How Do You Start A Tutoring Business In UK?
With people in every corner of the globe at the best age to learn, you can’t go wrong starting your own business.
The secret to starting a tutoring business is to determine what your target market is, then find the perfect way to motivate them to achieve their goals.
Tutoring is a great way to earn extra income if you love teaching others. It could be a skill you already possess, such as music, art, languages, or sports.
Or perhaps you want to teach people who have learning difficulties. Whatever your motivation, starting a home-school tutoring area business can be a great way to supplement your current income.
There are many benefits to becoming a tutor. For example, you can set your own hours, choose where you teach, like home-school tutoring business, private tutoring business and even online tutoring business.
The only downside is finding clients. However, there are ways to find students that are easier than you might think.
I will give you some ideas to get started in this article, and few things to consider.
So let’s start!
A Guide on Starting a Tutoring Business
Are you looking to start a tutoring business in UK? It’s a great way to earn extra income and get involved with helping others.
If you want to set yourself apart from other tutors, there are a few key factors you need to consider before starting your own tutoring business.
You need to find clients first. You can use specific sites to advertise your services, or you can create a profile on websites like Facebook and LinkedIn.
Below are 5 things you should know if you want to start a tutoring business in the UK.
1. Know your market
You have to first decide what kind of clientele you’re going after. Do you want to focus on younger kids, older teens, adults? Or maybe doing online tutoring business?
Once you’ve decided which age group you’d like to target, research them thoroughly. Find out more information about their learning styles, interests, hobbies, family situation, school performance – everything really.
This will give you a good idea whether this market is right for you. And once you find that niche, stick to it – don’t teach every kid under the sun.
2. Research the industry
Now’s the time to dig deeper and figure out exactly what other tutors are doing. Read reviews from previous clients and see what works best for them.
Study successful tutors’ websites and blogs too. Most tutors share tips with one another. It might seem like a lot of work initially, but over time you’ll get better at finding answers quickly.
The internet can be a massive resource in researching the industry. There are tons of sites dedicated to teaching parents how to choose the best private schools for their child.
There are even forums where people discuss different topics related to tutoring such as pricing strategies and effective ways to motivate reluctant learners.
- Get training
If you plan on becoming a full-time teacher, you’ll need some professional development courses. These include getting a certificate in education teaching skills qualification.
A qualification in either Teaching English or Maths would prove useful depending upon which subject area you wish to specialise in. Both subjects require high levels of literacy so having a TEFL certificate may come in handy.
It takes around three months to complete each course. The cost varies depending on the provider, though most offer free initial assessments.
Make sure you check out all available options and compare prices.
3. Decide on your approach
There are two main approaches to teaching; direct instruction and independent practice.
DI involves giving instructions through verbal communication and requiring the student to follow along step by step. IP focuses solely on practicing independently with no guidance.
Most tutors opt for an intermediate style – they combine elements of both methods into a unique curriculum tailored to suit the needs of the learner.
This means taking notes during the session and asking lots of clarifying questions afterwards.
4. Create content
When you’re starting up, there isn’t much money coming in, so you’ll probably need to create your own materials. You could use PowerPoint presentations and handouts to guide students through lessons.
But these days many team of tutors prefer using video tutorials instead. They allow you to demonstrate concepts visually rather than simply talk about them.
5. Get creative
Tutoring requires creativity. Don’t just rely on textbooks and lesson plans. Instead, think about new ideas that will engage kids in learning.
You could make flashcards to help children learn vocabulary words more effectively or design fun games to improve problem solving skills.
You’re not limited to only providing academic support. If you are experienced tutors with young people, consider offering activities outside school hours including sports coaching, dance classes or martial arts sessions.
Tutoring doesn’t always mean sitting down and listening to someone else speak.
How do you Get Clients?
Finding clients isn’t easy. In fact, it takes hard work and dedication. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can attract customers without spending money.
Here are some ideas:
- Make sure your website looks professional.
People will not book lessons just because your site looks nice. They’ll only take action after reading about why you’re different from everyone else.
Make this section brief and concise. Also, don’t forget to include contact details at the end of each page.
- Offer free samples.
Letting visitors try before buying is one of the best ways to gain customer loyalty. Give away short videos explaining how your services work and why they’re worth hiring. Include testimonials from past clients.
- Get referrals.
Who knows better than friends and family members about the quality of your service? Ask them to recommend you two colleagues or even complete strangers.
- Promote yourself online.
If you have a Facebook account, then you should create a profile where you promote yourself. This includes posting links to relevant articles, sharing photos of your workspace/studio, and updating followers regularly.
- Create a curriculum.
When starting out, you may not have much experience working with children. That’s okay; however, it would benefit you greatly if you created a curriculum outlining topics you wish to teach.
Even though you may feel awkward doing so, getting feedback from parents will allow you to improve your skills quickly.
- Offer discounts
Many tutoring businesses offer discounted rates during certain times of the year.
For instance, summer offers lower prices while winter brings higher costs. By offering these deals, you increase your chances of attracting more customers.
- Build relationships
People like dealing with friendly faces. When creating social media accounts, always remember that first impressions matter most.
Show off your personality through pictures and posts. Make sure all comments are positive since negative ones hurt feelings. Never lie about anything related to your current business.
How Much should you Charge?
Once you’ve found clients, you’ll need to figure out how much you should charge. There’s no one correct answer, but it helps if you can work out exactly what you want from life before embarking on this journey.
Whatever you decide, don’t forget to factor in time spent travelling between schools/clients. It also pays to remember that you might get paid less per hour when being self-employed as opposed to getting paid hourly wages at a job.
So how much should you charge? Well, it depends entirely on where you live and whether you provide face-to-face services or online courses.
If you choose to go the traditional route, then you’ll need to find out roughly how long your average client spends with you. Then multiply that number by the amount you expect to earn.
For instance, let’s say you charge £30 per hour. That works out to £300 a week.
So if you spend 40 minutes with a client, he or she is likely to fork out £40. But if you offer half day sessions, you may receive £60.
As well as deciding on pricing, you’ll also need to determine how much you want to invest in marketing yourself. This includes things such as creating websites, writing blogs, sending emails and setting up social media accounts.
The good news is that these costs come off your bottom line once you receive income. The bad news is that you’ll still need to cover expenses such as internet access fees, phone bills, office supplies and postage.
Tips To Grow your Tutoring Business
Startups are tough because they often lack resources needed for growth. However, if you plan carefully, you can ensure success.
So read our tips below to see how you too can become an expert tutor:
1. Set goals
It sounds obvious, but having clear objectives will keep you motivated. For example, do you want to increase student numbers? Or perhaps you’d like to expand into other areas such as teaching English overseas. Whatever your aim, write it down and stick to it.
2. Find mentors
A mentor is someone who has already achieved something similar to what you want to achieve. Finding a good mentor early on means you won’t be overwhelmed later on. Plus, their advice will save you time and effort.
3. Invest in technology
Technology makes everything easier. You could use Skype to conduct video calls with students, for example.
Alternatively, you could set up an eLearning platform so students can study wherever they are. Either way, investing in tech tools now will make your business more efficient and help you reach new heights.
4. Learn about customer service
You know those people who seem to have mastered customer service? They’re not born overnight; rather, they’ve learned. And there’s nothing wrong with learning from others. In fact, many
perfect tutor learn best through trial and error.
5. Be patient
There’s always going to be difficulties along the road to entrepreneurship. Don’t lose heart, though. Just take each setback in your stride and move forward.
A Wife, a mum and a Tutor! I am the Lead Editor at TheTutor.Link & also the Head Tutor there. I love teaching seeing young minds flourish. I also love blogging and sharing my experience on the world wide web.