How to Prioritize What’s Most Important in Your Tutoring Business

How many times have you sat down to write your to-do list and instantly felt overwhelmed?

Maybe the overwhelm was so bad you decided to give up before you even started….  

I’ve been there.

Getting over the overwhelm is the first step to prioritizing what’s important in your business.  Once I put systems and processes in place, I really noticed a shift in my mindset which created an unstoppable force.  That force is what drives my business today.  There’s no magic wand to wave.  Once you have the right steps in place, the revenue follows.

This blog post is going to share some of the secrets to my business that you can easily start implementing today!

SECRET SCHEDULING SAUCE

The secret sauce that finally changed the way I work on my business started with scheduling.  I had to learn to schedule everything important FIRST before I tackled my to do list.  Of course you’ll always have a million little to-do’s on the list.  Figuring out what’s  actually going to move the needle on your business is important to getting things done.  

Place important dates like birthdays, time off, holidays, anniversaries, etc. on your calendar first.  This will show you what days you have left so you’re prioritizing family and your personal life.

Once I was clear on my priorities, my business grew exponentially.

PRIORITIZE PLANNING

Set aside time each week to plan.  I like to do this on Sundays so I can have a glimpse at the week ahead.  If you don’t have a planner, you need one!  I’m a paper AND digital planner kind of girl.  My ride or die is the Erin Condren 18-month life planner.  I used to swear by the 12-month teacher planner, so if that’s your favorite, I get it.  I switched to the 18-month life planner because I realized I needed time slots to prioritize important things in my business.  There is real science behind writing down your schedule.  If you don’t believe me, Google it!

The Erin Condren Life Planner is my ride or die.

I like to add important dates into my Google Calendar so I can have reminders sent to me before events.  Pencil and paper planner is my go-to, but it helps to have important dates in two places.  Scheduling is a top priority for me because I know what I have time to do and what I don’t have time for. 

I talk about these calendars all the time on Instagram and how I use them daily for my business.

For all my business scheduling, a paper planner rocks.  I also swear by calendar on the wall method.  I love the 12 month calendars because you can visualize your whole year on the wall in front of you.  These are the calendars I use in my own business. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen these babies a lot!

WHEN TO SAY HECK YES 

There are going to be opportunities that pop up in your business.  Parents are always going to want tutoring.  (That’s why tutoring makes the most amazing teacher side hustle!) BUT, there’s going to come a time when you are maxed out on your hours you can tutor.  Seriously!  It’s tempting to say yes to everyone.  Heck, I hate saying no to people too.  It’s super important to know your own boundaries when you’re starting your tutoring business.  Once you’ve written down a list of things you will absolutely say HECK YES to, then you can make a list of your HECK NO’s.  

USE YOUR PASSION TO CREATE MORE SUCCESS

If working on your tutoring business seriously pumps you up, I’m here for it!  Getting excited to sit down and work on your business is a sign from the universe that you are in the right place.  The exciting part of owning a business is the promise it can bring you.  Maybe you want to pay off your car or finally go on that trip to Italy with your significant other.  Or just maybe you’d like some financial freedom so you can send your kid to summer camp.  Part of your path to success is going to be harnessing your passion to create more success.  

If you’re passionate about creating amazing teaching resources, then that’s where part of your week needs to be spent.  Those same teaching resources can be used in your classroom AND your tutoring business.  Excellent resources make your teaching life better and then become a passive form of income on websites like Teachers Pay Teachers.  If you haven’t read my blog post on multiple streams of income for teachers, you can read that HERE.  Passion with a lot of hard work is a recipe for success.  

The key to success is to look in front of you instead of the rearview mirror.   

Start looking at the successful people you admire.  What steps have they taken to get where they are?  What do they all have in common?

Success leaves breadcrumbs. 

You just have to pick them up and form your own path.

Ever thought about starting your own tutoring business?  I’ve created a free workbook to get started with my first 10 steps.  Grab it HERE.