Spring 2008 BBI NxLeveL™ Graduate DiYonna sat down for a BBI interview conducted by Chantel Demolle. As part of BBI's 15th Anniversary Celebration in 2018, BBI will spotlight some of its notable alumni.

BBI: How long has Vision Tutoring been in business?
Mitchell: We just celebrated our 10th year Anniversary in January of 2018.

BBI: What prompted you to attend Bronner Business Institute’s NxLevel training course in 2008?
Mitchell: My husband and I expanded our tutoring company in 2008. I’ve been tutoring since I was 8 years old but didn’t know how to start a business. Although I was doing a lot of research, it was difficult to decipher all the information needed to create a business plan. I knew that one of the end-results of the BBI course would be a completed business plan. I’m also very particular when it comes to finances and try to be wise about spending…so if I was going to invest money, I knew I would commit to the course and end up with a completed business plan.

BBI: What, if any, are some sacrifices you faced in attending this 15-week course?
Mitchell: Time. My husband and I worked and attended all BBI classes. In addition to the three-hour class each week, we had homework, research activities, and writing pieces, so we would stay up very late brainstorming and working on our business plans.

BBI: How was your business initially set up?
Mitchell: Although I was a full-time teacher, I would tutor both on the side and weekends. When I began getting more clients than I could personally fit into my schedule, I referred them to colleagues and friends who were exceptional educators. It didn’t occur to me to expand the business to hire additional tutors until I prayed to God for direction.

BBI: What were your major takeaways from the course?
Mitchell: The business plan…having a plan in place. Receiving feedback for how to improve and enhance our programs. How to implement the models we established. I also learned a lot about marketing and how to be competitive with respect to understanding competitors’ practices, which allowed us to determine how we could set ourselves apart from other similar organizations.

BBI: How did you identify your target market?

Mitchell: I knew that I wanted to help kids who were in dire need of academic assistance but whose families couldn’t afford it. Coincidentally, the contract with the Department of Education (DOE) was designed to target children from low-income households who were performing well below grade level. During that contract, we served 13 metro Atlanta school districts while the Georgia DOE paid for the children’s’ tutoring services.

BBI: How do you market to them?
Mitchell: After identifying eligible schools, we then considered the public locations that the parents of the children who attended these schools might frequent such as Walmart, libraries, and other places. We also leveraged social media and created email blasts, amongst other grassroots marketing strategies.

BBI: How many employees do you have?
Mitchell: Five employees and 100+ contractors/tutors.

BBI: Are you currently partnered with any schools?
Mitchell: Yes, we partner with various schools in APS.

BBI: What made you sure that it was time to advance the direction of your business or passion, or to better develop your skills as a business owner?
Mitchell: Bishop Bronner recently stated that “your ministry comes from your misery.” That’s what happened with me. I loved teaching but disliked the politics and stifled creativity. I felt that God had more in store for my purpose and that He could use me to reach so many more students. After I left the school system, I remained in education and began working for a tutoring company. Although everything started out very well, God allowed me to become so uncomfortable in that environment, that it pushed me to want to step out and expand my business. In faith, my husband and I wrote a business proposal to apply for a tutoring contract with the Department of Education and enrolled in BBI’s NxLevel course. Not only did we obtain the contract with the DOE, but we also won $25,000 in the BBI Business Plan Competition. We were miraculously announced as the winners and presented with the award less than one week before our first payroll, which was only a few hundred dollars less than what we had received. It was like a domino effect, with all the pieces falling in God’s divine order.

BBI: How equipped did/do you feel after having taken the NxLevel course?
Mitchell: I initially had no written plan, but I had great passion. I felt confident that this was the course God intended for me but had no clue how to get there. I’m convinced that without BBI’s NxLevel class, my husband and I wouldn’t be where we are today. We just celebrated our 10th year in business and are now working on adding enrichment programs to our services.

BBI: What advice do you have for aspiring business owners reading this interview, who may be concerned about walking in their purpose or starting their business?
Mitchell: If you desire to know your purpose, get more in your Word, pray often, and look at the talents you’re passionate about. If you want to understand how to implement your new or existing business, definitely take the class! The class is rich with information. I checked out books from the library on starting a business but I had no guidance. I received guidance from the class.

BBI: Last question…where were you in life when this “domino effect” of events happened, which led to the start of your successful business?
Mitchell: I was in a special place with God. I decidedly made up my mind that I wanted to do what God intended for me to do and to be intentional about it and about reading His word. I had “rededicated my life” back to God as an adult and was still continuing to walk down the paths I felt Him leading me. This is when I started walking in my destiny.

DiYonna Mitchell's Vision Tutoring won the BBI 2008 Business Plan Competition and received a business grant award of $25,000.  Pictured above left to right are Willard "Chuck" Lewis (then CEO of One Georgia Bank), Alfred Watkins (Exec. Director of BBI), DiYonna & Yohance Mitchell (Vision Tutoring), Bishop Dale C. Bronner (Pastor & Founder of Word Of Faith Family Worship Cathedral).