Considering a tutoring side hustle? We think it’s a great idea, and you’re not alone.
More than 1 in 3 Americans have a side gig in addition to a primary source of income, and for many people that’s tutoring! In fact, online tutoring was the most in-demand side hustle of 2023.
Starting a tutoring business involves several key factors, even if you only tutor on the side. We’ve boiled how to become a tutor as a side hustle down to the most important steps to help you get your business up and running — and start raking in that extra income.
Starting a Side Hustle: How to Become a Tutor in 8 Steps
1. Establish Your Qualifications and Credentials
Without relevant qualifications, it could be difficult to attract students or make your tutoring services seem credible. The subject (or subjects) you want to tutor students in should align with where your interests, skills, and qualifications lie.
For example, your Biology degree likely means you have the right credentials to tutor students in related science topics. But if you’re a student who hasn’t completed much coursework yet, it’s going to be harder to tutor as a side-hustle in those topics.
There aren’t specific certifications you need to tutor as a side hustle, but you can boost your credentials by getting certified by the National Tutoring Association (NTA). Getting certified and staying current with your area of expertise means you’ll be better prepared to provide quality instruction to your students.
Before you start tutoring, it’s also a good idea to refresh your memory on the subjects you plan to offer. If you studied the years or even decades ago, there could be new information and methodology that you’ll need to know.
- Find the most current textbooks used at schools near you. If your students will be local, you can also use this to your advantage in attracting and working with them.
- Refresh your memory with educational videos from Khan Academy, Coursera, and edX.
- Learn how to use learning management systems (LMS) like Google Classroom, Canvas, and Moodle.
2. Determine Your Availability
Tutoring as a side hustle is generally pretty flexible, which is great if you have limited availability. That being said, you need to carve out time and appointments for tutoring so you don’t double-book or overwork yourself. Here’s what to consider:
- Your current commitments: This includes time spent working your primary job, caring for children or other family members, social activities, etc.
- Your free time: Look for significant blocks of time throughout your week where you don’t currently have any commitments (at least an hour at a time).
- Your maximum availability: Figure out how many hours per week are realistic for you — how many hours can you work to avoid burnout and that still allows you to enjoy downtime.
3. Set Up Your Business
A side hustle is still a business, and you need to set yours up the right way. This means naming and registering your business, getting a business bank account, and protecting your career.
- Get a federal Employer Identification Number (EIN): You’ll need this for tax purposes, including filing and paying taxes as well as booking any tutoring gigs that require you to provide a Form 1099 to get paid.
- Register with your state: This will usually be through the Secretary of State. Research what taxes or reports you’ll need to file, and when.
- Get a business bank account: Separating personal and business finances can save you a ton of headaches when tax season comes around, and it makes you seem more professional and credible as a business owner.
- Buy tutoring insurance: You face a number of risks as a tutor, from a student tripping and sustaining an injury at your home office to being sued because they didn’t get into their school of choice, or ace an important final.
Depending on your city or your neighborhood homeowners association (HOA), there could be other requirements for owning a home-based business or offering sessions from home.
4. Find Your Market
To find your target clients, consider what kind of focus you want to have as a tutor. If you’re interested in becoming an SAT tutor, college-bound high school students are going to be your market, for example.
If your subject can be studied by students of varying ages or grade levels, such as English literature or history, ask yourself what age group or grade level you’re comfortable teaching. Even if you have a degree in a particular subject area, you may feel better about tutoring middle schoolers than college students. It’s up to you what feels best!
If you want to exclusively tutor in person, your market will be students from nearby schools and/or universities. However, you can expand your market exponentially by taking online tutoring jobs.
Pro Tip: Sites like Tutor.com allow you to filter for those in K-12 or higher education, allowing you to more easily find the students you’re interested in tutoring.
5. Gather Tutoring Materials
The types of materials you might need to have on hand can vary depending on the subject you tutor, the age of your clients, and whether you’re tutoring in person or online. In general, to become a tutor as a side hustle you’ll need:
- Up-to-date textbooks and workbooks relevant to the subject
- Organizational supplies (calendars, planners, folders, binders, and notebooks)
- A laptop, tablet, or desktop computer
- A webcam and video conferencing software like Zoom or Google Meet to meet with online tutoring clients or for progress meetings with parents, teachers, and so on
- Teaching aids (whiteboards, markers, and subject-specific tools like rulers or calculators)
- Practice materials for students (worksheets, flashcards, and quizzes)
- Motivational supplies and materials for engaging students (stickers, games, puzzles, and visual aids)
6. Set Up Your Tutoring Space
Since this is a side gig, you have a lot of options as to where you tutor. You can work with students from a home-based space (either in-person or virtually), rent an office or co-op space, work out of a school or library, tutor at a local coffee shop, and the list goes on.
Regardless of location, here are things to consider when setting up your workspace:
- Environment: Your tutoring space should be as quiet and distraction-free as possible.
- Furniture and seating: A desk or table big enough to comfortably place textbooks, notebooks, laptops, and other materials you and your students will use during tutoring sessions, and chairs comfortable enough to sit in for long periods of time.
- Good internet connection: There’s nothing like glitchy WiFi to really ruin a tutoring session, especially if you offer services online. Make sure the space offers access to dependable, high-speed internet.
- Comfort and ambiance: Personalizing your tutoring workspace with decor, plants, or other items could foster a positive, relaxing atmosphere. If that’s not an option, try to pick a spot with pleasant vibes that your student feels comfortable in.
- Backup plan: If the power goes out or your laptop bites the dust mid-session, have a backup power source and non-tech teaching materials on hand so you can continue teaching the lesson without too much interruption.
7. Decide How Much to Charge
Pricing your tutoring services can feel overwhelming. On the one hand, you don’t want to overcharge and lose out on students because your prices are too high. But on the other, you shouldn’t undersell yourself and risk not earning enough income to make tutoring worth your while.
The average hourly rate for a tutor in the U.S. is $23.68. This includes online tutors, K-12 tutors, university tutors, and many others. Your rates might be higher or lower depending on going rates in your area, what subjects you tutor, what qualifications you have, and more.
To decide on your tutoring rates, take each of these factors into account:
- Competitor pricing: What do other tutors in your area charge? Or what are other online tutors charging for the subject matter/age group you want to teach?
- Your experience and qualifications: You may be able to charge more if you have more education, certifications, prior teaching experience, or are qualified to teach students with special needs (second languages, students with disabilities, etc.).
- Subject matter and grade level: Tutors for lower grade levels tend to earn less than those for older students because the topics are less complex.
- Where you tutor: Unless you tutor from home, your rate needs to factor in the cost of transportation (gas, bus fare, etc.).
- Promotional offers: Your rates should be high enough to sustain discounted sessions from time to time so you don’t accidentally lose money while trying to attract new clients.
8. Advertise Your Services
Promoting yourself is one of the most important parts of starting your tutoring side hustle. There are a few different places you can do this, including:
- Organic and paid social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn)
- Online tutoring job boards (Tutor.com, Wyzant, Varsity Tutors)
- Online classifieds (Craigslist and Gumtree)
- Community/school/university bulletin boards
- Distributing flyers
- Neighborhood or community magazines
- Networking at your local Chamber of Commerce
One of the best ways to build up your clientele is to offer a referral program to foster word-of-mouth recommendations. 83% of people trust recommendations from friends and loved ones over traditional advertising, so try offering some type of incentive to people who successfully refer someone to you.
If you’re finding that it’s hard to get established, discounted or group intro sessions can be a great way to entice new students. You can also offer package deals where multiple sessions are bundled together for a discounted price, encouraging students to come back for more than one session.
Check out our complete list of where to advertise your tutoring services and get the word out about your services!
Protect Your Side Gig With Insurance
Do you really need insurance for your tutoring side hustle? Yes!
Picture this: You’re tutoring a college student who is preparing to take the GRE to get into a graduate school program, but they fail the test. Distraught about their results, they blame you for not providing sufficient instruction and sue you.
Or this: One of your students is at your house for a session. While walking to the desk to set down their textbooks, they trip over an extension cord, fall, and injure themselves. This results in a trip to the ER, and the parents sue you to pay the medical bills.
With tutor insurance, you’ll have a financial shield from incidents like these, allowing you to continue your tutoring side hustle and protecting your professional reputation.
Learn more about why tutors need insurance and how you can start protecting your side hustle with affordable coverage today!
JoAnne Hammer | Program Manager
JoAnne Hammer is the Program Manager for Insurance Canopy. She has held the prestigious Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation since July 2004.
JoAnne understands that starting and operating a business takes a tremendous amount of time, dedication, and financial resources. She believes that insurance is the single best way to protect your investment, business, and personal assets.
