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Sylvan Learning Center Franchise

Sylvan Learning Center Franchise, Howard and Jo Jean Johnson

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma
Formed in: 1998
locations.sylvanlearning.com/us/lawton-ok
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My successes.

The first task for the Johnsons was to convince Sylvan’s corporate officials in Baltimore that Oklahoma’s third-largest city qualified for a franchise. “Sylvan’s demographic review indicated that Lawton was indeed a viable location for its third Oklahoma Learning Center,” Howard says. “It was up to Jo Jean and me to make it happen.”

Having worked with community education during his years as a school administrator, Howard knew all about SCORE and the valuable services the organization provides to new entrepreneurs. But he was in for a surprise when he called SCORE’s Lawton Chapter. “The man who picked up the phone turned out to be Vic Yarborough, my family’s next-door neighbour when I was growing up,” Howard says with a smile. “He and his colleagues would be a tremendous help in getting us started.”

More than four years after contacting SCORE, the Lawton Sylvan Learning Center serves approximately 150 students each month with after-school help with reading and math, as well as other academic needs. In terms of revenue, the Johnsons franchise ranks among the leading 35 percent of Sylvan’s more than 900 Learning Centers in North America, putting the couple more than halfway on the road to repaying their bank loan. They also purchased a new building that gives them an additional 1,500 square feet of much-needed space for their growing business.

What inspired you to start your business?

Taking early retirement after more than three decades of working in Lawton, OK, the public school system didn’t mean that Howard and Jo Jean Johnson were ready to slow down. They dreamed of starting a business that would fill a need in the community and provide them with a successful career change. The ideal solution was to open a franchise of Sylvan Learning Centers, the world’s leading provider of supplemental education services to primary and secondary school students.

How SCORE helped.

The Johnsons still call on SCORE occasionally when a question arises about management or finances. Howard is also pleased that his search for a new business advisor reconnected him with an old family friend. “I was so happy when Vic stopped by recently to tour our new building,” he says. “The expert, caring help he and his colleagues at SCORE provided was absolutely essential to our success. They have been helpful from the get-go.”

What's great about my mentor?

Vic Yarborough, a retired executive with Halliburton Services, immediately enrolled the Johnsons in several seminars that provided advice on banking, legal issues and zoning. As with most of new enterprises, though, the big issue was money. “Vic put us in touch with a bank and helped us prepare the business plan for the loan application,” Howard says. “That led to an SBA-backed loan that we used to pay the franchise fee, lease a building, do the build-out, purchase equipment, meet city zoning requirements and meet our other start-up costs.”

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318 NW 13th Street,
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Oklahoma City, OK 73103
(405) 768-3488 x101

Copyright © 2024 SCORE Association, SCORE.org

Funded, in part, through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.

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