Today we’d like to introduce you to Bonnie Treece.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
At the risk of sounding nerdy, school has been a passion of mine since a young age. After being told by my kindergarten teacher that I was “slow” and needed “extra help,” I felt completely dejected. I struggled with confidence and truly believed I was stupid.
However, in first grade, I started doing really well and discovered that – not only was I not stupid – actually had a knack for learning…. and for teaching others. When I saw friends struggling with math, I would explain a trick I had realized, and I loved seeing them smile and feel the same confidence I had recently found.
I continued to excel in school and loved that I helped empower students in my free time. In middle school, though, I found I had too many students for a 12-year-old to handle, so I decided to start charging a fee for my tutoring service. To my amazement, a few kids (and their parents who were footing the bill) stuck around. I improved upon my teaching and communication skills and continued tutoring in high school and throughout college.
After graduating summa cum laude, I planned to apply for doctorate programs in the field of neuropsychology, but life had other plans. A college student I was still tutoring after graduation encouraged me to take my tutoring business more seriously. She challenged me to try to go full-time with my tutoring business over the next few weeks. I laughed but accepted the challenge. Within two weeks, my calendar was overflowing! I was booked until after midnight on most weekdays and all day on weekends.
I realized I was on to something and could help more students than I had ever imagined. I felt terrible though because more students kept coming and I simply didn’t have space in my schedule. That’s when it hit me that I should hire more passionate tutors who can help with the overflow, and The Brain Domain was born. That was a little over three years ago. Now we have many tutors on staff with clients across the country, two locations, and plans to open a Dallas location later this year.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As with most things in life, there have been some bumps along the road in my journey…one of which was my health. About two years ago, I became extremely ill. I went from doctor to doctor and even ended up at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for several weeks. I was told I likely had stage 4 lymphoma with CNS involvement; the prognosis was not good.
Thankfully, after a couple surgeries, we were able to determine that I either don’t have lymphoma or that I have a very low-grade lymphoma. I’m still not feeling my best and am scheduled to see more specialists and have more MRIs later this month, but it’s led me to be clearer about my vision for my company and more careful with my time and energy.
I’ve realized that the best place for me to be is in the seat of the CEO. I can no longer be the tutor and the one always on the go working in the field while also coming home late at night to continue running and growing the business. The transition from working “in” the business to working “on” the business was very difficult for me emotionally, but it’s one of the best decisions I have ever made for my health.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with The Brain Domain – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
The Brain Domain is an educational services company. We offer tutoring, test prep, college counseling, and scholarship advising. We are most known for the quality of our services and customer service. We have spread across the country with no paid advertising, simply based on referrals and all of our 5-star reviews. (Every single one of our reviews on every website is 5-stars, nothing less, and I take that very seriously.)
We have worked with all types and ages of students: from 3-year-olds with special needs to graduate students getting their doctorate in nursing and older adults going back to college. Our ability to tutor students of such wide ages and needs as well as our ability to tutor online really sets us apart. But what I think sets us apart more than anything is our customer service. I care so deeply about what we are offering to our students and I really want them to have the best experience possible. When students first sign up with us, we send them a welcome card and brownies.
On their birthdays, it’s a birthday card and cake batter cookies. After a hard test that they aced, a congratulatory card and special treat. And when they get into college with our college counseling program, I personally take the student out to dinner at the restaurant of their choice. No matter how large The Brain Domain grows, we are committed to always have a heart and soul in the business. We always want our students and their families to feel connected with us and know how much we care. That won’t change.
The reason our students have such a positive experience is also because of our incredible tutors. We are so grateful to have the best tutors around on our team; from breast cancer researchers to teachers to biomedical engineers, everyone on The Brain Domain’s team is incredibly bright, passionate, and experienced. They are what make The Brain Domain the organization that it is. The credentials, experience, and personalities of our tutors are unmatched in other tutoring companies.
All of our tutors have at least a college degree, and most have a master’s or Ph.D. I am so proud of the caliber of tutors we attract.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are going to continue to expand our online tutoring program so that we can help more students who don’t live in our direct area. We’re also opening a location in Dallas later this year and plan to expand to Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. next year. In addition, we plan on offering more online test prep options at an affordable price point so that more students around the country will have access to the best tutoring.
Pricing:
- Initial Consultation (for tutoring and test prep) with Bonnie Treece $100
- Initial Consultation (for college counseling) with Bonnie Treece $250
Contact Info:
- Address: 2525 Robinhood, Houston, TX 77005
7207 Regency Square Blvd Ste. 260-4, Houston, TX 77036 - Website: www.the-brain-domain.com
- Phone: (713) 234-5784
- Email: contact@the-brain-domain.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/thebraindomain
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/thebraindomain
- Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/the-brain-domain-houston
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
