Clever Apple - How to Start a Tutor Business

Helping People Like You Start a Tutor Business since 2000

Sign up for our FREE Newsletter

Ways to use your presentation

By:

Now that you’ve created your presentation we’ll talk about some ways you can present it offline. If you’re going to be presenting in a place like the library you may want to use a projector. These projectors range in price from $25 to hundreds of dollars.

You can browse some of them here.

Another thing you can do is borrow a projector. My recommendation is to track your sales, when you’ve gotten enough new signups to warrant the cost, buy one.

Another note, if you’ve been doing what we’ve mentioned before, you should already have pretty good relationships with each of the people/places that we mention.

  1. Present at the school where you do most of your tutoring. We’ll pretend that your presentation is valuable, will teach the prospective students something that they will be able to use. We’ll also use the example of a SAT / ACT Math Prep. You could approach the high school guidance counselor. A huge emphasis is on ACT / SAT scores.

The key to making sure people attend is to do a bit of advertising. Decide on a date for the presentation, then advertise it in flyers and in the student newspaper.

  1. The library – should be easy to do. Advertise in your local paper.
  2. At a hotel – once you’ve mastered the presentation, go for it. By now you should know about how many new sign ups are happening.

You’ll need to do a little math. Now is a good time to figure out how much your students are worth. If you’ve been in business for awhile, you may already know this.

How long do students normally stay with you ? How many months / how many tutor sessions is that.
Average price of your tutor sessions.

We’ll say for instance that our math tutoring business, we normally tutor them for two years or about a hundred tutor sessions. We charge on average $27.00 a session. (round down, not up). So

100 x $27 = $2700. That’s quite a bit of money. So we could safely spend $1000 on getting one student.

Note – it is important that you’re always tracking your numbers.

Ask around at the local hotels, get some pricing for the smallest meeting room.

When you book the room, make sure you have a month or so lead time, then advertise about the session in the newspaper, on local websites. Since it is free you should also contact your local media outlets. Send an email to blogs that local people read, ask them if they could promote your event.

When you do the event, bring at least one person to help you. As the people sign in, make sure you get some good follow up information. Give them a brochure, a business card and a sheet that gives the people attending some kind of discount if they sing up before they leave the event.

Give your presentation and then sing up your new customers.

  1. At a local fair – every town (or most) have a fair or event in the summer or fall. Sign up for a booth, in this booth you’ll be putting your presentation on a lap top and letting people watch it.

We’ll talk some more about additional ways you can use that booth, but for now just sign up for one.

Next time we’ll talk about some ways you can use your presentation online.

Enjoy your weekend.

100 Ways to Find Students (Part 2)

By:

We posted the first list of methods on our blog – you can find the post here.

http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/100-ways-to-find-more-tutor-students-part-1/

Today we continue.

Next issues will be May 21st .

100 Ways to Find tutor students continues –

Here is the list from the video – we’ll talk some about each of the methods.

  1. Create an elevator speech or pitch.

You’ll be talking to people about your business, now is the time to craft a 30 second or minute long spiel that you need to practice. When you’re crafting it, you need to think about what you’re offering to your students, and how you can help them. Need some help? This article will give you some details. http://www.dumblittleman.com/2012/02/how-to-craft-killer-elevator-pitch-that.html

  1. Talk to your friends and family.

A great place to start and practice your speech. Give them some business cards, let them know exactly what your tutoring (subject and grade level) even if they don’t have kids that need you, they may have friends that do.

  1. Talk to your child’s teacher.

More about talking to teachers can be found here – http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/back-to-school-getting-tutor-students/

  1. .Go to school functions.

Create a list of schools you want to tutor in. Join their Facebook pages and subscribe to their newsletters. Find out the schools website and bookmark the page where they let people know about any upcoming events. You don’t have to go to every one, but you should be attending at least one a month at the schools. Attending these events let parents and teachers know that you care about their school. You’ll talk to people, make friends and you might even have a bit of fun. Don’t be all about selling at these events, or pretty soon you’ll find that you’re sitting by yourself and people will run from you whenever you come around them.

9.Talk to the guidance counselor 10. Get on the tutor list.

http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/getting-more-tutor-students-tutor-lists-and-asking-for-referrals/

  1. Post Flyers and Pull tab / tear sheets

http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/unique-advertising-methods-for-your-tutor-business/

We’ll talk about these methods next time.

Speak with the Librarian (give them some cards)
Local merchants
We’ll cover these next time.
PTA / PTO meetings
Create a presentation
Volunteer to speak at the school

Give the same speech at the library
Advertise the library speech by getting some free press from Radio and Television
School Carnival
Find tutors in your area that tutor a different subject – offer to trade students with them.
Local fourms and facebook pages
Craigslist Advertising
Contact Sunday school teachers that teach the age group you want to tutor.
Email signatures

 Follow us / more information.

You can find much more information on our blog. Just use the search box and type something in, you may be surprised at what you find.

http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/

or find us on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Clever-Apple-Tutoring-Business-Help/186004714761452?ref=hl

Setting Up Google Hangouts (Video)

By:

I can’t believe that it is almost May. In May we’ll be starting a new series that will take us into the summer. 100 Ways you can make money tutoring. We’ll be creating some new content, but also revisiting some old. The summer time is usually when Tutors take a little break and begin working on what they’ll be tutoring for the next school year.

Next issues will be April 30th .

How to Tutor on Google Hangouts – A Video

Here is the video –

 

Checklist –

  1. Test your microphone – make sure it’s working properly.
  2. Do at least one test hangout, going over your presentation to make sure that things go smoothly.
  3. Watch the replay – it takes practice.
  4. Invite the participants fifteen or minutes or so before the presentation. If you have a lot of students and are doing the presentations back to back then you can use the scheduling function.

 

You can find the hangout we recorded here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT-4-7ScyDc&feature=youtu.be

 

Enjoy your weekend.

Follow us / more information.

You can find much more information on our blog. Just use the search box and type something in, you may be surprised at what you find.

http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/

or find us on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Clever-Apple-Tutoring-Business-Help/186004714761452?ref=hl

How to Tutor – Starting a Google Hangout

By:

Today we’ll be talking about using Google Hangouts to tutor (how to set up your tutor session). Next issue we’ll talk about some different ways you can tutor with it.

Next issues will be April 2nd .

Using Google Hangouts to Tutor –

Please watch the video for more information.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFnY_uo8E4k&feature=youtu.be

Before you do your first hangout you’ll want to make sure that you have tested everything to make sure that it’s working properly.

  1. Make sure you’re using Chrome as your browser. You can find it here – www.google.com/chrome‎
  2. Log into your Gmail account.
  3. Click the plus sign at the top.
  4. Choose the plus account you want to use.
  5. On the left scroll down and click hangout.
  6. Start the hangout.
  7. Have fun.

Follow us / more information.

You can find much more information on our blog. Just use the search box and type something in, you may be surprised at what you find.

http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/

or find us on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Clever-Apple-Tutoring-Business-Help/186004714761452?ref=hl

 

Creating your products – tools you use

By:

Tools to use in your tutor business

Tutor Business Tools you can Use

Hope you had a wonderful week. We’ll be talking today about the actual creation process for your product. It’s been a busy time for me as I’ve been working on taking care of my Dad. If you have any questions, as always please don’t hesitate to send us a note.

The past articles –

Part 1 – http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/products-for-your-tutor-business/
Part 2 – http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/tips-for-creating-product-1/
Part 3- http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/creating-products-for-your-tutor-business-product-2-the-mid-level-product/
Part 4 – http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/ideas-for-product-3/

Next issues will Feb. 19th .

Product Creation 101 – tools to create your products part 5

PDF’s – the easiest product to create. You can use Word or you can use Google Docs for free. You can check online for videos on how to create pdfs from those resources. Below is a link to one that explains how to create a pdf using Google Docs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWRpsmHDCsE

You can also find some great templates to use online. Try to use the same template for all of the pdfs in your course.

Videos – There are two different types of videos that you can use (three if you count a combination of the two).

Presentation videos – this is when you’re speaking to the camera, or are recording how you do something. A good example of this would be if you were teaching guitar lessons or how to play chess or something similar.

Screen Capture – if you need to capture the computer screen for what you’re doing, then you’ll need some software to help you do that.

A good comparison site for different products can be found here – http://screen-capture-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

Live Video – Live video can be used to teach almost anything. The great thing about the live video is you can save it and use it for other pieces of content. Again there are a number of different resources to use, the one I would suggest being Google Hangouts. You can find more details about how to use Google Hangouts here.

https://support.google.com/hangouts/answer/3115553?hl=en

I hope you have a wonderful week.

Follow us / more information.

You can find much more information on our blog. Just use the search box and type something in, you may be surprised at what you find.

http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/

or find us on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Clever-Apple-Tutoring-Business-Help/186004714761452?ref=hl

Fall Tutoring Ideas

By:

Dad had a fall / accident on Saturday and is now in the trauma ICU in Lexington. This issue will be brief and will include some good information / links from the blog. My apologies for this issue and hope things will be more back to normal for our

Next issue will be Nov 6th.

Some Reminders:

Now is a great time to pick up students as they have usually received at least one report card and parents (or them) may be scrambling to make sure they have a better grade for the semester.

I have found that advertising (especially locally) works very well during this time. As always remember to track your ads and figure out where your clients are coming from. This way you can continue the efforts that are working, discard those that aren’t and try something new.

Get More Tutor Students- Fall Festivals, Football Games and More

http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/get-more-tutor-students-fall-festivals-football-games-and-more/

Fall Break Ideas for More Business – Tutor Writing

http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/fall-break-ideas-for-more-business-tutoring-writing/

Tips for Tutoring During the Holidays

http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/tips-for-tutoring-during-the-holidays/

Adding Weekend Sessions for your Tutor Business

http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/adding-weekend-sessions-for-your-tutor-business/

Follow us / more information.

You can find much more information on our blog. Just use the search box and type something in, you may be surprised at what you find.

http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/

or find us on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Clever-Apple-Tutoring-Business-Help/186004714761452?ref=hl

Finding People to tell your News Story

By:

News Time

News Time (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now that you’ve got your great news story, it’s time to get someone to tell it for you. The best way to do this of course is to become friends with reporters / bloggers / anchors / commentators etc. that live an work in the town you’re tutoring. This still works even if you have a business that isn’t really local (ie you tutor people from anywhere).

Finding these people used to be difficult, but social media has made it so much easier. The easiest way to do this is by going on facebook. Watch and listen to your local news, when the reports / anchors etc. mention their facebook pages, make sure you write it down. Go online and send them a friend request. With the request make a nice comment like “I really enjoyed your story about … last night, keep up the good work.” 99 out of 100 times they will accept your request. Next you’ll want to visit the news site itself. Become friends with the site on their various social media outlets. You’ll then want to monitor things for a bit. I usually take a half hour or so and comment on posts (especially the reporters make), like things they put up, generally be super nice to them.

The good thing about news is it goes in cycles. Wait for a slow news cycle and offer them your services. Tell them you would love to talk to them about how students can improve their ACT / SAT scores. You’ll want to make sure you know your stuff and are prepared for the interview. You’ll also want to make sure you’re recording the interview and after it’s over you’ll want to make sure you can put a copy of the interview on your website.

The whole process may take a few months but if you get 5 or 10 or even 1 new tutor student from it, then it would be well worth your time.

Enjoy your weekend.

Preparing for Emergencies in your Business

By:

Flag of the Red Cross Suomi: Punaisen Ristin l...

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I don’t know about you, but I’m so ready for Spring. So far March has been really cold here and tonight / tomorrow we’re supposed to have some snow. Today in our state we had a tornado drill and I thought that would be a good time to start a series on being prepared in your tutor business. We live in a world where different kinds of emergencies can happen at any time. Today we’re going to talk about some things you’ll want to make sure you have in place, in the days ahead we’ll talk some more about specific emergencies.

Most of these suggestions apply to you if you tutor in your home or have a separate office. If you travel to your students, some of these still apply.

  1. Talk to your insurance agent – make sure they know you’re conducting business and check into any type of additional coverage you may need. This is an added expense, but it may save you a whole lot of money in the long run. Also make sure you have an accurate inventory of things in your home / office with copies of receipts and video or photographic evidence. I mention that because one of our friends had a fire in their home and they had a really rough time getting some of their things replaced.
  2. Be weather aware. In the spring there is an increase possibility of severe weather. You’ll want to make sure you know if any storms may happen. You’ll also want to get a weather radio, keep it on and make sure it has a battery.
  3. Get a First Aid kit. You can find them at Amazon for less than $25.00.
  4. Take a Basic Lifesaving Course at your local Red Cross or medical facility. Learning CPR takes an afternoon. If you have employees make sure they have this training as well.

We’ll talk some more about weather emergencies on Thursday, till then we hope you have a wonderful day.

Quick Promotion Tip for your Tutor Business – Sporting Events

By:

True Blue TShirt ad

True Blue TShirt ad (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hey it’s Friday and here is your quick promotion tip for today.

As you grow your tutor business you’ll begin to realize that it is all about the community. If you have a good relation with your community and the schools you serve your tutor business will flourish. This means that you’ll need to be involved in community activities.

Spring is when many sporting events and tournaments are happening. There is an easy way to advertise at these events. Get a shirt with your business information on it and wear it. You’ll want to make sure you have a logo, what you’re tutoring in, how to contact you, and a discount.

There are many different ways you can get your custom t shirt made. You can do it locally, I’m not sure how much that would cost you. You can also do it online. http://www.customink.com/prices  Charges about $25. They have a great design program you can use as well.

Some additional ways:

  1. Advertise in the program / guide. You will have to do this in advance. It’s easy to figure it out, just call the school and ask them how much it costs to advertise. A Reminder – you’ll want to make sure you track your sales and leads.
  2. Think outside the box. Schools are looking to make money any way they can. Offer to donate something for the concession stand if they’ll put some of your business cards where people can see them.

That should get your creative juices flowing. Enjoy your weekend.

How To Find Free Business Forms – End of Year Tax Reminders

By:

rudolph

rudolph (Photo credit: gnotalex)

I know I had mentioned before / planned to continue our series today on Building your online tutor business, but I wasn’t able to get that article completed and it is storming etc. here. So I decided to send you some quick notes. We’ll have our next issue after the New Year, so we want to wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas and a very prosperous New Year.

In Case you missed it –

Part two of our new series on starting an online tutor business can be found at the url below.

http://www.cleverapple.com/blog/start-an-online-tutor-business-part-2-keywords-and-getting-your-domain-name/

Some End of the Year Reminders –

Don’t forget the end of the year is coming in a couple of weeks. I would suggest you work on taking a look at your business tax situation. If you work with an accountant then you can give them a rough estimate. I use Turbo Tax and I ran my numbers yesterday. This tells you a few different things, one of the most important things is if you’ve made money or not. Based on these numbers I also work on any purchases I make / or need to make to grow my business. One year I paid some extra months for my health insurance. Another year I delayed some billing until after the New Year. Again if you have an accountant then you’ll want to speak with them.

A good question –

A reader asked us a good question this past week –

Q – Thanks for all your inspiration and wealth of information.  Unfortunately I have started my  tutoring business without the necessary forms to document everything, can you help by sending me some links that have all the require tutoring business forms to survive businesswise?

Any type of blank business forms I can make copies of to begin a filing cabinet and to keep track of my daily happenings in my business like  – billing, progress report, testing evaluations, mileage sheet, developmental stages for pre-k, etc.

A – We used to make all of those forms available – until people would use them to make their own products – now we include them only with the paid guides we offer.

You can find a ton of forms at these links –

http://www.entrepreneur.com/formnet/index.html
http://www.officedepot.com/specialLinks.do?file=/content/businesstools/forms/default.jsp

+++++++++++
Links you can use –

A good link to share with the younger folks you know (or the young at heart) – a really nice interactive Santa Tracker.

http://www.google.com/santatracker/

We love questions, comments, and ideas you would like to share. You can leave a comment on our blog, or just hit reply if this is a newsletter.

Enjoy your week. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season filled with Love, Joy, and Happiness. Thank you for letting us come into your in box each week.