Putting out signs or fliers is a great way to attract new clients. You can post these at the library, local coffee shops, the grocery store, gym and throughout your community.

Also, for not a lot of money you can have professional business cards made up to attach and put out along with your fliers. You can also contact local schools and teachers in your area and send them your flier or business card to let them know about your services. Teachers and administrators can be a great source of referrals when you are starting.

You can advertise on websites such as or for free.

To get an idea of what to charge, you can also look on these websites mentioned above to see what tutors are charging in your area or you can call one of the tutoring franchises in your area to find out what they charge.

Something to think about is the length of time for your sessions and if you want to charge per hour or per session. For example if you charge per hour, keep in mind that you will be meeting for a full hour each time. Some tutors prefer to charge per session and that way you can set how long your session will be (30 minutes, 45 minutes, 50 minutes, etc) An hour can be too long for certain students depending on their age and attention span.

You may consider offering discounts if parents and clients prepay for a certain number of sessions or you might initially offer a free session when parents give you a referral.

Tutoring is really a fun business with very low start up costs and it is a great way to help students boost their grades and confidence. Good luck and have fun!
-Kasey Hammond