Wednesday, August 31, 2011

10 Strategies to Find Clients for My Sports Coaching Business


Sports have now become a very renowned activity as well as a profitable career as more individuals (kids, adults, women and men)are into it. These days you find more parents and agencies willing to go through any length in terms of paying for their children and clients respectively to become very good and perform well in a chosen area in sports. There are different types of sports, such as baseball, basketball, cricket, tennis, football, hockey and a host of others that are being done as a profession or for leisure. 

Here are 10 strategies you can employ to find clients for your coaching business are :

(1)       The first step to take in order to find clients for your sports coaching business is be very competent and knowledgeable about the business, which will urge your past clients to have only good experiences to share in terms of training under you and also refer others to you.

(2)      Try and ensure your coaching business offers more than just knowledge on numerous sports as well as succeeding in them, also it should have added offers like information on health maintenance, fitness tips, injury prevention tips and other useful tips.

(3)      Organize general seminars or private gatherings, depending on your targeted clients, to create more awareness for your business.

(4)      The web is an effective instrument that you can use to boost your client data base for your sports coaching business, since the web is used worldwide, it will link you to an array of clients.

(5)      Getting referrals from club or school’s administrations will significantly help you find more clients for your coaching business.

(6)      Always try and attend international courses on coaching to enhance your status so you will be among the first choice of people.

(7)      Always update the quality of your coaching services, so more people will be inclined to want to be coached by you.

(8)     While discussing with your potential clients, ensure to create a cordial relationship with them, so they will be willing to patronize you.

(9)       Try and have a reasonable budget which you can manage in order not to exorbitantly charge clients at the same time chasing them away from your coaching business.

(10)  Do a research on other sports coaching businesses and see how best you can enhance your services to be more appealing to potential clients.


Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Guest Blog Post from Alla Sobirova--What Makes On-line Learning Effective?


By Alla Sobirova
Alla Sobirova started to teach English on-line after she delivered her baby in 2009 and could not teach English in traditional face-to-face  way. It was a new field for her and she had to read and learn a lot in order to organize oral practice lessons that helped her students.

In this blogpost, she would like to share some of the main ideas how to make on-line learning effective.

 On-line learning is learning at a distance, that is, the learner is separated from the tutor. In the practice of teaching foreign languages, it is used very widely now as the number of learners grow and as well as the need in good teachers.

 Therefore, there always has been a long search for a more effective learning at a distance. In addition to print resources, there are also widely used features of television, video, and CD-ROM. The fact is that without systematic feedback from a qualified teacher such courses are usually doomed to failure, despite various attempts to make them entertaining with communicative elements.

 In recent years, universities in different countries have paid attention to the fact that there is a possibility of using computer telecommunication technologies for distance learning, including foreign languages.

Unlike other forms of distance learning, learning through computer telecommunications make it possible to:

  • Rapid transmission of any information on the distance;

  • Storing that information in memory for the right time, to edit it, etc.

  • Interactivity with specially created for this purpose multimedia information and immediate feedback with the instructor and other participants of the training course;

  • Access to various information sources, including remote and distributed databases, numerous conferences around the world via the Internet.

  • Joint telecommunications projects, as well as international, electronic conferences, audio and video conferences (webinars).
         
The effectiveness of any kind of distance learning will be  depends on four factors:

  • The effective interaction of teacher and student, despite the fact that they are separated;

  • Using proper pedagogical technologies;

  • The effectiveness of the developed teaching materials and methods for their delivery;

  • The effectiveness of feedback.
       
In other words, the effectiveness of distance learning depends on the organization and methodological quality of materials used and the skills of teachers involved in this process.
      

In addition to the allocated number of characteristics that should be inherent in any kind of distance learning, so that it can be considered as effective:

  • Distance learning requires more thorough and detailed planning of the student’s activities, their organization, a clear statement of goals and learning objectives; delivery of necessary training materials;

  • The key concept of the educational programs of distance learning is interactivity. Distance learning courses have to ensure maximum interactivity between the student and teacher, feedback between the student and teaching material, as well as a chance to have group learning;

  • It is very important to provide high-performance feedback to students to make them confident in the rightness of their actions. Feedback should be timely,  and expressed later  in the form of external evaluation(grades);

  • A key element of any course is motivation, it needs to be applied in  a variety of tools and techniques;

  • The structure of distance learning course should be modular, so that the student had the opportunity to become aware of their progress from module to module, could choose any module on your own or at the discretion of the governing teacher, depending on the level of training. It should be noted that the modules of a large amount markedly reduce motivation for
    education;

  • Particular importance when learning a foreign language has a sound that can be achieved either by networking or through CD-ROM or other devices.

Currently, modern information technologies offer unlimited possibilities of solving the problem of distance learning as well as there is possibility to store, process and deliver information over any distance of any volume and content.

 In such circumstances, the most important in organizing the distance education system is the methodological and content organization. This takes into account not only the selection of content for learning, but also the structural organization of educational material.

I myself teach EFL via Skype.  I don’t use camera in order to get full attention of my tutees towards my pronunciation not appearance. Usually people ask me to help with spoken language so I try to get stories or short texts from “hot” news in order to teach my students “newest” words as they call them or some interesting short stories that I ask to read as homework.

You can find some examples of my work at www.allasobirova.com.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Message from Alise--Upcoming Changes

Hello Readers,

Happy Monday! Hope everyone is doing well. My heart goes out to all of the individuals who have been affected by Hurricane Irene. I totally understand as my family and I have dealt with hurricanes for quite some time. Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ike were very trying for all of us.

I just wanted to inform you that our blog will be undergoing some cosmetic changes within the next few weeks.

Also, please be sure to look for our guest bloggers in the next upcoming weeks. If you are interested in being a guest on our blog, please email me at drhollandj@gmail.com.

Have a great rest of the week!

Happy Tutoring,
Alise

Thursday, August 25, 2011

10 strategies to promote a Science Tutoring Business


If you are looking for a career or a part time job that allows you flexible working hours, a handsome pay package topped with the pleasure of teaching someone, then opening a tutoring business is perfect for you. Tutoring is fast emerging as a lucrative option for people to make a substantial amount of earning with little or no prior investment.

If you are already established as a tutor, what do you do next? Now that you have set foot into the science tutoring business you ought to concentrate on promoting that business. 

Here is a list of 10 things that could help take your small establishment and make it huge.

  1. Before starting up a business make sure you have done your research about pricing and fees. You do not want to be over priced nor do you want to get under paid for your services. It is always good to check the trend in the local market and set an appropriate price.

  1. Develop schemes and plans which may be beneficial both to you and your client. Offer discounts on recommended students and study packages that will allure students into taking more classes, this will definitely help popularize your classes.

  1. It is important to use creativity to attract more students towards your business. Unlike other subjects, science can be made more fun by conducting experiments to help students have a better understanding of the subject. Make studying more fun by using video presentations, and other demonstrations.

  1. Make your business well known in the community and neighbourhood. Take full advantage of the local media to promote your science tutoring business.

  1. Tutoring can be done in person or via the internet. The traditional way of tutoring may be most effective, but if you really want to expand your business, take it to the next level by seriously consider tutoring online. Online tutoring allows you to reach a larger distance and helps you cater to more students.

  1. Getting a Web Site is a good option if you have an established list of clientele. But never the less a web site is a great way of elaborately explain goals and objectives for prospective clients.  
  2. Take full advantage of the old way of advertising. Business cards, printed brochures and flyers have always been the best at spreading the word. Collaborate with book stores, other educational centres and even local science museums where you can display these flyers and brochures to promote your business.

  1. Increase your clientele by talking to local schools, home-study groups and colleges. Make yourself well known in the locality and community as a science tutor.

  1. Get recommendations from already established teachers, professors and other students.

  1. Participate in local educational fairs and other platforms that can help showcase your business.


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

10 Strategies to Attract Clients from Home school Support Groups


 Home schooling is very different from the traditional school set up. At home school, children are taught lessons at home either by their parents or special tutors. Tutoring students who go to school may in many ways be very different from tutoring a home school student.

For a school student a tutor might come into the picture if the student has to go from a ‘F’ to a ‘C’ or a B to an A, however in a home school scenario a tutors position is more of a full time teacher, where the entire curriculum rests in the hands of the tutor.  

Here are 10 strategies to attract clients from Home School Support Groups:

  1. Creating a web site for your services is always a good idea when you want to add to your already existent clientele. Websites are a great way to showcase your services, and it gives your customer the freedom of browsing through your website at their own convenience.

  1. Advertising your services via Brochures and flyers really helps ‘spread the word’ in the locality. Collaborate with local book stores, where you can display your brochures and flyers to attract potential customers.

  1. Advertising in local media is also a great way to promote and attract clients from Home school support groups. Promote your business via newspaper adverts, community magazines and even local TV stations.  

  1. Children who are home schooled rarely get facilities like a science labs, to perform experiments and carry out scientific demonstrations. Make your tutoring business more striking by offering a platform for student to perform basic scientific experiments to help them better understand the subject. This is a great way to attract and popularize your tutoring business amongst Home school support Groups.

  1. Recommendations are a great way to promote your business and let others know that your company provides quality services. Get testimonials from ex-students, known teachers and professors in the area- this will definitely add to the trust factor of your services.
  2. Advertising on Home school support sites is another great way to attracting home school clients. There are several sites that categorise Home school support groups according to state and area.

  1. Home school support groups hold monthly meetings which is a great platform for you to advertise and showcase your company. Not only do you get to interact with home school- parents but it is also a great way to increase your network and fish for recommended services which you may have overlooked.

  1. Offer services that have flexibility in term of timing and days. Provide options like online tutoring, home tutoring, group tutoring etc.

  1.  Offer a diverse study package that home school students can benefit from. For example studying different languages, advanced algebra and mathematics, specialised subjects like economics, advanced chemistry, biology or physics etc. which can help the student focus on their academic strengths.

  1. Collaborating with schools, colleges and educational centres also attracts several home school parents looking to keep their options opened.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Tutor Management 105: Weekly Itemizing Expenses for Your Tutoring Business


Itemizing is always a good practice whether you have a business of your own or if you have a full time job. With the renewed tax policies, there are chances that you are unaware of how you can save money.  Having your wages deducted is bad enough, however to know that you are over paying or even losing money is even tragic.  

A tutoring business can get very tricky in terms of all the extra or miscellaneous expenses. As a tutor itemizing your weekly expenses can prove beneficial not only in terms of accounting but can also save you a few hundred dollars each year. In fact, if you pay keen attention and record all your business expenses there is a fair chance of you redeeming almost 100% of the amount from your taxes!

Many tutors are unaware of the various deductions that are applicable by just keeping a simple record of all the ‘out of pocket expenses’.  Classroom supplies, student requirements and even travel expenses are all deductible from the tax you pay to the government. By just keeping a track of these items on a weekly basis, you can save a substantial amount of money from you taxes.

Some of the deductible expenses from your taxes include –

  • Software used as teaching aid
  • Research materials
  • Computer supplies and other class room supplies such as stationary for students and teachers
  • Teaching aid-  transparencies, models and pointers
  • Union dues and other union fees
  • Books for classroom
  • Job hunting expenses (in the same trade)
  • Any sort of uniform used which also includes upkeep and cleaning.
  • Educational expenses for improving and maintaining tutorial (job related) skills.  
  • Laboratory fees, professional journals and other aid for student development.   

The newer clauses also allow you to claim travel expenses, meals and mileage that are strictly job related. This is very beneficial for those who provide home based tutoring services. However the clause does get tricky for those who have a full time job at a school or an institution.   

With a Home tutoring business there are also other deductions that are applicable. If you have a home based business where you are using your home as your office you are liable to claim a further reduction in your taxes. However these rules are very stringent and hence it is advised that you seek professional consultation, to have a thorough understanding of your stand.


Disclaimer: Please consult with a tax professional regarding the various items that may be deducted. This blog posting is for general information purposes only.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Guest Blog Post from Kasey Hammond--How To Market Your Tutoring Business


How to Market Your Tutoring Business

As an independent tutor, it can be difficult to stand out from the large franchises when first starting your business, so keep in mind that first impressions are everything, and your marketing is key to growing your tutoring business!

It is important to give a professional, business-like first impression. Having business cards made is a great way to start. I recommend having your picture on your business cards so that it will help personalize your tutoring services and make you stand out from the big franchises. You should also include the specific subjects you tutor, along with your website and contact information.

Once you have your business cards, take a minute to send a personal note in the mail to teachers in your area with whom you would like to receive referrals. Let them know about your services and include several business cards along with your letter.  This is an inexpensive way, once again,  to send a personal touch to teachers and potential referrals in your community.  

Printing flyers with the same information as your business cards and including a testimonial is also a great way to advertise your tutoring business. Most communities allow flyers to be placed in newspaper boxes as well as libraries and community bulletin boards.

Most counties and cities will have an official tutor directory. If you call the Education Department in your city or county, you can ask them how to be placed on their list. Usually it is a small, one-time fee (if any fee at all) and this list will continue to produce leads for you.

For internet traffic you can list your business on Google Places (this is free) as well as on Craigslist to help you get referrals from the internet. There are also tutoring directories online that advertise your tutoring business at a small cost (usually a monthly fee).

 

Having yard signs made can be costly but can also yield great results. You can post them at busy intersections or in your front yard to attract new clients.

In my opinion, the best way to market and advertise your tutoring business is through referrals and word of mouth.  Once you have been tutoring for 6 months you will notice that many of your leads are coming from referrals.  It is a great idea to have a referral program and offer a free tutoring session for any referrals that you are given. 

Also, if you notice that a certain teacher or school administrator is sending you referrals, it is a great idea to send them a thank you note and even a thank you gift, if appropriate.  

Happy Tutoring!

 
Kasey Hammond has been tutoring since 2004 and enjoying the freedom and income that tutoring offers.  

After being frustrated working 50 hours a week only to make her boss rich she decided to venture out and start her own tutoring business.  After struggling the first year she turned her pitfalls into a lucrative business and now shares her secrets and tips with you to be sure that your business will be a success. 

YourTutoringBusiness.com 
MyTutorSpace.com 

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Top 21 Upcoming Tutor Conferences Held in 2012 Around The Globe



Professional tutoring services gather tutors from all around the globe  and  discusses on effective handling of tutorial sessions and other endeavors and helps them in upgrading their skills  for making their business a successful venture and providing the client with the best services available. Sharing of ideas help you to cultivate your business knowledge and helps the tutoring community to enhance its business in the services market.

Here is a list of 21 Tutor Conferences that will be held in 2012 around the globe. They are the following:

·Association of the Tutoring Profession (http://www.myatp.org/): the Association of the Tutoring Profession is a fast-growing learning organization that is dedicated to helping tutors network, providing tutor certifications, and enriching their tutoring experiences with scholarly research and best practices. Tutors are also encouraged to submit proposals to share what is working in their professional setting. Their next conference will be in Seattle, Washington in March 2012.

·National Tutoring Association (http://www.ntatutor.com/) : the National Tutoring Association is the oldest and the largest  association dedicated  solely to the advancement of tutors by providing certification to tutors, tutor trainers and tutorial programs . Concurrent session to be held in Jan 2012.

·Tutor /Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference(http://www.tutormentorconference.org/): it aims at improving the quality and quantity of tutor / mentor in areas of Chicago. The conference draws leaders , volunteers and stake holders from across 150 agencies for networking and information sharing. Conferences are held twice a year in the month of May and November. 

·COWLLC (http://sites.google.com/site/chicagoowllc/our-history-and-mission) : the Chicago land Organization of writing, literacy and learning centers is a micro regional organization aimed at bringing  together professionals and tutors from across the Chicago land area. Aimed at bringing together tutors who can share their best practices,  team building exercises and  experiences.

·Tutor2u (http://tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/site/C2/) : conferences aimed at bringing tutors and business professionals from various fields for a joint collaboration and interchange of ideas and strategies.

·NCPTW (http://www.ncptw.net/2011-conference.html); tutors,  tutoring and the teaching of tutors is the agenda of the conferences of NCPTW held in Miami.

·NACADA(http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/IntrntlConf/PersTutAvsg/2009UK/index.htm): held in Liverpool ,UK , the aim of the conference is to explore ways in which tutoring, academic advising can contribute to improve students success in higher education.

·Virtual Round Table Conference (http://www.scribd.com/doc/38740595/3rd-VRT-CONF-Program):  a online conference dedicated to provide tutors with knowledge on language learning with technology.

·Global Education Conference (http://www.globaleducationconference.com/teacher-track.html): a virtual conference aimed at globally connecting teachers to open up their classroom walls and connect their students to the world.

·Cambridge Teacher's Conference (http://www.amiando.com/2011CTC.html) :aimed at bringing together the best professionals from tutoring field to hold workshops and discuss various aspects of teaching.

·Portland Literacy Council (http://www.portlandliteracy.org/programs.html) : brings educators and tutors from the states of Oregon and Washington  to exchange ideas, develop new teaching strategies and hone tutoring skills.

·EDULEARN11(http://www.iated.org/edulearn11/) : held in Barcelona , Spain. Aimed at discussing  the latest innovations and researches in the field of education.

·ESL Conference around the Globe (http://www.hkenglish.com/esl-news.php); held all across the globe from Cairo to New Zeal and aimed at enhancing the skill of English language teacher.

·Reading recovery council of North America (http://www.readingrecovery.org/conferences/overview/index.aspHYPERLINK "http://www.readingrecovery.org/conferences/overview/index.asp):provides") : provides professional development opportunity for K-6 classroom teaching and reading recovery professionals.

·K-12 online conference ( http://www.enzome.com/21-k-12-online-conference-is-coming ) : aimed at teaching tutors innovative technology and Web 2.0 tools

·Innovative educators ( www.innovativeeducators.org ) : cross training tutors for economic and student success.

·Cabrini Green Tutoring Program , Chicago Lights ( www.cabrinigreentutoring.org ) : provides training opportunity for tutors from novice to veterans.

·CRLA, San Diego ( http://www.crla.net/ ) : provides tutors skills to be student oriented and develop tools and techniques for student success.

·WEA  Tutor  Conference , Nottingham ((http://weaeastmidlandstutortraining.wordpress.com/category/tutor-training/) : provides workshop for tutors.

·ULC Directors and Peer Tutor Conference  (http://test.scripts.psu.edu/dept/ulc/conference/) : deals in various aspects in concern to knowledge of tutoring.

·EARCOS, Thailand ( http://www.earcos.org/etc2012/) : enhancing and expanding knowledge, technique for tutoring services.


Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Marketing Packets - What You Need to Market to Schools



The secret for any business to be successful is  ''communication''  as it is the most critical marketing and client retention strategy that one can use to build his business. The success of  tutorial business ventures largely depends on word of mouth and successful business owners realize that it is easier to sell or communicate your services to contacts that are aware of your services than to someone who is not. Since the target client group for a tutorial service are students; schools are the best location for marketing packets for tutorial business ventures.

In today's world marketing is the key to success for every business module. Once you are sure about what services you are ready to provide on your tutorial, the age group you want to take up , you should be ready to introduce those services to people who are constantly with students- all the time;  the teachers, counselors, school administrators, subject matter specialist. Before introducing your marketing packet to schools you should first chalk out your target segment. So, it is important to make a list of the schools in your territory which you want to target. The next step is to prepare your marketing tool which could be a flier, pamphlet or a booklet stating  the services provided by you as a tutor and a brief background about your teaching experience.

By meeting the counselor or  school administrator who can first chalk out the problem areas as per learning in regard to your target group. Than you need to market your tutoring services to schools keeping in mind that you are addressing and targeting the problem areas of learners. Your marketing packet should be convincing enough for the school authorities to recommend you to their students. You can also drop off materials focusing on your teaching strategies and the  teaching modules you intend to use in your tutorial services.

 As another strategy for marketing your services to schools you can request the school authorities to allow you to put fliers or pamphlets on the bulletin boards , meet the head of parent body or parent group personally or online and tell them about your services, or list your services at the school web site. In many public schools, tutorial programs are in great demand. If your services include language training, abacus training, or preparation for entrance exams, most modern schools would  like to accommodate your tutorial services as part of their curriculum or would strongly recommend you to the students. With perseverance, patience and a strong and convincing marketing packet you will surely be able to market your services to the schools and start a successful tutoring business in no time.


Monday, August 15, 2011

Tutor Management 104: Materials and Supply Budget for your Tutoring Business


 With growing peer pressure and the need to compete and succeed in today's competitive world, parents and students feel the need and requirement for individualized  and personalized learning. This is where tutors come into the picture. Anybody who possess required qualification and expertise in a subject matter and has the zeal to teach can start a tutoring business.

 Starting a tutoring business is quiet simple as it is more of word of  mouth business. Once  you have decided the area of your expertise, the age group ( elementary, middle grade, high school or college) of students you want to teach, a programme or curriculum you want to follow, the fees to be charged and a suitable location for your business who are ready to go!!  You also need to advertise your services either through an internet web page or through pamphlets put up at suitable places like the community center, outside schools, park area e.t.c.

You can start off a tutoring business at a very low cost. The materials required for starting a tutoring business is your own subject matter expertise, books, materials and one or two qualified teachers to take your business forward. Most of the time teachers can do with books brought by students, but it always helps to have your own set of books. The next material required will be sample or ready made answers for each lesson in printed format. By doing this you save on time, you need not waste time dictating answers but you can spend the time discussing the lesson. You can obviously charge for this added service. To excel and set yourself apart from other tutoring business you need to constantly upgrade yourself. Join a library for improving your reference works. Make new set of learning modules for students from time to time. For all this you need to have proper stationary at your disposal. A white board and interactive learning set up using new age technology will give that extra edge to your business.

Starting a tutoring business will need some investment upfront, but once you are set and doing good you will cover these initial cost incurred. If your set up is at home than expense will be only on furniture and  materials and cost incurred will be less than $1000*. However , if you are starting it as a tutoring business, you will need to rent space and employ staff which would initially cost you around $15,000- $25,000 approx*. Apart from this cost incurred will be on material and advertising. Your budget will be purely based on how big you want to start off. It is advisable to always start on a small scale with less cost and expand as your tutoring business gains prominence.


{* statistics taken from Home Business Center Inc. }




Thursday, August 11, 2011

10 Reasons To Upgrade Your Tutor Skills



A tutor is the one who provides expertise, encouragement and the knowledge to smoothly guide a learner in overcoming their subject matter difficulties and gain confidence and knowledge on the subject. To keep pace with the constant changing educational environment and changes in the needs of the learner it is vital that a tutor keeps upgrading their tutor skills.

Here are 10 reasons to upgrade your tutor skills:

1.       In today's world when everything is available at the tip of your finger or rather the click of your mouse , the learner is exposed to a lot of information. A tutor needs to keep upgrading himself so that he has something more to share than what is freely available.

2.      It is important for a tutor to to upgrade himself so that there is an extension of knowledge across domains  (horizontal) and deepening of knowledge in individual domains ( vertical).

3.      A tutor has to upgrade his skills so that he is able to form linkages across various facets of knowledge to attract and retain the attention of young minds.

4.      In today's world education and the usage of technology in it or rather as a medium of it is interlinked and indispensable. A tutor to enhance his teaching skills should upgrade his knowledge of the usage of technology and tools like MS office to structure his teaching and make it more user friendly.

5.      Up gradation of core skills  like planning, organizing and developing teaching techniques will help the tutor to plan out the lesson properly and incorporate learning modules within the lessons best suited to meet the requirements of the learner.

6.      Since the time frame of delivering lessons is limited in a  tutor- learner set up , a proper set of skills will help the tutor in approaching the subject matter in such a way that the problem as well as the aspiration of the learner are met within the stipulated time frame.

7.      A tutor can upgrade his skills and knowledge of the subject by appearing for skill and knowledge based tests from time to time. This will help the tutor to tackle the subject in a confident manner.

8.     New set of skills help the tutor to bring in more variation in his teaching techniques and not just rely on traditional lecture method .

9.      By developing tutor skills a tutor is able to assess , adjust and adapt to the learning style of the learner and tackle his limitations and help him discover his strengths.
10.  Only a well aware, well prepared and skillful tutor in tune with the needs of today's educational curriculum can prepare the learner for the competitive environment around him.