Meet James Pipkin of Knowledge Guides in Arlington

Today we’d like to introduce you to James Pipkin.

James, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started tutoring students in math and English in 1993 when I was a graduate student at UT Arlington. I was surprised to discover that I enjoyed tutoring, was good at it, and could turn it into a business. I also taught algebra and test prep classes at some of the local community colleges while I expanded my clientele. After a few months, I started to get booked up and decided to recruit some other tutors to help me. We covered everything kids might need help with from study skills to Spanish. I leased office space and set up a small classroom where I started offering SAT Prep Classes. However, after a few years of trying to cover everything, I decided that it would be better to focus on SAT and ACT Prep. Becoming more specialized has been the right decision

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Like many small businesses, our advertising budget has always been modest, and finding out the best way to share or story and what we offer has been a challenge. I have purchased ads and signed up for advertising campaigns that didn’t always work.

Fortunately, I have been blessed with a very savvy marketing adviser from CSI who has taught me that the best way to grow my business is by marketing to my previous clients who are satisfied with our service.

Knowledge Guides – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Knowledge Guides is a small, local test prep center, located in Arlington, Texas. We provide customized individual and small group prep for college admissions tests. Since 1993, we have helped thousands of high school students improve their performance on these tests by keeping our classes small and structuring our programs so that students have enough time to master test taking strategies and to recognize and address skill areas needing improvement. Small group and individual programs give students an opportunity to select the best strategies for them. Often, strategies that work well for one student may not work best for another.

Each program taught at Knowledge Guides has been designed by James Pipkin, author of The Parent’s Guide to the SAT and ACT (2007) and SAT/ACT Prep Teacher for over 24 years.

At Knowledge Guides, we believe that each student has the ability to improve their test-taking skills when they work at it. In fact, this is something that James Pipkin, the company owner has experienced himself. During college, he found that once he filled in some skill gaps and learned the right test-taking skills he became a better test-taker.

Individually Focused – Each SAT and ACT class is capped at 8 students so that each student gets plenty of feedback from the instructor. This way the teacher can advise each student on the best strategy for them. Alternatively, parents can choose an individual tutoring program if they want to focus exclusively on the areas the student needs to work on.

Lessons From Experienced SAT and ACT Experts – This gives us the ability to give students informed recommendations on which strategies would work best for them. Our extensive experience is critical in assessing how each student learns best.

A Proven Approach – Our programs are structured and scheduled so that students have enough time to learn the strategies and techniques that will help them score their best.

Since we’re small, we’re able to be more flexible in ways that usually produce better results.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career was the publication of my book in 2007, The Parent’s Guide to the SAT and ACT; Preparing your Child for College by Upstream Press. I enjoyed the opportunity to organize my thoughts on how to deal with some of the challenges facing kids as they prepare for college. I also enjoyed the feedback I received from parents who had read the book and decided to share what they had experienced.

Contact Info:

• Address: 3901 West Green Oaks, Suite A
  Arlington, TX 76016
• Website: https://knowledgeguides.net/
• Phone: 817-451-6200
• Email: knowledgeguides@hotmail.com

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