The 12 hour week: teach less, earn more and live a fulfilled life

Most people I speak to don’t believe me that I only tutor around 12 hours a week and earn considerably more than I did as Head of English.

So many teachers want a work/life balance that is almost impossible to achieve when working full time in a school. When I was working in a busy boarding school, I had zero time for myself, no head space to think and certainly no clear plan as to how I would be able to change my life. Days were packed full of teaching and admin and by the time I got home, I had nothing left to give.

The only time I had was the weekend, so I gave online tutoring a go and I’ve never looked back.

Don’t get me wrong. It took a while to figure out how I was going to make it work and I taught and tutored online for many months before making the jump, but I left my job in the summer of 2021 and I now have a tutoring business that supports students in 11 countries from China to the Channel Islands. I tutor a couple of hours each day. 

How did I do it?

Well, first I decided that I only wanted to teach in the daytime. So, that meant focusing on the SE Asian market. I spent many, many hours reaching out to businesses, schools, educational agents and people within my network to share my services. 

Fees and what you should be charging is a biggie and I could write an essay on that topic alone. My prices reflected my years of teaching experience, the fact that I’d marked exams for English and my track record in helping students to get into top UK schools. Not everybody wanted to pay me my going rate but that was fine.

I knew I was focusing on a niche market and if people wanted to pay less, they could look elsewhere. But I’ve found that if you go into meetings confidently and with a strong sense of what you’re worth, the right people will get on board with you.

I focused on English - it’s my specialist subject and I wanted to showcase my expertise and have a clear niche. It worked and after a few false starts and pointless Zoom meetings, I got my first few clients. 

It built up slowly and once I’d established myself with a couple of Chinese agents they began asking me for maths and science tutors. And that was a big factor in helping me to scale Aster Tuition. The agents trusted me and knew that I offered high-quality tutoring so they also trusted me to find and work with tutors who supported my ethos. 

I had a plan. That was fundamental to my success. I’m a naturally scattergun kind of person, so I need to have things pinned down and in front of my face at all times to keep me on track. Having a brilliant coach helped to hold me accountable and give me the push I needed to move my business on.

• Pick a niche and drill down. The more focused the better.

• Choose an international market and research it thoroughly

• Choose your prices and services and don’t be afraid to price yourself to reflect your background and expertise

• Find a coach to mentor, support and push you.