Are you interested in the idea of becoming self-employed, but specifically setting up a tutoring business? TechRound gives advice on exactly what you need to do to launch a successful tutoring company in the UK.
Make sure you’ve done your market research
You may have a passion for education, but this will not be the only thing you need to create a tutoring business. You will need to make sure you have completed thorough market research before making any concrete plans to become self-employed, especially when the industry is becoming ever competitive.
The best thing you can do is to know from the beginning what you would like your specialist subject to be. Perhaps this may be relating to a specific university course (relating to undergraduate or postgraduate subjects) or it could be for those completing GCSEs or their A Levels. Whatever the particular subject choice, ensure that the location where you are intending to set up the company isn’t already well represented in that area, as you may find it particularly difficult to build a client base, as well as a reputation.
If the subject of expertise is already well-represented in your area, don’t lose faith entirely. See if there is a subject that is experiencing a rising audience. You could check this by researching educational forums, as well as looking at statistics in schools in your location.
Know the subject and industry well
The most successful tutoring companies are the ones who have an excellent working knowledge of both their industry and the chosen subject. This means having the relevant qualifications in order to teach will be key to your business. Furthermore, having a thorough understanding of the education and examination system for the topic you are teaching is also important, as what you will be teaching will need to be relevant to both the student (as well as parents who may be hiring you) in order to remain employed. This will also apply to anyone you decide to hire if you want to expand the company.
Decide where to run the business
If you have completed your research and know that there is a suitable demand for the subject that you are intending to teach, the next stage is deciding where you want the business to run. Will it be home-based, or will you be going to the student’s home? Whatever you decide, you will need to take out the relative insurance policy cover.
Make sure that you have a detailed business plan
As with any other venture into creating a new company, you will need to have a detailed business plan in place prior to getting your tutoring company up and running. This allows you to allocate money for a number of important resources that you will need to pay upfront, including:
- Stationary
- Books
- Letterheads
- Business cards
- Preparing for any fluctuations with income whilst the business is building upon a clientele
- Marketing
DBS checks are vital
Make sure that you give yourself plenty of time to carry out DBS checks on anyone you decide to employ before starting your company. These can sometimes take a few weeks or more in order to be processed. Don’t be impatient and get tempted to skip this part completely – it is one of the biggest priorities for parents who hire tutors to ensure that the company they choose has made sure their staff has carried out the relevant DBS checks to make sure that the people hired are reputable. All tutoring businesses rely on professionalism, and DBS checks are a part of this.
Get your business heard
When you are first starting out as a tutoring business, it is vital that you prioritise marketing and promotion. This is because you won’t be able to rely so heavily on word of mouth when you have first established the company, and you will need to be focusing on building a client base first before you can do this and see more clients roll in.
You don’t necessarily need to spend a fortune on marketing. In fact, this is where social media can have a huge helping hand in getting your business heard, at no expense to you. Setting up a website, as well as a Facebook and Twitter page can be a great way to let people know you are setting up a tutoring business. It can also be worth engaging with the number of educational and parenting platforms that are available, like Mumsnet.
