Enterprise Nation

Toniks is in the business of teaching foreign languages online. But on Friday, co-founder of the company, Mike Hollands could be found on stage teaching us a thing or two about how to start and grow a home business. This is what we learned in a performance that shows why Toniks was crowned 2008 Home Business of the Year. 

Mike Hollands tells the Toniks story

Taken from an interview with Mike Hollands, these are a few of the key points that came out as defining the company's success to date. They act as useful prompts for home business owners everywhere.

1. Be patient – Mike and Karen Hollands lived in Brazil for six years running a traditional language school with classrooms and training space. They knew there was a better way to connect linguists with students but the technology to help them do it was not available. They perfected their ideas over these years and waited for the technology to come to market that allowed them to take their idea to market.
2. Select your team with care – Toniks adopts a rigorous process to find its teachers. This includes online interviews with Mike and Karen, interviews with other teachers and in-depth skills testing. Toniks wants to be sure of only choosing the best talent. Their business depends upon it.
3. And then treat them well – teachers who work for Toniks are self-employed yet have a feeling of being part of a Toniks family. All teachers are paid the same rate (to ensure transparency) and Toniks HQ is incredibly aware of ensuring a positive work/life balance for their team. This is what Karen Hollands had to say in the entry to the Home Business Awards:
   “Toniks’ business model allows considerable flexibility for the tutors we employ too. Examples of the flexibility of our model include Vanda, a Russian tutor based in Sweden who recently had a baby.  She has given us her baby’s sleeping patterns during the day, and we now book lessons for her around the baby’s timetable!  Another example is Minyi, a Mandarin tutor based in Frankfurt.  She had to visit her family in China when a close relative became ill suddenly. During the six weeks she was there Minyi continued providing her regular lessons to Toniks’ students in the UK as if nothing had happened.” 
4. Know your USP – Mike was asked about competition. His reply was confident in claiming there are other companies offering online language tuition but the unique selling point (USP) for Toniks is in the quality of the teachers they use. He knew Toniks place in the market and how the company differentiates itself from others. 
5. Work with big partners but keep overheads small - Mike spoke of the Toniks approach to partnering with big brands yet keeping a sharp eye on driving down the costs of doing business.
6. Grow at your own pace – possibly the most surprising point (to me) was Mike’s comment that Toniks sees many new opportunities for business growth but right now the company will grow at a manageable pace. This will continue until Mike and Karen’s children are a bit older – freeing up Mum and Dad to dedicate more time to the business and realise the full extent of opportunities. Mike and Karen have the freedom and flexibility to choose the pace at which they grow. 
7. Profile, profile, profile – Mike travelled from Weybridge to Ironbridge to tell people about his business. The company entered the Home Business Awards (and won) to tell people about the business. The company has a partnership with Skype that involves Skype telling people about the business.

It’s the last point but just as important as the rest … it pays to be well profiled.  

Thanks to Mike Hollands for taking the time to talk to us.  – Emma Jones

• Home Business of the year: Toniks
• Toniks