If you are an expert in your subject and want to make money by tutoring others here is a detailed overview of how to start a tutoring business online and where to find tutoring jobs.
But first, let’s decide why it can be a problem to start making money as a tutor. Most people just don’t know where to start and it stops them from getting clients online.
A little pre-history.
My friend has tutoring skills and one day she decided to get more freedom from the office and start making money online as a tutor. She did an announcement about her online classes on social media and managed to get her first clients thanks to word of mouth. That was all she did to start earning money as an online tutor. After our previous meeting, I realized that she had no idea about what else she could do to find clients and decided not to scale up. So, I made up my mind to create an article where I can describe all the opportunities you have if you want to start a tutoring business.
Let’s start!
How to start a tutoring business online: A Step By Step Guide
1. Define your tutoring business model
Starting a tutoring business online, identify your tutoring business model:
Target Market
Tutoring businesses may target clients of all ages, from elementary school students to entrepreneurs and business leaders. And your target market will help you to focus on specific subjects, niches, and custom approaches to support your clients more effectively.
Tutoring Methods
Identify your teaching methods and techniques considering the student’s needs and learning style. What is your tutoring method?
- One-on-one live sessions
- Small group sessions
- Online in-person tutoring
Subject Specialization
Let’s assume you are in mathematics or language arts, how can you make your offer even more important for your clients?
What is the goal behind this knowledge?
For example, mathematics can help students apply to big universities in the USA.
Mastering language skills can help clients to get a better job or improve their communication skills.
The idea here is to think outside of the subject and offer opportunities instead of just knowledge. Just compare two different messages below:
1. I am an English Tutor.
2. I help entrepreneurs and small business owners to master the skills of Business English and run effective communication.
Which of the two statements above will be more targeted to its audience? I think you agree that it is the second one.
So, being specific will help you to identify your target audience more clearly.
Customized Learning
Do you offer a custom learning program depending on your client’s needs and requirements?
Successful tutors assess the student’s strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles to develop customized lesson plans and teaching strategies.
Goal-Oriented Approach
Working with a client is a separate project where you set clear academic goals and milestones. Such an approach can help your clients break down complex concepts and guide them toward getting the results.
2. Understand your audience
Decide on the audience you want to teach. For example, you are an expert in German and would like to help your clients develop language skills.
Would you help university students with their home tasks or teach elementary-level kids?
This decision is highly connected with your targeting and marketing campaign.
It is highly important to clearly identify your target audience if you want to be a “go-to” person in your niche. Become the solution people will search for and you won’t need to search for clients.
3. Name your tutor business
If you decided to start a tutoring business it is time to think about its name. A tutor’s business name should help you get more trust. Nevertheless, if tutoring is just your hobby there is no need to name it.
How to create a good tutor business name?
- Make it short and memorable – use two or three words to name your business. A short name is easy to remember, and it can be used as a domain name for your website
- Use your personal name – there is nothing wrong to use your personal name for a tutoring business. Additionally, it will be even an advantage if you decide to promote your business via a personal brand.
- Use your specialty – if you are an English tutor only and do not collaborate with other tutors inside your business structure, show your specialty. This will give an opportunity to avoid additional questions from potential clients about tutoring subjects.
20 tutor business names ideas:
- Bright Minds Tutoring
- Tutor Excellence
- Academic Advantage
- LearnSmart Tutors
- Scholars’ Hub
- A+ Tutoring Solutions
- The Tutoring Network
- Master Minds Tutoring
- Study Boosters
- Elite Learning Tutors
- Smart Scholars Tutoring
- EduMentor Tutors
- Brainwave Tutoring
- TutorTech Academy
- Success Path Tutors
- Ace Academics
- Knowledge Junction
- TutorConnect
- BrainyBloom Tutoring
- Wise Owl Tutors
Best tutoring business name generators:
Shopify’s Business Name Generator allows you to enter relevant keywords and get a list of potential business names. It also checks the availability of domain names for your chosen names.
The service has a simple interface where you can enter a keyword related to your tutoring business and get a list of suggested names.
It offers a collection of creative business names for tutoring and other industries. You can search for tutoring-related keywords and browse through the available options.
Squadhelp is a crowdsourcing platform where you can launch a naming contest for your tutoring business. Just provide a brief description and requirements, and then receive name submissions from a community of creatives.
4. Open an LLC for a tutoring business
Opening an LLC for a tutoring business has its benefits and opens new business opportunities. Here are the top five reasons to consider forming an LLC:
- Limited Liability Protection
If your tutoring business faces legal issues or financial obligations, your assets would typically be shielded.
- Separation of personal and business finances
It is crucial for maintaining accurate financial records and simplifying tax filings.
- Credibility and professionalism
Having “LLC” in your tutoring business name indicates that you have taken the necessary steps to establish a formal business structure, which can inspire confidence and trust.
- Tax Advantages
An LLC is treated as a “pass-through” entity for tax purposes, meaning the business itself does not pay taxes. Instead, profits and losses are passed through to the owners’ tax returns.
- Less paperwork
LLCs generally have fewer formalities and administrative requirements, less paperwork, and ongoing compliance obligations.
Best Tutoring LLC provides
ZenBusiness provides exceptional LLC services for a tutoring business, has a refund policy, and strong customer support, and offers a 60-day money-back guarantee for account cancellations. It works in all 50 states, including Washington, D.C.
ZenBusiness offers affordable pricing with attractive features. You can start a tutoring LLC with no money.
Swyft Filings is another great LLC service provider assisting new businesses in their formation process.
They offer free accounting consultations and offer valuable resources at a competitive price. Swyft Filings help to start an LLC for tutoring business with an initial investment as low as $0.
5. Organize your finances
Tracking your tutoring business’s income and expenses manually can be daunting. With the right accounting software, you gain the power of precision.
Billing your students and clients should be straightforward, not a headache. To organize everything properly, pay attention to FreshBooks accounting software. It is a trusted financial management partner, designed to help your tutoring business succeed.
Let’s go through its main features:
Billing:
- Invoicing: Easily create professional invoices for your tutoring services.
- Payments: Accept payments online to get paid faster.
- Time Tracking: Record your tutoring hours accurately.
Accounting:
- Accounting: Simplify financial tracking for your tutoring business.
- Expenses & Receipts: Organize and categorize expenses with receipt photos.
- Reports: Access financial reports for insights into your business.
- Mileage Tracking App: Automatically log mileage for tax deductions.
- Bookkeeping: Keep your books balanced without the hassle.
Client communication:
- Projects: Organize tutoring work efficiently.
- Proposals: Impress clients with professional proposals.
- Estimates: Quickly send estimates to potential students.
- Clients: Manage student information and billing history.
TEAM MANAGEMENT:
- Payroll: Streamline payroll for your tutoring team.
6. Find tutoring software
If you decided to become an online tutor make sure you have the necessary tutoring equipment and software.
Tutoring equipment
To start an online tutoring business you need the following equipment:
- Computer or Laptop
A reliable laptop with a stable internet connection is essential for online tutoring. Make sure it meets the minimum system requirements for the software or platform you plan to use.
- Headset or Earphones
A headset or earphones with a built-in microphone can help improve audio quality and minimize background noise during online tutoring sessions.
- Interactive whiteboard
It can be useful for demonstrating concepts, writing equations, or drawing diagrams during the tutoring session.
- Lighting
Good lighting is essential for clear visibility during online tutoring. Ensure that you have proper lighting in your tutoring space, with adequate illumination on your face and any teaching materials.
Tutoring software
A popular video conferencing platform that allows for virtual tutoring sessions and screen sharing.
An online learning platform that enables teachers and tutors to create, manage, and distribute assignments, resources, and assessments.
A collaboration and communication tool that offers video conferencing, file sharing, and integration with other Microsoft Office applications.
An e-learning platform used by educational institutions for course management, online discussions, and content delivery.
A virtual classroom software that enables live interactive sessions, content sharing, and assessment creation.
A comprehensive tutoring management software that includes features such as scheduling, invoicing, student management, and tutor performance tracking.
An online course creation platform that allows tutors to create and sell their own courses with multimedia content and built-in marketing tools.
7. Get tutoring clients
So, how to sell tutoring services? Getting tutoring clients requires a proactive approach to marketing and promotion. Let’s go through the most effective ways how to advertise tutoring services:
Freelancing Websites
Freelancing websites is one of the easiest ways to get more clients if you are a tutor. People visit such websites because they need help with some information or knowledge. Here are the best platforms you can start using for getting clients.
- Fiverr
- Upwork
Blog
If you want to scale up and grow your online tutoring classes into a tutoring business start building your personal brand. Share your expert knowledge by publishing useful articles to your blog and this will help you to bring more attention and build an audience around your brand.
Read also: How to Set Goals Effectively And 100% Achieve Them
Video content
Advertise as a tutor by making videos related to your subject matter and telling about your tutoring program, giving expert tips, or sharing your experience with the audience. Publish and promote your video content on IGTV or Youtube to attract more audiences.
Forums
Think about the platforms your potential clients are using.
For example, if you would like to teach kids you should visit the platforms, forums where parents share their experiences.
Social Media
Probably social media will be the number one place you’ll start to use for your service promotion. And you will be right. Most tutors find their first clients through word of mouth and it helps them to grow faster.
If you are still not sure where to advertise tutoring services, use social media to tell your friends and friends of your friends about what you are doing. Ask people you know about sharing your posts and recommending your services.
Instagram is a perfect channel for building a personal brand and promoting your tutoring services.
Where to post tutoring services: Best tutoring platforms to join
Most teachers and coaches start searching for the best online tutoring jobs on special tutoring websites. It is the easiest way to start since you shouldn’t worry about marketing, your personal website, or paid ads. Just create an account and start working. The only thing is you should be ready to pay a fee for the service.
Here is the list of the most popular tutoring websites you can sign up with and use to find first clients:
The number one recommendation goes to Preply. It was founded in 2012 and became one of the largest language-learning platforms in the world. But Preply is not only for languages. You can teach different school subjects as well as art! The number of tutors who have already joined the platform and successfully make money online is more than 140 000! Preply united tutors from 203 countries and provides flexible opportunities for growth as a tutor.
Is Preply a good way to make money as a tutor?
Preply is a highly rated service on Trustpilot and not in vain. According to the Preply tutors’ reviews, you can start there with lower rates but increase them after getting high rates from your students. Preply can be a good start in the tutoring business because there is no need to invest in marketing and a personal website.
According to Preply, the average tutor payment is $550 a week, so you can make $2200 a month as a tutor.
Go to Preply- iTalki
iTalki is a highly popular platform for teaching languages. It allows making professional money tutors as well as the ones without certificates.
Go to iTalki- Tutor.com – a one-to-one solution for teaching languages, maths, sciences, technology, and business.
- Select my tutor – a platform for finding personal tutoring jobs in different subjects. It has a user-friendly extended search.
- Take Lessons – one of the biggest platforms for teachers in different subjects. It is highly flexible and gives an opportunity to select the format of teaching as well as set your own pricing.
Tutoring Business FAQs
1. Why start a tutoring business from home?
Starting a tutoring business online gives you an opportunity to monetize your knowledge and be your own boss at the same time. This type of business does not require major investment and can be started by anyone who has knowledge in a particular field. Modern technologies allow running a tutoring business from home as well as from any place on earth. That is why starting a tutoring business is a unique opportunity to get financial freedom.
2. How to choose a tutoring niche?
Choosing a niche helps you to create an offer for people you would like to work with. Here are some key questions you need to answer to find your tutoring niche:
- What is the key problem that you help to solve with your classes?
- Why do you enjoy teaching people?
- What is the thing that makes you different from other teachers?
- Who is your ideal client?
- Why do your customers like to work with you?
- What is your teaching style?
3. Do you need a license to start a tutoring business?
To start a tutoring business, you need to register as a sole proprietor (the most common case) or register a corporation (move to this step once you decide to scale up).
4. Is a tutoring business profitable?
Yes. And there is one big reason why a tutoring business is highly profitable. Any tutoring business that has been started as a freelance side hustle can be easily scaled up into a tutoring agency or school with a million revenue. Think about it and don’t wait a minute to start.
Final thoughts
If you decided to start a tutoring business as a teacher and have no idea where to find tutoring clients – start with tutoring websites. It is the easiest way to make money fast and without spending time on marketing and branding.
But if you want to build a tutoring business and become a “go-to” person in your subject, think about building your personal brand.
