Sylvan Learning Summit Speaker Krista Martin: Why Buying Existing Sylvan Franchises Was the Perfect Fit for Me

Krista Martin, a multi-unit franchisee with Sylvan Learning, the U.S.’s leading supplemental and enrichment education brand with 750 points of presence, spoke to 1851 Franchise Publisher Nick Powills for Sylvan Learning’s online summit, and she explained why buying existing franchise units helped her realize her career dreams.

Martin started teaching in 2014 as a college instructor. She had a master’s degree and promising prospects in the education field. But like many teachers, Martin wanted more out of her career.

“As many of our teachers do, I was looking to make a little extra income where I could continue to do what I love, which was working with students and helping them find their way as learners,” Martin said.

After a few short months working at an existing Sylvan Learning center, Martin felt confident she had found a way to answer her calling as a teacher and finally feel fulfilled in her career. Sylvan has more than 40 years of experience in the business and proven results in all fields of study. The brand quickly made sense to Martin, who adapted to the concept and began thriving from the beginning.

Career growth with sylvan

“I quickly fell in love with what we do at Sylvan, making a tremendous impact with students and working on exactly what they need to be successful,” she said.

In business, when a company culture fits and workers and owners see eye-to-eye, it’s an opportunity too great for most to pass up. For Martin, she always wanted to change students’ lives and help set up the younger generation for success. At Sylvan, she found a way to control her own financial destiny while working toward her life’s purpose.

“I figured out pretty early on I wanted to continue to build my career with Sylvan,” she said.

Apparently, the feeling was mutual. Martin became a center director in her local community in Maryland. As an excellent center director, she quickly gained the opportunity to take ownership of her center as the owner moved on.

“When the opportunity arose to become an owner, I came to Sylvan through resale agreements, which is a really great way of becoming an owner very quickly,” said Martin.

For Martin, who set out to spend her career following her passion in education, she often felt like she had left her entrepreneurial spirit unexplored. With Sylvan, she’s had the chance to tackle both.

“When I think about what are the top 50 things I want to accomplish in my life, owning my own business was always very high up on that list,” Martin said.

Her experience in the Sylvan system as a center director positioned her perfectly to succeed in the franchise, and that opportunity holds the same potential for professionals across the spectrum. Anyone who wants to get involved in their community teaching children can find fulfilling work as a Sylvan franchisee.

Community involvement and expansion

Since becoming a franchisee and taking on additional locations, Martin has found it rewarding to give back to her community by partnering with local schools and organizations.

“For me, as a center director, you’re very much in the thick of things. You’re helping families, you’re teaching and developing staff. There’s a lot of hats you're wearing and a lot you see in the center where you say, ‘I might do this differently,’ or ‘What a great opportunity we have,’” said Martin. That was the launching off point, when I realized I can continue to develop with Sylvan, become an owner and be in the driver's seat of making some of those changes and build some of those relationships in the community that I saw when I was a center director but didn’t have the bandwidth.”

In any big life decision, it’s normal to get cold feet. But for Martin, her experience working with Sylvan and working in education in schools and universities made it an obvious choice.

The only question left was if she wanted to start her own new franchise in a new territory or take control of the one she knew so well.

“For me, the resale was not only a great opportunity, but as I develop in my career, the resale was the best way of getting started really quickly as a Sylvan owner,” said Martin.

“For me, it was a no brainer because I already had a relationship with the staff and a sense of the territory and the families within the territory,” she said. “I wouldn’t say I felt nervous, it felt right. It very much felt like a serendipitous opportunity.”

Now Martin is one of the youngest Sylvan owners and a multi-unit franchisee. She has bought existing franchises and is also eyeing expanding into new territories.

“I caught the bug,” she said. “I’m sure that’s something other franchisees will say: ‘Wow, I have these two centers that are doing really great and I feel like I understand business better and Sylvan better, so I’m ready to take on my next challenge and grow within our area because I see more opportunities to grow and support the brand.’”

Sylvan supported Martin and hundreds of other franchisees through the pandemic by deferring $2.5 million worth of royalty payments. Martin felt so secure in her choice to franchise with Sylvan that she doubled down and actually bought three more units in her local area during the pandemic.

Sylvan’s pivot to online learning and its efforts to get every center COVID-19 safe made expanding an easy choice for Martin.

“I decided to expand in 2020, which sounds unheard of in the middle of a pandemic, but I took on an additional territory and one of the many things that I’ve been thankful for in my relationship with Sylvan is that we can offer some virtual instruction and some in center instruction where we’re able.”

As Martin has helped educate children and work with the families in her local community, she too has received a new type of education. Now, she’s fully confident in the franchisor support and excited to grow the brand even further.

“That’s been the real Sylvan advantage,” she said. “I know I have Sylvan’s support and we have some great things going on, but I also have the flexibility, the audience and the partnership here if I see opportunities where I can work together with the Sylvan team and we can continue to grow.”