Tutoring is fast becoming a big business. A lot of people aren’t satisfied by the education their child gets, or want them to get a leg up, and so they’re happy to hire private tutors. If you can provide effective tutoring, you can charge a decent price for these services, and a good reputation can help you build your business. But how do you get started when creating a tutoring firm? Here are some tips.

Get a suitable space set up

It’s important to have a space where you can tutor kids. While online tutoring is becoming popular, kids often respond better to working in a physical space, so it’s worth investing in space to teach the kids. You can find suitable furniture and equipment at https://grocorp.net.au/ so you can ensure they are comfortable and happy, which will help the children learn. Getting the right space set up also shows that you’re a serious and professional operation, which can encourage parents to use your services.

Choose a business name

The right business name is key for a professional tutoring service. You need to make sure it shows what you do and sounds professional. Avoid cringey or embarrassing names, which may sound fun to you, but sound silly to parents. Once you have a name, you can think more about branding, marketing, and promotions, and things can fall into place.

Think about the skills you have

The good news is, in most countries, you don’t need official qualifications to be a tutor. However, it can help to have:

• A degree in a relevant subject – parents will want to know you are knowledgeable
• Relevant work experience – many teachers or teaching assistants go on to become tutors
• Passion for the subject – you won’t get far if you find your subject boring
• A tutoring certificate – it’s worth looking at short courses aimed at tutors. They can teach you the basics of the job and give you ideas for starting out

It’s a good idea to be prepared for a tutoring career. People who don’t have experience with kids should try to get some before they dive in and start tutoring, and if you’re not a teacher, you should at least learn about how the education system works. This will come in handy when it comes to teaching kids, especially if they struggle with certain concepts.

Decide what subjects you want to teach

Most tutors specialise in a narrow range of subjects, and usually tutor kids of a certain age group. Usually, this is something related to their degree, so if you’re a STEM graduate, you might teach more on the maths and science side, while those who did arts degrees might choose to teach English, languages, or creative subjects.

It’s worth looking at what the demand is like in your area for certain subjects. The basics such as maths and English are often highly in demand for tutoring, but if you have a more obscure subject you want to teach, it may be harder to find pupils. Of course, if one subject doesn’t work out, you can always branch out or teach across multiple subjects. But you shouldn’t take on too many, or you risk looking like a jack of all trades. 

Think about your client base

Tutors work in a variety of settings, from online to in homes or even in schools. In fact, post COVID, many schools will be recruiting tutors to help kids catch up. Ultimately, it’s private tutoring that is where the money is, because you set your own prices, and once you start building a reputation and getting results, you are set. 

Set your prices

It’s worth looking at what other tutors charge in your area to get a base price. At first, you may not be able to charge a lot, but this will soon change once you build a solid client base. Certain subjects can earn more, especially if there’s not many people offering them, and if you specialise in tutoring SEN children or coaching for a specific type of exam, you may be able to charge more.

Meet some parents

Once things are in place, you can begin finding parents and offering your tutoring service. It’s worth registering on social media and perhaps also placing ads so that people can hear about your service. Word of mouth is good too, although this can take longer. Some schools may even let you sponsor an event, which will help you get your name out to as many parents as possible.

If you are passionate about a certain subject and love working with kids, then tutoring may be right for you. Due to COVID, there’s a big demand for tutors to help kids catch up, and many parents will gladly pay a premium for an excellent tutor. Follow the steps above to start your own business.