How To Build Your Dream Schedule For Your Tutoring Business
Building your dream tutoring schedule sounds too good to be true, am I right? I get asked this question all the time because I’m a full-time classroom teacher and Tutorpreneur®. People see what I do and they can’t understand how I juggle it all. Let me tell you, there are some systems and processes in place that have taken me years to craft. In this blog post, I’m going to give you a behind the scenes look and spill the beans on some secrets.
Create boundaries with your clients from day one
The first word I want you to adopt is: BOUNDARIES. It’s taken me a while to get there, but I know you can too with these simple tips I’m going to give you. If you’re somebody that says YES to everyone because you’re a people pleaser, and you don’t like disappointing, then we have to work on that first or else you’ll never have your dream schedule. You’ll often feel burnt out and you’ll get to a place where you don’t want to do anything extra. To me, that would be really sad because tutoring can really fill your cup and reignite the flame that you’re missing or trying to get back. Put those boundaries in place.
Maximize your time
You can start by looking at your schedule for the whole week. See what time you truly have and what time you’re willing to give up for tutoring. Plug new clients into the spaces you have available versus accommodating everyone and feeling like you’re empty without your own free personal time at the end of the day. If your current schedule has clients spread out all over the place, look at taking those chunks of time where you are waiting out of the equation. If you’re teaching full-time like me, then maximizing your time is the key to taking your tutoring business to the next level. If pockets of time are good for you because you want time to decompress or to have a break, then definitely take advantage of that. I’m always sure to work on blogging, creating YouTube videos or creating products for my Teachers Pay Teachers store while I’m waiting for a client.
Use a digital or paper planner to write down your schedule
It’s really easy to say yes to a potential client right away before we check our schedules. I know that feeling all too well. You get super excited at the prospect of a new client and start doing the math in your head of how much extra money you can make. Then you look at your calendar and realize you don’t have enough room to fit another client in and defeat hits you in the face. I recommend having a digital planner or paper planner in addition to use the calendar on your smartphone. There’s actual science behind writing down important things we need to remember. I wanted a planner that could be digital or paper that was made just for tutors. In the Tutoring Business Starter Kit Bundle you get access to both digital and paper planners, a tutoring contract template drafted by my very own lawyer, tutoring client interest survey and much more. You can check out all the details here.
Create a schedule that works for YOU
It’s easy to accommodate everyone but yourself. A client might even say to you “That time doesn’t work well for us.” The problem is, your the one providing the service and their ideal time might not work for you either. If you establish the habit of accommodating everyone, you’ll get burned out and your tutoring business won’t grow to its potential. You’ll find that most people want to work with you and they’re willing to bend their schedule to your schedule. There are only so many hours in the day and we can’t make everyone happy all the time.
Maximizing your time will be the key to unlocking the potential income growth for your online tutoring business. Whether you have big goals of replacing your teaching income, or you’d just like to be able to take that trip to Europe or send your kids to summer camp, you dreams are possible. Creating a tutoring schedule that works for you is the first step to growing your business. Maybe tutoring online is going to be the best way to maximize your time because you can tutor clients back to back. Or maybe tutoring a pod is going to allow you to work less and earn more.
Your dream tutoring schedule is up to you. You can create it and a life you love that gives you more freedom than you ever thought possible.
What does your dream tutoring schedule look like? Tell me in the comments!