Private School Administrators Network

24/10/2024

I travelled with my second son to a private university for fresh registration and 'my eyes saw the back of my head'!😌
Here I was, thinking that registration in a private university would be seamless and easier than that of the federal universities.

To start with, I wanted to pay all fees online. I called one of the numbers on the bursary list and was told to pay only tuition and 3 others, which I did.
Got to school to pick up receipts and was told that we had to pay 15 other fees but would need to raise different tellers for them!! I almost fainted! I have never been stressed like I was yesterday in all my life!

With plenty of money paid, why can't they make registration easy for new parents without this type of stress?
I moved from office to office, photocopy centre, POS for cash, back to bank for extra payment and my boy joined the queue. From there, I went back to bursary to change tellers to receipts, then back to photocopy and back to bursary.😔

We had to visit two other offices but I just told them that my son would continue with them the next day because I was travelling back to Awka.

I want to ask, with this economy that is dancing 'alanta' on people's money, why can't businesses ease further stress on their customers?

A particular plastic company where we buy school items stresses customers like this too. I can't remember when last I visited them. I found a way to send money to one of their staff who would do all the protocols and waybill the products down to Awka for us.

Businesses should find ways to make their customer's purchases easy because if they don't, someone else will surely find a better way, and they will lose customers!

Private school owners from Nusery to Secondary school should create a system that enables a parent on enquiry or an older parent to get whatever information or materials they need in less than 10 minutes.
Stop keeping people waiting even applicants! People have things to do and may be in a hurry to go somewhere else.👌
Schools lose great teachers and intending parents because of this type of delays on a daily basis!

I trust that we can do better as business people.👍

*Have you experienced such delays in a private business before?

22/08/2024

Shout out to my newest followers! Excited to have you onboard! Grace Wilfred, Ifeoma Ifeonu, Roseline Esiwe

03/08/2024

MAKE THE BOLD MOVE TODAY!

If you were given today and you weren't expecting it, what will you do with that amount of money? You have my permission to take out just 2 - 3 minutes to think about it. What will you do with that amount of money?

If you aren't prepared when opportunities come knocking, you may be the one to mess it up for yourself.
The change you desire should be championed by you!

Some say, "If I have money, I will start a business". And I ask, have you ever planned that business you wish to start on paper and in details? Are you waiting to do the planning when the money comes in? Do you even know how to write a simple business plan?

Some say, " When I get the job, I will pay for that training or I will learn the needed skills". What then will happen if you are required to show the same needed skills during the job interview?
Why do people keep procrastinating on learning new skills, making a new move, making necessary changes or doing an investment that will bring the ultimate change they desire in life?

I tell school owners, teachers, managers and business owners that I mentor, coach or train, that if all they do with their phone were to make and receive calls, send messages, go on social media and watch reels, then their smartphones aren't useful in their hands!
Do you know the amount of immense power and opportunities you have with a smartphone in your hand?

You're the CEO of your life! All you need to bring the change you desire into your life is within you - an unflinching faith in your dream, a burning passion for the value you shall offer, a positive mindset, proper prior planning and strategic collaborations!
You may have noticed that I didn't mention money. Money can come from different sources later but you've got to start first.👌

You have an idea right? Start first with planning on paper and working out those you will need to help you on your journey. If there are skills you will need for that idea to grow, go learn that skill now! Stop wasting time.

We once had a teacher who left our school post Covid because she got a job at a federal University. When she complained that they weren't being paid salaries by the university, I told her to think of a craft she would love to learn. She said she lovef Fashion and designing, so I told her to look for a great boss who is skilled and good at what she does and to register in their school of Fashion. When the started learning from this woman, there were times she wanted to stop going to the shop and I kept encouraging her. Then I told her to make Youtube videos her 'bestie' and to begin to watch videos of other designers, to learn other ways of making a design different from what her boss was teaching her. This lady listened and began to improve on herself. I then told her to seek to take up the difficult designs that come into their shop and to look for an online mentor who will train her online from time to time. I told her to get ready to pay the mentor. If you aren't willing to pay money to improve on yourself, it simply tells us that you aren't determined about your destination!

Fast forward to today, this young lady has graduated from the Fashion school and worked an additional 2 years with her boss before leaving to start hers. Some people will want to leave immediately they graduate to start theirs because they cant want to be their own boss. Some others will look for cunning ways to steal their boss' customers by telling them that they've been the ones seeing their clothes and that they sew better than their boss. Then they will offer to take cheaper fees from these clients on order to open their new shop with a lot of customers.😏
My friend, do not allow impatience, greed and disloyalty finish your destiny for you! Karma is unforgiving.

Do you know that the lady doesn't own a shop but works from home and she is being choked with so much orders?
Difficult designs which customers request for in her boss' shop are sent to her and her boss tells her to charge whatever she wants for the clothes.🔥 Some of the graduation dresses of our students were made by her and at a point, she said she couldn't take any more orders as her hands were full. I kept referring parents to her.😍

You too can change your life if you're willing to fold up your sleeves, put your ego aside and get down to real work. You should also have a mentor to guide you through to success at a faster rate.
Many Nigerians aren't willing to do the work or to pay for a coach or mentor. They want everything free. Free training is just a tip of of what the coach really has to offer!

Make the decision to become responsible for the change you need in your life! Then get to work without any delay. Delays are dangerous!

I look forward to a more successful you!👍

*For personal or business coaching, mentorship or consulting that brings you 10X success, call or WhatsApp my number today - ±2348033130456. Let's begin your journey with you and support you all the way to your success destination. If you've started the journey and you know you need support to enable you mastermind your way to success, then reach out to me now. Allow me to show you a better and quicker way to success through strategic planning. You don't have to walk that road alone or make a lot of costly mistakes until you get it right.
But note, that I take on only visionary people who know exactly what they want and are ready to put in the work!

Aragon! Become......!

Today is a great day to be alive!💯💃❤

19/03/2024

ENTRANCE EXAM FOR THE 2024/2025 SESSION:
Petra College, Awka invites candidates to register for our forthcoming Entrance Examinations in March, May and July this year.

Our students enjoy learning with the current tech-based methods in a differentiated classroom.
Boarding rooms are homely and devoid of bullying.
Every student works to achieve a brilliant performance each term with the support of friendly faculty.

Reach us through chats today on Whatsapp to know more - https://wa.me/message/KTSBGOPLZNAXK1

See more details in the flyers posted below.

01/01/2024

29/11/2023

School Business Owners (long post alert!):
School owners must think of sustainability when implementing any strategy against competitors in business. Do not start what you cannot continue!

Sometimes, business people sho.ot themselves in the foot trying to outrun nearby businesses.
If you allow anything now, you will have to continue with it. The day you decide to make a change, most parents will angrily reject the change by moving to another school!

Some schools do a lot of things to keep parents like - giving crazy discounts, free tuition for a second or third child or making the school bus transport free. Now don't get me wrong. You can offer incentives once in a while to your customers in business but you should have a standard and maintain it!

I don't want to talk about the gifts that are given to children during graduation or Christmas parties.😔 Most of these gifts are not even for the child's direct use! Parents now dictate to school owners the gifts they want for parties and whether you like it or not, you must buy these gifts to keep them happy.

Where and how did we go wrong with school business in our country? Where is the professionalism?
Daily, we see school owners running around and trying to please parents at ALL costs while forgetting that their school is a business entity - You have a business to run!

One major problem we have in the Education sector is the fact that there is no enforcement of guidelines, ethics or laws on school business operations in the different states. The government have decided to ignore us because they have nothing to lose. So they take all the taxes from private schools and do not provide the agreed amount of investment into Education by the UN.
The only hope which was supposed to come from parenting Groups/Associations has been dashed to the ground by the proliferation of different groups or associations.
Each fighting for a different goal. These associations have left off their primary duty which are: primarily advocacy with the government, supporting and regulating the activities of member schools. They are busy competing with each other!😏

One of the greatest challenge in Education is having people who lack the required skills, set up and run a school. This is the reason why they run schools like market women with the 'buy one and get one free' mentality.
Most school owners started their businesses without doing short courses on Business Administration, Strategic Leadership, Financial Accounting, Marketing, Communication, Crisis Management, Innovation, Business Operation etc.
Some have never read up on business ethics and national business laws. These are areas of study that will give you the needed skills to thrive in your business.
If you don't have these skills, then employ people who have the skills and allow them to run your school.
Otherwise, go and learn these skills if you intend to move your business forward.

Learning does not have to stop for you. "Don't be too busy working in your business, that you forget to be work on your business!"

You need to go back to studying in 2024. You've done this business for a while on your own, using the trial-and-error method. You cannot continue with your business in this manner. Start learning and keep learning.

There are a lot of free courses in different educational apps, some are paid for, most are free and for some free courses, you may need to pay for the certificate at the end of the course. Download these Apps/courses and make time daily after work or while in your office to study.

Most business owners have gone through and some are still going through a lot of struggles financially, and health-wise. Some marriages have been affected by these struggles too and most school owners don't understand how to keep their work-life balance.

You can learn these skills.👌

There are a lot of things you won't do if you have knowledge. So, get knowledge and in doing so, get understanding.
Learning should be a life-long goal!

If you're doing the right things for your school business in line with business ethics, do not join the other school owners who play dirty tricks and go so low just to get children into their school. If they like, they should admit one child and give 100% scholarship or discount to their parents for their second child. Maintain your standards and quality. Time will set you apart from them.

Are you learning any new skills currently?

What new knowledge have you added to yourself this year?

What plans do you have for PD(Personal Development) next year?

How much time and money have you budgeted for learning next year?

What are the areas of business in which you lack practical knowledge?
These should be part of your study goals come 2024.

Stand out.

Let's go there!

For the love of Education,❤
Melissa.Chukwuma. 28.11.23.

12/10/2023

Musings of a school manager (Thursday):

Every time you allow people to do as they please with you and your time, you give away a portion of your success to them.

Stop allowing people to waste your time and your resources!

Set boundaries and gently but firmly insist on your boundaries. "There is time for everything on the face of the earth....."

Friends and family who regularly come to visit you in your office or place of work are time wasters!!
Your office is not a place for endless jist or talks. They can be done on the phone, during lunch or at home.

You should stop allowing vendors into your office to display their wares or goods too. If they have a car, quickly pick what you need from their car at the car park and discharge the person to move on with their sales.
It is not professional to have bags of crayfish, dry fish and other food items littered on the floor and table in your office. Even after the sale is done, the after-smell remains.😕

There is so much to do in a school as the manager or supervisor.
*All visitors to the office should not exceed a certain amount of time unless they are August visitors.
* For parents on enquiry, 3 - 5 minutes should cover your pleasantries and sales pitch with them! Unless they have a lot of questions which weren't covered in your pitch, hand over all necessary documents and quickly get them to love your brand.
*Fix a time of the day when you make your calls, reply to letters, emails, chats, and inbox messages.
*Work with a plan and daily goals. Tick as you achieve each goal. Be conscious of your time!
*Move from class to class for supervision and monitoring.
*Check topics treated for the week, notes copied, workbooks used and if they are graded.
*Look out for errors in notes copied and correct wrong handwriting.
*Check if the class is clean and table surfaces wiped especially for Nursery and Preschool classes.
*Check their toilets, potties and water sinks or wash-hand basins. Are they clean?
*Assess and ask questions on the progress made by SEN pupils. Think of other methods to use if the current one isn't working for that particular child. Seek help from specialists and certified SEN teachers too.
*As you supervise, spend some time with each teacher to see how they manage their classes. Share best practices after each lesson with your teacher.
*Look out for any object that could cause harm in each class and fix it immediately.
*Check to make sure that every child is on task and that they are all active in class.
*Visit all official documents that should be kept by the class teachers plus the registers. Are the records up to date?
*Ensure that the classroom climate is friendly and welcoming for each child. No discrimination or neglect should be going on in the classroom.
*Say 'NO' to bullying of any form whether verbal, emotional, social, online or physical. Every child must feel safe in the school space.

There is so much to do as a school manager or supervisor.
So stop sitting at that table. Move around daily.
Even if you have CCTV cameras in classes, one visit daily would be refreshing for everyone. Find out errors before parents do. This is very important.👌

Why do you come into your office and sit there till closure? Move around. The exercise is good for you.😁

Thorough supervision is important if you wish to build an effective school system and a great school culture.
You can't get tired of it.

If you have head teachers and principals running your school, 'who is guarding the guards' then? And do you get daily feedback?

Opening a school is one thing, running a successful school is another.

Get involved daily. You must know what's happening in your business. Do not leave this to chance!

Dear school manager, manage well.
The lives and future of these lovely children in your care depend on this.❤
God bless you with grace and wisdom as you do.🙏

For the love of Education,
Melissa Chukwuma.❤❤

👇Join us for a quantum leap Rwanda!
08033130456 (WhatsApp chats only).

28/08/2023

Dear School Owner,
Come close because I want to share something with you.

You see those monies parents pay into your account as school fees, it is not your own!

Say what???

Yes, it's not your own!!

Did I hear you say, "So whose own is it?"

I will tell you if you're ready to read to the end and promise to do something with what I will share with you.

You see, the school fees paid into your account are monies paid for services that you're supposed to render to your students and their parents (your customers).

The school fees paid are for the following plus more:
*Purchase of study materials for students and teaching materials for teachers.
*Rent and maintenance. Even if you're in your building, you ought to pay rent to yourself.
*Payment of extracurricular services and items for it.
*Payment of salaries. I have said it severally, if you own a school, pay yourself. Choose what is ideal for you based on your revenue and receive that salary every month. Then ensure you keep to your salary. Stop dipping hands into the school account for personal needs.
*Government bills, taxes and revenues. These should be paid promptly.
*Utilities and general business running costs.

So you see, if you're in the habit of rejoicing beginning of the term because you feel that money is coming😃or so that you can buy whatever you need or go shopping, STOP IT!!😕

Some school owners start spending school fees before these fees begin to drop into the account.😢

You need to stop buying things just because there is money in your school account and delete all those online shopping sites if you can't resist the urge to shop.🎯

Do you want to tell yourself the hard truth or not?

If you want to, then know from today that:
*It's not every new phone upgrade that comes out that you must buy.
*It's not everything you don't have that you must purchase. Buy only what you need and the things you can't do without.
*It is not every party that demands 'asoebi' that you must attend.
*You don't have to buy another brand-new car if the one you have is fully functional.
*You should stop people or friends who bring stuff to your office for sales. Your school is not a sales ground!
*You do not run any charity work with students' school fees. If you must do charity, use your salary for it and if you use it up, you know that you have to wait till the end of the next month to get another money.😌
*Do not lend anyone money from school fees paid. Lend people money from your salary unless you put aside certain money for such purpose every term.
*School fees are not there for you to travel abroad unless you have taken care of all school needs and set aside staff salaries for the whole term. You can only decide to travel using your profit.
*Every term, you should keep a certain percentage of your profit as savings. From your savings, you can begin to think of other types of investments. Invest in things that will make you money even while you sleep and in other business ideas.
*Find reasonable suppliers and if you can, outsource any area of school service which doesn't necessarily need your presence.
*Stop borrowing money from Microfinance banks. Their interests are cut-throat!!
*Spend only when necessary. You're in business to make a profit. So, cut down on the costs of running your business.
*Get involved in the management of your school business. You don't need to be there physically though especially if you have competent hands, but you should know what is going on in your business and receive feedback from management staff. If your business is young, you may not be able to stay away from it.
*Take care of yourself, and your health. Find time for your family.❤

When we consult for school owners, I usually notice some key areas neglected and some gaps in their school business. You need to lead with a plan and great strategies.

So, I ask again, what is stopping you from achieving your desired growth or level of success?

Tell yourself the truth today. Write them down, go to work on each and get help from Consultants or Coaches if you need it.👌

For the love of the Education Sector,❤
Melissa. Chukwuma. 27.08.23.

13/08/2023

Dear School Owner,
Can you stop running your school with the 'Fire brigade' mentality?

Nothing just happens!

If you want a great term or session, you have to lay all your plans down and budget your way through it!
Next stick to your budget, making allowance only for circumstances which are unforeseen.

You need to stop stressing. It isn't good for your health.
Put all your bills, loan repayment (if any) and school growth bills into your budget.
If you want to buy any land, bus or equipment, put in savings for their cost into your budget too.

Have a plan please.
Don't jump into buying anything because you see others buying now. Plan yourself so that you don't get into financial troubles.

This long break is the time for:
*Evaluation (termly or yearly)
*Curriculum review (if needed)
*Yearly calendar broken into termly calendars with school activities.
*School growth plans and marketing plans.
*Recruitment and onboarding.
*Purchase of items needed in the school.
* Renovation and Repairs.
*Long Rest! This one is non-negotiable oo.🤩

To be sincere, some business owners and school owners started working on the list above since January this year.

But it's not too late to start.

Plan on paper!
Have a 'Plan' book.

Write down all you want to accomplish in the next 1 year, 2 years and in the next 5 years on this book.

Then follow through by writing down what you need to accomplish these goals whether finance, strategy, human resource, collaborations or materials.

Develop how to get started on each goal. Make necessary calls and determine the capital you may need. Then write down your budget for the session (business year) and break it down into 3 terms. Now you have a budget for first term, look through it again and review your plans to make sure you accommodated every need in your budget.

Begin to work out your plan using your budget.

*You can create a think-tank with a few members of your team to achieve this.

Do not do this alone. Get them on board.

Let the first term run seamlessly because you planned well and followed a budget.

"Any business owner who refuses to plan well has automatically planned to fail!"

Stop running around and panicking or thinking where the next salary or family meal shall come from!!!

Do yourself a favour - Plan, Budget, Collaborate and Implement.🔥

*Remember innovations too. Add something new each session to spice up your activities.👌😍

I love seeing growth in the Education space.❤

Melissa Chukwuma. 13.08.2023.

12/04/2023

Just thinking🤔:
Your value is not only dependent on your personality or skills.
It is rather more dependent on what you make with that personality or skill and how much impact you give out daily.👌💯

So do not sit still claiming that you're a person of value, you need to go out to your family, organization, associations, community and nation to create an impact.
The more impact you create, the more valuable you become!👍

The world is needy and waiting, what are you gonna do with your giftings and skills?

Start where you are.
Do something worthy daily.
Give freely.
Become more empathetic and people-oriented.
Make the world a better place, community by community.

And some say to me, "Melissa but I don't know what I have that I can use to be a blessing to people around me" and I will always respond thus - "Take that thing which you're very good at and you know you enjoy doing, go perfect that skill and while you're at it, use that same skill to put smiles on peoples faces. It may be talking, writing, negotiations, dance, music, counselling, parenting, care, medical knowledge, kindness, philanthropy, business sense, leadership, technology, photography, gifted hands, organizing, management, teaching, creativity, innovation etc."

Use that same thing which you are good at and are passionate about to put smiles on people's faces every day.😀☺

This will increase your value and the more valuable you become, the more money you attract!!💰💰💰

Stand Out!

You're here for a purpose.
Find it and fulfil it no matter the challenges!!
Get support too when you need it.🤗

My name is Melissa Chukwuma and I love to see you Thrive.❤
12.04.2023.

07/04/2023

SEVEN INDICATORS THAT YOU WILL BECOME SUCCESSFUL OR RICH AS AN EDUCATOR:

*You love your work and you are passionate about children and how they learn.
*You are a good role model and mentor to your students and other teachers. You understand the ethics of this profession.
*You are a good manager of time, resources and relationships.
*You are always learning, attending trainings, reading up stuff about your career online and quite teachable.
*You understand what investment means. You save money monthly and invest into yourself plus your side hustles (if any).
*You find mentors in experienced Teachers who are achievers, in excellent school managers and successful school owners. You follow these people and develop a relationship with a few to grow capacity and understand teaching, trends and school business.
*You understand the importance of effective planning for your lessons, activities, goals and for your life. You set goals for the next 5 to 10 years of your life and you go to great work to achieve them.

Dear teacher/educator, there are so many leadership and money making opportunities in the field of education. But you can only achieve these when you've grown the capacity and achieved soft skills.

Stop looking at people who are unwilling to grow and who maintain the status quo as teachers - those who are unwilling to improve on themselves.
Look up to fellow educators who are succeeding and are successful. Find out how they made it and why they are successful. Ask questions, read everyday and learn from the best.

People have this negative notion that teaching means 'poverty and lack'.🙁 This isn't true in the 21st century.❌

Opportunities abound in the educational field and I hope to find time one day to share about these opportunities.

If you are a poor teacher today, you have yourself to blame!!

Melissa Chukwuma. 07.04.2023.