If you are a tutor or education business owner looking for sustainable business growth, this episode is for you.

I share the practical foundations of running a profitable tutoring business without working more hours. I talk about how understanding your numbers can improve pricing, sales and decision making. I also explain how simple systems can reduce admin, support your marketing and create a smoother client experience without losing the personal touch.

Finally, I talk about optimising what you already have so you can increase income and improve efficiency without constantly adding new offers.

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

📍 If you've hit play on this episode, then I have to say a bit of a congratulations really, because there are lots of people who will take action or are willing to listen to the glamorous parts, the exciting parts, but there are very few people who are willing to look at the important parts that maybe aren't as exciting, and that's what this episode is dedicated to.

I want to help you improve how your business runs. I want you to make more money in a sustainable way so that you're not a slave to your business, and I want you to have a great experience of being a business owner. I want you to feel like you're in control, and I'm going to share the things that have made a real difference in my business as well as that of my clients.

📍 If you are new here, then a huge welcome. I'm your host Sumantha McMahon, and I'm a tutor myself as well as a former teacher. Before that, I was a qualified corporate business trainer, and alongside tutoring, I specialise in helping educators like you create lucrative businesses that they’re not a slave to.

I help educators build businesses where they have options in the future that give them the life they want, the business they want. Everything I’m sharing today is an investment into that future as well as making things better right now.

The things I’m going to share today aren’t necessarily fun, glamorous, or creative, but they are very, very important. They’re the things I share with my clients. If you are one of my clients listening, use this as a checklist or refresher of things you may want to strengthen.

Let’s dive in. I’m going to share specific things that are really important for making your business more lucrative without increasing how much you work. The first thing is to get really cosy with your numbers.

When it comes to numbers, we often avoid them, but they’ve actually been incredibly encouraging and liberating. The first numbers you need to understand are how much you’re earning, how much you’re spending, and what your profit is.

These numbers don’t need to be exact. You’re not doing this for accounting purposes. You just want them to be accurate enough to understand the health of your business at any given time.

It’s very easy to succumb to your feelings. You might feel like your business isn’t doing well, but when you look at the numbers, you realise it’s actually doing better than you thought, or sometimes not as well as you’d hoped.

The second way to use these numbers is to play with them and explore different scenarios. I’ve done this many times in my tuition business using a spreadsheet that breaks down my timetable and hourly income.

I multiply that by four for a monthly figure and by ten for an annual figure, assuming I won’t teach for around two months a year. This gives me a clear breakdown of how much I’m making.

I then explore what happens if I increase my prices slightly or add one more student to a group class. Small tweaks can have a huge impact, and it gives you something tangible to base decisions on.

If your business isn’t doing as well as you’d like, this becomes even more important. You don’t always need to do more. Often, very small changes make the biggest difference.

I had a client who paired two compatible one-to-one students together. She released an hour of her time and doubled her hourly income, without creating large group classes.

All of this only works if you have an accurate snapshot of your current situation. Another important set of numbers is forecasting, particularly around sales cycles.

We set sales targets not by guessing, but by working backwards from income goals. Targets give you focus, help you value every enquiry, and encourage you to look for solutions rather than defaulting to no.

Targets aren’t a measure of success. They’re a tool. You don’t want to attach your self-worth to them because missing a target doesn’t mean failure, it means data.

One client hit and exceeded her target. Another didn’t make any sales, but she had just changed niche and started getting enquiries. That was still a successful sales cycle.

The next unglamorous thing is systemising your business. Systemising doesn’t remove the human touch. It just makes things organised, streamlined, and easier to delegate.

One example is onboarding. Instead of endless emails, you can use a registration form, automate invoicing, and send a tailored welcome pack while still keeping it personal.

Another thing you can systemise is your marketing content. Algorithms are now AI-driven, so intentional content planning and themes are more important than ever.

You can create content pillars, weekly themes, and reuse ideas across platforms. This makes content creation easier, more strategic, and easier to delegate if needed.

Another powerful system is your to-do list. Systemising this means you always know what to work on, you reduce overwhelm, and you build momentum.

By breaking your year into quarters and working backwards from goals, you turn big ideas into daily tasks that actually move your business forward.

The final unglamorous thing is optimising what you already have. Instead of chasing new ideas, look for low-hanging fruit and ways to amplify what’s already working.

If you can focus on your numbers, systemise one thing, and optimise what you already have, it can be transformational. Thanks for listening, and I’ll speak to you on Wednesday.