Rachel Goh, founder of Red SchoolHouse — a preschool founded in Singapore with several awards to its name — has always made it a priority to surround her business with a loving environment and culture.
18 years total (and still counting) of sheer hard work went into building the firm foundations of Red SchoolHouse. From the people who convinced her to pursue a career in education to the hardships she faced in life, Rachel shares an inspiring story about her brand name.
Doing It With A Heart
“I believe that with Love, comes Life. I hope to carry on the wholeness of Love in my work with children and their families. Thus, the birth of Red SchoolHouse in 2004 came about. The colour Red represents Love. Our philosophy “Settling The Heart, Defining your Child” is our corporate culture with a purpose of settling the hearts of everyone, not just the children.” — Rachel Goh, CEO of Red SchoolHouse
Rachel is proud to share that Red SchoolHouse is founded on the values of love for children and their developmental growth. From the company’s philosophy down to the details, such as the branding for the business — she makes sure that her passion for educating young minds is on full display. Working with children is more than a business, Rachel wants Red SchoolHouse to be a loving home for everyone involved to build inspiring leaders of tomorrow.
When asked what sets Red SchoolHouse aside from its competitors, Rachel mentioned its Specialty Crafted Curriculum, which comprises life skill programmes and knowledge-building innovation concepts. Besides offering education that comes with love as the main compass, Red SchoolHouse creates many opportunities for children to work through problem-solving scenarios, with collaboration as one of their main focus.
Of course, Rachel also has expectations for the administration that runs Red SchoolHouse with her. She makes it a priority to ensure that her staff incorporates several values such as accountability, reliability, and positivity. But most of all, Rachel looks for people who are joyful givers and are willing to make a difference.
Rachel takes pride in seeing her students mature and grow. She is especially moved when her former students come back to visit her during school holidays and events, as most of the time, pre-school educators are forgotten.
Jumping Back From Adversity
“My dad and my form teacher (Miss Kok) played important roles to form strong pillars of my mental and emotional development. I saw and believed in the connection between childhood experience and teaching. Through them, I learned to be life-giving in the lives of children and their families.” — Rachel Goh, CEO of Red SchoolHouse
Previously coming from the banking industry, Rachel had to start from scratch to learn the ropes of early childhood education. Not to mention that she was alone throughout the entire process. And while there were setbacks in her journey — Rachel is fearless and always bounced back stronger than before.
Recalling her childhood memories, Rachel remembered her mother passing away when she was just nine years old. With her father taking up the role of both dad and mom, she understands the hardship and pains her dad went through in bringing her up. Her dad is nonetheless her superhero.
She also spent more time in school — passing the time by joining extracurricular activities or doing her homework at her school canteen.
During this time in her life, Rachel also credited her Form Teacher, Ms Kok, as her inspiration to become a teacher. Ms Kok supported Rachel, giving her the emotional and educational assistance that she needed during her vulnerable moments. These memories, that Rachel keeps close to her heart, allow her to make clear decisions for Red SchoolHouse and pay it forward to the children and their families.
There Is No ‘I’ In Team
“Running a preschool business is uniquely a priceless experience and an enriching one. I would tell my potential investors all the time that if they want a long-term, gradual and valuable experience in running a business and growing with the community, they are welcome to join our BIG family at Red SchoolHouse.” — Rachel Goh, CEO of Red SchoolHouse
To Rachel, entrepreneurship means the willingness to take risks. She credits her reliable Red SchoolHouse team members as a huge motivator, especially when faced with tough decisions and problems. Hence, what entrepreneurs can learn from her is that risks do not need to be taken alone when you have a team!
Crediting Richard Branson’s quote, “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough, so they don’t want to.” Rachel describes good leadership as balancing the different leadership styles smoothly. To her, a team with a positive disposition is a crucial driver in making or breaking a business.
While Rachel shares that luck plays a part in achieving success, though not always so. Things do not simply fall off the sky, you need to work hard for them. When you work hard and success comes along, you achieve a sense of achievement, the true feeling of contentment which makes you feel the hard work done was worth it all.
Red SchoolHouse is indeed a labour of love and passion. From the twists and turns of life, Rachel was able to turn these difficulties into opportunities, to achieve her dreams and become successful in her own style.
“Entrepreneurship is the act of creating a business or businesses while building and scaling it to generate a profit. Entrepreneurship entails the willingness to take risks and develop/manage a business venture.” — Rachel Goh, CEO of Red SchoolHouse
Learn more about Red SchoolHouse
A version of this story first appeared at SME STORIES SG