How to start a tutoring business in 2023 - An in-depth guide

Starting a tutoring business can be a rewarding and lucrative way to help others while also pursuing your own financial independence. It can seem a daunting task at first, as it often does when starting a new venture, but it’s not as complicated as you might think. Whether you’re a seasoned teacher looking to branch out on your own or a subject matter expert looking to share your knowledge with others, the process to get going is similar.

The first broad consideration is whether you want to work online or in person. With the reach that social media and the internet gives you and the changing habits of the learners, online tutoring is getting more and more attention. But there are pros and cons to both online and in-person tutoring, and the best option for you will depend on your personal preferences, and target market. Here are some factors to consider when deciding whether to tutor online or in-person:

• Flexibility: Online tutoring allows for greater flexibility in terms of location and scheduling, as you can conduct sessions from anywhere with an internet connection. In-person tutoring, on the other hand, requires you to be physically present with your student at a specific location.
• Cost: Online tutoring may be less expensive to start, as it requires fewer upfront costs such as a physical location or materials. In-person tutoring may require more initial investment, but you may be able to charge higher rates due to the added convenience of in-person sessions.
• Target market: Consider your target market when deciding whether to tutor online or in-person. For example, if you’re targeting students in your local area, in-person tutoring may be the best option, but it will significantly limit your market size and how niche you can go with your tutoring topic.
• Subject matter: Some subjects may be more easily taught online, while others may be better suited to in-person sessions. For example, subjects that require hands-on learning or interactive activities may be more challenging to teach online. If the tutoring involves knowledge sharing based on theory, online makes a lot more sense.

The next step in starting a tutoring business is to define your target market - who you are trying to reach. Are you targeting students in a specific grade or subject area? Parents looking for help for their children? Think about the demographics of your ideal clients and tailor your content accordingly.

One of the early practicalities that worries people is the business structure: Consider whether you want to operate your tutoring business as a sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation. While in early stages, start with the simplest possible set-up.

PRICING

The next step is to determine your pricing: Once you’ve identified your target market, it’s important to determine how much you will charge for your services. Consider factors such as your experience, qualifications, and the demand for your services.

While just starting out, don’t be afraid to offer lower prices which will help you to land early clients, get testimonials, and build a network. You can always ramp up the price as demand for your services increases.

Raising your prices as a tutor can be a delicate process, as you want to be fair to your students while also being compensated for your time and expertise. Here are a few steps you can follow to raise your prices:

1. Consider the demand : If you feel like you are lacking hours in the day to do all the tutoring sessions you want, or that you receive more inquiries than you can handle, it’s time to raise the prices - the demand for you service allows you to.
2. Communicate with your students: It's important to be transparent with your students about why you are raising your prices. You can let them know about any changes in your own circumstances (such as an increase in demand, your own education, or decrease in your availability) that justify a price increase.
3. Give advance notice: If you have regular students, make sure to give them plenty of notice before raising your prices. This will give them time to adjust their budgets or consider finding a new tutor.
4. Be flexible: Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to offer different pricing options to your students. For example, you could offer a lower hourly rate for a longer-term commitment, or offer a discount for group sessions.

By following these steps, you can raise your prices as a tutor in a way that allows you to grow your business but is fair to your students, whose referrals and testimonials are important part of your success.

MARKETING

In order to land clients you need to think how you will promote your business. While the easiest way to land your very first customers is through friends and referrals, you’ll need to think about your marketing strategy for sustainable growth in the future.

In our view of working with thousands coaches and tutors, all you need to get started is not tens of thousands of followers but a consistent presence on Instagram, Tiktok, or Youtube posting relevant, helpful content about the subject you are tutoring. These platforms give an incredible loudspeaker and an ability to reach people from around the world in minutes.

Presence on these platforms builds awareness and helps you steadily create trust and a community of people interested in your services who you can later convert from followers to paid clients. You can read our article on how to build social media based marketing plan here: https://pensight.com/post/the-most-effective-social-media-strategy-for-life-coaches

TOOLS AND OPERATIONS

The last thing to think about is your operations - how you are going to deliver your services to your clients and manage your business. Often tutors and coaches get caught up in this step because it seems complicated and expensive: online payments and payment tracking, video calling, scheduling, note taking, session reminders - all of this was a bigger barrier than it should be. Now tools like Pensight.com are here to fix these with a site that you can build in minutes and set up your tutoring services with all these tools readily built in to simplify everything for you and your clients.

Pensight will take care of all the operations for 1:1 and group tutoring, including:

• Your website
• Payments
• Appointment scheduling and reminders with calendar integrations
• Video calling and recording
• Client chat
• Private notes for each client
• Hosting of courses, digital products, and any other extras you want to sell

You won’t need to worry about multiple tools, sending reminders to clients, or making sure they have the right app set up - everything works in browser.

It’s never been easier to start!