Why Teach Online?
So you want to teach online? Great! Why? Seriously, why do you want to teach online? There are loads of benefits of teaching this way but it's important you know the answer to this question before you continue. Having a clear idea of YOUR why at the forefront of your mind is key to starting and building a successful online tutoring business.
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So what's your answer? Let's have a quick look at the top 5 reasons to tutor online to help with some ideas:
- Flexibility to work when you want
- Freedom to work how you want
- Convenience to work where you want
- Increased earning potential
- In control of your future
Maybe your answer is, “I don't want to commute to work anymore.” That's a good start, but it's not the full answer. Why don't you want to commute anymore? What will not commuting allow you to do differently in life. Maybe it takes you 30 minutes each way to travel to and from work. That means every week you spend 5 hours commuting. As we know, when you teach online you can ditch the commute and work from home. What would you do with 5 extra hours every week (or 240 more hours every year)? Maybe have an extra hour in bed every day! Or spend more time with your family. Perhaps keeping fit is important for you and 5 hours a week in the gym or doing a sport you enjoy is a big part of your 'Why'.
If the biggest attraction of tutoring online is the flexibility it brings, then being able to fit tutoring around the school run might be your main motivation.
Let's think about income opportunities. Perhaps you're tired of working for someone else and not getting paid what you're worth as a teacher. Setting your own prices and being in control of your financial future sounds good right? But why would earning more money be good for you.
Maybe you want to take that dream holiday abroad or invest in training to take your online tutoring business to the next level. Do you have a strong desire to support a charitable cause or even spend a chunk of your year volunteering (like I did)? Earning more money for one of these reasons could be your 'Why'.
Let's recap
When deciding why you want to teach online, be specific. Think about how teaching online will benefit you and those around you. How does it allow you to achieve your goals and dreams or improve your current work or social life?
Action Step 1 – Your 'Why'
Now it's time for you to put into words your 'Why'. Pull out your phone, open up a new Word document or grab a pen. It's important to write this bit down. Here are a couple of examples to help you.
"I want to teach online because it will save me 5 hours a week commuting. Having more time will allow me to go for a jog every morning and finish early on Friday afternoon."
"I want to teach online because I can set my own schedule. Teaching when I want to will allow me to take and collect the kids from school and save money on childcare."
"I want to teach online so that I can earn £5,000 more this year. Having this extra money from teaching online will allow me to take an extra month off and volunteer abroad."
Now you fill in the gaps:
I want to teach online because. [….....] Teaching online will allow me to […....]
Action Step 2 – Set up a reminder
It's easy to write these things down, tuck them away somewhere and forget about them. Having a constant reminder about your 'Why' will help you stay focussed on your reason for teaching online and motivate you to overcome any challenges you face with your business.
Your second action step is to head over to a cool website called IFTTT and set up an automated reminder that will send your 'Why' directly to your phone as an SMS.
Follow this quick tutorial to set up your daily or weekly SMS reminder so that you never forget why you are teaching online. It's free, takes less than 5 minutes to set up and will run for as long as you want it to.
IFTTT (If This Then That) is a cool little site where you can set up all sorts of 'Applets' to help automate your work and social life. Let me know if you find or create any other useful Applets that help with your online tutoring business.
Action Step 3 – Share your 'Why' (Optional)
By telling others your 'Why', you are committing to achieving that goal. You can do this by scrolling down and posting your 'Why' in the comments box below.
Teaching online has changed my life and allowed me to do so much more than before. By writing down and regularly reminding yourself why you want to teach online, you too can achieve your goals in life. Now it's your turn.
