Edwin Deriquito worked for many years in the electronics and engineering fields in the Philippines and Japan before coming to the United States. After his American company was sold and he lost his wife to cancer, Deriquito knew he needed a change that would allow him to support and spend time with his four children. He talked to his brother, the owner of a Kumon Centre.
While he did not come from a family of entrepreneurs, buying a Kumon franchise of his own made perfect sense to Deriquito. His own four children had been enrolled in Kumon in the Philippines. Having seen them succeed in school using the Kumon Method, Deriquito knew how the program enhances educational achievement for students and sets them up for success in school and later in life. In 2015, Deriquito opened Kumon Centre of Corona-South in California.
All Kumon owners serve as the primary instructors and operators at their centres. “I never pictured myself as a teacher,” Deriquito says, “but the rewards are so fulfilling. I wasn’t great at math in school, so I understand the struggle. The kids give me drawings and thank-you notes. A mom embraced me when her kid won an award at school. It’s priceless.”
While Deriquito did not have a teaching background, Kumon leads a thorough orientation for new owners that teaches them how to be instructors. Kumon also provides the teaching materials unique to their proven method.
Coming from an electronics and engineering background, Deriquito says, the technical side of owning a business is easy for him. “I worked in business management and marketing, and those skills are helpful for explaining Kumon to people,” he says. He adds that his work in Japan helps him relate to the systematic approach of the Kumon method. “Kumon started in Japan, so it’s very organized and efficient.”
The support Kumon provides to franchise owners has been important to Deriquito, starting with the reasonable upfront expense that is lower than many franchise opportunities. He also appreciates incentives such as Kumon buying the furniture and primary signage.
Becoming a Kumon owner/instructor was a big change for Deriquito, but he is grateful that he took the leap.
“Kumon is the thing for me,” he says. “I’m not a perfect teacher. Every day is a learning day. When I wonder if this is the thing for me until I stop working, the answer is always yes.”
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