Rae Largura is a mother of a 9 year old son and a 7 year old daughter. She lives in Santa Barbara, California and her children have only known her to be a stay at home mom. Rae launched Leading Edge Tutors in October 2009 ending a year search for the perfect “stay at home mom” job. Even now, her children think her only “job” is them. Having a little more time now that her kids are in school for longer hours, she is having so much fun with the creativity, diligence and frustrations of starting a new business.
 
Leading Edge Tutors offers affordable private, in-home tutoring for all ages of children and all subjects. They have a network of very qualified and passionate graduate students and teachers. Rae helps educators find the work they love, children improve their attitudes towards learning, and parents save time and resources. The best part of her job is being able to pick up her children from school every day.

1. Tell us about your business and the service that you provide: My company is Leading Edge Tutors. We provide private in-home tutoring for students in grades kindergarten through 12th and for all subjects.  We have a network of specialized tutors and credentialed teachers that have a passion for learning and education.

2. How did you decide to get started? My priority is mothering my children and staying in-tuned and involved as much as I had been as a stay at home mom. My goal was to find something that provided a good income along with the freedom to continue being the mother I wanted to be.

3. What kind of background of expertise do you have in your field? I have about 15 years of business and entrepreneurial experience.

4. What trends do you see in your current industry? I see that schools are becoming more and more demanding on children. I see that parents are becoming more and more competitive with their children. I see the school systems weakening. This all adds up to the tutoring industry as a growing one.

5. What things do you find to be most demanding about your job? Time. Time is valuable and it takes much of it to launch and expand a business.

6. What do you find to be the most rewarding about your job and your day to day routine? I help tutors find the work they love, I help a child improve his attitude towards learning, and I help parents save time and resources. It makes me happy to hear about someone’s child raising his grades and feeling more confident at school.

7. What advice would you give to someone else who is interested in starting a business like yours? Everything takes longer and costs more than you think. If you go into it with commitment and intelligence, I would love to help more tutoring businesses get started. It is a necessary, flexible and rewarding industry.

8. What are you most proud of as a parent-preneur? My self- assurance.

9. How have you been able to manage your time between work and your family? Calendars, lists, notebooks, and good organizations skills. It is very natural to put my family first. When I do have free time, it is filled with work.


10. What has been the most effective way for you to promote yourself? Website and networking… and I’m still learning.

Finally: What does your “Milk Money” provide for you and your family?

My milk money is spent on trips to yogurtland with my kids and anyone else that will go.