Two reservations potential students think about before getting a tutor are the tutors fees and policies . Unfortunately , private tutoring has gotten the reputation of being pricey as well as inflexible and this may be discouraging to probable students looking to hire a tutor . In any case , being a tutor running your own tutoring business, you will be free to think about these issues and promote tutors fees and policies that are agreeable to probable students and acceptable to you. possible students need to clearly see the advantages of online learning vs traditional tutoring.
One problem with the larger tutoring companies is that they require the parents to sign a contract which traps the clients into paying a specific fee for an extended amount of time , most likely , for at least an entire year. This can be discouraging for parents who know that their child only needs assistance for a short period of time or that they require to work with a tutor occasionally instead of on a regular basis.
You may want to consider having parents pay on a monthly basis instead of locking them in for a long period of time. By paying for a month at a time , parents feel more involved and in control of the situation. You might want to establish a method in which the student will be billed each month until they decide they want to discontinue the tutoring services. They should inform you in writing at least a month before they wish to stop the tutoring sessions , otherwise, they will continue to be billed. Parents are relieved to hear that they are only making a month to month commitment when signing up with you and that it will not be a complicated process to end the services.
You may also want to consider offering specific packages which include a set number of hours of one on one tutoring for a certain fee. For example , if you plan to earn at least $25 an hour, offer two packages: the first might be a $112/month package which entitles the client for up to 4 hours of tutoring at $28/hr and the second might be a $200/month package which entitles the client for up to 8 hours of tutoring at $25/hr. The client may choose to pay the $200/month over the $112/month package because they recognize the bargain, even if they didn’t originally believe their child needed the full 8 hours a month. Meanwhile, although you are earning three less dollars and hour, you are guaranteed to get paid for more hours than you would have if you didn’t offer a specific package.
Evaluate the number of hours you will be willing to work and your financial needs and then pick two or three packages that will work for you. Be sure that the cheapest rate per hour is associated with the package that offers the greatest number of sessions and vice-versa.
Put your billing practices down on paper and make sure that you review them with the student before you start tutoring their child . Have the client or the students’ parents sign a copy so you know for sure that the client is aware of your practices .
Concerning tutors fees and policies , by offering a variety of packages, allowing clients a simple way out, and not requiring them to sign an extensive contract, you will be demonstrating your flexibility and willingness to work with individual students on a more personal basis than larger tutoring corporations are willing to do .
