The story behind the name

What do you call a tutoring business?

Dawn Strachan Tutoring? No that doesn’t work.

Phenomenal tutors? No that doesn't work, it sounds like I’m bragging or lying.

Elephant tutors? No someone else probably does that, though I quite like it, it still doesn't feel right.

When I first started the business in 2012, I presumed it needed a name. Surely every business needed a name. It felt like common sense. I called it Starr Tutoring. Starr was my maiden name, and I had always been proud to be known as Dawn Starr, daughter to Cliff and Ann, sister to Jason. It was also an acknowledgment to my dad as he was the greatest role model I could ever have had but died when I was just 16. Starr also seemed to make sense because of the connotations of star.

It worked. I put little thought into it at that stage, Starr just made perfect, logical sense.

7 years later, in 2019, I decided it was time to grow the business and franchise. I was advised that I would need to trademark the company name and filled in the official forms and stat back waiting for the clarification to come through.

Several days later, I had a letter stating that a company was contesting the name as it was too close to theirs: Star. They were an educational company, not tutoring, courses and training I think, and their name was simply star.

I was told I could appeal against their claim if I wanted to, but it could take up to 5 years to get a result, cost around £20k, and possibly not win anyway.

That just seemed like an illogical gamble. But if I couldn’t be Starr Tutoring, what?

I was so proud of what we had built up and to move away from that, felt like betrayal, not just of the company, but also my dad’s name. (At this point, I was clearly struggling to differentiate between myself and the company).

That was when I started to ask what do you call a tutoring business?

Dawn Strachan Tutoring? No that doesn’t work, I’ve never liked my name. I don’t feel proud of it, yet I was proud of my business.

Phenomenal tutors? No that doesn't work, it sounds like I’m bragging or lying.

Great Tutors? No, that’s even worse!

Elephant tutors? Oak Tree Tutors? No someone else probably does that, though I quite like it, it still doesn't feel right.

I wanted it to be personal, to reflect that we offer a personal service. We treat each child, each student like an individual, not like a clone of the child before. I felt that a generic name, reflected a generic service.

It took weeks of dog walks in lockdown and conversations with her, to decide.

I have 3 children. Clara, Jamie, and Angel.

Jamie is also a nod at my dad whose middle name was James.

So, Clara (my oldest daughter) James (my son and my dad) Tutoring. Perfect.

With an angel for the logo. When the logo designer came back with an image of an angel reading a book, I knew it was right. As a young child, Angel had been the biggest book work in creation.

I love my kids more than anything. They are the thing I am most proud of in my life, so naming the business after them just made perfect sense.

Maybe I over thought it. But to me it was important, I needed it to be something I felt proud of when I spoke to people about the company.

And I am, I am so proud of what we have created and so grateful for all the support we have had along the way.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

If you have ever considered joining a tutoring franchise and would like detail of the Clara James Tutoring franchise, you can learn more about it here: The Clara James Franchise Details