Case Study III: How System Improvements Transformed TOEFL Speaking Teacher’s Business
Overview
When TOEFL Speaking Teacher was brought to us, the business was a one-person operation. The owner handled everything—teaching, managing customers, and running the business. To help, they brought in a virtual assistant employee for customer support and a few admin tasks. However, things were still a bit chaotic without any real systems in place.
Our first step was to increase website traffic and revenue through SEO. Once we achieved this, we could focus on building the business in a way that allowed it to grow. With more students coming in, the owner could step back from teaching and start focusing on the big picture.
Scaling Operations for Growth
With the boost in traffic and revenue, the business was ready to expand. This meant the owner could hire more teachers and didn’t need to handle all the classes alone. They could now focus on managing and improving the business without juggling both teaching and running the company.
With the extra revenue, we set up new systems to simplify daily operations—making it easier to respond to customer requests, schedule appointments, and keep in touch with students. These systems made things run more smoothly, even as the business continued to grow.
Building a Modern Tech Stack
Initially, the website was built on Squarespace, which was quite limiting. Squarespace offered little SEO support, lacked e-commerce options, and made email marketing difficult to set up. Moreover, payments were made through a separate service, SamCart, adding unnecessary extra costs. To make the business more flexible and future-ready, we:
- Moved the website to WordPress, giving more control and allowing direct online payments.
- Enabled e-commerce capabilities directly on WooCommerce, which meant we no longer needed SamCart.
- Connected everything with Zapier, which made managing tasks across platforms easier and faster.
With these changes, the business had a stronger foundation, and could now grow further.
Automating and Systematizing Operations
To improve efficiency, we added tools to automate and organize day-to-day work. These tools helped in a few important areas:
- Automated Scheduling: Students could now book appointments online, making it easier for both students and teachers to manage schedules.
- Process Street Checklists:We created automated checklists for different tasks, like TOEFL Writing essay evaluations. For example, when a student bought an essay evaluation, a checklist was sent to the teacher, including all needed information. This ensured the teacher followed a consistent process each time.
- Email Marketing Automation: We set up automated emails to keep students informed, updated and engaged, reducing the need for manual follow-ups.
Expanding Services and Product Offerings
To reach more students and provide flexible options, we introduced new services and packages:
- New Services: We introduced TOEFL Writing essay evaluations and TOEFL Speaking evaluations, offering students more ways to get help.
- Group Classes: They offered a way for students to learn together at a lower cost, while also benefiting from studying in a group.
- Bundled Packages: We created packages offering multiple teaching hours, where students could work with different teachers, giving them the flexibility to choose the support they needed.
Results
These changes proved beneficial for TOEFL Speaking Teacher. The team expanded to three teachers, one administrator, and a virtual assistant employee. Revenue increased from enough to cover the business owner’s full-time salary, to enough to pay for a full team, including part-time teachers, full-time virtual assistant, full-time technical employee and extra revenue available to re-invest. With all these systems in place, the business could easily support a larger number of students and run more efficiently.
Conclusion
The system upgrades helped TOEFL Speaking Teacher grow steadily and operate more smoothly. Eventually, the owner was able to sell the business. After the sale, the business was rebranded by the new owner, who then made further optimizations.
Ready to Grow Your Business?
At Serenichron, we help small businesses like yours to grow with smart systems and automation. Whether you’re running a solo operation or managing a team, we’re here to help you save time and focus on what matters most. Reach out today, and let’s talk about how we can support your business growth!
