 (07:49):
Yes, sorry, wonderful.

Speaker 1 (07:51):
So now what were you Was it like a big classroom,
was it a small classroom?

Speaker 3 (07:59):
It was a super small rural school. It was a
little bit of a culture shock for me because it
was so just in the rural area where you know,
plant farming was a big is a big job for
that community. They're very close knit. It's a very little school,

(08:23):
and I think that was a good jumping off point
for me to start with a small group of kids
where there was probably fifteen to my class, which was
plenty for a new teacher that just hadn't had a
clue what she was doing and just trying to figure
out along the way.

Speaker 1 (08:43):
All right, but eventually you left, right, yes, Oh what
made you leave?

Speaker 3 (08:50):
Well, it was about twenty minutes from my house, and
I decided to come back to my hometown and teach here.
So I went to a private Christian school and taught
there for most of my teaching career in a classroom setting,
went to a public school for a year, and then

(09:11):
went back to the private school. And then before COVID
hit in the world just all went crazy. We all
kind of just shut down. And then that was my
launching off pad to homeschooling.

Speaker 1 (09:27):
So you so, so when you so you jumped into
homeschooling before the tutoring.

Speaker 3 (09:34):
Yes, I yes, I jumped into homeschooling before the tutoring,
and which I've I've tutored before while I was teaching
but this is like a passion just reignited, and Okay,
let me see what I can do with this and
see if I can go forward and what's working and
what's not working, and just learning from other tutors like yourself,

(09:58):
what's working for you, what's not working for you, and
just sharing that knowledge amongst you know, that niche market
right there has really been an eye opening learning experience.

Speaker 1 (10:11):
So you said something key there that reignited your passion,
so obviously you you lost it right.

Speaker 3 (10:22):
Well, to be honest, Gabrielle, absolutely, I mean being in
that particular classroom setting for that season was just not
a good fit anymore. I felt like it stifled my
teaching and my creativity. Where with tutoring, I get to
teach how I want to, when I want to, the
way I want to, And that's how I like to

(10:45):
roll whenever I teach, you know, spur in the moment,
whatever created creativity comes to my mind, whatever the child
needs at that time, and the idea of pops and
it's not just a checklist, you know, a tick mark
and a checklist where I'm teaching to a certain curriculum

(11:06):
or a certain test or whatever the case may be.
I get the freedom, and that's what I like, the
freedom of teaching.

Speaker 1 (11:14):
Ah. So that's something you you didn't have before. So
you didn't have that when you were teaching in the classroom.

Speaker 3 (11:26):
In the classroom, there was there was freedom in the classroom,
but just like in any classroom setting up to a point,
because of course, you have to be held accountable and
you have to you know, teach the curriculum and you know,
go up to meet certain checklists and certain you know,
milestones along the way, which I totally agree with. But

(11:47):
you know, with homeschooling my own kids and now tutoring
other people's kids, I get to personalize it and have
that freedom to oh, this child responds this way, this
child likes to work with his dad or play baseball.
I'm bringing that in and so it just allows me

(12:10):
that creativity and just that freedom to flow in the
way that I teach.

Speaker 2 (12:16):
Ah.

Speaker 1 (12:17):
Okay, so you find yourself and I think it's pretty
common for tutors who used to be teachers. They find
that they can pay more attention to the student, more,
they can assess them better as opposed to under pressure.

(12:38):
They're not worried about time constraints and they're better able
to individualize the lesson plan as opposed to having a
one size fit all in a public school.

Speaker 3 (12:53):
Absolutely, I mean, in my hats are off to the
teachers in the traditional classroom setting. They do the best
that they can. These are hard working men and women
who have a passion to teach, or they wouldn't be
there in the first place. So, I mean, I understand
the limitations that they do have, but understand why they

(13:16):
are still there because it is they do have.

Speaker 1 (13:18):
That passion for it, right, And you want you don't
want to be so confined, right, you want to absolutely.

Speaker 3 (13:27):
I want to move along. I am fine with not
having the teachers meetings and you know all those things
that come along with that, which are necessary, but at
this stage, I don't have to be a part of
the teacher meeting. This takes you know, forty five minutes
and what right?

Speaker 2 (13:46):
No?

Speaker 1 (13:46):
No paperwork, no no papers?

Speaker 3 (13:49):
Wut it? Just what was that about? Okay?

Speaker 1 (13:54):
Know? Wonderful?

Speaker 2 (13:57):
All right?

Speaker 1 (13:58):
So in terms of homeschooling, now, because you start off
with your own kids, right, So how does that work?
How what's your homeschooling set up? Like?

Speaker 3 (14:07):
Okay, well, my oldest one is fifteen years old, and
he actually started dual credit last year in ninth grade.
That just wouldn't have happened. His passion is to be
a commercial pilot, and so he is able to do
things that prepares him to be that commercial pilot one day.

(14:32):
And so we taylor his education to what he needs
and what's going to prepare him for college and his
degree to get to that point. So A B and
C is what we're working on right here. And for
my youngest who's twelve, it's kind of that he doesn't
actually really know what he wants to do as far

(14:53):
as like a future job, but it is tailor to him.
What's working, what's not working, What do you need help with,
let's pump the brakes if there's a concept that you
don't get, so you're not lost in creating these gaps.

Speaker 1 (15:10):
Right, so you so you focus more on the child, right.

Speaker 2 (15:16):
So it's not.

Speaker 1 (15:19):
I mean, depending on which state you go to, some
have even with homeschooling, there's like set curriculums. But you're
I think that the beauty of Texas is pretty.

Speaker 3 (15:32):
Like Texas is very lax. When one is very lax,
which there's a freedom in that. So There have been
several people that have moved actually from another state, and
one reason why they picked Texas is because of the
homeschooling was so lax and the boundaries were not so

(15:56):
strict and tie where you were able to be more
free with how you wanted to educate your child.

Speaker 2 (16:04):
Yeah. Yeah, And it's more.

Speaker 1 (16:08):
You're you're able to control what your child learns.

Speaker 3 (16:12):
Yes, absolutely, I mean, and you're able to pick out
the curriculum. You're able to value the classes that you
feel like are the most important for that child and
where their path is going and direct them and guide
them along that type of pathway.

Speaker 1 (16:28):
So now, did you homeschool them their whole life? Did
you jump in later in life.

Speaker 3 (16:33):
Gabrielle, This was never part of the plan, never part
of the plan. So what's so crazy about it is
I was frustrated where I was at at the time,
and just that some things that were going on where
I was at that season. So I remember distinctly praying, Lord,

(16:56):
if I had my own school, I would do a
B and C. And you know what he told me,
here's your own school, and here's your two kids, here's
your two students are going to be in there. That's
not what I thought was going to happen. I thought, Okay,
we're gonna start this, you know, like hybrid school or whatever. No, ma'am,
that's not what happened. So he had other plans, opened

(17:18):
other doors, and then we just walked down that path
which led to our Taught your Homeschool co op group
that has been driving going on four years now.

Speaker 2 (17:30):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (17:31):
So yes, God just lead it on your heart. It's
just you just felt frustrated. And God was like, here's
your answer, here's.

Speaker 3 (17:40):
Your and I'm like, and I questioned, I'm sorry I
misheard you. Can you say that again? I'm so sorry
I misheard again. Now that's not what I meant. That's
not what I meant. But here we are, that's what
he meant. And so that led us to myself and
for other ladies starting a co op here in our

(18:03):
hometown that has been absolutely amazing.

Speaker 1 (18:08):
Where did you Where did you meet the other ladies?

Speaker 3 (18:11):
I was friends, actually friends with three of the ladies,
and one of the other ladies was a veteran homeschool mom,
and so we met her and then we just decided,
you know what, this is what we want for our
kids and let's lay it out, let's plan this out,
let's decide how we wanted, what we wanted to look like,

(18:32):
what we want to offer who we want to you know,
kind of market towards. And that has worked and we
have tweeted it along the way, which like you do
every year, you just tweet things and be proactive about
different things that arise. And I am very proud to
say that we have came up with a formula that

(18:55):
seems to or formula's not one of the right word,
but it works. It works, The classes work. The format
I guess is the word I'm looking for that works
and serves our families.

Speaker 1 (19:09):
Will wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. So and and that's one of
the beautiful things about a co op is you have
it's not just you teaching, right, so you have four
other teachers and they're bringing their kids into the group,
and so it's a chance for socialization and it's and

(19:30):
it's people that you know, right, So it's not like
you had to hire people. It's you just got together
with four friends and like, hey, let's you know up, Yeah.

Speaker 3 (19:41):
We invited more families in, so we have more families
and their kids came aboard, and each mom has like
this special gift that they get to share with our kids.

Speaker 1 (19:52):
Out.

Speaker 3 (19:53):
You're the science guru, fabulous? Could careless you take that?
Oh you're the history guru. Hmm, not my thing. Okay,
I'll do English.

Speaker 1 (20:03):
You know.

Speaker 3 (20:03):
So everyone has their own special gifts and talent. So
those are the types of classes that they teach and
that they want to teach and offer to our kids
that attend.

Speaker 1 (20:14):
Our co op.

Speaker 2 (20:16):
Awesome?

Speaker 1 (20:16):
And how long has this co op been?

Speaker 3 (20:19):
This is our fourth year? Say? I was trying to think,
my kids, I believe this is our fourth This is
our fourth year, going into our fourth year.

Speaker 1 (20:32):
And when did you When did you start inviting other families?
How soon?

Speaker 3 (20:37):
As it was just crazy we started. We wanted to
start in September. We didn't find a place to hold
our classes until about two weeks before the door opened,
and we advertised ahead of time and then brought several
families aboard, and then it just kind of grew from there.
And we're just taking that slow approach into growing our

(21:01):
co op and inviting our families in Awesome.

Speaker 2 (21:06):
I'm awesome.

Speaker 1 (21:06):
So how many families do you serve?

Speaker 2 (21:08):
Right now?

Speaker 3 (21:09):
We have I believe eleven families that we are servicing
right now. Everyone is fabulous, Everyone has their own special
gifts to offer. It's like a family. I mean, everyone
messes really well together. So it's definitely an easier to prayer.

Speaker 1 (21:28):
And in your co op? Does it serve all all ages?
Is it a certain bracket.

Speaker 3 (21:36):
We would like our the child? For example, if you
had two children, one of them needs to already be reading.
And so if they have a younger brother or sister,
that's fine, we can bring them along. But the child
that's going to be attending classes needs to be reading

(21:58):
or on the verge of reading. And so we're bringing
up our first kindergarten class this coming fall, and some
of them are right on the verge of reading. So
that's what we're really going to be hammered on all
the way up to high school. I think are always
when is sixteen years old?

Speaker 1 (22:17):
Oh okay, and it's just the five the five of
you teaching.

Speaker 3 (22:21):
No, there are every mom that comes aboard every family.
They choose a class that they want to teach, and
so they're involved. If they're in the littles class, they're involved.
If they're a helper, if they're a main teacher, they're involved,
everyone's involved. It's all hands on deck.

Speaker 1 (22:41):
Oh okay, so it's not like, sorry, I was thinking,
it's just you and the four ladies and then everyone
else is more like students and clients, but not the
other moms. Whoever comes on board has to do something.

Speaker 3 (22:56):
Absolutely they are teaching the primary teacher of that class,
or they're a helper. I mean, everyone is doing something
on that day. And I have been planned out for
our kiddos.

Speaker 1 (23:11):
Oh, so, how many kids do you have overall.

Speaker 2 (23:16):
In the court?

Speaker 3 (23:16):
We have about I don't I should know the number offhand.
We're close. We're about thirty something.

Speaker 1 (23:23):
Kids, okay, And and you have I would imagine you
have a big enough space to hold them.

Speaker 3 (23:30):
Yes, we meet at a church once a week and
for about half a day. And that's it's so far,
that's plenty we have. We have enough room for the
amount of kids plus their moms. And and we have
two babies, let's see, and so they you know, hang
around with mom. And so it's been really good at
the facility in the church has been really good to us.

Speaker 1 (23:54):
Oh so you're only there once a week, so you
only teach once a week.

Speaker 3 (24:00):
Yes, we teach. We hold co op classes once a week,
and then the other days you were at home doing
your thing with your curriculum or however you want to
do it. This is more supplemental or some of the
families use it as hey, you know what, this is
really good, a good class for history. I'm taking that

(24:22):
off my plate and letting you do that.

Speaker 1 (24:25):
Oh oh, it's more supplement on. Okay, okay, so it's
so now, did you choose to do it once a
week or was it just that that's all the time
you could get.

Speaker 3 (24:36):
From We chose to do it once a week, which
is common because of homeschool families. They are really I
have found with just my short time of homeschooling, I
have found that, you know what, they really like like
certain curriculums, so they like to teach in a certain way,
but they also, like you know, I'm I fall in

(24:59):
that camp to also like other families and other people
coming along beside me teaching classes because it gives them
a different perspective than just from me.

Speaker 1 (25:11):
Okay, so you're one perspective.

Speaker 3 (25:14):
Absolutely, yes, I may say it a different way, and
then my co teacher Katie or Hailey say it a
different way, and oh it clicks because they said it. Now,
I said it the same way, but she said it
in a different way or used different words, and then
it just clicks.

Speaker 1 (25:33):
Ah. Right. So the more perspectives, the more exposure.

Speaker 3 (25:38):
Absolutely, and you know, everyone just has their different take
and their different teaching methods. That okay, one more. I
tend to be on the more dramatic side whenever I teach.
So everything's big, everything's you know, it's just big. Everything's big.

(25:58):
My voice is loud, my hand gestures are big. Everything's big.
Everything's dramatic because I do find that that gets their tension,
that keeps them engaged and interactive. You know, it makes
it stick. If I can make it funny, if I
can make it goofy, it's gonna stick.

Speaker 2 (26:19):
Mm's. That's your teaching style.

Speaker 3 (26:22):
That's my teaching style.

Speaker 2 (26:25):
And what about the other ladies.

Speaker 3 (26:27):
We have some more that are on the serious side,
which is all so good because you need that more
of a lecture type. We have more that are for
our littles. It's singing songs, it's very hands on. That
also works, so you get all those multi century techniques

(26:48):
with all the teachers that are there teaching the classes.

Speaker 1 (26:52):
So it's sort of like a little bit of everything.
So you have the one and that it also depends
on the edge of the of the d right so
you yes, so you have your your fun teachers, you
have your serious teachers, maybe the ones that are in
the middle.

Speaker 3 (27:07):
So sure, absolutely, yeah.

Speaker 1 (27:11):
Yeah. So now so then how did you transition? Well,
you're you're only there once a week, so like, how
so how did you go from there to tutoring privately?

Speaker 2 (27:22):
It wasn't The co op wasn't enough.

Speaker 3 (27:25):
The co op was The co op has been very
good for us, and I've really enjoyed it. I think
it's great. This summer when it kind of took a
turn for me personally, am I you know what, I
really think that closing some of these gaps for other
kids might be down my path. So I decided, okay,

(27:50):
let me just kind of dive into this, let me
see what works, what doesn't work, and put myself out
there and see what happens. And so hopefully that will
lead to community where we can invite the community to
in person tutoring with other teachers that would join the

(28:11):
team along with myself and offer that to our community
K through five kids.

Speaker 1 (28:16):
Okay, so I'm sorry, sorry, the online tutoring is for
the co op or is it for you?

Speaker 3 (28:22):
It's just totally I decided to.

Speaker 2 (28:24):
Do it by myself, okay, and you didn't.

Speaker 1 (28:28):
You didn't want to get the you didn't want to
integrate it with your co op.

Speaker 3 (28:31):
I have not integrated with my co op, especially just
be in summer. Also, I just wanted to see if
is there interest out there and put it out there
and then see if my format for the online tutoring
works and see if that works, we can push it
out to maybe in person tutoring and then see if

(28:54):
that's gonna work whenever I'm teaching kindergarten in the fall,
see how that works for this type of format. Just
hitting those different reading pillars and pushing it out there
and seeing that that will work also, So it's all
kind of it's kind of just seeing what format is

(29:17):
going to work for what type of audience and what type.

Speaker 1 (29:19):
Of kids, and how's that so specifically for summer. So
how has that been going.

Speaker 3 (29:26):
It's been going well. I think the starting out with
just addressing those five pillars of reading with each of
my kiddos I think has really helped and just talking
and speaking with their parents asking them is this working?
What do you see? I've got positive feedback, So I
call that a win.

Speaker 2 (29:48):
That's good. That's good.

Speaker 1 (29:50):
So the with the private sutoring though, so you're sticking
to virtual for now, so and you're opening yourself.

Speaker 2 (29:59):
Out side of your state, right.

Speaker 1 (30:03):
I imagine, well, I imagine you know you're not limiting
yourself to Texas, right right? So did you find any
students virtually?

Speaker 3 (30:16):
I just they were all have three students and they
are in they are here in town, two of them
are in town, and one of them is like lives
an hour a little over an hour away, which I
didn't realize that. So it was just all really through
word amouth or through social media.

Speaker 1 (30:33):
Ah okay, okay, all right, so you didn't have to
go far and no, so what what what what's your
marketing game? So because you set when you were setting
up the co op, you said you you kind of
hit the ground running with the advertising, right, yes, So

(30:53):
let's let's break that down, you know, especially for you know,
other tutors who might be listening right now. So what
what's your strategy.

Speaker 3 (31:01):
Our marketing strategy because it's not just for me. We
have five people on our co op what we call
a council, and we market mainly using Facebook and the
homeschool groups that's relative to the East Texas area, so
we post on there and then we get inquiries from

(31:22):
there people who are interested. The group that we're a
part of. It's like the umbrella group is called Tachi
and through their website you can get PEP prospects from there.
But a lot of it is word of mouth. It
is word of mouth has been I feel like our
best advertising because the families are happy, they see that

(31:45):
it's working. Therefore they tell friends.

Speaker 1 (31:49):
H So word of mouth seems to be doing better
for you than using social media.

Speaker 3 (31:58):
I say a little of mixture. Definitely a mixture because
they guess at least gets your name out there on
social media. But there's people that I don't know that
people the families and are co op that do know.
So it's basically like a little network. So you know
someone that knows someone, It just you know, it's a

(32:19):
domino effect from there.

Speaker 2 (32:21):
Yeah, it just picks up from there.

Speaker 1 (32:23):
So one person, one person who knows one person who
knows and then it just right, all accumulates together, right, Okay,
So then so then I would imagine that you didn't
spend a lot of money marketing.

Speaker 3 (32:41):
No, we did not spend a lot of any I
don't even know if we spent any and I don't
think we spent any money marketing. It was social media.
At first, we had a a meeting if they were
interested at the library, and some people came to the
meeting that were interested in explain what was going on,
had a new member's meeting, and it just and it

(33:04):
went from there.

Speaker 2 (33:07):
Oh, how many people came to the meeting.

Speaker 3 (33:09):
Let's see the first meeting. It's never been big numbers.
It might be three or four, but that might be
the three or four that is a good mess with
our group. So I mean, even if one family came
a board out of the three or four, that was
a good fit for them, because there's other co ops
that are in our East Texas area that may or

(33:31):
may not be a good fit for every family. So
you have you have different choices. Okay, I like this one,
so this is going to be a better fit, or
I like the structure of this one. This one's going
to be a better fit so that at least I
had to hear what it was about, how we set
it up, our format, the way we run it, and decide, okay,
this is for me, or I may need to explore

(33:53):
different options, which is totally fine.

Speaker 1 (33:56):
Right and you you put yourself out there is one
of those options.

Speaker 3 (34:01):
Right, Absolutely, yes, we're one of.

Speaker 1 (34:04):
Those options, because I could with Texas, I would imagine
being such a large state and having.

Speaker 2 (34:13):
Really lacks homeschooling.

Speaker 1 (34:14):
Rules that there's a lot of co ops and there's
a lot of there's a lot of homes there's a
lot of homeschoolers, there's a lot of home school co ops.
So there's a lot of options, especially.

Speaker 3 (34:30):
In the Tyler area. But again, if you want to
drive and a part of Oursburg, you know what, let's
keep it local. Let's keep it local where there's a
central meeting area for mostly everyone that wants to be
a part of our co op, but it's wants to
teach and attend there. And so we found a local

(34:52):
place that everyone could come to and it was still
in our hometown where we're not driving thirty forty men
and for some people an hour. Why now, if that's
what they want to do. You're probably gonna have more
opportunities in the bigger areas because that only makes sense
because that's where you know, the zoos are that and
you can still go there for field trips or whatever

(35:13):
the case might be. But those do offer you know,
different classes or different opportunities. But for keeping at local sake,
I do believe ours is definitely a contender.

Speaker 1 (35:29):
Right because it's well, I think having so many options
for co ops, you have the option to stay local, absolutely,
because if there weren't that many options, some people would
be forced to drive.

Speaker 2 (35:43):
Right.

Speaker 1 (35:44):
So I think having being so populous, I think it
allows people to stay local and not have to travel
far and oh it's down the block, I'll just go there,
you know, I'll just send my kid there. Right, So
I think it plays an advance for you, especially being
in a state that has so many people and so

(36:07):
many people homeschooling.

Speaker 3 (36:10):
Absolutely, and just in our area there's already three co ops.
We're one of three co ops in our small radius
in East Texas, so at least there's three choices for
new homeschool families or you know, you can be a
part or choose not to be a part. It's just

(36:31):
whatever your style and whatever your fit is and what
you're what you're looking for.

Speaker 1 (36:37):
So I actually I didn't ask you, So tell me
more about what you tutor.

Speaker 3 (36:43):
I tutor reading. So what I do is I make
sure that I hit with my kiddohs. In reading, we
start off with like fluency, so I make sure I
hit fluency. I make sure I hit a phonemic awareness
if they are able to hear the sounds. Especially with
my younger kids, it's just so important. You've got to

(37:05):
be able to hear it before you could even start
recognizing the letters that belongs with it. You've got to
hear first. You have to know that A is a sound,
and then you learn that I belongs with this letter
formation A, and then we hit phonema corwaras we hit phonics,
and then we hit vocabulary and comprehension.

Speaker 1 (37:30):
So you didn't say math. How come you don't suitor math?

Speaker 3 (37:35):
Math is fine, but I about talk out with my
patience level and with my math stuff. I say around
fourth or fifth grade, I'm about math out. So I
mean I like math. I do like math. It's just

(37:57):
a subject that I'd rather not teach unless it's more
hands on from like the elementary side. I mean, I've
taught math before, but I like it more for the elementary.
Once we're getting to algebra and things like that, I
remember the way I did it, and then that's about it.

(38:20):
So we're about algebra, I'm about.

Speaker 1 (38:22):
Done, okay, okay, And you know, and then that's what
a lot of tutors do is they pick a niche.
So they kind of pick a subject that their strongest
then and then and they stay there absolutely, and a
lot of tutors do that, and that does work for

(38:44):
a lot of tutors. So what is your So you
focus on phonetic awareness, so it sounds like you focus
more on younger kids.

Speaker 3 (38:55):
My I would say my target range is K through five,
but I have and the kids that are struggling with reading,
so that's kind of on my target range. Now, if
I do have a sixth grader that is a little
bit behind in reading, sure, you know, well, I'll take

(39:16):
them on and then we work on where they're at
after I assess them, and we just work on where
they're at. Because I have a student right now that
she's just a little bit behind with her reading and
that she's not in the K through five grade technically,
but it's fine, let me meet you where you're at
and we will just go on forward.

Speaker 1 (39:40):
And you you keep that. So you do that with
the private tutoring and.

Speaker 2 (39:46):
The co op.

Speaker 3 (39:48):
Just with the tutoring, just with a private tutoring.

Speaker 1 (39:51):
Yes, So now with the private tutoring, because you said
with the co op you have to come in knowing
how to read already. Yeah, So then with the tutoring
sounds like you focus on building the foundational skills for reading.

Speaker 3 (40:08):
Absolutely, because I've have two kiddos that are really at
the foundational level. Well, if I can get them from
point A to point B, we are almost there, I
mean to reading in our CBC verds, we're almost we're
teepee towing right up to the edge of that. So

(40:29):
and that's really neat to watch that because there's a
huge progression there when you start to read. There's a
huge progression and a huge sess of accomplishment for the
child and for the parents that have been working with them,
and for the tutor that's been working with them, a
huge sense of accomplishment like, oh my gracious, you know,
they haven't they got it?

Speaker 1 (40:50):
So tell us about the tell us more about that progression.

Speaker 3 (40:54):
So, for example, with one student that I have, we're
still working on letter sounds. He is he's made great
strides from knowing nine letters to I haven't assessed him again,
but he knows nearly all of his letters now and
that's just huge. And some letters that have been tricky

(41:15):
for him are are now becoming automatic, and that's what
we want. We want automaticity. You know, you know it,
you see it, you know the name, you know the sound,
and then we're gonna be able to blend those things together.
So it's that progression. Knowing that I can hear the sound,
I know the letter that makes the sound, I can
start blending all of those sounds together to make words.

Speaker 2 (41:38):
Ah. So it's beautiful when you see it all come together.

Speaker 3 (41:42):
Absolutely, all those pieces of the puzzle they start moving right.

Speaker 1 (41:48):
It's like you you give them a seed and then
it's oh, they start it starts.

Speaker 2 (41:53):
To grow right.

Speaker 3 (41:54):
So absolutely it's.

Speaker 1 (41:55):
A beautiful thing when you're like wow, and then you
look at it. You look all the time that's passed, right,
one month, two month, three months, and you're like, whoa,
I remember when you didn't know that's right? Absolutely, letters
and now you know all and now you're speaking of sentences.

Speaker 2 (42:13):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (42:14):
Yes, absolutely, And I do have to say with the
kids that I have, their parents are heavily involved, which
makes it ten times better because they're right there by
their child, or that they're seeing that they are working
and asking questions what books should I get? Or is
this okay? You know, if their parents are heavily involved,

(42:36):
it just makes it so much better for the child
and for me. It's a tutor because we are progressing
that much quicker because mama is involved and she's making
sure that child is working on this.

Speaker 2 (42:50):
And you and it is very it's more effective on.

Speaker 3 (42:55):
That's absolutely absolutely.

Speaker 1 (42:58):
Do you normally Well, it sounds like you work with
a like a small group of a select group of parents,
But have you ever worked with a parent that wasn't
as involved or show they didn't really have any interests? Oh?

Speaker 3 (43:12):
Absolutely, I mean, especially in the classroom setting, it fell
all on my shoulders. That's not the case for all.
It's not a really a generalization. It's those few. It's
those few. Well, it's a team effort. It really truly
is a team effort. So we're all on the same team.

(43:32):
The goal is for your child to be a competent,
thriving reader, and we need to be on that team
and going towards that same goal together. So I'm helping you,
You're helping me. It's a win win for everyone.

Speaker 1 (43:49):
Beautiful, beautiful, all right. So as for your co op,
So how does do well? The parents have to contribute somehow,
but do they have to pay something? Is there an
hourly rate? How does that work?

Speaker 3 (44:06):
In our collop? We have a nominal fee for each class,
and that fee really takes care of just supplies. It's
not an astronomical fee. It takes care of like the
book that we may need for I'm doing a writing class,
so it's gonna take care of the book, a spiral,

(44:27):
and maybe it'll contribute to some ink or something I
need to make coffees or run off from my printer
at home. It's just nominal enough for the parents to
because if you have skin in the game, you're more
you know, apt to Okay, you know what, I'm gonna
take this serious, and so there's the skin in the game,

(44:51):
but it's not out of reach of Okay, I'm gonna
have to I don't need more. We're gonna do to
be able to pay this and plus you know, we
do have to charge for to give money to the
church because there's electricity and water and things like that
that we use. But they've been very good to us
about the fee that they charge.

Speaker 1 (45:11):
And can I ask what you what they pay? What
that phenomenal fee is.

Speaker 3 (45:17):
It is one hundred dollars a month for the church
fee and that's divided among all our families.

Speaker 2 (45:26):
Oh so all of you together pay one hundred dollars
a month.

Speaker 3 (45:29):
Yes, Like our facility fee takes care of that monthly
fee each month for the church because we're there four
times a month and you know that's their electricity, that's
their you know, water, that's their lights and things like that.

Speaker 1 (45:43):
So now everybody, so how much does everyone pay?

Speaker 3 (45:49):
We personally have a facility fee for each family and
that facility fee is for each semester because we have
to get things like paper tails, you know, things that
you don't think of, paper towels, cleaning supplies, housekeeping stuff,
you know, or something that goes for for all the kids.

(46:12):
It could be decoration for an event at the end
of the year. So just something that we can have
to pay for the monthly fee and then something that
we have left over that we can push out to. Oh,
this teacher needed ten dollars because she spent it on this. Okay,
let's we have that in the budget for that.

Speaker 2 (46:33):
Oh okay.

Speaker 1 (46:33):
So the one hundred dollars a month is to the church.
And then you have a separate fee which just like
supplies and like books, pencils, toilet paper, paper towels.

Speaker 3 (46:47):
Yes, yes, absolutely.

Speaker 1 (46:50):
Right, and then and you're using the church's paper towels
and tot yeah.

Speaker 2 (46:56):
And you want to, we want to.

Speaker 3 (46:58):
You want to be good stewards of you know, the
stuff that their lady now she use and we also
buy some of the cleaning stuff ourselves, just so we're
not using all their stuff up. But they've been very
gracious about it and we've had't had any problems.

Speaker 2 (47:13):
That's good. That's good. That's good.

Speaker 1 (47:15):
So now with the tutoring, your private tutoring, How does
how does the how does the hourly payment work?

Speaker 3 (47:23):
What I do is I charge forty dollars for forty
five minutes and I use the Zoom platform and that
has been working well. The only thing I do see
with the Zoom platform is it times out at forty
so they have to jump back on, which is fine,
Which is fine. It hasn't been a huge issue or anything,

(47:45):
but that's that's what I have seen. And I chose
forty five minutes because of the age group. At first,
I was mainly gearing towards K through third grade. Forty
five minutes to me is enough for their attention to
get activities together, and majority of the time I usually
go over anyways, so I felt like that was a

(48:08):
good Okay, we're thirty minutes is maybe Russian. An hour
is too long, let's meet in the.

Speaker 2 (48:13):
Middle, okay, And that's and right.

Speaker 1 (48:19):
So you're a K to five, so you started it,
so it's like you had to experiment to find that.

Speaker 3 (48:27):
Absolutely. I just felt forty five minutes was enough for
that age group and that could keep their attention span
for that long and sometimes, depending on the child, forty
five minutes, we are stretching it to keep the attention
span that to that amount of time, like, okay, okay,
we've got to do something different to make sure that

(48:50):
we use our time wisely.

Speaker 1 (48:53):
And you're doing both in person and virtual, so do
you find there's a difference between the two.

Speaker 3 (48:59):
Right now, I'm just doing virtual in person.

Speaker 1 (49:04):
Well you have you have the co op?

Speaker 3 (49:07):
Oh, yes, the co op. I don't really I didn't
really count that as like tune or anything. I teach
it the co op. Yes, I mean there's pros and cons.
There's definitely pros and cons to both. I mean the
pro of in person is, I can I can get
you back on track quickly and then be more interactive
where you're touching it and things like that. But I

(49:30):
mean you can be interactive also, that's a pro with
the online dragon. But there's technical issues also that arise
at times, So that's that's a con to it.

Speaker 1 (49:41):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, And how long have you been doing
the virtual part?

Speaker 3 (49:47):
I have done virtual this summer, and it's been several
years ago. I did virtual for two girls. So this
has been it's not been a consistent, but it's been
an off and on type of type of thing.

Speaker 2 (50:09):
So oh for the for two years you said.

Speaker 3 (50:13):
I tutored two girls, probably probably five years ago. I mean,
so this has not been consistent with online tutoring. It's
been more of a okay, I'm okay doing this right
here in this season and then this season and it's
just not it's not gonna work in this season right now, Okay,

(50:35):
let's try this again. So it hasn't really been consistent,
but this summer has been more of a consistency for me.
This summer.

Speaker 1 (50:42):
It's it's so, oh, I thought you were You had
the co op for a while, and then you jumped
into the online tutoring. So now you're saying you were
doing both at the same time.

Speaker 3 (50:54):
While I was at the co op, I was not
doing any online tutoring.

Speaker 1 (51:00):
Right.

Speaker 3 (51:02):
This was when I was in the traditional school setting,
and so I was too great at in the evening two.

Speaker 1 (51:09):
Girls, oh, okay, while you were doing it, okay. And
then the co op came after.

Speaker 3 (51:15):
That, Yes, when we started homeschooling, that's when we established
a co op. And then I taught three classes last
year and I'll teach three classes this.

Speaker 2 (51:24):
Year, okay, okay.

Speaker 1 (51:27):
And then that was on and off something in some
seasons you did, some seasons you did it, you didn't.
So then you had the co op, which is doing
really well. So I imagine you had more of like
a down period for the online Yeah, and then that's
when you decided, you know what, I just let's just
you were just kind of you were just inspired and

(51:48):
just like, let me bring it back up again.

Speaker 3 (51:50):
Let me bring it back up again. Something just hit
my I remember this hit again. I was at an
appointment and boom, the bulb went off again. So I'm okay,
I'm a diver, so i have to do a lot
of reeling back in because I'm head first. Oh this
is a great idea. Here I go diving off in it.

(52:12):
And so at that appointment is when I was like,
wait a minute, this could work, This could definitely work.
Let me get my feet wet in this again. So
that's what I did.

Speaker 2 (52:25):
And how has it been for you balancing everything?

Speaker 3 (52:31):
Well, I mean, Gabrielle, you know, as a tutor, it's
not always easy.

Speaker 1 (52:36):
You know.

Speaker 3 (52:39):
Some people can Okay, I can get the lesson together
in another thirty minutes. I'm slow. So I'm just flight
out slow about it. And so I've got this project
going on. I'm like, okay, let me get the lesson
together because I wanted to be a good quality lesson.
If they're paying me to teach their children, they deserve quality,

(53:02):
and so that's what I'm going to turn out is
some quality. So it does take me a little longer,
which I do send out progress each time I get
finished with a suit in each week. So I've got
that down. So that's good. That has shaved off some time.
I've got that down, and AI has been a good
friend of mine for helping me get that down.

Speaker 1 (53:26):
It comes in handy when you need it, right, yes, yes,
all right, So now where do you see yourself in
five years?

Speaker 3 (53:40):
And five years, let's see, my oldest one will be
both of my kids will just pretty much be out
of the house. My oldest one be out of the
house in college. My youngest one will nearly be in college.
So this is part two for me and my husband.
We will be super excited. I do see some tutoring,

(54:03):
either in person or online. I've enjoyed it. But then
it'll be a little bit different because I can focus
just on that and my attention can be a little
more laser narrowed, you know, laser focus instead of you know,
bouncing around everywhere and with my other you know, things

(54:26):
I need to take care of.

Speaker 1 (54:29):
Right, so you know, your kids pretty much will be
out the house, and now you'll have more time to
focus on your on your tutoring, on your co op,
on your businesses.

Speaker 3 (54:39):
Absolutely, and so if my husband we're traveling or something
like that, and he travels for work, I can go
too because I can take the computer right along with me.
So that's at least that's a pro to online tutoring.
If the in person tutoring becomes really you know, is received, well,

(54:59):
then and we'll see where that route tapes us. I've
got big, big dreams for that. So but it's baby steps.
I cannot go diving off. I have to white line
and not jump over people. It's one step at a time.
I'm a line cutter.

Speaker 1 (55:19):
Like sometimes you have to Yeah, sometimes you have to
slow you.

Speaker 2 (55:22):
You have to slow yourself down.

Speaker 3 (55:24):
I've got to roll it back in just white. There
is a reason for the Whiting period. You grow in
the Whiting period, and that's patience that you grow in.

Speaker 2 (55:36):
Wonderful, wonderful.

Speaker 1 (55:38):
Well, listen, this has been a fabulous conversation. But I'm
gonna start to wine things down. So on hot topics.
I like to ask my guests to share words of
wisdom with our audience. So, Raven, do you have any
words of wisdom you'd like to share?

Speaker 3 (55:54):
My bars of wisdom? Are you know what dream big?
And then you know what might those steps and go forward.
Don't limit yourself and put yourself in a little box.
You are valuable in what you do. Dream it and
then push forward.

Speaker 1 (56:18):
Fabulous, fabulous, beautiful words of withis and beautiful. All right, well, Raven,
thank you for coming on Hot Topics and sharing your
your origin story and sharing where you are now. So
thank you for coming on my show.

Speaker 3 (56:33):
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (56:35):
It's been fun, awesome all right.

Speaker 1 (56:37):
So it is now time for your promo, so let's
do it, all right, you guys. So Raven Marshall, she
is all over the place, you guys, So you can
visit her website. It is Reading Dash Roots, Dash Tutoring

(56:57):
gb D e y set dot Gamma dot site. It's
a lot of letters in there, but it is in
the description for my podcast people, so if you're not
able to write it down, that's fine, just check it
out in the description. But that is her website. She's
also on Facebook. Her Facebook page is called Reading Roots,

(57:21):
so make sure you follow. She's also on Instagram as
reading Underscore Roots Underscore Tutoring, so make sure you follow
that as well. She's also on YouTube as Reading Roots
Tutoring Service. So make sure you subscribe to her YouTube
channel and she is on LinkedIn. It's her personal LinkedIn profile,

(57:42):
Raven Marshall. Make sure you send a connect request and
connect with her on LinkedIn, so that is all of
her information there.

Speaker 2 (57:51):
It is on the screen right now for my video.

Speaker 1 (57:55):
People, before my podcast people. All of this information is
in the subscription. So one way or another, this information
is available to you. Do you want to toss you know,
promote your business promotion?

Speaker 3 (58:09):
Absolutely? Follow me on Instagram, Follow me on Facebook for
free reading tips, tricks, questions and answers. You've got a
burning reading question, ask me. I want to answer it.
What I don't know, I'm want to research it and
find out, but I want to answer it and give

(58:30):
you those tips and tricks to make reading a success
for your personal child or for the kids that you.

Speaker 2 (58:36):
Do totor all right, had fabulous? All right? And do
you want to promote the co op? Are you?

Speaker 1 (58:42):
So?

Speaker 2 (58:43):
Are you looking for people?

Speaker 3 (58:44):
We are currently closed. We have we're maxed out for
the fall, so we'll see about spring, but right now
we are we're closed for the fall, and so we'll
just have to say we're kind of a year by
year and see how we're growing.

Speaker 2 (59:01):
All right, it's good when you're full.

Speaker 3 (59:04):
Yes, yes, absolutely, it's good.

Speaker 2 (59:07):
And then the private tutoring, do you want to promote that?

Speaker 3 (59:10):
Absolutely? If you need some help, if you need to
know where your child's strengths or weaknesses are in reading,
just message me. We can get a consultation going. And
let's see we were. Let's get a plan together and
see what we can do and get a plan ready
for your child to help him or her thrive and

(59:32):
be a confident, successful reader.

Speaker 1 (59:35):
Fabulous, All right, and you have a deal. Let's make
sure we get into that. You're offering a lower a
lower hourly rates with your nine week report card package.

Speaker 2 (59:47):
Tell us more about that.

Speaker 3 (59:48):
Okay, So this is for in person. I have three ladies,
three teachers and myself. We are going to be rolling
out in the fall and in person tutoring session. And
we had different packages. And the nine week report card
session is five dollars five dollars lower than the six

(01:00:12):
weeks literary Boost Literacy Boost package. So if all my
people that are in the East Texas area, they are
looking for extra help when school gets started and they're
seeing that their kids are maybe falling a little bit
behind or the gaps have gotten bigger. We can help
you out. So definitely reach out in a message and

(01:00:34):
get on our schedule so we can help you and
help your child out.

Speaker 1 (01:00:39):
And when you reach out, make sure you mentioned the
report card package. So when you don't mention it, you
don't get the deal. So you have to mention those
three magic words report card package. So make sure you
say those three magic words and you can get that deal.

(01:01:00):
To reiterate, it is strictly in person.

Speaker 2 (01:01:03):
Yes, for East Texas, East Texas.

Speaker 1 (01:01:06):
Okay, all right, so listen. I have my audiences all
over the country. So for those of you in East
Texas right now, you're listening, you're watching, make sure you
take advantage of that deal. So let me just get
your information on the screen one more time. So those
of you in East Texas right now, you want to

(01:01:26):
take advantage of that deal. The information is on the
screen or it is in the description, so make sure
you check it out. Make sure you message her, contact her,
you know, make sure you take advantage of that deal.
So the information, the information is at your fingertips, however

(01:01:48):
you are taking in the sound of our voices. The
information is at your finger tips, so make sure you
take advantage of that absolutely. All right. Well, Raven, thank
you again for coming on Hot Topics.

Speaker 3 (01:02:01):
Thank you. I have enjoyed it. This has been a
lot of fun, and thank you for having me.

Speaker 1 (01:02:05):
Thank you all right, So I'm going to place you
backstage now and off camera. All right, Well, you guys,
that is it. We have completed yet another episode of
Hot Topics. So I love to highlight other tutrepreneurs. So

(01:02:26):
this is my chance to give back in a way.
So whenever I have the opportunity, I take advantage of it.
So I hope you guys will take a note. But yes,
So now as we are at the conclusion, let me
tell you about the forces that are behind Hot Topics.

(01:02:49):
So let's do that, okay. So I have my own
tutoring company called a Step Ahead Tutoring Services. So, as
a Raven, her in person clientele population is East Texas,

(01:03:09):
our in person clientele is the New York City area,
so the five boroughs of New York City and Nasau
County and Long Island. So not doing Suffolk County right now,
Sorry you guys. You guys are strictly online tutoring at
this moment. In time. But for those in Nassau County,

(01:03:34):
we do come out to you in person, and as
well as those in New York City. That's the five
boroughs of New York City. I need to emphasize that part.
Uh So, if you happen to be in those areas
and you are looking for you are looking for a
tutor to come out to you in person, I act

(01:03:57):
to connect with us. So I encourage you, I should say,
I encourage you to connect with us. So our website
is www dot A Step Ahead Tutoring Services dot com.
We do catered to certain grades and certain subjects at
this time, which you will learn more from the website.

(01:04:17):
But I encourage you to go to our website to
get more information about the services that we offer.

Speaker 2 (01:04:26):
So we do. Let me tell you what those services are.

Speaker 1 (01:04:28):
So we do one on one tutoring, We do test prep,
we do college counseling, we do collaborative editing and proofreading.
We have some virtual workshops as well, so we cover
a lot of ground. And you know this, whatever you're
looking for, there's whatever you're looking for, we have it.

(01:04:50):
Whatever you're looking for, we have it. So again that
website is www dot a step Ahead Tutoring Services dot com.
We do offer virtual services as well. We're not strictly
in person, so if you are not from the New
York City area, or you are or you're in Suffolk County,
Long Island, or anywhere else in the country, we do

(01:05:13):
offer online tutoring as well as a as a service,
so we are in person for our local area and
online across the United States. But we are another tutoring
resource for you, so make sure you check us out.
That information is on the screen as well as in
the description to make sure you check us out. We

(01:05:33):
are also across multiple social media platforms. We're on Instagram,
We're on Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, so make sure you
check us out and make sure you follow and like
and subscribe and all that across our social media. So
make sure you stay in touch with us on social
media as well. And I also encourage you to follow

(01:05:57):
me personally, Gabrielle Critchlow. You could follow me personally so
you could follow me on Facebook and Instagram. It is
my name, Gabrielle dot Critchlow, but LinkedIn is Gabrielle Dash Critchlow.
So make sure you pay attention to those punctuation differences,
but I encourage you to follow me personally on social

(01:06:19):
media as well. And before I run, I want to
encourage you guys to let me know your feedback about
today's episode. Did you hate it? Did you love it?
Did you have questions? Do you do? You want to
share your own co op stories, whatever it is, take

(01:06:43):
five minutes and leave your feedback in the comment section
or in the comment thread. Even if you're listening on
a podcast, depending on which platform that is, there are
comment sections and I highlight encourage you to take advantage
of those sections. So whether it's Apple, Apple Podcasts or

(01:07:07):
Good Pods or Spotify Now has It, Podchaser has It. So,
however you are listening to us right now on audio,
there are places where you can drop your comments, so
please do that and it helps us out. So the
more you comment, the more it feeds the algorithm. So

(01:07:31):
the algorithm rewards popularity. So oh hi, Danny, Danny left
to comment. But yeah, so the more you comment, the
more you feed the robots that are social media. So
we want you to feed the robots, so the more

(01:07:53):
our episode will circulate when you comment, So please take
five minutes and drop them comments. All right, so that
is it. Thank you for joining me on another episode
of Hot Topics. I look forward to you joining me
on the next episode.

Speaker 2 (01:08:11):
Thank you, guys.

Speaker 1 (01:08:12):
And now yes, and now I am signing off.

Speaker 2 (01:08:17):
Bye guys,