What do you do when business demand drops? Adapt!

"Rough waters are truer tests of leadership. In calm water, every ship has a good captain." -- Swedish proverb

Our position is that the use of the PSAT, SAT, and ACT will remain relevant--perhaps even crucial to a large number of 2021 graduates.  Remember, test optional does not equal test blind and many schools, including the University of California Schools will be using SAT/ACT scores to determine merit-aid and course placement ( both elements impact the family out-of-pocket expense for college).   

The good news is that there is a solution that helps parents and tutoring businesses and it is what most members love to do anyway:  focus the business on educating the consumer.  To do that, try this:

• Hold  a team meeting and explain the changes to the education landscape as well as the need to offer more information and personalized attention to families to help them navigate
• Educate the team with, at minimum, the links in this article. 
• Schedule webinars and promote outreach to help families understand the emergent and nuanced college admissions landscape

We know full well that most of our members are Teachers and Mentors first and business leaders second, so here are some additional recommendations to help sustain the business during the downturn: 

1.  Reduce expenses and do not take on additional long term expense burdens particularly real estate.  Surviving a drop in demand is largely about managing cash flow.  When money-in, lets call it 'x' decreases, money-out should decrease by one to three times x. 

2.  Diversify to include online tutoring as a staple and add summer learning programs (grades 5-8) for the millions of parents and students that are actively looking for things to do.  To get a sense of what is out there and maybe some inspiration check out ActivityHero or Outschool.  The upside here has great potential. 

3.  Continue to offer free events on a regular schedule. As we've said, now more than ever it is important to educate your families with recent, relevant information about the education landscape.  

4.  Plan and prepare for a business rebound in the fall.  In terms of the planning piece, set a business goal to make up lost ground so that, by the end of the calendar year, your total revenue is close to even with the prior year.  In terms of preparation, make sure you have enough programs, classes, or/and instructors!  

5.  Offer summer tutoring programs for grades 9-12.  Help students avoid the "summer slide" with online refresher programs in Math, Chemistry, Physics, Reading, Writing etc.  

6.  Equip your team as well as your tutees with knowledge.  Here are a couple of member blogs with some good information on the relevance of SAT/ACT Testing for 2021 graduates. 

• Does Test Optional Mean Optional for Me?
• What Does Test Optional Mean for the Class of 2021?
• Here is a dynamic tool from UPenn which allows one to search, by college, for information about fall openings, shifts to hybrid-schedules, and "going virtual" decisions. 

7.  Pivot to offer some sort of college planning.   This is a natural fit for test prep & tutoring firms.  At minimum, add Essay Camps.

All of this is to say that, although the situation is challenging, it is not hopeless and businesses that adapt will likely grow stronger from bold and persistent leadership.

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