Business Spotlight: Cassenti Academic Tutoring Services

is a local business in Moodus that provides tutoring, special needs services and enrichment activities. Owner Dave Cassenti posesses a "passion for learning that is infectious and allows students to get past the unreal educational world and see the real power of the material."

As a teacher, Cassenti sees "our educational system as stagnant, based on ideas from the 1950s of providing industry with large numbers of workers."  

To get to know Dave Cassenti and his business better, we asked him a few questions. This is what he said:

What's the most important ingredient to your success? My attention to the individual’s learning style and interests allows me to individualize each student’s tutoring sessions. I also have a number of contacts outside of the educational world that I am able to utilize to make real-life connections to the curriculum.

Going into business for yourself is incredibly hard. What made you take the leap? Well, it wasn’t a hard decision to make. Running a tutoring business really requires hours only after schools get out for the day, and since I am a high school teacher, I have  the time for my clients after I get out of work. So, I started my business up, knowing that I could do it part-time until it really took off.  If I found I was spending a ton of time on tutoring and doing things like the Science Club at Nathan Hale Ray Middle School, which I run on Fridays, I realized I could always do it full time in the future.

How long did it take to go from idea to first customer? It didn’t take long. I have over a decade of teaching under my belt. So, once I decided to start a tutoring business, I had a client lined up. It took about two weeks from idea to first customer.

What do you find the most rewarding about what you do? I love teaching people. It is AMAZING to watch someone go from not understanding a topic to understanding it. There is this light in their eyes that just makes it all worth while. If I can help people learn how to learn, or help them enjoy education, THAT is the most rewarding thing about what I do.

What are you doing to attract and retain your customers during the economic recession? I am offering competitive pricing for experience. Many tutors are college students looking to earn some extra money. However, I am a certified teacher who has been teaching for eleven years charging the same rate. I also offer many incentives for referrals and every new customer gets a free first session to determine if they can benefit from my tutoring services.  That way, parents don’t spend money on my services unless their child can benefit from it.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your business today? I’d have to say it’s charging people for helping their kids. I love teaching and learning so much that I just enjoy working with my clients. I almost feel like I should be doing it for nothing. I had a friend whose son I was working with, when I told her I would work with him for nothing, she INSISTED on paying my regular rate. I know that it’s probably weird that getting paid is the biggest challenge I face in my business, but that is the most difficult thing for me.

Where do you see yourself in five years? I don’t really know. I take things one day at a time. I’d LIKE to be independently wealthy, running my business as a non-profit, but that’s probably a pipe dream. I expect to be running a tutoring business where I hire tutors from local schools to tutor students in low-income, high-need districts.  

What's your best advice for someone looking to start their own business? Easy - do something you love. I am doing this because I love teaching and learning. I am not doing it for the money, although it would be great to be able to make enough to live off of it, but if you start a business doing something you love, then every day you go in to work will seem like a day on vacation...

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The Vitals

Business name: CATS: Cassenti Academic Tutoring Services

Owner: David Cassenti

Business Address: 34 Neptune Ave, Moodus

Hours of Operation: Per Request

Phone: (860) 759-8167

Webpage: www.cats-inc.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CassentiTutoring

Twitter: @CassentiTutors 

Founding Date: 9/1/2011

What they do: CATS provides tutoring, special needs services (advocacy, special needs tutoring, etc.) and enrichment activities through schools and during school breaks.