A space to learn
Like our other business centres, our Capital Business Centre in Croydon is mostly vacant on Saturdays, presenting an ideal opportunity for a business that wants to target weekend customers. A key weekend sector is services for children and families. The fact that none of our other customers are on site not only frees up meeting room space, it also makes the car park available for the many families that use A K Tutors, explains the founder, Aflak Khan: “We came to Capital Space around four years ago, the main reason was for the parking. It was really ideal for customers to park up and bring their children in. We do it on a Saturday which is perfect because the carpark is empty and it’s very accessible.”
A change in career path
“I’ve been teaching since 1966,” Mr Khan told us, “but before then I worked at a bank, then I decided I wanted to do teaching instead. I retired in 1994 but I kept having people come to my house for help, so I decided to make a business of it; I wanted to get out of the house instead of just staying at home when I retired.
“We have about twelve tutors who give one-to-one sessions for 11+ candidates and then onto GCSEs. We test the children first to find out what level they are at – their strengths and their weaknesses – we’ll then set them the work that we feel is relevant to them. In Croydon, the pass mark is really high to get into some schools, and so many parents take their children to us at a young age. We very much encourage parents to get involved with their children’s homework to help them progress.”
Marketing strategy
We were interested in how A K Tutors generate their business, because with the natural churn as children get older and outgrow their services, they need to ensure a constant supply of new clients in their pipeline. For A K Tutors, reputation is key: “I don’t do any marketing. I just tell parents that if they are happy with my services, then tell others. It’s all word of mouth. We’ve even taught people who then grow up and bring their children to us as well!”
