Previously I wrote about the business of homeschooling and other articles about teaching homeschooled kids. In those articles, I mentioned issues associated with taking on this job and advised homeschoolers on how to choose people and companies that want to work with their children. I will now talk about how a teacher might go about finding gainful employment amongst homeschoolers.
Getting started tutoring homeschoolers: If you want to find work teaching homeschoolers, all you need to do is find your first client. You can do this through online message boards, by posting messages at libraries, and talking to homeschoolers that you know. If you can show interest, ability, and good intentions, you will find your first client quickly.
Growing your homeschool tutoring business: Do a good job with your first tutoring client, and before you know it, you will have more work than you can handle. Homeschooling information is viral. If we are happy with a service, a sitter, a tutor, or even a company, we are more than happy to post the information on local homeschooling boards for all to see.
Organizing your homeschool tutoring business: Organizing your tutoring business well, will keep your student happy because you will be composed and ready to work when you arrive. Getting your tutoring business well organized will also keep you happy, as you will have lots of free time to yourself, and a bit of money to boot.
Telling one student from another: Purchase a portable file box (with handles or wheels) that you can easily carry in your car. Eventually, you will want one for each day you work. Make a folder or series of folders for each student, which you can color code so you can pull them out at a glance. Keep personal information, academic information, work completed, grades, and future “homework” in these folders.
Maximizing your tutoring time by scheduling appointments: Once you have a few homeschoolers that you are tutoring, you will want to organize their scheduled appointments according to location. Try to get all the students within one geographical area scheduled on the same day, and in an order that makes sense to drive. You do not want to be driving back and forth between cities on the same day, or taking a half hour or more between appointments driving. The less you have to drive, the more appointments you can fit into one day. Each year, before the fall season starts, look at your driving patterns, your current customers, and your future clients, and map out your routes and schedule appointments appropriately.
Maximize your tutoring time with group classes: To make your services more affordable for your students and more profitable for yourself, you may want to consider offering group classes. You can arrange this through a homeschool Co-op, or you may want to partner with a church or other venue to offer group classes like middle school math, or Algebra. Once you have established a reputation, it will be easy to get the word out. Just let your clients know you are interested in teaching group classes and they will help you make it happen!
By the way, maximizing your time as a homeshcool tutor, will certainly maximize your profits.
*Have a question about homeschooling? Just ask.
*Want to know more about homeschooling? Start here!