Entrepreneurs Media talked to the Math Expert & Educationist, Ms.Sarabjeet Kaur who is also the founder of Career+ Academy an institute located in the city of Noida (Delhi NCR). Let us read a glimpse of the conversation where the dynamic Women Entrepreneur shared a lot about her Entrepreneurial journey.
1. EMEDIA: Give our readers a small peek into your personal journey, your family life, your early days and how did you start your business.
Hi, I am Sarabjeet Kaur, I am a Post Graduate with a degree in Math (Hons.). I had been an above-average student in my school life as well as a good athlete. My father has retired from the post of a Senior Banker and my mother has retired from the post of a Gazetted Officer working under Central Govt.
I always wanted to make my career in the field of education as I had a passion for teaching and Mathematics was always my favorite subject.
After completion of my Graduation, I started my journey as a School teacher in Army Public School (Delhi Cantt.), and in parallel; I pursued my Post Graduation as well. After a couple of years, when I completed my Post Graduation, I switched joined at the post of PGT in Kendriya Vidyalaya (Central School). It was always an honor and a matter of huge repute to work as a teacher in a school like Central School but in the back of my mind, I always had a dream to start my own Institute where I can manage and teach my students according to my own vision; which of-course was not feasible working while working in a school. So, with the help of my husband, I opened a small institute by the name of Career+ Academy (You can get more info at www.careerplusacademy.com ) in one of the rooms of our small house in Delhi in the early days. Later, after one and a half years, we rented a small place near our house and shifted to the coaching center there.
Currently, we have a network of 10+ team and our institute is located in Noida (Delhi NCR) and also we have a state-of-the-art setup for online classes.
2. EMEDIA: Who do you see as your inspiration as you traverse this path of entrepreneurship?
My husband has always been my inspiration in this entrepreneurial journey and even today I know whom to talk to whenever I have to take an important decision or I am in a state of dilemma.
3. EMEDIA: In your entrepreneurial journey, you must have faced many challenges, share any 1 which is etched in your memory and how did you overcome them?
In spite of having a teaching background and having an experience of almost 3 years in reputed schools, the early days were not at all easy. I used to struggle a lot even as a single student. Those times taught very useful lessons that building trust and a brand of your own is not at all an easy task. I soon realized that now, the names of Army Public School & Central School are not going to work much and I have to build the “trust” for Career+ Academy with a lot of hard work by providing quality education and this is going to be a start from ground zero to my career as an Entrepreneur.
I soon realized that for parents, the career of their kids is always first priority and they can only hand over the mentorship of their kid to a trusted name; so building trust was the biggest challenge in the early days. As an educationist, one has to put in a lot of hard work, discipline & management all year long and the day of the Exam result is your result too. It is the same kind of feeling that a farmer has while waiting to reap the crop. Currently, I have an experience of almost two decades in the Education field, but still I and my teamwork with the same passion as we used to do way back in the early days. The only difference is the LOVE, TRUST, and CREDIBILITY that I have earned in the eyes of the parents of all my students.
4. EMEDIA: What do you think your firm’s mission and vision are?
Our mission is to provide the best quality education at a pocket-friendly cost.
Our vision is to become a trusted destination where students can enhance their academic skills and we can help shape their future with the help of our experienced faculty, mentorship & state of the art classrooms.
5. EMEDIA: Who do you see as your biggest competitor and how do you differentiate yourself from them?
We believe our biggest competitors are we ourselves as every new year with the new batch of students, we strive hard to compete with our own previous results. There is always a scope for the betterment and we try to achieve that always and we are always open to suggestions and feedback from parents.
6. EMEDIA: What is the Goal for you in terms of your business and as a person?
Since our inception, our goal has always been not to let down the trust that our students & parents have shown in us. A lot of students when approaching us at the beginning of the session are filled with a fear of Exams, especially Maths, but at the end of the session when they score good marks; the great feeling you get is unbelievable as a teacher – and this has been our biggest achievement for years.
7. EMEDIA: How would you define success for the firm? What are the recognitions it has earned over the years?
We never rate our success in financial terms. The real success is the “trust” we have achieved over the last one and a half decades. Those were the times when I with my husband used to distribute flyers in newspapers, requested places to stick our banners, etc. But currently, we don’t need to do any kind of advertising and marketing activities and parents spread our name and we are over occupied due to word of mouth.
We currently have online batches as well for our overseas students in Dubai, Australia, the USA, etc. In addition to that, we have our YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/careerplusacademy and Facebook page www.facebook.com/careerplusacademy as well where we cover complete sessions as well as reveal tips and tricks which can be helpful for our subscribers who are connected with us via Social Media.
8. EMEDIA:Is the use of technology a boon for your sector? If yes, what are the upcoming technology trends in your industry?
Technology has been a real game-changer in the last couple of years ever since the Covid pandemic has hit. It has been a blessing in disguise because it has opened a new gateway of online classes for an education Start-up like ours. It surely has been a boon for us because our reach has reached overseas as well and today we have our students in the Middle East, Australia, the USA, etc.
9. EMEDIA: What are the fundamental values of the firm that remained constant over the years?
The fundamental values have always been – to provide quality education with continuous hard work, determination, and discipline. These values have not changed ever since the inception of Career+ Academy and will always remain intact.
10. EMEDIA: What changes have you incorporated in your work to adapt to the current pandemic times?
Due to pandemics, whenever there is no lockdown and our offline classes are in process; we always take care of all Covid guidelines in our classrooms.
11. EMEDIA: What’s the most important thing you’re working on right now, and how are you making it happen?
We are working on promoting our brand on Social media and we are also working on a Franchise module for our students in other cities who demand offline classes. Hopefully, that will be launched in near future.
12. EMEDIA: What is the best advice for a young, first-time start-up CEO?
My advice for young & aspiring Entrepreneurs is that there is no shortcut to success and building trust. Always consider your customer in the center, try to add maximum value, and try to exceed their expectations.
13. EMEDIA: What does the future hold for the company in the next five years?
In the next five years, we see ourselves as the most “Trusted Online Education Providers”.