The pressure to “succeed” – we’ve all felt it at some point. Whether it was your parents expecting you to excel at school, your coach demanding a good football season, or your old coursemates at your college reunion interrogating you about your career achievements, we’ve all had moments when we felt the world’s expectations were placed on our shoulders. In an industry as competitive as tutoring, it can be hard to find focus and attain what you believe success is. Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered! What better time to start thinking about advancing your tutoring career than in the NewYear? Below, I’ve outlined some tips that’ll set you on the path to achieving your tutoring goals.

1. Learn to maximize your efficacy. As a tutor who’s just starting out, it is unlikely that you’ll be making thousands of dollars a month from the very start (but not impossible, of course!). Focus on getting the most out of what you’re capable of. Remember, the key to success is consistency rather than frequency — make sure that the workload you’re taking on is sustainable in the long term, and increase prices gradually as you gain more experience and students.
   
2. Don’t be afraid to market yourself. Let’s face it — the world of tutoring can be daunting. No matter how great of a tutor you are, there always seem to be a handful of tutors on Preply or italki who steal all the attention, and what’s worse, get away with high prices. Their secret? Effective marketing. Self-promotion starts with creating an enticing profile that’ll attract students to your services. Think about what makes you stand out from other tutors. What can you offer your students that another tutor can’t? What is your teaching style? In what ways can potential students relate to you? Every sentence in your profile should be answering the question of why students should choose you over other tutors. Still at a loss? A great way to differentiate yourself is by incorporating various interactive resources into your lessons. Visit the browse (link) section on PrepYourLesson to access hundreds of learning materials that you can start using today!
   
3. Quality, not quantity. At the beginning, it may be tempting to obtain as many students as possible — after all, the more students, the higher the earnings. Right? Umm, not quite. At the initial stages, it’ll be challenging to stay competitive with no lesson record and zero reviews. That shouldn’t deter you — you are beginning your journey to success. Start by securing 2-4 students and make it your aim to become the best tutor your students will ever have. You want your services to be transformational, not transactional — the primary aim should be to make an impact on your students’ lives through dedication. Establish a connection with your existing students, and they’ll only be too happy to leave five star reviews once you’re ready to expand your business.
   
4. Stop comparing. While it is tempting to compare yourself to other tutors on language learning platforms, it’s important to acknowledge that each and every tutor is on their own tutoring path. Remember that tutor with 25 students, a perfect rating, and impeccable reviews? Well, I bet you didn’t know that she works 9 hours a day, six days a week, and tutoring is her full time job now that she’s out of college. You may not have the luxury of devoting that much time to tutoring. Perhaps you have family responsibilities, another job, are still in school, or maybe you just don’t want online tutoring to take up 85% of your life (gasp!). Everyone’s preferences and capacities are different and you should always keep that in mind when other tutors’ apparently effortless success starts getting on your nerves.
   

Of course, there is no one sole path to success, and everyone’s definition of success is different. For some, it is making a decent living tutoring while still maintaining a work-life balance. For others, it means making it to the top 10 in the Preply rankings. Still for others it is building a sustainable tutoring business. So don’t fret! The ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras once said, “Man is a measure of all things” (a little confusing, eh?). What he meant, of course, is (in this context, anyway) – you get to decide what success means to you. Your best bet is to stop comparing yourself to other tutors, and outline your objectives for the future.