“Do the very best at the task that you’re doing right now, and the rest will take care of itself.” These are words that Military Veteran, Troy Ingle, lives by as a Huntington Learning Center franchise owner.
Before joining the Huntington Learning Center franchise, Troy served in the U.S. Air Force for nine years in North Dakota and Cape Canaveral, Florida.
In addition to his nine years of service, Troy also has an extensive professional background. He worked as a system/process engineer for a startup company in networking and integration before deciding to move on and become a general manager at The Home Depot. After moving on from Home Depot, he took on another leadership role within the commercial roofing division of a building materials manufacturing company.
Having worked so many years for other people, Troy realized that he wanted to start his own business to connect with the community.
Although he had no prior experience working in education, training several individuals throughout his previous corporate jobs sparked his interest and led him to open a Huntington Learning Center franchise.
Indulging in the World of Education
Troy didn’t allow his lack of education experience to deter him from opening his first Huntington Learning Center in Fleming Island, Florida. In 2016, Troy not only became a franchise owner, but he also became a member of the advisory council for early childhood education for the local high school. Joining the advisory council has allowed Troy to learn which tools the students need and build relationships with teachers.
In addition to his involvement at the local high school, he also makes time to practice and teach interviewing skills to the students.
The Importance of Crafting a Good Team
Being relatively new to the tutoring franchise, Troy relies on his 26 employees to help him provide the best service to students.
“As a team leader, I like to hire people who are smarter and better than I am. We can teach the skills, so I always look for people who have the right attitude and who are reliable and willing to adapt,” Troy says.
Since becoming a franchise owner, Troy has quickly realized that the key to growing his business is transparency. He’s learned that parents want to follow up on promises made and have open and honest communication about their student’s progress. As a result of these practices, they’ve received several parent referrals within the past year.
Troy and his team get a sense of fulfillment when parents share their satisfaction with their child’s academic progress.
“There was a student whose parents were going to take her out of private school until they sent her to our center and immediately saw improvement after only 14 hours. She’s now doing her homework on her own at home and is continuing to progress,” Troy says.
Receiving Support During Times of Adversity
With success comes adversity, but the Huntington team is equipped to handle all challenges.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Troy could no longer keep the physical location open and was forced to shut down for a month and a half due to local mandates. The Huntington corporate team stepped in to help Troy build the online learning side of his business to continue tutoring students during the lockdown.
Staying in contact with teachers throughout the pandemic has allowed Troy to maintain relationships to discuss the needs of students, listen to their experiences and hear what skill gaps are missing in the education realm since transitioning to an online learning environment.
As a result of Huntington’s ongoing support, 2021 has been Troy’s best year since opening his doors in 2016.
Continuing Best Practices
Huntington Learning Center has created the foundation and mapped out the process for franchise owners to operate their business. Troy has followed these processes and attributes some of his successes to the support of the corporate team.
In addition to following the processes set by Huntington, he’s also reached out to other franchise owners to learn the best practices of operating a tutoring franchise.
Transitioning from a military career to owning a franchise has forced Troy to adapt in more ways than one, and he continues to do his very best and let the rest work itself out.
If you have a passion for education but no prior experience, don’t let that deter you from pursuing a career as a Huntington Learning Center franchise owner. Our corporate team is here to help.
Schedule a call with us today to learn more about Huntington Learning Center franchise opportunities!