You offer a very interesting idea in order to impact both possible tourists and local entrepreneurs / tutors. I appreciate that the original idea sprung from your personal travel experiences and that you then believed strongly enough in the impact in order to put your ideas into action. Following are some comments and questions about your proposal.
What is your marketing strategy? How do you reach out to and recruit new customers, as well as new tutors?
On your website, you mention the training and selection process of your tutors. It would be advantageous to briefly outline this in your Changemakers proposal as well.
How does the $2 per hour Speak Shop pay rate compare to the local pay for tutoring and teaching in Guatemala and Nicaragua? What percentage of the customers’ pay goes to the tutors, and what percentage to the operating funds of Speak Shop?
During or after the “virtual immersion,” do you make efforts to encourage the customers to travel to Guatemala and Nicaragua? If so, how?
Do you have plans to expand into other countries? You could speak a bit more about the ability to replicate and to expand on your existing project.
Thank you, Clay, for your doing such good work and for sharing your ideas.
All best – Ann Glotzbach
----------
Ashoka's Changemakers
Featured Commentator
Thank you very much for your kind comments and observations and thanks for the chance to clarify some things with your questions.
What is your marketing strategy?
We've been marketing primarily to individuals through press and online search. Thanks in large part to our customers, we have been fortunate to have gotten some great visibility in newspapers such as the Miami Herald, Boston Globe, Omaha World Herald, The Oregonian, etc. We are also working marketing to high schools and companies. High schools are looking for innovative replacements to the old language labs, and they love the extra benefits of tutoring that teaches kids about a country and culture by talking with someone who lives there.
How do you reach out to and recruit new customers, as well as new tutors?
To identify new tutors, we are working with a few partners, primarily leading socially responsible Spanish schools. Together we screen the best tutors and provide them with training on using the website to post their lesson times, rates, profiles and have them practice with the videoconferencing tools. We provide ongoing customer service support to the students and the tutors on everything from scheduling issues to curriculum development, in the case of the tutors. We provide the tutors with tools such as business card templates and online profiles to help them promote their tutoring services.
How does the $2 per hour Speak Shop pay rate compare to the local pay for tutoring and teaching in Guatemala and Nicaragua? What percentage of the customers’ pay goes to the tutors, and what percentage to the operating funds of Speak Shop?
The local rate for in person tutoring is about $2 an hour; tutors on Speak Shop are charging $7-10 per hour depending on the tutor, their level of experience and the days/times. To maximize tutor earnings and keep the line clear between our revenues and theirs, we don't charge the tutors anything, and we don't take any of the lesson fees. We (Speak Shop) only earn the monthly membership fee (between $10-40 depending on how many lessons the student wants to take) charged to the student. Tutors incur the small transaction fees from the credit card processing and pay local partners/service providers to cover banking, internet, marketing, tech support, etc. Most tutors are netting at least 70% of the lesson fee, so three or four times the local wages. In most cases they are now able to have their own computer, teach from home and not have to travel long distances to use a computer. They are able to teach more, spend more time with their kids and provide their kids with access to a world of information by having a computer and Internet at home.
During or after the “virtual immersion,” do you make efforts to encourage the customers to travel to Guatemala and Nicaragua? If so, how?
We have had several customers travel in person as a direct result of taking lessons online. They are excited to visit once they have been learning the language and have a friend (their tutor) to welcome them. We have a forum where customers share travel experiences and tips with each other, and we also help them connect with our partners in country.
Do you have plans to expand into other countries? You could speak a bit more about the ability to replicate and to expand on your existing project.
Yes, we are working on expansion to other countries. For example, we are interviewing tutors in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. My wife is from there so that helps! We are working with development organizations and social entrepreneurs to help us identify good tutor and partner prospects all over the world.
Thanks again for your questions and the opportunity to share what we do with the Changemakers community.
Comments
Dear Clay,
You offer a very interesting idea in order to impact both possible tourists and local entrepreneurs / tutors. I appreciate that the original idea sprung from your personal travel experiences and that you then believed strongly enough in the impact in order to put your ideas into action. Following are some comments and questions about your proposal.
What is your marketing strategy? How do you reach out to and recruit new customers, as well as new tutors?
On your website, you mention the training and selection process of your tutors. It would be advantageous to briefly outline this in your Changemakers proposal as well.
How does the $2 per hour Speak Shop pay rate compare to the local pay for tutoring and teaching in Guatemala and Nicaragua? What percentage of the customers’ pay goes to the tutors, and what percentage to the operating funds of Speak Shop?
During or after the “virtual immersion,” do you make efforts to encourage the customers to travel to Guatemala and Nicaragua? If so, how?
Do you have plans to expand into other countries? You could speak a bit more about the ability to replicate and to expand on your existing project.
Thank you, Clay, for your doing such good work and for sharing your ideas.
All best – Ann Glotzbach
----------
Ashoka's Changemakers
Featured Commentator
Ann,
Thank you very much for your kind comments and observations and thanks for the chance to clarify some things with your questions.
What is your marketing strategy?
We've been marketing primarily to individuals through press and online search. Thanks in large part to our customers, we have been fortunate to have gotten some great visibility in newspapers such as the Miami Herald, Boston Globe, Omaha World Herald, The Oregonian, etc. We are also working marketing to high schools and companies. High schools are looking for innovative replacements to the old language labs, and they love the extra benefits of tutoring that teaches kids about a country and culture by talking with someone who lives there.
How do you reach out to and recruit new customers, as well as new tutors?
To identify new tutors, we are working with a few partners, primarily leading socially responsible Spanish schools. Together we screen the best tutors and provide them with training on using the website to post their lesson times, rates, profiles and have them practice with the videoconferencing tools. We provide ongoing customer service support to the students and the tutors on everything from scheduling issues to curriculum development, in the case of the tutors. We provide the tutors with tools such as business card templates and online profiles to help them promote their tutoring services.
How does the $2 per hour Speak Shop pay rate compare to the local pay for tutoring and teaching in Guatemala and Nicaragua? What percentage of the customers’ pay goes to the tutors, and what percentage to the operating funds of Speak Shop?
The local rate for in person tutoring is about $2 an hour; tutors on Speak Shop are charging $7-10 per hour depending on the tutor, their level of experience and the days/times. To maximize tutor earnings and keep the line clear between our revenues and theirs, we don't charge the tutors anything, and we don't take any of the lesson fees. We (Speak Shop) only earn the monthly membership fee (between $10-40 depending on how many lessons the student wants to take) charged to the student. Tutors incur the small transaction fees from the credit card processing and pay local partners/service providers to cover banking, internet, marketing, tech support, etc. Most tutors are netting at least 70% of the lesson fee, so three or four times the local wages. In most cases they are now able to have their own computer, teach from home and not have to travel long distances to use a computer. They are able to teach more, spend more time with their kids and provide their kids with access to a world of information by having a computer and Internet at home.
During or after the “virtual immersion,” do you make efforts to encourage the customers to travel to Guatemala and Nicaragua? If so, how?
We have had several customers travel in person as a direct result of taking lessons online. They are excited to visit once they have been learning the language and have a friend (their tutor) to welcome them. We have a forum where customers share travel experiences and tips with each other, and we also help them connect with our partners in country.
Do you have plans to expand into other countries? You could speak a bit more about the ability to replicate and to expand on your existing project.
Yes, we are working on expansion to other countries. For example, we are interviewing tutors in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. My wife is from there so that helps! We are working with development organizations and social entrepreneurs to help us identify good tutor and partner prospects all over the world.
Thanks again for your questions and the opportunity to share what we do with the Changemakers community.
Best regards,
Clay
P.S. I just tried to make the clarifications you suggested, but was unable to save the changes in my entry.
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