How to Start an at Home Tutoring Business

Sunday, May 12, 2013

How to Start an at Home Tutoring Business

If you have specialized knowledge and the ability to share your expertise in a clear and concise way, then consider starting an at-home tutoring business. Traditionally, tutors help school age children master concepts from their daily curriculum. While the demand for this service continues, additional areas of focus include college entrance exam preparation, assistance with college courses and even preparation to start kindergarten. The low start-up costs make this business an attractive way to earn part-time income. However, so many parents want to give their kids a competitive edge that there is enough work for a viable full-time business.

Step 1

Identify your areas of expertise. Formal certification is not required to set up shop. However, clients will look for demonstrated experience or training. Teacher certification and specialized courses will provide credibility and make marketing a tutoring business easier.

Step 2

Choose a legal structure and name the business. A sole proprietorship or partnership if a second owner is involved is usually sufficient. If a name other than the owner's name will be used, then register a fictitious name with the state secretary.

Step 3

Obtain licenses and permits. Almost any business requires registration with local authorities, even if the business is operated from home. Check with the city and county governments where the business is located for requirements.

Step 4

Establish policies, procedures and pricing. Some decisions include how to handle no-shows, make up lessons and "emergency" questions. A written agreement with the parent regarding services will help alleviate misunderstandings. Check with other tutors to see if your pricing is competitive.

Step 5

Obtain learning tools as needed for clients. The library and internet are good sources for free materials. Invest in a good set of reference books for the main subject areas.

Step 6

Set up an office with a phone and computer access. Administrative tasks, such as marketing and billing, are easily conducted from home. Meetings with clients can be conducted at the student's home or in your own home. A quiet place free from interruptions is needed. Check deed restrictions and with local authorities to ensure that ongoing meetings in your own home are allowed. Note that libraries often prohibit the use of their facilities by paid tutors.

Step 7

Advertise the tutoring business in mediums and places your target market frequents. Place fliers on school bulletin boards, provide brochures to teachers and students and participate in parenting networks. Create a resume with references to provide to potential clients. Maintain an email list and consider sending a periodic newsletter with study tips and information related to areas of focus.

Step 8

Provide home-based tutoring services through on-line companies, such as Tutor.com. This avenue will supplement the income made through face-to-face clients and allow tutoring skills to be honed in the area of expertise. A computer with high-speed Internet access is needed. Generally, the tutor is considered an independent contractor.

Things Needed

References (4)

Business.gov: 10 Steps to Starting a Business
Entrepreneur: Tutor Your Way to Profits
Entrepreneur: Business Idea Center: Home Tutor
How to Start an at Home Tutoring Business

Resources (1)

Tutor.com

Photo Credits(2)

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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

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Sunday, May 12, 2013