Credit: Elyssa Grillo

Seniors Charlie Lieb, Brendan Shen and junior Josh Fiest pose together as the creators of their new tutoring business in Wayland. “[My goal is] really just to help [students] achieve what they can and want to achieve,” Fiest said.

Seniors Charlie Lieb and Brendan Shen, along with junior Josh Fiest created a tutoring business, called WayTutors, in Wayland High School’s entrepreneurship and business management class (EBM). WayTutors strives to help and encourage students to do well on tests and get an overall better understanding of specific subjects they need support on.

Students in the EBM class aim to conceive a product solution to a problem for a particular target audience. For WayTutors, the target audience was all students in the Wayland community who might be struggling with school. The ultimate goal for EBM students is to make their products into a viable business that they would then attempt to run during the second semester of the school year in business teams.

“Each of the business teams in EBM create a vision statement, which is what they really value, and what their business is all about,” EBM Teacher Frederik Lehmann said. “Any financial profit they make, they donate to an organization that’s consistent with that vision.”

After brainstorming and pitching product ideas throughout the first semester of class, EMB students are expected to commence their business by the beginning of second semester. However, WayTutors has a leg up, since they have already started preparing and teaching lessons to students in the Wayland community. Shen and Lieb also have previous experience with private tutoring in school, so they have a jump start to make the most profit in their class.

“Shen is always on Facebook answering peoples’ questions and offering his tutoring services,” Lieb said. “I think [Shen] has had a lot of success [with his tutoring own tutoring] and he figured he could turn it into an EBM business. I’m excited to work with him because it seems like he has a lot of experience.”

While WHS already has free tutoring in the Academic Center staffed by National Honors Society students, WayTutors differs from these peer tutors. WayTutors feel that by scheduling tutoring sessions often and after school, the student will learn more and be focused outside of a school environment. WayTutors believe that tutoring students after school with relive the students’ worries about what class is next or the one hour deadline of the tutoring period.

“In the academic center, you only meet with a student once a rotation in a school schedule, so you can’t really create a strong relationship with that student,” Lieb said. “While we only have four tutors and NHS has a lot more, we know that all of our tutors are skilled and devoted.”

Shen, Lieb and Fiest believe that student tutors have a great impact on their peers’ desire to learn. Shen first started tutoring in middle school, and this has helped him learn how to bond with struggling classmates and students. What was once a side hobby for Shen has carried on into his EBM class, developing his knowledge of entrepreneurship and sharing it with the rest of his business team.

“I feel like I’ve always been the person that people go to when they [need] help with schoolwork, so starting a private tutoring business felt natural to me,” Shen said. “Also, I feel a connection with the students that I teach, and it makes me feel good when students do well because I helped them to achieve that.”

Shen will be the most consistent tutor from WayTutors and will focus all of his strengths into the students who sign up for his services. However, Lieb also has spent numerous hours helping out students with their school work. One of Lieb’s most frequent students last year was an eighth-grade French student who he tutored in math, even though there was a language barrier.

“Because [the student] spoke French, it was super challenging for me, but overall [it was] a great experience because I could see her continuously get better with each lesson,” Lieb said.

Lieb serves as head of marketing for WayTutors, and will post and promote the tutoring business on various platforms. WayTutors decided that the best way to reach their target audience is through Instagram and Facebook pages. Their social media handle is @way.tutors for all platforms.

“It is my job as chief marketing officer to get the word out about our tutoring services through social media, ” Lieb said.

Fiest has taken on the role of secretary and treasurer of the business, and he manages the tutors’ schedules and profit. Fiest will be helping students find the best time to learn and get work done on a regular basis with either Shen or Lieb.

“I’m focusing on the logistics of this business instead of being a tutor,” Fiest said. “Still, I anticipate this being a learning experience for me and I will successfully help other students.”

Fiest, like his Shen and Lieb, hopes to contribute to the improvement of their clients’ knowledge, confidence and eventually grades. The ultimate goal of this business is to not only succeed in their own EBM class, but to also be a helping hand in students unlocking their potential and meeting their goals.

“What really inspired me to join this business is my [passion] to really help kids improve their academic abilities and improve their grades,” Fiest said. “[My goal is] really just to help [students] achieve what they can and want to achieve.”