Inlighten Tutoring was founded by Demetrie Luke after he traveled around the world and worked with various schools and entrepreneurs abroad. After deciding to return to Orlando, he created a tutoring business where he implemented his teaching style that combined humor, engagement, and personalization into math, english, and standardized test prep. He emphasizes incorporating holistic approaches to his lessons to help his students better learn. The goal of his company is to help the next generation of leaders grow and learn.
What do you love most about having a small business in House District 42/Central Florida?
- What I love about having a small business in Central Florida is that I grew up in this city and so I have gotten to see it grow. I’ve always felt like if the lives of cities matched with the life cycles of people then Orlando was like a pre-teen when I was growing up. Angsty and really trying to find its identity. I still feel like we are in those teenage years as a city but I feel that the identity of this region is really coming together. I think there are also so many opportunities for businesses to shine and rapidly grow to meet the needs of the highly diverse and rapidly growing population.
What inspired you to begin when you did and what keeps you going now?
- I’ve been interested in 3 things ever since I could remember – nature, learning and providing value to others. Those 3 things eventually. turned into the 3 E’s of my mission and interest being: Entrepreneurship, Education and the Environment. Right after college I went to get my Master’s in Education and teach in Houston. Then when COVID hit and I lost both my Caribbean grandparents, I decided to go to Antigua to capture as much of our family history as I could and started business consulting. There wasn’t much opportunity in Antigua to make a living at the time so when I ran out of money I came back to Orlando to continue here. Eventually I realized that if I applied the advice I was giving to other business owners around me to myself and my own skills of teaching I would probably be able to grow faster and remain aligned with my missions and interests. And thus Inlighten Tutoring was born. What keeps me going is my deep love of what I do. What I’m doing IS MY LIFE PURPOSE. And since I’ve learned to live off little to nothing there’s no amount of hardship that I think could make me stop at this point.
What advice would you give to someone else wanting to open a small business?
- There’s a million ways to make a million dollars. In the beginning it was easy to be influenced by all the people that tell you about how they made success and make it seem like their success is the easy path, or the best road to a successful business. I found that I was looking at people years along in their journey who did one or two things recently that made them a lot of money and sold this one tactic, but oftentimes left out the years of setup and preparation that went into it. I believe the true road to riches lies not in what you do, but who you aim to become from doing it – the person most set up for success with it is the person who would do the work for free and who also is willing to learn or connect with people who can help monetize and provide value to others around that thing. Always be open to learning more because innovation simply stems from continued learning. Small Business Ownership is largely a survival game. More perspiration than ideation.
What are some of your customer’s favorite services/programs from your business?
- Most students come to me for tutoring and college prep, but stay with me for guidance in their overall transformation and transition process of becoming better versions of themselves.
How can readers stay up to date with your business or show support in 2024?
- Following us on our social media (Inlighten Tutoring on Facebook and Youtube, @inlightentutoring on TikTok and IG) is a great way to stay up to date with our tips for navigating the college process, helping and understanding your student’s intellect and learning more. Show support by asking us questions and sharing our information with parents you know. For parents, children are often one’s biggest asset – they are worth the investment. You can also stay in the know by checking our website at https://inlightentutoring.com/!
Stay tuned for more businesses in our beautiful House District 42!