How to Tutor a Learning Pod to Grow and Scale Your Teacher Business

Growing your tutoring business isn’t as hard as you’re making it.

Let’s say you’re currently tutoring 5 kids, but to hit your monthly revenue goal of $1,000 extra a month, you think you need 5 more clients.

You’ve done the math on the tutoring income calculator but you’re running low on hours in the day.

It’s true, you could tutor more kids but you’re likely teaching full-time and unsure where you could squeeze in extra sessions with balancing your own personal life and family.

That’s where learning pods come in.

Learning pods aren’t just for homeschool kids anymore.  With online learning becoming the wave of the future, now is the time to get started tutoring a pod.

I get this question a lot on Instagram: “How do I tutor a learning pod?”

To get to the answer we need to back up a bit and define a learning pod.

A learning pod is a group of kids who are doing virtual school at one house each week.  Sometimes pods go from in-seat to virtual and parents take turns rotating weeks, so they don’t have to miss so much work.

Some learning pods are managed by a teacher.  Which, by the way, would be the perfect teacher side hustle if you could score full-time teacher pay. Some pods are also homeschool kids. Homeschool parents often outsource subjects they’re not comfortable teaching.

Most of the time, learning pods are managed by parents who are trying to balance working from home and their kids’ learning.

That’s where tutoring comes in.  Parents are dying for a real teacher to work 1-1 or in small groups with their children because kids have been in and out of school for a while. 

There are some things that just cannot be matched online versus in person learning and many parents are willing to pay good money to have a teacher work with their child.

Learning pods provide a steady stream of income with less time tutoring. Think of it like small group instruction if you’re an elementary school teacher (like me).

Tutors can work with a few kids at the same time while collecting hourly pay per child.

For example: tutor three second grade students in math for ½ hour twice a week.  Let’s say you charge $25/half hour x 3 kids, now you’re banking $75.00/half hour.  Do that twice a week, and you’ve made $150.00 for an hour of tutoring.

Learning pods are here to stay and have truly existed prior to online learning.  Kids often go home after school with other kids and that’s a pod whether they know it or not. Tutoring a pod of kids is a great way to maximize your time, earn more money all while working less hours. Sounds amazing, right?

Homeschool parents are always looking for tutors as well.  Many homeschool groups learn in pods and are a great place to start especially if you’re looking to tutor full-time. Start looking on Facebook for groups and you’ll be surprised how often parents will post they’re in need of a tutor. I also recommend Outschool if you’re wanting experience but aren’t getting clients right away. Many of the kids on Outschool are homeschooled and it’s the perfect place to start building your client testimonials.

We’re all looking to work less and make more, right?  When you run a successful tutoring business, looking for ways to scale is not only smart, but profitable. 

Not sure where to start?  Grab my free 10 step guide to get your tutoring business going.

What are some ways you’ve found learning pods?  I’d love for you to comment below so we can help fellow tutors!