Should you tutor for a company?

Tutoring companies are great for getting started quickly without worrying about anything else. But it comes at a cost. If you’re willing to sacrifice income and teaching autonomy to avoid marketing, finding students, creating materials, and scheduling professional development, then tutor for a company. Otherwise, tutor independently

Both options have their pros and cons, and in this blog post, we’ll explore the factors you should consider when making this important decision

💰 Hourly rates

Hourly rates are arguably the most important factor in deciding between tutoring for a company or independently

Companies let you get started straight away, without worrying about all the business aspects of tutoring like marketing, advertising, administration, and payment handling. The trade-off is they usually only offer you a fixed hourly rate or a percentage of the fees charged to the students. While the stability and consistency save you time and effort initially, you end up with less control over your earnings and no leverageable intellectual property

When tutoring independently, you can set your own rates and retain all the profits from your sessions. However, this comes with the responsibility of starting and managing the business aspects of tutoring and payment collection. Once you establish these processes, they take little to maintain, but the initial time, effort and learning costs can be high. Because everything you create is also your own, the high time and effort cost initially gives you more control over your earnings, and lets you build intellectual property that you can leverage in the future

🔊 Marketing and finding students

Marketing and finding students are critical steps for any tutor. Tutoring companies already have an established client base, which makes it easier to secure tutoring gigs. They handle advertising, marketing, and student matchmaking, saving you the trouble of seeking students on your own. If you have time and are willing to sacrifice some income per student, tutoring for a company and leveraging its marketing and advertising can quickly set you up with a large group of students to make up the deficit. This can be very lucrative if done right and is also a great way to build a reputation that you can leverage later if you decide to tutor independently

If you tutor independently you will need to invest time and effort into marketing. This involves creating a website, using social media platforms, reaching out to your personal network, and possibly using paid ads. Initially, building a client base may take time if you don’t have an established reputation. However, the advantage is that you have complete control over the process and can tailor your marketing efforts to your specific target audience. As you start building a reputation and get some students, you’ll benefit from a “rising tide” and will reap the full rewards of your marketing efforts. Additionally, you’ll also learn highly valuable basic marketing skills, which can be applied in various aspects of life

📚 Tutoring resources and materials

Tutoring companies usually provide their tutors with well-structured and pre-established resources to supplement their lessons. These materials are designed to meet the needs of various students based on a pre-set curriculum. They may also provide tutors with exclusive software licenses and other tools to help them deliver quality content

Tutoring independently requires you to create or source your own teaching materials. While this may seem daunting at first, it allows customization for each student. You can also leverage AI tools like ChatGPT to do mundane tasks like creating simple worksheets for a specific level of student. This lets you spend more time on creating high-quality solutions and supplementary material to make you stand out. Any resources you create will also be reusable, and can also be used in your marketing efforts

🤸‍♀️ Flexibility and autonomy

Tutoring for a company may require you to adhere to certain guidelines, curriculum frameworks, or teaching methods. While this can provide structure and support, it may limit your ability to experiment with different approaches or adapt to the specific needs of your students. Companies may also require you to tutor at set times with less flexibility to rearrange lessons

On the other hand, tutoring independently gives you the freedom to design your own curriculum, choose teaching methods, and tailor your lessons to meet the unique requirements of each student. This flexibility allows you to try new teaching methods, incorporate interactive activities, and adapt your teaching style to connect with your students. Independent tutors also usually build a better relationship with their students and have more flexibility to rearrange lessons around busy periods like exams

👑 Professional development and networking

Tutoring companies may provide opportunities for professional development, such as training workshops, seminars, or mentorship programs. These resources can help you improve your teaching skills and expand your professional network. Being part of a tutoring company can also offer a community and allow more collaboration with fellow tutors. The drawback of tutoring for a company is that it offers you little business experience since you’re not responsible for managing any of the business aspects

Independent tutoring may not offer formal professional development programs, but it grants you the freedom to chase personalized development as you see fit. You can attend conferences, find online communities or forums, and attend courses to improve aspects of your tutoring. Managing your own tutoring business or side hustle provides invaluable business experience and teaches you essential skills like marketing, advertising, customer relations, and money management. Putting in the effort to learn these skills at a young age, will give you a significant advantage in life

🧠 Conclusion: Tutoring for a company vs tutoring independently

Deciding whether to work as a tutor for a company or on your own is a personal choice that depends on your situation and what you prefer

If you choose to tutor for a company, you will have a ready-made group of clients, access to resources, and support with administrative tasks. However, this may limit your flexibility and control over how much money you can make. On the other hand, if you decide to work independently, you will have more freedom to customize your tutoring approach and potentially earn more money. But it will require more effort from you in terms of marketing, creating materials, and managing payments

Remember, the choice you make is not set in stone. You can even try a combination of both options. For example, you can start by tutoring for a company to gain experience and build a client base, and then transition to independent tutoring later on. Just keep in mind that if you do this, you’ll need to find your own students since it’s usually not allowed to take the students assigned to you by the company to private lessons

Ultimately, the decision should be based on whether you believe the financial and business tradeoffs are worth the time and effort you save by working with a company. If you do choose to work with a company, make sure to shop around and find one that aligns with your goals

If you do end up tutoring independently, consider providing lessons online and using Kedyou for your lessons. It’s the fastest and most responsive all-in-one tutoring workspace on the web, and it’s completely free to use