How to Start a Home Tutoring Program
If you have a college degree and enjoy mentoring activities, then starting a home-based tutoring business might be for you. Many successful tutors are real-life teachers, but there are plenty who aren't. A person who is passionate about their field of work, who is patient, and who enjoys motivating those around them has the characteristics of a great future tutor. The job isn't without great challenges, but tenacity and a commitment to communicating with students and parents will help a new tutor thrive. Follow these guidelines to begin building your home-based tutoring business today.
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Instructions
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Ask yourself a few questions: "Am I qualified to tutor?," "Do I like to teach?," and "Am I a patient person?" If you don't have a college degree or a strong base of knowledge in the subject in which you hope to tutor, then you aren't qualified and shouldn't pursue tutoring. If you don't like to spend time explaining concepts to people or get frustrated easily when someone doesn't understand you, then you shouldn't teach. Sometimes we think we can do anything. Yet that isn't true. Some people are better than others at particular tasks. You can save yourself a great deal of wasted time and aggravation if you spend some time being introspective and then logically concluding what you are good or not so good at doing.
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Focus on one or two subjects. By specializing in one or two academic subjects, you will be able to narrow your focus and spend time writing thorough lesson plans. This also may help to create a niche market for your business and elevate you as an expert.
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Research tutoring programs. Ask friends and colleagues if they know of any professional tutors that you could talk to for advice. Ask your new contacts if you can review their tutoring materials. It is likely that their tutoring company has in-house materials that are designed to meet the general needs of students but that can be tweaked to meet specific needs. Go to your local book store and peruse tutoring books or SAT Subject Test books. There are many companies that produce these materials--among them The Princeton Review and Kaplan. These materials generally are the same but will give you a good idea of a teaching structure. Remember that lesson plans often change, and you will write them for individual students. Don't spend too much time writing a curriculum before you have met with your new students.
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Communicate your plans to your network. Launching a tutoring business begins by telling your friends and colleagues about what you can offer. Everyone knows someone who has a child. That child or that child's friends or that child's cousin may need a tutor. Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the best ways to launch a home-based business because your services will come from someone who knows you. Your potential clients are likely to trust you based upon that recommendation.
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Get business cards. Every professional who wants to be taken seriously needs them. So go online, and get them. Pass them along to friends and colleagues, who will then pass them on to their friends and colleagues. Post them to bulletin boards in cafes, libraries and other places where students and their parents convene.
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Post a free ad on a job board. The networking site Craigslist, available in major cities (and some smaller ones, too) throughout the world is a great place to start.
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Set a competitive rate. Parents who can afford to hire out the services of a professional tutoring company will pay big bucks for the hope of a better grade in English or pre-calculus. Depending on the area where you live and your experience, you can charge between $30 and $60 an hour for your home-based academic tutoring.
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Offer a free consultation or free tutoring session. Once you've got a potential client, offer to meet with the parent or parents and student to discuss academic challenges, goals and a plan of action. By offering a free tutoring session, you will take the pressure off your potential clients. You, the parents and the student can determine independently whether the relationship is a good match. One suggestion: Invite the student to participate with you and the parent or parents during the initial consultation. Then make the tutoring session between just you and the student. You'll help the student relax without any real or perceived expectations from his parents.
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