Starting A Tutoring Business!

How to Market Your Tutoring Business

As an independent tutor, it can be difficult to stand out from the large franchises when first starting your business, so keep in mind that first impressions are everything, and your marketing is key to growing your tutoring business!

It is important to give a professional, business-like first impression. Having business cards made is a great way to start. I recommend having your picture on your business cards so that it will help personalize your tutoring services and make you stand out from the big franchises. You should also include the specific subjects you tutor, along with your website and contact information.

Once you have your business cards, take a minute to send a personal note in the mail to teachers in your area with whom you would like to receive referrals. Let them know about your services and include several business cards along with your letter. This is an inexpensive way, once again, to send a personal touch to teachers and potential referrals in your community.

Printing flyers with the same information as your business cards and including a testimonial is also a great way to advertise your tutoring business. Most communities allow flyers to be placed in newspaper boxes as well as libraries and community bulletin boards.

Most counties and cities will have an official tutor directory. If you call the Education Department in your city or county, you can ask them how to be placed on their list. Usually it is a small, one-time fee (if any fee at all) and this list will continue to produce leads for you.

For internet traffic you can list your business on Google Places (this is free) as well as on Craigslist to help you get referrals from the internet. There are also tutoring directories online that advertise your tutoring business at a small cost (usually a monthly fee).

Having yard signs made can be costly but can also yield great results. You can post them at busy intersections or in your front yard to attract new clients.

In my opinion, the best way to market and advertise your tutoring business is through referrals and word of mouth. Once you have been tutoring for 6 months you will notice that many of your leads are coming from referrals. It is a great idea to have a referral program and offer a free tutoring session for any referrals that you are given.

Also, if you notice that a certain teacher or school administrator is sending you referrals, it is a great idea to send them a thank you note and even a thank you gift, if appropriate.

Happy Tutoring!

Get the free video showing you the mistakes to avoid when marketing your tutoring business:

http://www.YourTutoringBusiness.com

Starting a Tutoring Business in the New Year!

Can you start a tutoring business in the New Year and be profitable? The answer is yes!
Over the holidays is a dead time for getting new students for your tutoring business but it is the perfect time to plan on how to start a tutoring business.

First of all tutoring is a great way to make a part time or a full time income. It’s important to decide a few things before getting started. The first is who your ideal client is and how to niche yourself as the expert in that field. For example you can market yourself as The Algebra Tutor of San Diego or the History Guru Tutor of Richmond. You may branch out and tutor more subject areas as you go along but when you first get started you will want to niche yourself in one particular area.

It’s important to register a tutoring domain name that contains your name and subject. You can have basic information about you and your tutoring services on your website as well as testimonials from happy clients. When you first get started you may want to ask a friend or family member to give you a testimonial that will speak to your character. For example – John is a very patient person who will help his students understand and make it fun in the process.

You will also want to register yourself online in Google Places so when parents search online for a tutor, your name will come up. You might also consider posting an ad in Craigslist (it’s free) and you will notice that it will get good search results in Google.

You might also consider advertising in a tutoring directory once you get started to attract more business (ex: Tutor Nation or Tutor Post.com). No matter where you advertise be sure to track what advertising and marketing is working for you and always ask potential clients and parents how they heard about your tutoring business.

Last but not least – have fun! Tutoring is a great way to meet new families and people in your community who will become friends for a lifetime. They will pay you to help their kids succeed and not only will you make a great income but you will LOVE helping a student improve his or her grades as well as self esteem! Tutoring one on one is a truly enjoyable way to earn a part time or full time income – it can be whatever you want it to be!

Good luck and HAPPY Tutoring!

In our reality TV obsessed culture I find myself wishing there was a show to prove who was the best tutor! I’d love to be a contestant! But this goofy title does raise the important question, who can and can’t be a tutor? What is necessary to be a qualified tutor? Can you make money by starting a tutoring business? How and where would you start?

I hear these questions every day and I am here to tell you that while most anyone who is knowledgeable in a subject matter can technically BE a tutor, only a few tutors who have the right mental and business skills will find true success as a tutor.

In our economic times many families are looking to earn an extra $100 dollars a day or a week or a month. Tutoring is an easy way for a mom or dad to work a few extra hours (a day or week) to help out their family as well as help a struggling student! Also it’s not like a full time job where you have to leave your house for hours upon hours. You can easily just work a few hours and make a schedule that works with your family’s schedule.

When you start a tutoring business it’s very important to choose a subject and level that you are qualified to tutor in and then niche yourself. Your marketing and advertising costs should not be costly as long as you use smart marketing and advertising techniques to promote yourself and your tutoring niche in your community. Simple things like making flyers, talking with neighbors and local teachers can get you in the door right away.

The best part about being a tutor is that you can make your own schedule and choose your clients. You get to set your hourly or session wage and determine what you are worth rather than letting a company do this for you! You can choose what subjects you want to teach and where you want to meet! In other words, you will control your own destiny!

Again tutoring doesn’t have to be a full time job. You can easily just work a few hours a week or a few hours a day depending on what works for your schedule. For more information on how to start a tutoring business go to http://www.YourTutoringBusiness.com

What are the best techniques for getting new tutoring clients?

Developing relationships with local teachers and schools has been HUGE for me! 90% of my business comes from direct referrals from teachers.

How do I know what rates to charge your tutoring clients?

I made calls to other tutoring companies to see how they charge. For my area,I would consider myself to be a “high cost” tutor and I am okay with this. I think many times tutors price themselves too low and end up attracting the clients that are not truly committed to the end result but strictly focus on the price per hour. These aren’t the parents or students I want to work with on an ongoing basis.

How can I retain clients over the long term?

Most parents will stay with you if their student is improving and enjoys the tutoring sessions. It’s important to communicate with the parents after each session as well as the student’s teacher and be sure everyone is on the same page and parents will start to rely on you doing this and appreciate this interaction.

What are some of the biggest challenges you have had with your tutoring business?

Not getting paid up front and then having to collect after already providing the tutoring session. This is a challenge but if you offer incentives for parents to pay upfront, you won’t have a problem.

Do you have a website for your tutoring business?

Yes! Having a website makes you appear professional and legitimate and sets you apart from the 10.00 per hour tutors. It also comes up on the first page of Google when potential clients are searching for a tutor online.

What is your favorite part about having your own tutoring business?

I love that I get everything back that I put into this business and the best part of tutoring is that you have the wonderful feeling of knowing that YOU made a direct difference in a student’s life. Not only are you helping them with their knowledge of a particular subject but you are giving them confidence and empowerment that will have a direct effect on their self esteem.

For more information and a free video about becoming a successful tutor go to http://www.YourTutoringBusiness.com

Running a tutoring program can be a little more complex. You may want to consider other tutors to work for you. If you decide to do this you will need to look into insurance that will cover not only yourself but also your employees or contractors.

You will also want to ensure your tutors will supply a detailed report of their tutoring session to both you and the client so you can all be on the same page about what took place during the tutoring session.

For more information on how to run a tutoring program go to:

http://www.YourTutoringBusiness.com

Developing a tutoring program can be a very simple process with little start up costs.  Marketing and advertising are key to getting a  jump start and ensure that your name is being given out by parents, teachers and other members of your community.

The first step is to choose your subject. Next put a marketing and advertising plan into effect and be sure to look professional either by having a website or business cards or both.

For more information on how to develop a tutoring program go to:

http://www.YourTutoringBusiness.com

As I have discussed in earlier posts the beauty of owning your own tutoring business is that you can set your rate and control who you want to work with each day. What you decide to charge for tutoring is up to you.  You may want to think about whether you wish to charge per session or per hour. If you charge per session then you can determine the length of a session (45 minutes, 55 minutes, etc).

Making a few calls to other tutors to get an idea of what they are asking to be sure you are in the correct range. Geographical location and subject matter also play a large part into this.  If you are tutoring a very basic subject you may not command as high a rate as someone who is tutoring a higher level class.

For more information on starting a tutoring business or what to charge for tutoring go to:

http://www.YourTutoringBusiness.com

There are many tutoring franchises and companies out there, but it truly is a fairly easy industry to jump into and start marketing your own tutoring company. By beginning your own tutoring company you avoid the costly fees that tutoring companies take out before paying their tutors.

To begin a tutoring business you will want to think about marketing and advertising.  Marketing is fairly inexpensive and there are even free tools that you can use to immediately launch your business and start advertising. Typically students already have their own textbooks and therefore you don’t need to purchase materials. The internet is a great tool to find supplemental worksheets to use during your sessions.

The best part about having your own tutoring business is that you get to meet new people, help a child succeed and make a great living at the same time. You can run this business out of your house if you choose or meet students in a public library or coffee house.

Teachers and schools are a great source of referrals and once they get to know you will easily give out your name to potential customers.  As challenges continue to grow in education, the need for a personalized tutor continues to grow.  With many households having two working parents and the stress of day to day life, parents are happily paying tutors to work one on one with their children to ensure success in their academic studies.

Tutors who are enthusiastic about the subject they are  tutoring will find they will succeed and have parents and teachers begging them to work with their students!

For more information about how to begin a tutoring business go to:

http://www.YourTutoringBusiness.com

Being a tutor is easy.  You will need to decide what subjects you consider yourself to be an expert in and have a few resources to have extra materials in your sessions (textbooks, websites, etc).
Next, start marketing your business through various advertising methods such as flyers, business cards and networking with parents and teachers in your community.

Finally, have an idea of who you want to work with and set your hourly or session rate as well as a tutoring contract for your parent’s and client’s to sign.  Get ready for the phone to start ringing!

For more information on how to be a tutor and how to tutor go to

http://www.YourTutoringBusiness.com

The average hourly rate for a tutor can vary dramatically depending on geographic location, subject being tutored and class size.  In smaller cities and towns, some tutors may charge on the lower end ($20 – $25 per hour) whereas in New York City some tutors earn as much as $200 per hour!

If you are tutoring a more basic subject you might not earn as much as a specialized tutor who might tutor AP and higher level subjects.  If you are doing a small group instruction then you may charge slightly less per student however overall you will be earning a higher rate due to having 3 or 4 students in one session.

The great part about having your own business is that you determine your hourly rate and choose who you want to work with each day!  For more information on the hourly rates for a tutor and how to charge for tutoring go to:

http://www.YourTutoringBusiness.com