Business support helps the sums add up for Steph

“Despite working on my own, having that support means I do not feel isolated and I have someone to email or call with concerns or questions, or just a reassuring chat."

Support from the Warwickshire Start-up Support Programme, part-funded by Warwickshire County Council, has helped a Stratford maths tutor transform her business in light of  the coronavirus pandemic - in ways which could see her work internationally in the future.

Steph Madden, of Testing Times Maths Limited, offers tutoring services to students with maths difficulties or anxiety and those with the learning disorder dyscalculia, which causes difficulties in comprehending arithmetic.

The specialist maths practitioner was forced to stop holding face-to-face sessions in schools and at her home following the outbreak of Covid-19. But she has diversified to keep her business running and now holds tutoring sessions through Skype, including continuing her volunteer work with students from low-income and refugee families.

Steph is receiving support from the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, forming part of the CW Business: Start, Grow and Scale Programme, also funded by Warwickshire County Council and the district & borough councils.

Steph was supported to develop her wider business plan, which includes releasing a workbook to help to teach core number sense – something which could also now happen sooner than planned.

 "My business has always been face-to-face and I’ve never really had an interest in technology," Steph said, "but I faced losing all of my students overnight so I knew I needed to take action.

“My tutoring sessions are very multisensory so I was unsure how well they would be delivered online, but they have actually translated beautifully. We are still able to do all the activities we normally would.

“I teach people from the age of seven to adults, but my current students are all aged between seven and 14 so this kind of technology suits them perfectly. Using video calls means I am also still able to speak to all of the parents.

“Some of my students travel from miles away to attend tutoring, so it may be that they choose to continue their sessions online when the lockdown period is over.

“There is also a high demand for dyscalculia tutors internationally, so delivering sessions online could open a huge number of doors for me in the future.”

 Steph added: “Having the backing of the Chamber has given me the confidence to maintain my business goals and also bring forward some of my ideas quicker than I would have been able to with their help.

“Despite working on my own, having that support means I do not feel isolated and I have someone to email or call with concerns or questions, or just a reassuring chat. The Chamber has also supported me in developing my business plan, showing me the steps I need to take to get my workbook to market and advising on the potential funding options available.

Keely Hancox, Operations Manager at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “It is fantastic to see how Steph has diversified her business to enable her to continue offering tutoring services through an online platform.

“Although it is a difficult time for some businesses, we are finding a lot of companies using this time to diversify and bring forward growth plans that originally they may have delayed, all of which can open up market opportunities.

“Examples such as this, show the benefits of accessing support and advice and we would reach out to SMEs, and new start businesses across Coventry and Warwickshire to get in touch.”

For more information email: supportforbusiness@cw-chamber.co.uk

Also, please do take advantage of fully funded support including online Business Start-up workshops, specialist masterclasses (details at cw-chamber-startup.eventbrite.co.uk) as well as tailored one to one support.