There is a saying which goes “Entrepreneurship is difficult, it is harder to maintain a business.” In 2014, when Maymei was establishing [Teacher Yap Early Child Reading & Brain Development], her friends would question the distrust that locals have……These were to test Maymei’s toughness and perseverance.
“Some friends said that Rawang is really messy, security is bad, and no locals have ever heard of [Teacher Yap], which tells me that the tuition center in Rawang is not progressing…… I thought to myself that: every place deserves a place for kids to learn, Rawang is no exception which is why I am here.”
Maymei is in charge of 5 out of the 53 [Teacher Yap] centers in Malaysia as a business operator. She thought that since Kuala Lumpur city center already has a branch for [Teacher Yap], she decided to start one in Rawang. Although Rawang is not the first branch she started, she felt pressured as she was questioned by locals. “In the beginning as she met with parents in Rawang, some of them were hesitant to pay the fee since they were afraid that we were part of a scam organization; some would advise me not to hit or scold the students, if we do not teach well, the entire pasar (market) would know.”
Facing severe questioning, Maymei clenched her teeth and started to work harder. She headed to the market with teachers in the center to promote the center by placing flyers on cars at the carpark (which was questioned by the police), clipped them in newspapers, and handed them out at the local schools. These efforts are just to let others know about (Teacher Yap) and also the education mission. “Sometimes when I meet with a parent, I would talk to them up to two to three hours. I treated them as friends instead of customers to talk about the educational status, and teaching experiences at [Teacher Yap]. After establishing a good relation with them, it will be easier to teach their child since they will understand and cooperate with our teaching method.”
One day, a security problem occurred, Maymei and her sister met a male on the road by the carpark. The malewas extremely provocative causing them to be in fear. They quickly hopped into their car and called the police. When they arrived at the police station, they experienced a series of suffering. Luckily, they were able to talk with captain and Maymei took the chance and told captain that they have a center located in Rawang which causes her to feel on tenterhooks and heart aching everyday. “Our tuition center is located in the so called ‘red light district’. There are many cases where kids are kidnapped, therefore, teachers would often go downstairs to pick up and drop off the students to prevent a tragedy from happening. With your current management style, how do you expect Rawang’s security to improve?” the captain listened with patience and decided to give Maymei his personal phone number and contact him if anything were to arise. He also thanked Maymei for providing education in Rawang.
Starting a center is not easy, but with Maymei pouring in her hard work, the tuition center in Rawang is becoming stable while the reputation is improving. “One day, one of my teachers told me what her dad heard in the market which was (Teacher Yap) is very good, and he suddenly asked her it’s whereabouts. After her dad found out where she works, he said: “Oh my, I have been sending you to work everyday and I don’t even know that you work as a teacher there!”
After Maymei heard this joke, she bursted out laughing and felt touched since this is the result of her hard work. Although the process was hard, she received what she deserves.
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Teacher Yap: “Hardships will arise in every job, steady development is up to whether the business operators are hardworking but more on their beliefs and determination. “When the whole world distrusts you, will you still be able to trust yourself?
We having a special offer RM98 (4 lessons. Usual price is RM290) for our one-to-one Mandarin, Malay and English programmes as well as abacus mental arithmetic so that your child can experience the fun and unique learning at YelaoShr® Creative Learning Centre. This offer is valid at all 59 centres nationwide.
More info: https://teacheryap.com/voucher/
