Tri-Ed Tutoring specializes in private one-to-one and small group tutoring for all academic subjects and SAT/ACT Prep. Although Tri-Ed works with a wide range of students from Kindergarten through college, the majority of their students are collegebound high schoolers.

Amanda Paldao founded Tri-Ed Tutoring in 2006, immediately after graduating from college with a Masters in Teaching. “I had been a tutor throughout college and decided to try starting my own tutoring business—how hard could it be? I admittedly knew nothing about running a business and learned fairly quickly just how challenging it can be,” says Tri-Ed Tutoring founder, Paldao.

Amanda started by reading every book on how to start a business and learning as she went—a method she would not recommend to other budding entrepreneurs. Over the years, she has sought out the help of various business coaches and mentors to understand how to run and grow a business more systematically. Having a mentor to bounce ideas off of and hold her accountable has been incredibly valuable.

By 2020, she had a thriving, well-established tutoring business. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Like many businesses, her revenue was cut in half almost overnight. With schools closed, she could no longer hold small group after school SAT classes in local high schools. All of the one-to-one tutoring transitioned online. Not only was the decrease in revenue stressful and discouraging but the pandemic also made it lonely to be an entrepreneur. Some of the usual supports, like in-person networking groups, were no longer there.

Amanda knew the importance of a business mentor to help weather the inevitable storms and reached out to Mason Small Business Development Center where she was matched with Terry Saeger.

“When I started Tri-Ed, I was 23 years old and full of energy. In 2020, I had a newborn and four-year-old at home and I was really unsure if I had the motivation and time to rebuild my business after COVID. When I first reached out to Terry, my initial intention was to talk about my options for selling or closing a business. Thankfully Terry talked through the pros and cons of all of the options with me. With his help, I started to see over the hurdle and realize that I could weather this storm too. I was able to regain my confidence and enthusiasm.”

Although Amanda had over a decade in business before reaching out to Mason SBDC, she knew how necessary having a business mentor is. Terry helps keep Amanda accountable to her goals and taking steps forward to develop her business as it rebounds post-COVID.