Looking to earn some extra cash? Consider tutoring as a side hustle to diversify your income!

Tutoring, or providing tuition classes as we call it in Malaysia, is probably the most straightforward side hustle to pursue to earn some extra cash other than your main job. It isn’t as complicated as doing freelance programming or design but is also not as easy as you think it is.

With everyone at home now, online tutoring has gained tremendous popularity and the market is eager for more tutors.

It is best to have a passion for teaching and talking with people but they won’t necessarily guarantee that you will be good at it. Hence, there are some things that you would need to consider before getting into the tutoring/tuition market. After all, the market is very competitive.

Here are seven ways that you can do to pursue it as a viable side hustle and distinguish yourself from the rest!

#1: Identify the Subjects You Want to Tutor

First, you would need to identify what are the subjects available for tutoring. This means gaining some familiarity of the subjects and curriculums for different education systems available in your target area.

Next, rank the subjects in accordance to which you enjoy (or enjoyed during your schooling years) and are still good at. While passion for teaching plays a big role also (let’s get to that later on) but it’s important to be realistic about your abilities in the subject matter.

Proceed to rank the subjects that you can teach and are good at according to three levels – primary, secondary and tertiary. Do note that while you might not be strong in some subjects at a higher level, you might find some you have an interest in and are good enough at to to teach it at a lower level.

#2: Create a Progress Tracking System

This is probably the most important thing for tutors these days to maintain – tracking the progress of your students. Why?

  • To better understand your students’ abilities at absorbing the subject.
  • To motivate your students when they start making marked progress.
  • To show the parents (your employers) the value to continuing tuition with you.

You would want to track test scores for sure as that is the most basic measure of progress. To improve your teaching and impress parents further, take a stronger interest in and mark down what you observe are your students’ strengths and weaknesses, interest levels, and then make a measurable metric for those too. Make consistent progress tracking and have it simple for everyone to understand.

It would also be good to ask your students questions about how they are coping with the subject in school to gain an understanding of their point of view. Many a time, students just need someone to listen to their struggles and be reassured that they aren’t stupid but rather just confused and that you’re here to guide them to better understanding.

#3: Prepare Your CV

Whether you are approaching individuals or tuition centers to hire you, clients will want to see your credentials and experience to judge your proficiency so do prepare a list (customized to your selected subjects) that includes your relevant experience, credentials (e.g. exam results, certifications), and other supporting data (e.g. glowing reviews, past students’ results.). Arrange the details neatly and clearly.

Do also prepare a brief description of how you conduct your tutoring sessions. There are no ideal types of tutors or teachers, just ones that are suitable and compatible depending on the student. Some require strict tutors who have a no-nonsense attitude toward their child, while some look for tutors who are patient and accommodating.

Putting your style of teaching down will enable the parents to know what to expect from the tutoring sessions, but also be aware that some flexibility may also be requested. This should be discussed and agreed upon up-front before being engaged.

#4: Learn Up on Different Styles of Learning

All of us have different ways of learning. Some do well in a visual way, where they need to see things like images, charts and diagrams to learn. Some do better in listening, where they learn through people speaking and explaining. There is generally seven types of learners:

  1. Auditory and Musical: Likes to hear solutions and examples
  2. Visual and Spatial: Likes diagrams, pictures, charts, and processes
  3. Verbal: Likes reading and writing
  4. Logical and Mathematical: Likes patterns, numbers, and classification
  5. Physical and Kinaesthetic: Likes being hands-on and doing stuff
  6. Social and Interpersonal: Likes learning through groups and collaboration with other people
  7. Solitary and Intrapersonal: Likes learning quietly and undisturbed

For the subjects you intend to teach and for the relevant education level, prepare some ideas to help you reach these 7 types of learners. For example, for people who are visual, make sure to bring with you a mini-whiteboard and draw as many things as possible while tutoring. People who are logical and mathematical, come up with some sort of puzzle to stimulate them to solve it.

By preparing in advance, you can quickly adapt to your student’s needs and provide a customized experience (which is special effort on your part that you should highlight to the parents so they are aware of it).

#5: Prepare for Online Learning

More learning and classes are conducted online nowadays, especially with the on-going Covid-19 situation. It would be an advantage if you are prepared to run online lessons.

You will need to prepare your environment and your teaching materials. A quiet space with good lighting is preferred. Take into consideration how you plan to share information with your students as your teach. Are you writing on a whiteboard, tablet, paper, or even on the floor? Are you going to show pages of a book or share your computer screen?

Next, do your research and obtain the right hardware to make this happen. You need a devices that include a camera that takes clear video, a microphone that captures your voice well, and speakers. These can be multiple devices hooked up, or one device that has everything to suit your needs. Do make sure the hardware you select can work with your teaching environment and teaching materials.

You will also need the appropriate software to host your lessons on such as Google Meet, Skype, or Zoom. Be aware of the limitations and benefits of the various software options.

Test out your setup with friends or family to ensure you have everything running smoothly and are ready to be an awesome tutor.

#6: Sell Yourself in the Right Networks

To make yourself stand out, design a small picture advert that has all the necessary info you feel clients would want to know, like your name, contact details, subjects you teach, etc. By setting all this down, you have a clear idea yourself of what you are selling and will also have the answers in a convenient picture advert you can send out.

You can find tutoring jobs through the various online groups and communities on Facebook or any other social networking site. Just search for the keywords of “tutor” and “tuition” and normally various relevant groups will show up.

Go for groups that have higher members and participants, as they have a much wider clientele pool to choose from and numerous agents that are actively posting tutoring jobs. Many a times, you would also find many articles and tips being posted on how to better find tutoring jobs.

Quite often you may find yourself working through agents to find and secure tutoring jobs. This is fine especially for newbie tutors. These agents usually have their own dedicated WhatsApp groups to advertise the numerous job postings. You will get invited into these WhatsApp groups once you have secured a tutoring job from the agent and from there, you can get more reliable job postings firsthand.

#7: Determine the Best Agent Fee Structure and Avoid Scams

If you work through an agent, the fee structure is usually of 2 types, either you pay the agent’s commission or the client does. Ideally, you’d want to find one where the client does the paying but in reality oftentimes the opposite is more common. This is because the client doesn’t want to be penalized if the tutor turns out to be unsuitable.

If you are paying the agent’s commission fee, pay attention to how much percentage is being asked for.

Typically, agents will take 50% of the first month’s tuition/tutoring fee and they will only provide you the client’s detail when you pay that fee upfront. Some are more generous in taking only 25% of the first month but their clients are normally few and far in between. Some go as far as taking 100% of the first month and second month, but most of the clients are normally very long-term and they have many of them lined up. One important thing to remember is to check with the agent that in case the client canceled in the first or second month, that you will get your money back from them.

It is then a game of choosing which agent suits your needs the best. If you are in need of a lot of cash from tutoring and are willing to do it long-term, seek agents who post frequently but probably will take a bigger percentage of your tutoring fees. If you are just looking to make some extra income, look for agents who have a more generous commission model but expect to have fewer jobs.

However, you need to be careful about the tutoring agent market. After all, this is an informal market where nothing is in black and white and there are many scams going around. The most important step is to confirm that the agent has an active WhatsApp group that he or she advertises jobs frequently. This at least gives you some security that there are other tutors like you in the group, which means the agent can be considered trustworthy. Be wary of agents that focus just on you paying the money upfront first.

Good agents will give some details about the client (not the contact number), ask whether you want to be invited into his or her WhatsApp group (you can decline if you want) and clearly explain how the process will be conducted step-by-step. Ask for screenshots of the agent’s conversation with the client as proof.

Conclusion

Tutoring is a good side hustle to consider and do and there are ways to get into it. Prepare yourself by going through the steps outlined in this article and you’re all set for a rewarding side hustle.

 

Considering tutoring on the side? Let us know in the comments below how are you going to do it!

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