How to start a tutoring business

Everyone has the right to a good education. However there are also countless children that fall behind in class and struggle to keep up with their contemporaries.

Because of this, now is an excellent time to offer a tutoring service. Covid-19 has brought unprecedented disruption to schoolchildren, not only in lost contact hours but also government U-turns over examinations and algorithmically-predicted grades.

An increasing disenchantment with the English education system has resulted in greater demand for extra tuition, both outside of school hours when at home, and during school.

Whether you’re looking to offer remote tutoring via video, or in-person classes to individual students or small groups, there are tremendous opportunities for tutors to earn a good wage and to offer much-needed help and support to students who’ve been disrupted by the past two years’ events.

But there’s also lots of considerations that need to be made – not just in typical startup hurdles like finance or licensing, but also more industry-specific needs, like timetabling and building a reputation.

In this guide, we’ll talk you through what you need to know if you’re interested in becoming a tutor for the first time. From legal regulations, to planning, preparation, marketing and pricing, this guide offers advice for anyone looking to enter the tutoring world.

Who is tutoring suited to?

Firstly, let’s set the record straight. To set up a tutoring company, you don’t need to be a fully qualified teacher.

Although many professional teachers do tutor in their spare time or in the school holidays, the tutoring business is not reserved for them alone. Furthermore, you don’t need to have a PhD in your chosen subject to be able to teach it, because the quality of teaching is not directly related to the level of education.

Of course, it goes without saying that having a good understanding of your chosen subject is a must, therefore high qualifications are desirable. A thorough understanding of the education system and the curriculum are also essential attributes for a good tutor.

Enthusiasm and a positive attitude are further key characteristics for someone starting a tutoring business. Students will come to you for extra help and may have very low confidence in the subject, so an enthusiastic and encouraging tutor will do wonders to boost their self-esteem.

It will pay dividends if you’re well-organised and good at time-management. Planning and preparation will play a pivotal role in the day-to-day running of the business, so someone with the ability to prepare and stick to a structured plan will be more likely to succeed.

Creating a tutoring business plan

One of the first things you need to decide before starting up is what subjects you’re going to tutor yourself.

This is usually your degree subject, or A-level choices, depending on the age and level of students. Obviously, the higher your qualification you have, the higher the level you will be able to teach, which will provide you with a wider range of students.

What subject will you teach?

It’s worth looking at the competition in your local area to see what subjects are not covered, because this could give you an advantage over other tutors. If there are already 20 maths tutors in your neighbourhood, it will be much harder to make your mark.

That being said, certain tutoring topics are more popular than others – the demand for French tutors will generally outstrip the need for Russian tutors in any area, for example.

Popular tutoring topics include:

• Maths
• English
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Physics
• General Science
• French
• German
• Spanish

Where will you be based?

Next you need to decide on location. Will you conduct sessions from your home, or will you go to your students’ houses?

Parents with young children may prefer the tuition to take place under their roof, particularly if they don’t know the tutor, so that the child can feel safe and comfortable in a familiar environment.

However, you need to bear in mind the cost and time it will take for you to get to and from your lessons. If you don’t have access to a car or reliable public transport, this could be difficult.

Some tutors only conduct lessons from their own homes, which can have many advantages; it will save money, time and energy, and can allow them to book more sessions into their day. But you may be limiting your clients to parents who have the time and means to deliver their children to and from a tutor.

What equipment do you need?

To run an efficient and reputable business, you should have the right materials from the start. Get hold of the curriculum for your chosen subjects, along with any relevant exam papers, which can be ordered directly from the individual exam boards.

Other materials such as paper and pens, calculators and text books will be necessary, so thorough preparation before each session is crucial. Look out for adverts in the local paper for pupils selling their textbooks – this can be cheaper than buying first hand although getting your hands on the most up-to-date versions is important.

You will probably have a computer and printer already, but reliable IT equipment is necessary to keep on top of correspondence and bookings – and for organisation. Once business is flourishing, expansion might be on your agenda, which will be greatly facilitated by a company website, business cards, letter heads, and so on. These will add to the professional appearance of your business, and will help establish it as a reputable and reliable service.

How can you stay organised?

On the topic of preparation, careful planning for each session will help enormously, particularly when first starting out.

Having a detailed plan laid out will build your confidence, and as you get more students, it will prove invaluable to help you distinguish between each session. It may sound menial, but keeping track of all your lessons in a journal can have huge benefits by providing a clear view of your schedule.

To help formulate your tutoring business plan you may find it useful to download our free business plan template.

Tutoring business rules and regulations

The tutoring business is fairly free from strict regulation. There are no specific qualifications or certificates that tutors are legally required to obtain, making it reasonably easy for people to set up businesses.

That said, any reputable establishment will ensure it is registered with the DBSDisclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and that each individual tutor is DBS checked.

How much does it cost?

The standard DBS test per individual costs £26, which includes checking the police national computer, while an enhanced check costs £44.

This includes a police national computer check, as well as checking the list of people barred from working with vulnerable adults or young people, and it also goes to the local police force for a more in depth check.

How long does it last?

There is no expiry date on the individual DBS registration, but it is up to each organisation or agency to decide how often they renew their DBS checks. Despite not being obligatory, it is highly recommended that anyone starting a tutoring business registers with the Disclosure and Barring Service – many parents will not be willing to hire a tutor for their child, without seeing the certificate.

While a DBS check is not, at present, legally required, it’s worth visiting the government page on the Disclosure and Barring Service on a regular basis. Any changes to the system which may occur will be detailed on this page. When you apply for a DBS check, it is also worth signing up to the DBS Update Service, which will send you an email if any changes to the law occur.

What other licensing do you need to run a tutoring business?

Aside from the DBS check, you might decide to set out ground rules for accepting and declining tutor applications.

For example, if you receive an application from a maths tutor, it would help if you have already decided what your minimum qualification requirements are for maths tutors. Depending on the level of the student, you might decide that they must be at least one or two qualifications higher, in order to provide a good-quality service.

When operating as a business you’ll also need to make sure that you’re properly insured, even if you’re based at home. Explore the insurance you might need as a home-based business here.

Tutoring costs and potential earnings

Working out how much to charge for your sessions needn’t be complicated. It should be competitive with the market, as well as affordable for your client base.

Here are some simple do’s and don’ts:

• Do call other tutoring agencies in your area and ask how much they charge for lessons. Set your price somewhere in the middle.
• Don’t try and be too greedy early on because people are unlikely to hire you if you’re more expensive yet unknown in the area. That said, don’t price yourself too low because it may spell out poor quality to potential clients.
• Do start to charge higher rates for new students as you develop a positive reputation among your students and their families.
• Do increase your fees at the beginning of each school year is also acceptable, but be sure to raise your rates gradually.

One way to earn more money per hour is to double up your students. For example:

If you have two students who need tuition in the same subject area and are of a similar standard, you could tutor them at the same time, offering them a discounted rate. If each client usually pays £20 per hour, you could charge them £15 each, which would give you a £10 increase, and yet would save them £5 each.

How can you manage your finances?

It is essential that you keep track of your income and expenditure. Buy yourself a receipt book and provide your clients with a receipt for each payment. If numbers are not your forte, it might be worth investing in some accountancy software to make the task easier.

As with any company, save all your receipts from business-related purchases and take time to organise them properly. You will be able to claim expenses for tax relief purposes on things like telephone, internet and electricity bills, as well as travel expenses, office supplies and advertising. Contact HM Revenue and Customs to find out more about allowable expenses and the process involved.

Starting a tutoring business: Reputation and marketing

Like many businesses, a tutoring company relies heavily on reputation for its long-term success. Word-of-mouth recommendations account for a high proportion of promotional methods, and it goes without saying that a parent will seek out the opinion of a friend on the reliability and quality of a potential tutor for their child.

While this gives you plenty of opportunity to generate an organic consumer base through word-of-mouth, it only takes one bad comment from a client for a tutor’s reputation to be tarnished, which could consequently take years to repair.

How can you build up a reputation?

Be selective with your clients

Will Orr-Ewing from Keystone Tutors suggests turning down clients if you don’t think you can help them to the best of your ability. If you’re stretching your time and resources just to fill a booking, this will be reflected in the quality of service the client receives; an unsatisfactory client will be more damaging to your business than if you had turned down the booking in the first place.

Borrow other reputations

To boost your trustworthiness, ask for references from previous clients. A few good testimonials will do wonders for your reputation. Another cost-free mode of promotion is to post notices and business cards on boards at your local schools, shops and libraries. A letter to the local education authority in your area may also be worthwhile as they could refer you to parents needing a tutor for their child.

Get a company website

Once your business is established and you have a number of tutors on your books, it would be hugely beneficial to invest in a company website. Getting yourself near the top of Google search will generate a lot of traffic to your site, and hopefully some new clients, however make sure the site looks authentic and reliable.

Optimise your online presence

Using certain keywords on your site can help improve your Google ranking, so it might be worth focussing on the fact that you’re a tutoring business in a certain geographical area, rather than saying you’re a maths tutor, for example. The more specific the terminology, the more relevant to the search you’ll be.

If you can’t afford to hire a good web-designer to create your own website, there are a number of internet directories for tutoring businesses that you can join, although be sure to check out the site properly before signing up.

Look for logos of established organisations on the home page of these registers, such as the Department of Education, OFSTED, the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), or the Times Educational Supplement, because they will only endorse reputable directories.

Don’t discount paper advertising

Placing an advertisement in the classified section of your local paper can be another good way to promote your tutoring business. It may be worth experimenting with different papers and supplements in your area – by asking enquirers where they heard about your company, you should be able to gauge how successful each ad is in generating new customers.

Expansion plans: Should I start a tutoring agency?

If you’ve been working as a tutor and have become too busy to take on more clients, you may be in an ideal position to start a tutoring agency. As an extension of a one-person tutoring business, you will need to have a number of tutors on your books. This will enable you to take on much more work and build up a reputation and client base in less time.

When starting a tutoring agency, the key challenge you will face as opposed to starting a one-person tutoring business will be recruiting the tutors themselves. In this industry, your reputation is everything, and you will find the process of recruitment much easier if you are already well-known as a good tutor. Therefore, before starting an agency, it is a good idea to spend some time working as a tutor yourself and building up this reputation.

Recruitment and hiring

When it comes to finding tutors for your agency, you have a number of options – whichever method you choose, it is likely you will be spending most of your time, money and effort on recruitment in the early stages.

Key to the recruitment process is vetting the tutors on your books. A poor tutor can destroy your small agency’s reputation in one fell swoop, so it is vitally important you ensure all your tutors are of the standard you want your agency to be known for.

Interview all prospective tutors as a minimum level of quality control, and insist on minimum levels of academic qualification before interview to ensure you aren’t flooded with a deluge of unsuitable applications.

What checks do you need to carry out?

You should complete a DBS check on all your tutors in much the same way as you would when starting a private tutoring business. Being able to reassure parents that all your tutors are thoroughly background-checked is well worth the small expense a criminal records check entails.

How many tutors can you afford to hire?

In terms of financials, assuming you won’t be operating on a franchise model, how much you can earn depends largely on the number of tutors you have on your books. However, you can expect to get around £1,000 of commission per client per year as a standalone agency. Plus, you should only pay VAT on the commission you charge to your tutors, rather than on the entire fee they charge to students.

Whilst more tutors means more earning potential, every new tutor your agency takes on will entail a greater administrative burden, so you won’t have unlimited earning capacity.

Depending on your area, you may have to compete with other, more established agencies – who may have already snapped up much of the local tutoring talent – so it is worth targeting a particular niche in the market.