I’ve been running a tuition business for nearly a decade now, and it’s always crossed my mind: ‘What if anyone else wants to start a tuition business of their own?’, ‘How would they go on about doing it?’ ‘What decisions would they need to take?’ ‘Who would they need to reach out to for guidance, for investment?’ 

‘Everyone’ out there won’t be openly sharing their trade secrets, would they? And even if they did, you know what that means, inviting more competition into the market. 

Luckily, there is an answer. I’m not ‘everyone’. I would like to help. I never had any help or guidance myself when I first started, and had to learn everything from the ground up. That’s why I know how important it is to have a support system in place, to help and mentor people who are interested in having a go at creating their own tuition business.  

I want to start something that everyone can benefit from, and that’s the whole point. Would it be so wrong if people and businesses could get the help they need to start something they want to? I aim to build a community of tuition businesses and serial entrepreneurs, where we can all share knowledge and experience in running tuition businesses. Not only discuss the tuition business and its challenges but also attract investors for growth and expansion. Be able to reach out to people who know what they are doing and leverage contacts and introductions. 

I’ll be sharing my own experiences with the intention that it helps people find out, ‘all that there is to know about running a tuition business’. 

“Brilliant thinking is rare, but courage is in even shorter supply than genius.”

Peter Thiel, Co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund

Starting and successfully running a tuition business is not impossible; it requires effort and courage, but NOT IMPOSSIBLE. The most difficult part is saying: ‘Yes’, ‘Let’s do it’, ‘We can make it happen’. There is a reason Nike’s tagline is ‘Just do it’, not ‘screw it’.  

Sadly, most people are in the ‘screw it’ category and never start. They prefer the comfort zone, a zone that will never give you anything in life. The most difficult part is taking a ‘Let’s do it’ decision, followed by the right steps. Trust me, I’ve been there myself. The most difficult part is to take a risk and do something different with your life. We seem to be more worried about the results, even though we haven’t even started our venture yet. That worry at the very beginning is a sign of defeat. I get it. I truly do. People want to make money and not lose money. I get that. People are risk-averse and don’t like stepping out of their comfort zones. I get that too! But the journey has to begin somewhere and it begins with a first step. 

“The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

Lao Tzu, Chinese Philosopher

It’s people’s mediocre thinking that keeps them where they are. Had they known another way, they wouldn’t be living the life they currently are. 

I’ll be honest, I never had a single entrepreneurial gene in me. I come from a family of professionals who have jobs and good careers. They never knew what business was; they never experienced it. My parents never even tried exposing me to it either. That’s not completely true – my dad tried selling Denim Jeans in the UK that he got made in South Asia. But that venture failed miserably. He had no success. If anything, he lost all his investment. Based on their failures, you can understand why they never wanted to introduce me to the world of business, thinking ‘It’s risky’ and ‘It’ll make you lose money’. 

Growing up, nobody talked about business or entrepreneurship. All I heard from my parents were “when you become an Engineer’, “When you become a Doctor” and “when you become a Chartered Accountant. That’s it. There was nothing else.

“Get off your ass and frickin do it”

Rob Moore, Entrepreneur and Author

The point of the story is, that these things do require effort and courage, but it is not impossible to get a tuition business going. I’ve done it; so can you. So let’s get started.