Teams of Tomorrow Director Hannah Blair had just graduated with a Master of Public Health when she landed an internship at the health department. While chatting in a cubicle, Hannah’s coworker asked her what she would do if she could choose the perfect profession.
Hannah half-jokingly replied, “Be my own boss, work with kids and make lots of money.”
It just so happened the inquiring coworker had a relative who worked with TOT and encouraged Hannah to look into the program. After learning more about TOT and spending some reflection time, she attended an information session three years later.
“I wanted to work for myself,” Hannah said. “At the health department, there was no room to grow. [TOT] seemed kind of like the perfect answer to the what-should-I-do kind of thing.”
Hannah (right) with her brother and sister
The perfect answer became a reality in August 2011 when Hannah began her first year as a TOT director in Knoxville, Tennessee.
One of her favorite parts of teaching classes? The positive influence she has on her students. Hannah said it’s encouraging whenever she gets an email from a parent regarding a child’s excitement about TOT class.
“Even though it’s 45 minutes each week [per class], I feel like it’s quality time,” she said.
Hannah also likes that TOT allows her to focus on interacting with the kids. Because she’s become familiar with the order of the class units, she said she can put even more attention on her students instead of trying to remember which fundamental comes next.
With former experience as a nanny, Hannah was accustomed to structuring her own workdays. She said she appreciates the increased productivity and efficiency she achieves from simply putting in work hours when needed and reserving the rest of her time for other activities.
Hannah said TOT’s flexibility also allows her the freedom to grab lunch with her mom or pick up her niece and nephew from school.
She noted that she’s found great returns in TOT, plus tons of support from the team at the national headquarters.
“If [potential franchise owners] want to work for themselves, and they’re self motivators, the program has it all set up for you to succeed,” Hannah said.
