Becoming a Freelance Tutor #tips

I get a lot of questions surrounding how I started my freelance educator business. Whilst completing my Masters, I asked tutors I knew from my BA if I could sit in and lurk on their lectures. Some of these lecturers allowed me to be an active part in their sessions, allowing me to gain experience standing in front of a group of people and tell them what to do and how to do it. This can be scary, especially if you are not a confident public speaker (believe it or not, I am very shy).

Mostly, what I hoped to gain from these sessions, was the ability to communicate and handle students in a holistic and student-centred way. I also had the privilege of working with a tutor who had a lot of knowledge on how to support students with additional needs and found that I enjoyed her method of inclusivity and accessibility.

But, that is quite enough about me, you want to know how to become a tutor right now.

How to start:

Decide what you want to teach.

This might seem obvious but there might be a couple of subjects that you can teach. I teach drama, English and essay/dissertation skills but I am technically qualified to teach music, practical drama skills and performing arts. I have limited my teaching to the stuff I enjoy teaching. I do love teaching practical sessions, and sometimes I do teach group practical lessons in musical theatre, but I think that I am better at teaching the written stuff and find that more students need help with the written part of their practical qualifications. Practically based students often find written tasks tricky – so I let them get on with the part they are good at.

Find somewhere to advertise.

I advertise on Tutorful. It works for me as I can chat and book students whilst Tutorful deals with the money. They do take a small cut of my earnings, so I factor that in when deciding my hourly rate (which I will talk about later). I find it works best for me as I can concentrate on teaching my students whilst they do much of the admin. Additionally, if you want to teach in your local area, try advertising in schools, takeaways and family centres places like toy shops, book shops, cinemas, parks and other companies that have family-based customers.

Set up your CV and teaching ethos.

Most online tutoring platforms will have a template that they want you to use. So look at websites like Tutorful for guidance. Even if you decide not to use these platforms you will be sure to have everything you need in your CV if you follow their direction. Additionally, your ethos is the way that you teach and what you believe teachers should provide to students. One way of doing this is to include an example lesson plan, talk about how you tailor your sessions or include something like ‘I believe in removing barriers to make the inaccessible, accessible for my students’.

How to teach:

Have a standardised trial session.

Unless a student requests a particular session straight away, it is a good idea to have a couple of lesson plans for you to do with any student. For example, when I am teaching English, I always start with a comprehension, answer some questions and then ask them to write something in response. This allows me to assess confidence and abilities in all the main areas and allows students to share anything they find hard. I change the comprehension to fit the age group of the student, but the plan is always the same. The students also get to know me a little.

Work with a theme.

Themes can be generated by talking to the student. If they say ‘I am finding (insert topic here) really difficult’, you can address this through themes. Work your way through the different components of that topic by breaking it down into smaller chunks. If you think that this particular difficulty only needs one session, then that topic is your theme. Themes are also a great way to keep younger students engaged: if I had a 7-year-old who finds reading hard, but they love space, then we read about space.

What about hourly rates?

Research other tutors with similar experience.

Other tutors are advertising online. Go hunting for a tutor, as if you were the student. You can get an idea of rates and estimate from there. Some websites will give you a guide of how much to charge, or at the very least, a minimum charge. Use this as a guide and increase it with every measurable advantage you have.

If you have any ‘special’ interests or training, increase your rate accordingly. I am SEND confident. This means I have vocational training and experience with students with disabilities. So, I can charge more for that support but not as much as someone who is registered with a qualifications-based body.

Offer a cheaper trial session.

Getting students is the hard part. Students are taking a gamble paying for a £15-£50 session with no guarantee that the student will get on with you. Again, some websites will already have guidelines in place for this. Although, I have found £5 trials or half-price trials tend to work depending on your rates and experience. Some websites suggest you offer a free trial… it is up to you if you take it. If you are new to teaching, give free a go, but if you have the experience, I would charge at least £5 for a trial.

How do I track my income?

Always keep a spreadsheet.

The example tracker above is very basic. You can add to it as you start to know more about what your business needs. But you would much rather have the information you need when you need it rather than going searching through calendars and bank information to find it. Even if you do not pay tax yet, it is a good idea to get into the habit of keeping a spreadsheet. You will thank yourself when it does come to paying tax. I promise.

If you are over 18, sign up for HMRC’s self-assessment for self-employment.

This sounds like a longwinded process, but if you start to collect up a few students and you’re earning more than a 10-year-olds pocket money, I would sign up. That way, you know you’re not breaking any laws and you are always up to date. Again, keep that spreadsheet, you’ll thank me later.

Fill in your tax return, even if you don’t pay tax.

I promise, this may sound like a lot of hassle, but if you have any expenses (calculated as any money you had to spend to aid your business like printing, subscriptions, hardware and software) you can claim tax back on them. You can also look into whether you can claim anything for working from home here.

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