How to Successfully Start an Online English Teaching Business
Dreaming of being completely in charge of your teaching schedule, work location, and even your hourly class rates as a teacher? Good news — it’s all possible when you become your own boss as a freelance ESL online teacher.
Steps to set up my own online English teaching business:
1. Make sure you have the right equipment:
Start by covering basic tech equipment that you will use for teaching online: a working computer/laptop, a functional pair of headphones, and a stable Internet connection (more on this equipment, later!). Once you have these basics, you’re ready to teach anywhere, as long as it’s a noise-free environment.
2. Earn the credentials to teach effectively and market yourself:
As a freelancer starting your own online tutoring business, you’ll want to be fully prepared for teaching in the virtual classroom. Likewise, paying students will have more confidence in a tutor who is properly qualified.
3. Choose your teaching niche:
Next, decide on the kind of classes you want to give. It’s usually more lucrative and easier to find students when you choose a particular niche of students to teach online. For example, you can focus on specific age groups, like teaching kids or adults. You can also offer classes for particular tutoring areas, which can even help you earn more, such as specializing in Business English etc
4. . Choose a teaching platform:
As a freelancer, it’s important to deliver your classes via a user-friendly, reliable online video conferencing platform that has features fit for your online teaching needs, such as a virtual whiteboard and screen sharing. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet are the top teaching apps of choice of most online English teachers, and teaching English with Skype also remains popular (all of these platforms have free versions). Explore each one to see which you prefer. Choose one that you will mainly use for your classes, then a backup platform in case a student encounters problems with the first one.
5. Choose a payment platform:
If you plan to teach students in the country you reside in, centralize your earnings in a bank account they can easily deposit or transfer money into. If you’re a digital nomad or teaching students abroad, opt to receive money through online payment apps like PayPal etc. Check which one offers the best rate and is the easiest to use for you and your students.