In this episode, I talk honestly about money and how it impacts your tutoring business.

For many tutors and education business owners, pricing and income targets feel uncomfortable. We focus on marketing, sales and filling spaces, but often avoid the deeper money mindset work that drives real business growth.

I share my own experience of guilt around earning more and explain how assigning meaning to money transformed the way I set financial goals. I also cover why knowing your numbers matters, how to think about return on investment, and what healthy pricing and conversion rates really look like.

Enjoy :-)

Sumantha

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👋🏽 Hello! I'm Sumantha McMahon, and I've supported over 100 tutors and education business owners.

As a teacher 'dropout' turned professional tutor, combined with my 20+ years as a business owner, I'm in it with you! Yes, I'm qualified too :-)

My training leans on tried-and-tested methods that are completely tailored to our niche.

Work with me to breathe life into YOUR definition of success:

#1 Bespoke 1:1 Mentoring

High-touch 6-month programme for tutors who want to make their business more lucrative, in a sustainable way for the future, while protecting the impact they make.

#2 The Tutors' Mastermind

The leading membership for tutors that combines tailored training (live and recorded), a community of like-minded business owners and exclusive discounts.

This podcast is recorded using Riverside. Sign up for your account here (free plan available)

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Sometimes, I share links to resources and apps that I recommend. They are all based on my experience - if I don't love them, I don't recommend them. In some cases, I earn a small commission for my recommendation, at no cost to you.

© 2024 Sumantha McMahon

I really wanted to record an episode around money because it is probably the one thing that either holds people back or unlocks breathing life into success, whatever success means to each of us. We worry about how will I get clients, or I am struggling to fill my group classes, or how do I change how I am working so it is sustainable. We think of all these things and they are life changing when we solve them. But money barriers and feelings around money require much deeper work and can be harder to navigate.

Before I dive in, in case it is your first time here, welcome. I am Samantha McMahon, a former and qualified business trainer who became a teacher. I left the classroom in January 2017 because it was no longer good for my health, physically or mentally. I set up my tutoring business and over time realised there was space for my educational experience and my business background to come together.

In addition to tutoring, I now work specifically with tutors and people in the education space to help them build lucrative businesses on their terms. That means something sustainable, so they are not a slave to their business, and something aligned with the impact they want to make alongside the life they want to lead. When thinking about money, whether it is pricing or income goals, it comes up a lot in my work.

Before I delve into how we feel about money and pricing, I will say that I am not a money mindset coach. I have had my own money mindset issues and still do. It is something I am always working on. Everything I share today is based on conversations with clients, conversations with myself, and lessons I have learned along the way that might be useful to you.

The first thing I want to talk about is guilt. This comes up a lot with educators. They feel guilty about making money from what they do. It can also show up as guilt for charging more or wanting a certain income. I had a recent conversation with a client who charges at the higher end. It aligns with her income goal and ideal client, yet she still felt conflicted.

She reached a point where that guilt was paralysing. We had a dedicated conversation about it. I shared the concept of adding meaning to money. My business has grown profit year on year for nine years, but at one point it took a positive leap beyond what I imagined. I felt discomfort. I wondered whether I should just be happy with what I already had.

When I explored that discomfort, I realised wanting more was not about greed. It was about what it would unlock. Earning more meant saving for a larger deposit and a lower mortgage. It meant contributing more to my pension. It meant accessing private healthcare for a condition I have rather than waiting on the NHS list. It meant paying myself back for fertility treatment and building memories with my family.

When I attached meaning to the money, the guilt disappeared. It infiltrated the work I do with clients. When I asked my client what earning more would mean to her, she realised it would help her sustain her business and support students for longer without burning out. Charging more meant fewer hours and more sustainability.

If you struggle with financial targets or pricing, assigning meaning to money can give clarity. It is better than any formula. Of course, there are simple formulas to calculate pricing, but it is not just about the number. It is about how many hours you want to work and what this income means for your future. Are you building something sustainable and secure?

If you do not build your business around the life you want, it is a wasted opportunity. When you work for an employer, you have security, pension contributions and paid leave. Why walk away from that if self employment gives you less security? Freedom without future security is not true freedom. We can design our business to serve both now and the future.

Another important element is becoming familiar with your numbers. This is not exciting, but it is powerful. I encourage all my clients to have a routine for checking their business numbers. It is part of my programmes and mastermind training. Understanding your numbers allows you to make solid decisions instead of emotional ones.

Before I created this routine, I made decisions based on feelings. I would hold my breath for my annual tax return to see how my business was doing. I should have known better. If I had reviewed my numbers regularly, I could have grown faster. Now I log every sale in real time through automation and have a dashboard showing income and breakdowns.

I also run monthly reports on income, expenses and profit. This gives me a clear snapshot of my business health. It has allowed me to confidently invest in coaching. Without the numbers, I would have hesitated. It would have felt like too much money. But the data showed my business could afford it and that it was worthwhile.

When investing in coaching, the hardest part is not knowing if you will get a return on investment. You hesitate because you do not know the outcome. At some point, you combine due diligence with intuition. Return on investment does not always mean direct monetary gain.

When I first invested in coaching, I made the money back quickly. That made it easy to see the value. When I reinvested, I knew the return would not be directly monetary. I needed clarity, guidance and sense checking. That was the return I was seeking. It is vital to define what return on investment means for you.

Some clients make their investment back quickly. Others do not immediately, but they are building sustainable systems that will pay off later. Many come to me burned out and overwhelmed. The work we do helps them build a business that becomes lucrative without sacrificing wellbeing.

We often say you have to spend money to make money. There is truth in that, but it must be spent wisely. So far we have talked about assigning meaning to money, understanding your numbers and defining return on investment. All of these help you make confident decisions rather than emotional ones.

Let us circle back to pricing. People say you know your pricing is right when you face some resistance. If everyone says yes, there may be room to increase your rates. We wear high conversion rates like a badge of honour, but sometimes a slightly lower conversion rate indicates you are charging appropriately.

Chasing likes or constant yes responses gives a dopamine hit, but it is not always strategic. In my business, posts with fewer likes often generate more sales. When pricing results in a few more no responses, I often earn more overall and work fewer hours. That creates flexibility and better support for clients.

Talking about money can feel uncomfortable, but it needs to be normalised. Money is an enabler. It allows my clients to be present parents, to care for loved ones, and to avoid burnout. What others think becomes insignificant when compared to pension security, family memories and future stability.

I hope this episode has been thought provoking. If nothing else, I hope you found it interesting. Thank you for listening. If you have a moment, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or subscribe on YouTube. It helps me reach more tutors, which is important to me. Thanks again for your time, and you will hear from me on Wednesday.