Tutoring advice (Certificate/price)

[dooyeon1998]

Hello guys
I am thinking of tutoring Specialist Maths from 2017.
I have a couple of questions to ask.
1) What are the certificates that I must attain in order to start a tutoring business.
2) What would be an appropriate charging rate?? This is my first time starting a tutoring business and I got a study score of a 50 (raw) in Spesh and an ATAR of 99.75. Despite not having any experience, I have a good understanding of the new study design and I am quite good at explaining difficult mathematical concepts to others.
3) What are some websites where I can advertise myself?

Thank you in advance !!

[Orb]

Hello guys
I am thinking of tutoring Specialist Maths from 2017.
I have a couple of questions to ask.
1) What are the certificates that I must attain in order to start a tutoring business.
2) What would be an appropriate charging rate?? This is my first time starting a tutoring business and I got a study score of a 50 (raw) in Spesh and an ATAR of 99.75. Despite not having any experience, I have a good understanding of the new study design and I am quite good at explaining difficult mathematical concepts to others.
3) What are some websites where I can advertise myself?

Thank you in advance !!

1. No certificates required
2. First years charge anywhere from $30-40 per hour.
3. ATARnotes

[Aaron]

It would be ideal if you got yourself a working with children check at the bare minimum, given you'll be an adult delivering some sort of service to a minor. I would not be surprised if a parent asks for this.

Given you're actually providing a service, i'm not sure what the rules are RE: an ABN as a sole trader/individual... hopefully someone can clarify whether this is needed or not, because you would hate to be pinned by the ATO for failing to pay tax on a service you offer.

In regards to pricing, I agree with Orb that 30-40 is a good starting point. Once you gain more experience + more credentials to put to your name (e.g. lecturing for a headstart program, good uni grades/further study in x area), then I reckon you could go a bit higher. I'd say 50 would be pushing it (even with a few years experience, unless you're a teacher or someone with extensive expertise in the subject).

I concur with the ATARNotes suggestion as the place to advertise. You have access to heaps of VCE students here... advertise for practically nothing and reap the rewards. Alternatively, there are plenty of tutor directories around. Just do a google search

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey! As Aaron mentioned, you should definitely get a Working with Children check. Odds are you'll never need to produce it (I never have), but it's handy to have (and legally required, pretty sure). It is really easy to get too - Like, 10 minutes online then a trip to your nearest RMS (or whatever the equivalent is in VIC, wherever you go for your Driving Tests probably). Plus super cheap; not a huge endeavour to have one, and it will last all the way through university.

Beyond that, you could look at paying for certification from the Australian Tutoring Association, but it's expensive, and it doesn't really add anything to your service. Definitely not mandatory, and I haven't done it myself

With regard to ABN as a sole trader; you are making money off of it, so I'd imagine it would technically need to be declared to the ATO. The tax-free threshold is reasonably high, so unless you are taking like 20 students per week, you are unlikely to ever have to pay a cent. If you aren't making much from it and have another job, you might even be able to declare it as additional income along with your primary source of income. Not sure of specifics, best to consult the ATO website and have a bit of a read, because I'm definitely not an expert!

For price, while I think what has been suggested above sounds pretty good, do some searching and see what other tutors are offering and what prices they charge! Also don't be afraid to change your price if you need to; it is all about supply and demand. If you charge too much, you will have trouble finding students. If that happens, drop your price! It might even work in reverse, who knows

[wyzard]

Hello guys
I am thinking of tutoring Specialist Maths from 2017.
I have a couple of questions to ask.
1) What are the certificates that I must attain in order to start a tutoring business.
2) What would be an appropriate charging rate?? This is my first time starting a tutoring business and I got a study score of a 50 (raw) in Spesh and an ATAR of 99.75. Despite not having any experience, I have a good understanding of the new study design and I am quite good at explaining difficult mathematical concepts to others.
3) What are some websites where I can advertise myself?

Thank you in advance !!

Congratulations on your ATAR and welcome to the tutoring business! It can be a really fun and rewarding job.

Technically, you don't really need any form of certificate, as long you show you are competent in tutoring by your educational background and experience. So your VCE ATAR score will be really relevant. If you're doing university, you that's a huge plus too as high school students are usually curious about uni life, and like to learn more about it. Certification is quite irrelevant in the tutoring business as long you can market yourself and make sure you provide the best quality tutoring you can. I have a friend teaching VCE subjects despite having not done VCE as she did foundation studies at Trinity College and is doing really well.

For those starting out, usually it's about $30/hr. That is the price I started. As you gain experience, never stop working on your teaching and communication skills, and as you get better, you can start to command higher prices as you are now providing higher quality tutoring. There is also many directions to develop, like starting on group lessons, writing study resources or start a blog to write helpful articles. That's what I love about tutoring, not only you help out others, there is no limit on how far you can go

There's virtually no limit where you can advertise yourself! I personally use ATARnotes, Facebook and tutorfinder. It's a good idea to cast your advertisement wide, and definitely you can get creative with it. Experiment around with different marketing strategies and put yourself out there; before you know it, you will have tonnes of students 

[dooyeon1998]

WOW
Thank you guys !!