Liisa has always loved working with children and families. For years prior to opening her business, she was a special education teacher. Throughout her career in special education, she learned how to develop meaning relationships with her students and provide them with a safe space to learn and grow. She knew that there must be a better way to help all students, especially those with special needs and identified learning exceptionalities to meet their academic goals and develop their love of learning. In the fall of 2011, Liisa left her school to pursue this goal and in the summer of 2012, SEED Education Strategies + Solutions was born.
Throughout the years that Liisa has been running her business, she still practises what she preaches to her students about being a life long learner. With this important life skill in mind, she finished her MPEd focusing on Teaching Students with Exceptionalities in Special Education through the Master of Professional Education program at Western University. This program, coupled with the Specialist in Special Education that she received prior to starting the business allows her to better assist her students and their families.
In a further attempt to help students feel more comfortable in their learning environment, Liisa collaborated with National Service Dogs to bring a Service Dog into her home office for Canine-Assisted Intervention.
SEED Education Strategies + Solutions’ mission is to focus in on the “SEED” acronym; “support, enrich, educate, and develop,” for students and the community as a whole. They are also striving to develop a community of learners that live and love to learn in an equitable and diverse world.
Liisa is incredibly gifted when it comes to education. However, she was inexperienced in the business world when she first started SEED Education Strategies + Solutions. She knew that she would need help to get her business off the ground. Through a conversation that she had with a friend, Liisa discovered the Business Centre of Guelph Wellington.
She did some digging and discovered the many different courses and programs that the Business Centre has to offer. She was a part of both the Starter Company and Momentum Programs. Starter Company helped Liisa build her business plan and taught her how to think like an entrepreneur, while helping her be cognizant of the subtle challenges that occur in the day to day life of a new business owner. She then came back to the Business Centre in 2020 to help her business transition to online mediums due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. With the help of the Business Centre, SEED Education Strategies + Solutions was able to reach more students than ever before, which allowed Liisa to help children who were struggling with the many challenges of online learning.
The growth of Liisa as an entrepreneur through her time running SEED Education Strategies + Solutions is clear. When asked what she would tell herself when first starting her business, Liisa exclaimed, “engage and don’t be afraid to try new things. If I knew that 10 years ago, I would be way further ahead today.”
So, if you or someone you know is looking for a new and better way to help their child succeed academically and build a lifelong love of learning, send them to Liisa and SEED Education Strategies + Solutions where they will learn how to learn.
"The Business Centre of Guelph Wellington has provided me with opportunities to learn. Throughout all the programs that I have been involved in, the Business Centre and its affiliates have been honest, accurate, and have given me a foundation upon which I can confidently develop the next stages of SEED Education Strategies + Solutions." — Liisa Kukk