--- title: "Len Silverman Finds His Community by Franchising with Huntington Learning Center" url: https://burnaze.com/article/cd08fdf2-1d41-401d-a407-da0ed4156b9b source: "1851 Franchise" original_url: https://1851franchise.com/len-silverman-finds-his-community-by-franchising-with-huntington-learning-center-2707689 category: "Tutoring" industry: "Education & Childcare" segment: "Tutoring" published: 2019-02-19T23:18:35.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T04:08:00.752Z image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/6fcf0f4ddb3561461b1dd1ab97c5473e1842.jpg --- # Len Silverman Finds His Community by Franchising with Huntington Learning Center **TL;DR:** Len Silverman, a former marketing professional, found success as a franchisee of Huntington Learning Center, leveraging his background to build a successful business in his community. He has since expanded to own multiple locations in Tennessee, Alabama, and Ohio. *originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2019-02-19. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/len-silverman-finds-his-community-by-franchising-with-huntington-learning-center-2707689).* ## Story Len Silverman progressed up the corporate ladder and ultimately found himself working in marketing at a large corporation during one of its toughest times – the brand was filing for bankruptcy. Because of the company’s financial struggles, he ultimately found himself in need of a career change. That’s when Silverman decided he would never put himself in that position with a large corporation again, and instead set his sights on going into business for himself. With his background in marketing, he was confident he’d be successful. But after doing some research and talking with a franchise broker, he knew that becoming a franchisee was exactly what he was looking for. All that was left was for him to decide on a brand. “I started looking at what my interests were. I’d always enjoyed working with kids — my summer job growing up was a camp counselor,” said Silverman. “At the time, my kids were in elementary school, so Huntington Learning Center just felt like the right fit.” After Silverman decided to franchise with Huntington, he began to conceptualize where to open his own center, knowing it had to be in a community where his family could settle in. “I got into this business because I wanted to anchor my family in one place and become a part of the community,” said Silverman. “With my old job, I had no community. I commuted to and from work every day, and other than the zip code and my mailbox, I hardly knew what was happening in my backyard.” Silverman made the decision to open his Huntington Learning Center in Hendersonville, Tennessee — 14 years later, he could not be happier. Silverman especially enjoys hiring and training his staff, as he’s built a great team and is now an integral member of the local community. “We’re in the business of educating kids, so it’s very important to have an understanding of education. But you don’t need a background in education or a PhD to be successful as a Huntington franchisee. I provided the value of strategy and business and hired professionals for the education side,” said Silverman. “Being a Huntington franchisee allowed me to get to know everyone in the community. Franchising has allowed me to flex muscles I would have never been able to otherwise.” Since starting his career as a Huntington franchisee, Silverman has found a way to get involved in anything and everything in his Hendersonville community. He is a former chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and of the United Way. Also, through a partnership with the local school system in his area, he developed a program called College GPS, or Guidance for Parents and Students, where his center brings in speakers from the community to help students prep for college and the SAT and ACT. “Huntington Learning Center is still a family business and owned by the founding family. That’s why it’s important for us to stay true to our core values on the local level,” said Lisa Merry, Chief Operating Officer of Huntington Learning Center. “You have to be willing to put in the extra effort to be a member of the community. In places where we have locations, locals know our franchisees and employees, which isn’t an accident.” After 11 years of owning his one center in Hendersonville, Silverman received a call from another Huntington franchisee owner in Montgomery, Alabama, who told him that he was planning to close down his location to retire. Silverman hadn’t given much thought to the possibility of taking on more centers but he felt like this was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. “I couldn’t just let the center close — it had been serving the community for 30 years! My wife’s family was from Alabama, so I knew a little about the area and I decided to take a leap of faith,” said Silverman. “Once I took over that location, I was able to tap into a whole new skill set of thinking strategically in order to run the center from a distance. But with my current communication tools and the aid provided by Huntington Learning Center, it all started to work out.” After getting the hang of juggling two locations, Silverman thought, “Why stop at two?” He knew he wanted to open another location within driving distance of his home in Tennessee, so he bought one in Columbus, Ohio this past November. He’s also open to the possibility of owning more Huntington centers in the future, especially now that Silverman has acquired skills as a multi-unit franchisee that have exceeded even his own expectations. “The number one way that my life has improved since become a Huntington Learning Center franchisee is being my own boss. Yes, it’s stressful, and you’re always thinking about your business, but on the flip side, you don’t have to answer to anyone but yourself,” said Silverman. “While there are always struggles, my centers are growing tremendously, I’m very happy and it is matching my expectations.” Silverman takes great pride in his work over the past 14 years as a Huntington Learning Center franchisee, and he attributes a large part of his success to the continuous support he’s received from the brand. “I soon realized a lot of good people work for the brand, and the more I got involved with them, the easier things became,” said Silverman. “Huntington is very supportive, and because of the symbiotic relationship I have with the brand and other franchisees, I am more successful than I ever thought possible.” ## Entities - 1851 Franchise (publication) - Education & Childcare (sector) - community involvement (topic) - franchisee story (topic) - multi-unit ownership (topic) - education franchise (topic) - Huntington Learning Center (company) --- Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/len-silverman-finds-his-community-by-franchising-with-huntington-learning-center-2707689). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/cd08fdf2-1d41-401d-a407-da0ed4156b9b).