Former High School Counselor Was Attracted to Our Franchisee Support, Family Feel, and High-Quality Brand of Our College Planning Business
John Izzo enjoyed his job as a high school counselor, but the many hats counselors wear these days pulled him away from what he really loved — helping students find the right college. He and his wife had been looking for a business to launch when they found Class 101. Izzo opened Class 101 Pittsburgh last October and is finding his new role to be fulfilling and financially rewarding as he celebrated a record kickoff for 2018.
“Last summer our weekends consisted of watching Shark Tank and thinking of business ideas. My wife was Googling educational franchises and found Class 101. We requested information online and Colleen O’Brien got back to me later that night,” Izzo says. “It was amazing. It almost sounded too good to be true and the more information we read and after meeting Tom and his team in Lexington, it was a no-brainer for us that we’d launch this business.”
Class 101 national college planning franchise is helping high school students get into better colleges and qualify for higher amounts of scholarships and financial aid. The college application process is complicated and stressful, resulting in students who get very little, or zero, financial aid and who often end up at the wrong school.
Class 101 addresses this need by meeting one-on-one with students throughout the year, resulting in the improved ACT and SAT scores and GPAs. Additionally, our college planning experts guide students as they draft a high-performance resume and powerful essays, visit schools, complete applications ahead of schedule and navigate the scholarship and financial aid processes. The results are phenomenal. Class 101 students apply to 10 schools on average and receive more than $160,000 in scholarships and aid, much more than the average U.S. high school student who applies to a handful of schools and receives about $20,000 in scholarships and aid.
Izzo Says He Is Looking Forward to a Successful First Full Year With Class 101.
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“We’re off to a really good start to 2018. What contributed to that the most is trying to make as many connections and build as many relationships as possible. There was some trial and error, but ultimately the relationships we built in October, November, and December have led to business in January,” Izzo says. “You have to plant those seeds. You always have to provide value someway somehow.”
We recently chatted with Izzo about his first few months as a Class 101 college planning professional and what attracted him to our franchise concept.
Class 101’s Leadership Helps Owners Thrive
There aren’t many businesses that allow you one-on-one access to corporate leadership weekly, but that’s what you get with Class 101. Our strong support from the top down is one of the things Izzo loves about our brand. “We have three calls each week: our Monday morning check-in plus our Friday technology and marketing calls so basically franchisees have the opportunity to get the founder and CFO on the phone three times a week,” Izzo says. He also has high praise for Class 101 Founder Tom Pabin. “Tom is so accessible. Whether it’s a good month or a bad month, I can call or text Tom and he’ll respond within 10 minutes.”
Class 101 also offers year round continuing education opportunities. These paired with one-on-one support and idea sharing from fellow franchisees, organized campus tours and Class 101’s annual conferences help our nationwide network of college planners stay relevant and ahead of college planning trends.
Class 101 Helps High School Students and Their Parents
With past experience as a public high school counselor as well as an online counselor, Izzo has seen the need for the organized college planning services that Class 101 provides and how it takes the burden off parents and the pressure off kids.
“The majority of today’s high school counselors carry a very high caseload so the kids and their families are left on their own to kind of do this work. There’s really not that one-on-one support that we at Class 101 are able to provide,” Izzo says. “Most students don’t think about college until the end of junior year. In Class 101 we work with students to stretch out a lot of the college application work so that by the time they reach their senior year there isn’t stress. If they work with us then they can actually enjoy their senior year rather than stressing out.”
Join Class 101 College Planning Franchise
The initial investment to begin a Class 101 franchise is $40,490, and the potential for high revenue starts from day one. Several of our franchisees have surpassed the $100,000 revenue mark in their first or second year. The average gross sales for the top five franchises in 2016 was $164,000, according to Class 101’s most recent FDD.
There’s never been a better time to join Class 101 college planning franchise. We’re enjoying unprecedented nationwide growth and are looking for new franchise owners who are passionate about helping young people find the right school and save money on college tuition.
Find out more by researching our franchise website, calling 859-759-0495, or requesting a copy of our free franchise information report.
