by Bryan Ridenour

Created on: February 06, 2009   Last Updated: March 26, 2011

Economic downturns impact the whole of society. The retired watch helplessly as their stock investments and IRA's dwindle in value. The workforce wonders if a lay-off or pink slip is in their immediate future. According to the L.A. Times, recent high school graduates and mid-career adults are flocking to community colleges, and this jump in the enrollment number is directly tied to the weakening economy. Older students, in particular, are returning to the classroom to escape jobs that are slowly dying away. Occupational counselors agree that professionals who are now part of struggling industries are studying and waiting for the next upsurge. Since the pursuit of education is becoming a focus for a greater number of people, tutoring is a stable business during unstable economic times.

Flexible hours

One great aspect of tutoring is that instructing schedules can be quite flexible. Set your own hours. Take into consideration that you will have to wait until after school hours for those who attend public schools, but for those who wish to keep late afternoons  and evenings free, promote your service to the families' who home school. Home school schedules are much more flexible than that of the traditional classroom. Tutoring homeschool students may allow you to keep your evening and weekend hours free for family time without the intrusion of an instructing obligation.

Promote your services

Upon the decision to tutor, be sure to promote your services. Hand out flyers with contact information and references to the school superintendent and to the leader of the home school co-ops in your area. Be sure to list the hours that you prefer to offer your educational help. If those hours are negotiable, be sure to note that on your promotional material.  Once you develop a tutoring clientele, encourage your students to spread the word about your tutoring service.  Good references open doors to greater opportunities.

Charging fees

When establishing your tutoring business, you must decide upon your hourly rate. Compare rates with other tutors in the area and then set a price per hour that is both fair to the student and pays for your precious commodity of time. In considering the price, realize that if you are working out of your home you don't have the costs that tutoring companies incur. Therefore, a tutoring business may have very little start-up costs and be quite profitable.

Even if students fail to comprehend the gravity of today's recession, parents understand. Parents will be more apt to cut funding to their children's extra-curricular activities than to a means to better themselves academically. Earning good grades and turning in above average test scores will allow students more options later in life. This gives them them the means to enter fields where occupational opportunities are greatest. Parents understand that tutors can be the stepping stone in helping struggling students to excel in the classoom setting.

The economy may be dragging its heels, but the tutoring field appears to have a bright future.

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