Marieuli Martinez -To my friends- The internet didn’t understand the magic of connecting people until the pandemic attacked their dreams in 2020. At the time, being based out of Venezuela and going through a deep economic crisis with his family, She decided to ignore her habitual imposter syndrome and took a life-changing leap of faith: teaching English through a virtual classroom. where the common phrase has no place and who has called Mayu’s Class,
With a figure, according to experts, of millions of similar organizations that make a living on the web So how can your business stand out from the rest?
“That was the first thing I asked myself and they asked me a lot,” Martínez said, referring to his project. “It’s a red ocean, it’s oversaturated and every day new teachers, courses or schools come up,” he said. “However, I never wanted to be stuck there because Behind these statistics lies a lot of pain and frustration of students who have tried their best with the language and have not been successful», They said. «There’s a lot of money invested in it, yes, but also countless broken dreams and I’m here to change that. Mayu’s class was born so that Spanish speakers could loosen their language through learning without books Because the real results of English are lived in daily life, not in the classroom ».
Mayu’s plan
Mayu Martinez She is a nurse by profession. In 2016, when she was pregnant, she and her husband moved to Colombia with their first child to build a better future for the family and access medicines they could not find in Venezuela. She gave birth to the child and quickly began looking for work in her field, something that was impossible for her, above all, because nursing work took up precious time with her children,
Looking for alternatives, at some point they worked in translation together. Being bilingual, Martinez took advantage of the opportunity and after her presentation A great number of people have contacted him to find out if it is possible to arrange space for private classes with him. “I said no. One of the. Knowing English is one thing and teaching it another. I didn’t know, or didn’t know how to do the other,” he recalled of that moment.
He spent a few years working under this scheme, but it was not financially favorable to him, so he decided Pick up your phone and ask Siri directly: «How can I make more money being an English tutor?» and, as if made to order, appeared an advertisement for Cambridge University where he certified to teach. The selection process will take place at the Colombian Embassy.
,I was too Venezuelan for that group of redheads, blondes and green eyes», Mayu Martinez saved. «I didn’t fit in at all, but despite that, they put me on the course. there were 12, I was 13, but at the last minute a position was released and This is where Mayu’s orbit was indirectly born First within the classes of other academies,” he insisted.
The problem is with the institutions
time passed and Mayu started getting disillusioned. “I wasn’t happy with the way the classes were going. I wanted to give them results. For example, I never felt comfortable passing my students a grade even though they weren’t ready, There was a lot of pressure on him. They depended on that assessment to pass or not to the university and I could not pass someone who was not prepared. For this reason, I decided to work on my own and restart the educational process,” he described.
«I started in the corporate world, but the pandemic hit me there. covid made me stop meeting with my clients Locked myself in Zoom from a computer I didn’t even know how to use »she expressed.
Coincidentally, Cambridge got another certificate, but this time to become a teacher. Online because no one had a basic strategy virtual learning, In parallel, her husband lost his job and things were not going well at home. ,At that moment, my students began to press on me, as if the situation was a sign from the universe to become a teacher. And I decided to do it through Instagram.”
«My intention was for people to be able to see what I do in the classes on my platform. Take a look at what my living room looks like,” Mayu said. «I teach without books, series, movies, artists, songs, with different accents. Without stress. The idea is that they factor that see what separates us and How can we help them loose their language through our channels», he reprimanded. Thus on June 14, 2020 Their Social Media Venture Is Officially Born, Two years later, Its community is 365 thousand usersa figure that continues to rise.
Mayu’s Classroom Method
Mayu took as a methodology something that she herself thought and believed should become the personal brand of her business. “For this reason, we are not afraid of competition. We are unique in what we do,” he replied.
Mayu’s class It is a learning experience which has 3 very important aspects:
- They don’t read from books. «We do it with real-life English, because when you face life, you don’t go with your books, although they help us in a certain way in preparing and structuring the classes, but they Not necessary at all. In our classrooms we have Taylor Swift, U2, YouTube, TikTok; Classes are built around the needs of the student, with real-life English.
- They teach the student to learn. ,they will learn to learn englishWhich allows them, from a basic level, to apply for jobs because they don’t need to reach the end to use language constructs well. learn to learn accelerate your results and through which we teach them to teach, We make them our objectives for the week or month, with which they are complemented appsthat they enter the classes live, and that helps them to make progress ».
- mentality. Mayu’s Classroom has a psychology department where they hold monthly workshops and individual sessions with the psychologist in charge. It helps to reveal each of your limiting beliefs. “You are not lazy You’re procrastinating because you think it’s a challenge, so we’re going to work it out like this. Like a psychiatric diagnosis,” he described.
«My students see results from day one. I think it is also due to the fact that we have a maximum of 8 people in our rooms. It’s very personal, so learning is guaranteed for everyone”, highlighted Mayu Hernandez.
Who beats the academies?
“When the opportunity came, I felt impostor syndrome breathing down the back of my neck,” he said. «What do I have to teach the people if I am not a native?, he told me. I had to break those limiting beliefs about my talent and those around me.But my students saw what I didn’t,” he insisted.
With that motivating pressure on him, he made up his mind. Furthermore, the extreme need his family was going through was another reason why he said: it’s now or never.
,Do you know what is happening? i know what i offer Martinez insisted. “I know what sets me apart because I know who I’m talking to. person does Click Because I talk to people who have all these negative notions about English, who are frustrated. They are people who tried and failed. It motivates me that people get results” He added.
Furthermore, Mayu competes not on price, but on experience.
« It is not a group class that I sell but a learning experience. It’s going to change the way you see and experience English»
In mayu’s class
Mayu and her husband, an engineer who graduated at the top of his class at Simón Bolívar University but another unemployed immigrant to Colombia, are part of the board of trade. He focused on sales and finance; him in everything.
your team of teachers 15 equals: 2 are Colombian, the rest are Venezuelan. Its current student body is 83.When in principle there were only 3.
«My goal is to empower Spanish speakers who They don’t end up showing themselves in English. I am the catalyst that takes people from it: I understand it, but I don’t speak it, to speak it confidently. i help them drop tongue“, he declared.
His students are Venezuelans – mostly – from all over the world: in the United States, Canada, Australia, Ecuador, Peru, Ireland, Spain, Dubai and in Venezuela. “The Venezuelan people are with me and if it is not Venezuelan, it is almost certain that it is Colombian,” he said.
Hours and Modalities
Classes are live at 1:00, 7:00 or 8:00 PM Venezuelan Time.
They learn every day, twice a week per group: Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday. “Friday is usually defined as a feedback among students in session to teach,
Mayu’s class prices
investment is monthly $199 plan Membership Style.
Freedom of Mayu Martinez
english teacher Lives in the dairy and, to this day, he can say that his entire family owns 100% of his business. He said that the most difficult thing to face so far has been how lonely the road to entrepreneurship can be.
“There are many ‘sharks’ in the pond. There are many who know too much and who have great English empires. In this Online There are many, many millionaires. But what was difficult for me was to stay true to myself, to believe in my project, even if I felt alone,” she declared. «I had to unlearn this: It’s all done, everyone has a piece of this business; It will not work for you that the classes are live, Finally, I ask myself the right questions to find the right answers. I never ask myself if something is going to happen, I propose to do it without asking myself anything» Sentenced.
Marieuli Martinez believed him. «That is why I imagine my project with the word freedom.
If they ask for advice, they will always say ask. “Don’t be afraid to do it. Seek help. I’m not here by chance and neither are you. Invest in yourself without fear; it will always be worth it,” he said.
Finally, regarding Venezuela, he stressed that everyone has their own way of choosing how to see the country. «It is a reflection of what is inside you. I see it as a seed, as a great opportunity to change reality. Desh hurts me and also when I love, I do it with tears as I am in constant reunion with it after almost 6 years. You decide whether or not to see this as an opportunity and run away. Select first »He concluded.
