Tutoring Without Traveling

Finding Ways to Tutor Without Traveling

One of the most difficult parts of tutoring is how much you might need to travel, especially if you have many different clients who all want to meet at different locations. Although a certain amount of traveling within the tutoring profession is usually inevitable, unless you have managed to successfully build up a large enough client base that you can always request that they come to you, there are certain tips and tricks you can use to minimize your traveling and be more efficient in where you tutor different clients.

Meet in Public, Centralized Locations

Oftentimes, clients can easily meet at a public, centralized location for tutoring, such as a public library or a coffee shop. These are great places to meet for a variety of reasons:

• They do not require you to rent space yourself, which can be extremely expensive. Rather, they are either free, or you can simply purchase a cup of coffee in exchange for using a coffee shop as your tutoring "office." 
• Libraries are a naturally quiet place, which is great for tutoring, since tutoring requires concentration and focus. Also, if you find the right coffee shop, the volume level can be very acceptable for good tutoring sessions.
• There are usually many coffee shops in a town or city, so you can choose the one that is most centralized and works best for the greatest number of clients.
• You can choose several different locations, depending on the day and the clients, to make your traveling for tutoring most efficient and effective.

Be Flexible at First, and then Suggest a More Convenient Location

When you are first developing a relationship with a client, it is usually a good idea to be flexible to the client's needs to gain the client's trust and good favor. Then, once you have proven your quality and experience to the client, you can try to suggest a meeting place that is more convenient for you.

Oftentimes, clients will understand how difficult it can be to travel from location to location for tutoring and will be willing to accommodate your request. This two step process is an extremely natural one that should not harm the tutoring relationship. Simply ask in a tactful and respectful manner, and then just trust that some client's will be understanding and want to help you out.

Schedule Wisely

If you are able to schedule your tutoring sessions wisely and well, you can also save a lot of time and gas money this way. Try to meet clients in locations that progress naturally from one another, rather than having to go back and forth across town. Try to schedule all of your clients who live in one location next to each other, and then your clients who live in a further location next to one another.

Stay Organized!

Traveling for tutoring can get pretty complicated, so it is a good idea to just take some time to organize your clients and locations, and then find ways to orchestrate them together to minimize your travel time and save you the most gas money.

A great tool to help you keep your calendar and appointments organized is Google Calendar. Below is a tutorial on how to use Google Calendar effectively.

I wish you the best in find how you can tutor with less traveling, or even tutor without traveling! If you have any ideas yourself, I would love to hear them!