Local Schools

Target as many schools in your local area as possible and visit the guidance office or student services office. Make sure to speak with a counselor and introduce yourself and your services. Ask them if there is anywhere where you can leave a supply of pamphlets and or a flyer featuring your services. More often than not—most all schools will be happy to comply. Know too, as many students requiring extra help often visit these offices for information on available tutors.

Public Libraries

Public Libraries are also an excellent place to leave pamphlets and brochures. Most all libraries have bulletin boards specifically for advertising local services such as tutoring. It is probably a good idea to ask one of the staff for permission before posting. Refer to your local municipal website for a complete listing of public libraries.

Word of Mouth

The easiest way to advertise your services is to contact everyone you know who may be able to refer clients to you, and tell them about your new business. This includes friends, relatives, classmates etc. If you know any teachers, you should definitely add them to your network of unofficial marketing agents, as they are in a great position to refer new students to you.

Local Community Centers

If you’re looking for other areas in your community to post your fliers and information—you can’t pass up local community centers and sporting arenas. They attract many families with children and teenagers and are great places to advertise your services. You will likely have to obtain permission from the office first before posting brochures. To get a detailed list of local community centers and public sporting facilities, check out your local municipal website.

Email Blasts and Mass Mailers

One great way to market your home-tutoring business is to gather emails throughout the community and send out email blasts once a month or once every other month. Include coupons, deals and other promotional give-a-ways to entice new customers. Another option too is to use your local post office to send out a mass mailer in your community. The post office will deliver your brochures in bulk for about ten cents each (could be more or less). I would suggest you start out with a small drop of 1,000 brochures in a higher income neighborhood. Even if you only get several new customers as a result, it is still money well-spent.

If you’re a stay-at-home parent but would like a little bit more money in their pockets each week—a home tutoring business offers a host of lucrative benefits. Tutoring offers a schedule which is extremely flexible and also you need only to spend a few hours a day to make a profit.

How Much Can I Make As a Tutor?

A tutor expects to make between 20 and 100 dollars per session; however, the price usually varies with your experience, education, and subject matter you are teaching and the challenges the student has. A special education tutor will make more money than a traditional tutor. Also, a math tutor will generally be more in-demand that than other subjects.

Advantages of Tutoring

Some of the many advantages that a home-tutoring business provides is that tutors have the ability to work out of their homes, travel to the students home, or work out of the local library. If you start a home tutoring business you will have the freedom to choose exactly what you want to teach, who you want to teach, and how you want to teach it.

How To Sell My Tutoring Business?

Finding out what you should charge can be daunting. Rates vary from place to place. It also depends what kind of tutoring resources your local-area schools have. Know, however, that after meeting the client, assessing the local area tutors and focusing on high-demand subject areas for tutoring subjects will drastically change the amount you can charge.

Tips and Tricks To Sell Yourself and Your Tutoring Services

Sell yourself! Remember if you want to start a home tutoring business you need to make sure you get your name out there. If you want people to come and use your services you have to let people know that you are a tutor You’ll want to make sure to get certified as well as check out state and local laws that apply to tutoring so you can be in compliance. Usually your local community college or adult education programs will offer a certification program for tutors or substitute teachers.

First and foremost you need to believe in yourself in order to have a successful business. If you think you will fail, then you will fail. To be successful you need to be positive and believe in yourself. If you don’t think you are a success, how can you expect any clients to have confidence in you?

2. Considering your business to be JUST a side thing.

You can’t start your business and go in half-way. Running a successful business requires a full commitment. You need to make the decision and stick to it. If you are going to start a business it will require time, effort, and commitment. The business needs to become a priority in your life, not merely something you work on when you feel like it.

3. Being unprofessional.

Just because you start your own business and become your own boss does not mean you can give up on professionalism. You still need to think of this as work and should incorporate good practices from the workplace. Although your hours can now be more flexible, it doesn’t mean you can blow off work whenever you want. You need to remember to treat your employees as people who are responsible for the success of your business, not as friends. Be prepared, courteous, and prompt when meeting with clients or business partners. The way you present yourself reflects your company. If you are unorganized, rambling, or overly friendly you will not be showcasing your business well.

4. Procrastination and tardiness in communication with others.

This reason for failure is really #3b. It goes along with the idea of being unprofessional. This applies to contacting current and potential clients as well as business associates. You want to return phone calls and emails as soon as possible. You want your clients and partners to feel as though they are very important to you. If you make them wait, they will find something better and take their business elsewhere.

5. Putting all your eggs in one basket.

You are setting yourself up for disaster if you start a business and do not have enough money to survive. It is not a good idea to quit your job in the hopes that this business will instantly work out. This will ultimately bring failure because at the start you will likely not be bringing in enough money and this will lead to constant pressure and stress which will eventually force you to stop. Before you take on your business venture you have to be sure you have a nest egg to rely on, a back-up plan if things don’t work out, a feasible budget, and timeline for trying.

6. Choosing something too unique.

Your business needs to be based on a product or service that people will want. You do want to find something without too much competition, but at the same time the product or service can’t be too unique. There needs to be a market, people looking for this product/service, otherwise you won’t sell anything.

7. Not trying.

All business ventures have some risk associated with it. However, you can’t succeed if you don’t give it a shot. Just make sure it will not make or break your life. (Refer to reason #5)

1. Don’t fall for a “get rich quick” scam.

All legitimate business opportunities require work and time. There is no magic job that will make you rich instantly. If there was, we would all know about it. A good business should promote money-making potential while still being realistic.

2. Beware of companies that expect you to put up a large sum of money upfront.

You shouldn’t be breaking the bank in order to make money. If the upfront fees are reasonable and will provide you with training and resources to succeed, then it is something you should consider. If you are asked to pay a steep price just to be a part of the organization and there are no helpful benefits that come with it, then it is something you should pass on.

3. Steer clear of Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) organizations.

These are systems that are designed to fail. The bottom line, MLMs are pyramid schemes. The “big money” is made when you hire other employees to sell the product or service. The truth of the matter is, in most cases the product you are selling is not really valuable. The whole premise of these companies is to make money by “tricking” other people to give you money in order to be a salesperson to sell the product…and then they find other people to give them money to sell the product and so on. A legitimate business will make you money by selling their products or services. The job shouldn’t require you to enlist someone else to sell the product in order to make money.

4. Avoid business ventures that have unclear descriptions.

Don’t agree to any job if you do not completely understand all of the details. Some companies just focus on all of the money that you can make or how little time you need to spend working, but they leave out the description of the job. Before you sign up or pay money, be sure you know exactly what is expected. Determine if there are additional or monthly fees that will pop up. Check to see if there is a time commitment and if there is a “back-out” option if you change your mind. You need to have a clear understanding before you make a decision.

5. Look for businesses you can trust.

The best option is to choose a company or organization that has a well-known and positive reputation. Do some online searches to find reviews and references for the business you are considering. There are many forums in which people discuss positive and negative business experiences that they have had. Check the Better Business Bureau to see if there have been complaints.

6. Check for contact information.

A legitimate business will have contact information such as names, email addresses, mailing addresses, and phone numbers. This should connect you to a live person who can answer any of your questions. Before agreeing to anything, make contact with someone to clear up any concerns you may have and make sure you won’t be left in the dark if you are having trouble along the way.

7. Trust your gut.

If something just doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. There are many job opportunities available. Don’t jump into something if you aren’t comfortable. Keep looking and find one that is a better fit.

Young Entrepreneur.com features online home business owner Cynthia Minnaar. Cynthia shares her Top 10 Reasons to Start an Online Business Today.

The Work from Home Business Blog presents 13 Reasons Why You Should Start A New Online Business .