Starting up a new business venture, whether full-time or part-time, can be daunting, but when better to take the leap than a brand new year? After almost three years of turmoil, students across the country are in need of an extra helping hand to get their studies up to scratch, meaning that tutoring is more in demand than ever before.
From one-on-one private tutoring to teaching small groups, starting up your own tutoring business can be rewarding not only for your students but for you as well. We’ve put together a simple guide to setting up a successful tutoring business in 2023.
Do I Need Any Qualifications?
While you don’t officially need any qualifications to become a private tutor, it does help to have a deeper understanding of the subject that you want to teach. Having some kind of qualification can reassure potential students that you at least know what you’re talking about and give you a better understanding of how the subject works at each student’s level. If you want to teach primary school students, any educational qualifications can help, but if you want to teach high school, college or even university students, having a qualification of that level or higher can set you apart and build confidence in your students.
What Skills Do I Need?
While qualifications aren’t a necessity, there are some skills worth exploring that can help you in your tutoring journey and ensure you are offering the best possible service to your students. Communication is one skill that’s crucial in tutoring and can be the difference between offering a useful lesson or one that doesn’t seem to help much at all. Some other key skills worth learning and training for include:
- Teaching Methods – Learning some key teaching methods and more about how students learn can help you offer a more effective learning experience.
- IT/Computer Skills – A lot of learning can be supplemented online to offer a rich and all-encompassing experience. Having IT skills can help you use these resources to your advantage, as well as use online teaching platforms, offer virtual lessons and track your business effectively.
- Creativity – Not every lesson has to be the same cut-and-paste curriculum. In fact, offering creative and unique ways to teach can help students learn faster and more effectively. Be engaging and you’ll not only help existing students, but your methods could attract more and more students through word of mouth.
- Business Knowledge – While no one is expecting you to be a business whizz – unless you are teaching business as a subject! – Having an understanding of the ins and outs of running a business will help you get ahead with running your own. You’ll need some financial knowledge, information on marketing and customer service, and more.
How Do I Get Started?
Getting started with your own tutoring business isn’t as complicated as it might seem, but it also isn’t as simple as just finding a student and getting started. In order to set up an efficient business that has the potential for success from the offset, you need to make sure you have the right building blocks in place. These can include:
Choosing The Right Subject & Level
Most tutors will have a specific subject that they teach rather than a wide range as with a school. Picking your chosen subject will ultimately come down to where your expertise lies and the level at which you are qualified. If you have a degree in English Literature, for example, you could likely comfortably tutor undergraduate English Literature students and below. Higher demand tends to sit with high school and college students, however, so you might want to consider teaching a lower level than your highest education level in order to meet that demand. If you have a business-related degree, a marketing degree, or knowledge of other workplace skills, you could also consider adult tutoring for field-specific jobs.
Considering Insurance
You might not think of tutoring as a particularly dangerous job, but having the right cover can help to protect you from a number of unforeseen circumstances. For example, if a student was to trip over your bag or laptop wire, or you accidentally spill a drink over their work or equipment, having Public Liability Insurance for teachers in place can protect your business financially in the case of claims made against you. When claims are made for injury, illness, or damage caused by you or your business activity, Public Liability Insurance can provide financial help in the way of legal fees and compensatory costs.
Choosing The Right Platform
Face-to-face 1-2-1 tutoring can be incredibly beneficial for students, providing them with an enriching and altogether more effective learning experience, however, it’s not always possible for every student to travel to you, or for you to travel to them. Having a good virtual option can open up more time for teaching more students while still offering a face-to-face experience. Free and common platforms like Skype and Zoom are good options as they are accessible to a wider range of people. You could also offer services through teaching-specific platforms that may help you find students when you first get started with your business.
Setting Your Rates & Getting Registered
There is technically no licence needed to become a tutor, however, there are a number of things you can apply for and do to help establish yourself as a trustworthy option for students. You’ll need to register as a sole trader regardless in order to be able to function as a business, which also includes registering for self-assessment and Class 2 National Insurance. As far as qualifications go, having teaching qualifications under your belt can not only make your job easier but make you appear more professional. Once you’ve established your expertise and registration, it’s time to set your fees accordingly. You should see what similar tutors are offering in your area and set your fees somewhere in the middle ground. Too cheap and you risk looking low-quality and too high and you could send clients elsewhere.
For more information about starting up your own tutoring business in the new year, we are on hand to help. Simply get in touch with Ashburnham Insurance and we can help you find the perfect insurance for your new business.