Start & Run an ESL Teaching Business. T. Nicole Pankratz - Bodner

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      Whether you have chosen to open a formal tutorial service for immigrant youth, an informal tutor network for adult international students, or a combination of education services, your programs and services must match the needs, desires, and expectations of your clientele. Your programs and services also need to be easily understood by your target market.

      Tutoring programs differ from school programs in that they are created to suit the specific needs of a particular individual. The actual tutorial program cannot really begin until after the student is assessed and interviewed about his or her strengths and weaknesses, short-term and long-term goals, and areas of interest. However, the system of tutorial delivery can and should be developed before students access your services. In short, before you open your doors (or telephone lines), you need to set up an assessment system and a schedule outlining program-delivery options. Making decisions about assessments and program delivery requires some big-picture planning.

      Big Picture Planning

      To market your services effectively, you need to be able to describe your business concept and the services you offer in a sentence or two. You should also be able to answer questions about details when necessary.

      Clarifying your business concept and services requires the following:

      • Creating a student profile (or profiles, if you are serving more than one type of client)

      • Determining the purpose of your program through a mission statement

      • Clarifying your delivery methods

      • Defining your market niche

      • Outlining your programs and services

      • Creating a system of evaluation

      Creating a student profile

      The types of services you offer will depend on the types of students you have. Are they immigrant children, students from overseas attending high school, adult international students, or recent immigrants in the workforce? Do they attend school during the day and require extra help at night, or are they free during regular business hours? Do they have special needs and therefore require special services?

      Determining the purpose of your program through a mission statement

      The key to big picture planning is to clarify your school’s purpose. Consider the following questions:

      • What do you aim to accomplish with your services?

      • What do you strive to provide to your students?

      • What do you hope your students will be able to do when they complete the training you offer?

      • What makes your services different from those offered by other tutorial services?

      In short, what is your mission statement?

      For example, suppose you decide to target certain students. You know that these students are more interested in gaining confidence through the overseas experience than in working hard to improve their academic performance. You also know that your market does not fit into the regular school system and therefore prefers to have flexibility with regards to lesson content, delivery, and lesson times.

      Clarifying your delivery method

      With your mission statement in place, your next step is to clarify how you plan to make good on your promises. How will you ensure that your study times stay flexible? How many and what kind of tutors do you need to hire in order to deliver unique, custom-designed tutorials?

      For instance, let us imagine that your services target at-risk youth and students with special needs. You will likely need to draw from a pool of tutors who display great patience and are willing to work flexible hours. Your tutors will also need to have strong interpersonal skills and be able to read people well. Skilled tutors who specialize in working with people who have special needs would be particularly helpful. Lastly, your employees (or contractors) need to be able to think on their feet. They should be able to quickly and accurately assess a student’s needs, abilities, and goals, and be able to create a tutorial plan that matches the student’s profile.

      Defining how your services fill a market niche

      In Chapter 3, you had an opportunity to think of things that make your services special or in some way different from those of your competitors. Articulating your uniqueness clearly and concisely will help you create marketing materials that grab the attention of your target market.

      In the case of 123 Tutoring Services, for example, the most unique feature is the market itself. Few schools or tutoring companies focus on helping at-risk ESL learners, and even fewer are specifically designed for those with physical challenges. Students who fit these descriptions would want to know that they are not only welcome at 123 Tutoring Services, but that they are preferred clientele. Letting them know means creating marketing materials that highlight these points.

      Outlining your programs and services

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