Helen Doron Global Franchising
Although the Helen Doron Early English system caught on quickly, we proceeded with diligence when setting up our international franchising network - we wanted to get it right. After extensive market research commissioned in 1997, it was determined that our product was indeed well-suited for global franchising.
Entering Brand New Territory: Poland
In the 1990's Poland was a country in a state of transition, and perhaps not the most stable environment for new businesses. Furthermore, in 1998....
Eastern Europe suffered a huge economic relapse. But that didn't discourage Joanna Cesarz-Zbroszczyk, a prospective Helen Doron Early English Master Franchisor, excited about possibilities of what Helen Doron Early English Learning Centres could accomplish in a country like Poland, anxious to get on the road to a healthy, western-style democracy.
A groundbreaking agreement was signed In January 1999 that established the very first Helen Doron Early English Mater Franchise in Poland (initial region of approx. 9 million inhabitants). This was totally new territory - we were virtually unheard of, so our market penetration had to be flawless.
Here are the results following our flagship Polish Master Franchise:
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January 1999 - first Master Franchise area sold
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April 2000 - second Master Franchise area sold
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July 2000 - two more Master Franchise areas sold
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May 2001 - final Master Franchise area sold
Today the entire country of Poland is divided into five successful Master Franchise regions, with over 158 Helen Doron Early English Learning Centres in total. Within a few short years Poland became fully franchised.
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Entrepreneurial Spirit Hits Home: Germany
Armin Ritschny had a well-paid middle management position in a large Austrian Electronic Goods company - so why leave? "Sometime in 1998 I thought: I'm working very hard for this company, but no matter how hard I work I'll never own it! So I started looking around for my own business."....
Reminiscent of Dorothy stranded in the land of OZ, Armin found his dream right on his own doorstep - at home! Armin recalls, "Then I realized that there was already a business in my own home. My wife is a Helen Doron Early English teacher and was very happily teaching and earning right under my nose. We talked about the business side of it and I contacted the company's headquarters and started to discuss things with them."
Sadly he couldn't get what he wanted, since a Helen Doron National Franchisee already existed in Austria, but Armin and his wife were not defeated. They took a huge leap of faith, uprooting the family in order to make a dream come true. "Parts of Germany were still available [for a Master Franchise] and it was such a great opportunity that we moved! We moved in 1999 to Munich. There were already a handful of teachers in the area and almost 500 students."
Today Armin is the Helen Doron Early English Master Franchisor for Southern Germany. He enjoys more job satisfaction and twice the earning power than he ever did working for someone else. "Now we have about 9000 students. I have only scratched the potential so far and the awareness of the value of our work to the children grows day by day. I'm self-employed but I have more time for my life and my family."
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English Programs Reach Small Arab Villages: Israel
Mohammed Igbaria - Learning Centre and Area Franchisee: Um-El-Fahum, Israel.
"I am an English teacher by profession and calling. I teach in the Arabic Sector of Israel's State Schools system. I have written two workbooks on the subject of teaching English as a second or even fourth language. I think of myself as a dedicated teacher. But I was far from satisfied with the results I was getting from the young people in my classes. Despite all my efforts, many of the children - from 12 up to the Schools exam age were poor in English and said they didn't like English....
Nothing I tried worked with them, we were getting 25-30% exam successes and that is no success. I was not happy; I had studied for 4 years how to do my job and had no satisfaction from it. Somewhere I heard about the Helen Doron Early English schools. My own children were very young and what I had learnt at University and Training College was pretty inappropriate for them. I found out more about Helen Doron, discussed it with my wife and decided to take the Teacher Training Course and then teach my own children.
I loved the course. It was so practical - so different from the 4 years of theory I had been taught at University. It was a great experience and opened new doors to teaching English. I learnt more about real teaching on this course than in my 4 years training. More than that, it had given me back my love of teaching again. I started with my own children and those of my family. Friends and neighbors brought their children.
In 2 months I was teaching 200 children! I recruited another teacher colleague and opened my Learning Centre. People came from all over. You must understand that we Arabs know the need for education. We all have the same dream, that no matter what we are, not just the Lawyers and Doctors and Teachers among us, our children will go to University and get degrees; especially degrees in English.
I send teachers out to small villages with only a few families but ALL the children come to our lessons. By the end of the first year I had 700 students. By the second year it was over a 1000. Last year we had 1500 and my aim by the end of this year is to have 2000.
The children naturally show great improvement in their school work but they are also so much more self-confident. It shows in their speech and their general behavior. And for me, I am again enjoying my work. Helen Doron Early English taught me how to link to and understand my students. Not to see them just as bodies on chairs but as real people."
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A Teacher Builds an Educational Empire: Hungary
Ms. Klara Kiss, Helen Doron Early English National Franchisor for Hungary.
Growing up in a rural backwater in Hungary meant opportunities were scarce, especially for a woman. It was a struggle to 'make something of yourself' in those years and her only hope was through strict self-motivation and hard study. Quietly, that's exactly what Klara did, and without anything that we today would consider financial support.
But Klara did receive moral support, from a much admired role-model, her own Grandmother; a woman of great foresight in her day, providing Klara with a love of learning and much needed encouragement through the difficult years of intensive study. Klara has earned Master of Arts degrees in both English and Russian literature, as well as linguistics.
"At that time I never thought I would actually teach English," Says Klara. "I got a job as translator and interpreter in an R&D institute for the oil industry." Klara then met her husband and started a family. Later, when she wanted to return to the workforce, her previous job was no longer there. Not to be discouraged, Klara mustered her talent and determination to open her own translation business, run from home with help and support from her husband.
"From the time I was 14 I'd taught English to adults and children," explains Klara with pride. "I taught one young man so well, that he opened his own English language school for kindergarten-age children and we even enrolled our son in his school." But Klara was worried for the future of her translation business as the political scene in Hungary began to shift.
"Later people began to anticipate Hungary's accession to the EU and that borders would open and young people would go abroad to study. I thought I would not be able to keep pace with the young ones with their fluent English and there would be no need for translation companies like us." That's when Klara decided to open a bilingual kindergarten, but soon became frustrated by the lack of suitably trained teachers and the poor quality of local teaching materials.
One day while browsing the Internet for teaching tools to download, she came across a link to the Helen Doron Early English site. "I read through the whole site and was so excited. This was just what we were looking for!" Klara contacted the Helen Doron Head Office and arranged to visit Learning Centers in Linz, Austria and Munich, Germany, and speak with the franchisors there. She was convinced that this was the way forward. "I participated in the nearest Teachers Training Course in October 2002 in Berlin, and just a few days later I started to teach in our kindergarten. The parents immediately saw how wonderful Helen Doron Early English is. They started to bring their younger and older children for HDEE courses."
Not long after, Klara opened her first Helen Doron Early English Learning Centre, and although it was spring - not a traditional time to start school, many parents enrolled their children. The Learning Centre flourished, and success was assured, however Klara didn't stop there. She bought the National Franchise for Hungary and attended the annual Master Franchisor's conference. "There I met the supportive Helen Doron team again, as well as Master Franchisors from around the world. It was a really good school for me, where I learnt a lot from the others. It showed me that a method like Helen Doron Early English - which is based on positive reinforcement and encouragement - can also encourage adults both in their lives and their careers."
Klara exclaims, "I was always so shy and quiet and now I am amazed at my success." Klara's Hungarian educational franchise business currently includes close to 70 Learning Centers countrywide; making her one of the most successful independent businesswomen in Hungary's education industry.
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