
Before anything else…
Merry Christmas, and a very Happy New Year.
The last couple of weeks have been a mixture of quiet moments, family time, and that strange end-of-year space where everything feels both paused and full of possibility. Progress on the franchise has naturally slowed. I’ve decided to see that not as a setback, but as a season.
Angel, my youngest, has been home from Germany, and having her here has been a huge gift in itself. So instead of trying to push through long hours, I’ve made the most of the early mornings. Whilst she is still asleep and the house still quiet, and those pockets of time became chances to create more resources for the membership group, resources that, one day, franchisees will also be able to use with their own students.
It’s been slow, but purposeful.
Slow and steady, but progress all the same.
I’ve set myself some big goals for this year. Not impossible ones, but substantial ones, the kind that will require consistency, commitment, and the courage to keep showing up even when it feels like too much effort.
My hope is that by November or December 2026, the franchise will be ready to share with the world. Ready to offer to people who want to build a business with heart. Ready to become the next step in a system that has already helped so many children rediscover confidence in their learning.
It feels a long way off, but then I remind myself:
everything meaningful grows one step, one page, one early morning at a time.
I heard a quote recently that has stayed with me:
“You get to pick up the pen and choose the next chapter.”
There’s something incredibly empowering about that, especially at this time of year when the calendar resets and we’re given a clean page whether we asked for one or not.
For me, it comes down to two choices:
Option 1:
I get up, I do the work, and I make the next chapter happen.
Option 2:
I sit back, let the year drift by, and reach December realising nothing has changed.
And this year, I won’t be choosing Option 2.
This is the year I pull my finger out, stop hiding behind hesitation and excuses, and do the work that will allow the franchise to exist not just as an idea, but as a legacy.
This isn’t about building a business for the sake of growth.
It’s about creating something that outlives me. Something that offers opportunities not just for tutors, but for children across the country who learn differently, think differently, and deserve more than they currently receive.
A franchise built on heart.
A franchise built for people wanting purpose as much as income.
A franchise built to help thousands more children find confidence in their maths and English.
That is the legacy I want to create.
It won’t always be fast. It won’t always be tidy. But it will be consistent, honest, and fuelled by the same mission I’ve had since I first started tutoring:
to help as many children as possible feel capable, confident, and supported.
Here’s to 2026, the year of writing the next chapter, one page at a time.
Morning,
I hope the week is going well.
So many people seem to be doing D of E and work experience
at the moment, good luck if that’s you and if you’re at Marlow Camp next
fingers crossed for good weather!
I’ve just finished a lesson on division. It seems to be
something that messes with the brains of so many people.
I found it got easier when I stopped thinking about it as
division and instead thought about it as multiplication. So, if for example I
had the question 396 divided by 3, I would look at it as 3x what = 3. My answer
would be 1. How many times would I need to multiply 3 to get to 9, (my answer
would be 3). Then 3x something = 6. My answer would be 2. Giving me the overall
answer of 132.
I know that’s a really simple example but hopefully it explains
my point.
Thankfully in schools they don’t often seem to need to do
long division, but I’ve worked with a couple of adults (generally nurses for
some reason) who have needed it.
I think I’ll explain this one in a video, as it will be too
complicated to explain it with words as bits get put all over the place. I hope
this makes sense though:
Enjoy the rest of the week and speak soon,
Dawn