Clive Power spent Dh300,000 on furniture, paint and equipment to make his tutoring centre in Knowledge Village more child-friendly.
Clive Power spent Dh300,000 on furniture, paint and equipment to make his tutoring centre in Knowledge Village more child-friendly.

Education is my only investment



Ever since I can remember, my parents have rewarded me for getting good grades at school. This, of course, motivated me to work hard at school and college; I have a degree in theology from the University of Oxford, a postgraduate certificate in education and an MBA. What's more, I'm also a qualified sports coach, specialising in football and netball, which is good for teaching physical education.

My years of studying have paid off as, nowadays, I run and manage Power Tutoring, an after-school private tuition centre at Dubai Knowledge Village. In the three years since I opened the business, I've seen student numbers grow from zero to around 100. In a country as cosmopolitan as the UAE, you're bound to have children from a variety of academic backgrounds, not all of whom speak English as a first language.

Regardless of their ability, all children can benefit from extra tuition, either to help them with their school work or to extend their learning and push up their grades. Ever since I can remember I've always wanted to work for myself. I earned my first crust at the age of 12 as a paper delivery boy in my hometown of Brighton [in the UK], earning £1 a week (about Dh19 today). My father, a retired manager for British Telecom, encouraged me to put aside some of my earnings and opened a bank account for me.

I did just that. A year later, my parents matched my tiny sum of money, bringing the total to £100. In 1987, at the age of 16, I landed my first job during the school holidays processing insurance claims following a freak hurricane in southern England that destroyed countless buildings and large swathes of forestland. I only earned £80 a week, but even that meagre sum was taxed by the government. I thought that was really mean. I clearly enjoyed the thrill of making money. At 18, I decided to enter the corporate world, taking a trainee position with Barclays Bank. But the job lasted only seven weeks - I felt there was more to life than processing other people's cheques.

This train of thought led me to working voluntarily for six months at a Christian book shop in central London. Christian Literacy Crusade, a registered charity, covered my food, accommodation and travel expenses, so it was during this period that I learnt how to live an almost cash-free existence. I neither spent money nor went out much because I didn't have the money, so it was a deep learning curve.

In 1989, I was accepted to the University of Oxford. I spent the next five years of my life here: three reading theology, one completing a postgraduate certificate in education and another as a student union president, a position that came with a £120-a-week allowance and free accommodation. It was during my academic years that my experience of living frugally paid off. I lived simply and almost entirely on my government-assisted student grant and help from my parents. During summers, I worked as a guide for foreign students. Not only was it a great CV builder, but I got to visit places like Madame Tussauds and the Tower of London for free.

I emerged from student life with no debts and no collateral, just plenty of fond memories and a clutch of internationally recognised qualifications. I spent the next three years working as a live-in tutor at a private school in Suffolk. Although I was only earning around £15,000 per annum, my living expenses were paid for me. This meant I was able to save up enough money to return to full-time education and complete an MBA at the University of Nottingham Business School. My parents matched my own savings once again, bringing my tuition fund to £20,000.

After graduating, I took a break from education by immersing myself in the high-pressured world of telemarketing, where I sold seats for business conferences. My basic salary was only £600 a month, but I also received a commission if I sold a certain number of seats. The job was extremely stressful and you either sunk or swam. I was living on my wits. My basic salary barely covered my rent, but I managed to bring home a reasonable wage.

It was only a matter of time before I longed to return to education, so I took a teaching position at a private school in Worcester, England. It was at this time that I heard about GEMS setting up another version of Sheffield Private School in Dubai. So I decided to take my chances on life overseas. I got the job and moved to Dubai in 2004 to begin my new role. While living and teaching in Dubai I quickly became aware of a growing demand for private tuition. In 2006, I quit my job to begin tutoring children in their own homes.

This inspired me to build a business model around private tutoring. By opening a centre in a free zone, I was able to bring the students to one place. As I have no dependants, I used my own savings and money from my parents to set up shop. The cost of getting started included buying a company trade license at the free zone, which cost Dh120,000. Furnishing and offices came to another Dh110,000. In the early days, I learnt how to market my business through trial and error - and now I firmly believe that the best way to promote your company is through word of mouth. This realisation came only after I spent a small fortune on advertising in magazines that didn't really bring any returns. I recall spending around Dh100,000, but this brought little back in the way of business.

Nowadays, the business is growing through repeat customers and recommendations. In 2008, I made enough profit to invest Dh300,000 on refitting the tutoring centre. So I bought three interactive white boards, imported furniture designed for children from Germany and installed new lighting, carpeting and computer stations. I also invested in a lime-green interior and a striking new logo. It's important that children feel they are away from school if they are extending their learning experience.

Running Power Tutoring (www.powertutoring.com) has afforded me with the chance to combine my business acumen with my teaching background. As we're on an even keel, I'm keen to keep the centre a boutique business that specialises in improving the numeracy and literacy skills of students. For one-to-one tuition, students pay Dh9,995 for the academic year, consisting of 35, 50-minute, lessons. A fee for learning in a small group is Dh7,875.

Owing to the economic climate, I've kept my prices the same for three years and have a number of full-time staff and part-time tutors. My plans for the future are to begin mentoring children, as well as to provide a bespoke solution for high-net-worth families wanting their children to be tutored at home. As for the lessons that I myself have learnt, they are: don't over extend yourself in the early years and keep the business model clear and simple. In that way you learn along the way - just like tutoring.

* As told to Lizzy Millar

'The Ice Road'

Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne

2/5

How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?

If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.

Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.

Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.

Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).

Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal. 

Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.

By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.

As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.

Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.

He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.” 

This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”

Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.

Brief scores:

Toss: Nepal, chose to field

UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23

Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17

Result: UAE won by 21 runs

Series: UAE lead 1-0

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS

England v New Zealand

(Saturday, 12pm UAE)

Wales v South Africa

(Sunday, 12pm, UAE)

 

The specs: 2018 Ford F-150

Price, base / as tested: Dh173,250 / Dh178,500

Engine: 5.0-litre V8

Power: 395hp @ 5,000rpm

Torque: 555Nm @ 2,750rpm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Fuel consumption, combined: 12.4L / 100km

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

Company profile

Name: Infinite8

Based: Dubai

Launch year: 2017

Number of employees: 90

Sector: Online gaming industry

Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor

MATCH INFO

Manchester City 0

Wolves 2 (Traore 80', 90 4')

Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
​​​​​​​Penguin Press

Sanchez's club career

2005-2006: Cobreloa

2006-2011 Udinese

2006-2007 Colo-Colo (on loan)

2007-2008 River Plate (on loan)

2011-2014 Barcelona

2014–Present Arsenal

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5