Business At A Glance
Startup Costs: Under $2,000
Home Based: Can be operated from home.
Part Time: Can be operated part-time.
Online Operation? No
Business Overview
If you like kids of all ages, you can communicate concepts and ideas,and you’ve got a good grounding in at least one subject, you can be ahome tutor. This is a field with room for growth: The U.S. NationalCenter for Education Statistics estimates that by 2008, more than 70million young people (kindergarten through college) will be enrolled inpublic and private schools.
As a home tutor, you’ll work with yourpupils on a one-on-one basis to bring them up to speed and even beyond.You can specialize in teaching younger kids elementary reading and mathskills, coach high school and college kids on subjects from Spanish toalgebra to English, or spur your pupils to succeed on SAT or MCAT(medical school entrance) exams. The advantages to this business arethat you can work from home, you can start part time and on ashoestring, and you get the satisfaction of helping kids grasp theconcepts you’re teaching and shine–in your eyes, their parents’ andtheir own. While experience as a professional teacher is a plus, it’snot a necessity. What you will need is a good basic understanding ofthe subject or subjects you’ll be tutoring plus the innate teachingtalents to communicate ideas and concepts clearly and effectively. Youshould have enthusiasm for your subjects and your students.
The Market
Your clients can be grade-school kids or college seniors or anybody inbetween who needs help turning textbook trauma into school success, butthe biggest demand these days seems to be in the high-school-and-uprange. If you’re targeting the younger set or high school kids,introduce yourself to school staffs and leave brochures or fliers,place ads in local papers and Yellow Pages, and post fliers atkid-oriented spots like dance or karate schools, public libraries andcommunity centers. For college students, post fliers on bulletinboards, distribute them to frat and sorority houses, and place ads incollege publications. You can also introduce yourself or send brochuresto professors of the subjects you specialize in.
Needed Equipment
In most states, you don’t need licensing or certification, so gettingup and running is quick and easy, but if you’re a present or formerteacher, you’ve got a plus as far as credibility. Be sure to checkbefore you embark on your business. Your students will bring their owntextbooks, but you may want to offer a selection of reference materialsor teaching aids.