3 Ways I Grew My Franchise Fast One big priority at Mathnasium is helping franchisees get started right and poised for continued success.

Dan Markgraf always knew that he wanted to own his own business. But early on, he wasn't quite sure what that would look like. After working his way through college as a tutor at Mathnasium—a math-only learning center that helps teach children the skills to succeed in math—it was almost like a lightbulb switched: this franchise might be the perfect opportunity for him.

In March 2019, Markgraf opened his own Mathnasium location in Memphis, Tenn. Markgraf's personal connection to the brand, coupled with his ambition and drive for growth and nurturing sales relationships, are what drew him to Mathnasium, but the franchise's resources and dedication to helping franchisees grow is what kept him with the brand.

Since opening his location in Memphis, his business has grown from only two tutors and three students in the first month of business, to expanding to a second location in Olive Branch, Miss. Markgraf attributes this radical growth to three specific things that the Mathnasium franchise has offered him.

1. A wealth of tools and resources from Mathnasium.

"Corporate provides you with the materials that you would need for really anything to help you succeed," Markgraf says. "That ranges from big-picture things, like the resources to help you research a suitable location for opening a center, down to an individual level, like helping you find a vendor for inventory and supplies."

A lot of franchisees are former educators who want to help students, but they might not be as business savvy. Markgraf says Mathnasium provides resources to help people get their business off the ground—from the build out of the location itself to marketing and getting clients through the door. "Mathnasium also provides us with the resources to properly train our staff and create employee handbooks, as well as the modules and curricula to teach students," he says.

2. A lightning-fast response to the pandemic.

In addition to the world-class training and support, Mathnasium also offers Mathnasium@home, an innovative online education platform that allows franchisees to connect with their students virtually. This platform was a huge competitive advantage when the pandemic-related lockdowns were put in place, because it empowered Mathnasium franchisees to continue offering their services while other similar brick-and-mortar businesses suffered tremendous losses.

"When the pandemic hit, corporate was incredibly prepared even though the backlash of the countrywide shutdown was so unexpected," Markgraf says. "Prior to the pandemic, Mathnasium had been in beta testing for a few different types of platforms, but once things shut down, corporate did an amazing amount of work to get the platform out to make sure that all of the Mathnasiums in their franchise could continue to serve students. We didn't have to roll over and admit defeat, rather, we were able to step on the gas and keep students from falling behind even though we couldn't hold in-person sessions," Markgraf recalls.

While in-person sessions have resumed, the platform that Mathnasium developed continues to help Markgraf and other franchisees grow their business. For example, students don't need to be close to a Mathnasium location now to take advantage of their services. "I have been able to sign on students from Arkansas who otherwise wouldn't be able to attend Mathnasium because there isn't a location in their surrounding area," Markgraf explains. "The thought and effort that corporate puts into continuously innovating and helping us better serve our communities is what enables us to keep signing up students, regardless of their location now, too."

3. A network of consistent support.

Beyond the resources and tools that Mathnasium offers for their franchisees, Markgraf attributes his successes with the business to the incredible network of people that make up the entire Mathnasium brand.

"They provide you with different people from corporate, or other branch owners, to reach out to ask questions to or connect with," he says. "Corporate really does an amazing job of putting the Mathnasium community together."

There are several different forums that allow franchisees to communicate with one another, and even with Mathnasium founder, Larry Martinek. "I appreciate that they encourage us to talk with one another to share tips and strategies to grow our own location," Markgraf says. "It's not like it's a competition between franchisees, it's more like we are all working together toward one shared goal."

Click here to learn more about how you can become a Mathnasium franchise owner and start growing your business fast.