How to Set up and Run a

Successful Computer
Tutoring Service for Adults

IN 10 EASY STEPS

By
Juliet Lynn

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 This document is the first 14 pages of my book ”Computer Tutor – The Complete Business Handbook”
For more information please visit: www.julietlynn.com/book

About the Author

Juliet Lynn works as a freelance Computer Tutor in the UK teaching

mature adults how to use their PCs or laptops in the privacy of their own
homes. She set up her business in 2005 and quickly found that there was
an immediate and growing need for her service.

Juliet has three children (two have now grown up and “flown the nest”)
and has therefore always sought work which would fit around their needs.
She has previously worked in administrative roles for various companies,
small and large, and has also worked as a freelance bookkeeper.

Her interests and passions include working in and enjoying her small
wildlife garden which she has created out of a scrubby wilderness,
learning about and actively supporting human and animal rights
organisations and those that preserve and care for the environment, both
locally and globally. And, of course, computers.

This book is a compilation of Juliet’s ideas and experiences when setting

up and running her Computer Tutor business (the ones that worked and
the ones that didn’t!) and is intended to be a complete reference for
anyone considering setting up a similar service, whether on a part-time or
full-time basis.

© Juliet Lynn 2009

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright holder.

This book is being offered as information only. There is no guarantee of success, either written or implied. The
author/publisher specifically disclaims any personal liability, loss or risk incurred as a consequence of acting
on, undertaking or relying on any advice or information presented herein.

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 This document is the first 14 pages of my book ”Computer Tutor – The Complete Business Handbook”
For more information please visit: www.julietlynn.com/book

Preface

If you have a good working knowledge of how to use a PC

then you have amazing skills that are valuable to others!

It doesn’t matter what your career background is, with the right attitude,
you can succeed in this business, earn excellent money and love doing it.

Ask yourself if the following applies to you:

You want to be your own boss

You want to be respected and well-paid for professional

work

You want to make a positive difference to the lives of

others

You want your work to fit around family commitments

and leave you enough time for a social life

You want to work with enthusiastic and motivated

people

Whether or not you have formal qualifications in either teaching or

computing, if you identify with the above, then this book will provide you
with all the information you need to set up and run your own successful
Computer Tutoring business.

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 This document is the first 14 pages of my book ”Computer Tutor – The Complete Business Handbook”
For more information please visit: www.julietlynn.com/book

How To Use This Book

1. Your first step is to make yourself a beverage of your choice and

settle down somewhere quiet.

2. Read through the book from cover to cover to get a good view of
the whole picture and highlight points or jot down notes as you go.
You’ll find that this book has been arranged in a logical order of the
steps that you need to take to get your business up and running
quickly.

3. When you’ve read through the book, turn to the Action Plan on
page 95. This is your blueprint for success. Follow through
each step referring back to the relevant sections of the book again
as necessary. (Page references are given).

4. On completing each step on the Action Plan put a check in the box.
Don’t worry if you do some things out of sequence, as long as you
complete each step you’ll be fine.

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 This document is the first 14 pages of my book ”Computer Tutor – The Complete Business Handbook”
For more information please visit: www.julietlynn.com/book

Acknowledgements

I’m thankful to all my clients, without whom there would be no Computer

Tutor business.

My clients are always motivated, happy to see me and delighted to pay for
my services. Most are close to or above retirement age and have led rich
and interesting lives. Many an enjoyable story has been shared over a
cup of tea and a slice of cake – some of which I couldn’t possibly repeat!

These are people of integrity and spirit, with a zest for life that should
never be the exclusivity of the young. They are also brave, embracing
technology, which to them is often mysterious and sometimes just plain
scary. I’m grateful to each and every client as they have not only
provided me and my children with a means to exist but have removed
any fear I may have had about becoming older myself!

I also thank my three children who have always expressed pride that their
mother can run her own successful business, manage a home, be there
for them and do it all relatively stress-free. It’s to their credit that being a
parent is such a pleasure, and to the credit of this first class business that
I’m able to fulfil my role as their mother whilst earning a decent living.

My special thanks to my close friend, Elaine Collins, who has contributed

much to this book. Many of the ideas contained within these pages are
hers, and without Elaine’s contribution and inspiration this book would not
be the complete reference manual that it is.

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 This document is the first 14 pages of my book ”Computer Tutor – The Complete Business Handbook”
For more information please visit: www.julietlynn.com/book

Contents
Page

Preface 3

How to Use This Book 4

Acknowledgements 5

Contents 6

Introduction 8

Section One
Overview of a Computer Tutoring Service 11

Section Two
10 Easy Steps to Success 15

• Step One: Your Initial Assessment 15

• Step Two: Get Equipped 23

• Step Three: Set Your Rates 25

• Step Four: Set Your Terms of Business 30

• Step Five: Other Considerations 35

• Step Six: Create Your Image 39

• Step Seven: Promoting Your Services 41

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 This document is the first 14 pages of my book ”Computer Tutor – The Complete Business Handbook”
For more information please visit: www.julietlynn.com/book

Page

• Step Eight: First Contact With Clients 53

• Step Nine: Know Your Clientele 61

• Step Ten: The Tutoring Session 74

Section Three
Offering Additional Services 85

Section Four
Final Words of Advice 89

Section Five
Action Plan 94

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 This document is the first 14 pages of my book ”Computer Tutor – The Complete Business Handbook”
For more information please visit: www.julietlynn.com/book

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing this book. It has been written with the purpose
of explaining how you can set up and run your own business providing a
personal computer tutoring service to adults. These will be mainly, but
not exclusively, retired people, who want to learn how to use their home
PC for both pleasure and purpose.

You may wish to extend your tutoring service to include children, young
adults and the local business community, and much of this book will be
just as relevant in these situations. However, as a business model, the
focus of the book is on teaching mature adults in their own homes.

This is a market waiting to explode!

To date, adult computer tuition has been concentrated within the

workplace where it has been delivered to employees mostly by specialist
IT training companies. Many adults of working age have missed out on
basic computer tuition, and this has a detrimental affect on their ability to
contribute to the workforce. As a result, basic computer courses are now
widely available to adults, often free of charge, and usually leading to a
qualification which can be taken to potential employers.

So where do we, the Computer Tutors, fit in?

There is another group of people who completely missed out when it

came to computer education. It wasn’t available when they were at
school and for the greater part of their working lives technology didn’t
feature. And if it did, it was unrecognisable from the PC they have at
home today.

Proportionately there are more people aged over sixty-five in relation to

those aged under fifteen than ever before and these are people who have
as much reason as anyone else to use their PC for communication,

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 This document is the first 14 pages of my book ”Computer Tutor – The Complete Business Handbook”
For more information please visit: www.julietlynn.com/book

information and leisure. And they’re now beginning to realise this for
themselves.

This group often doesn’t feel comfortable in a classroom when their

objective is not to get a qualification, or to learn how to build a complex
spreadsheet or database. I know this from first-hand, I’ve taught in some
of these classes.

Many mature adults simply want to be able to use their own PC to email,
surf the internet, type the occasional letter, be creative with their digital
photographs, do a bit of online shopping and banking, book airline tickets,
research subjects that interest them and keep in touch with family and
friends. And they want to learn how to do all this in private, in the comfort
of their own home, using their own computer and under the caring
guidance of an understanding, patient and friendly tutor.

For the mature generation, being able to use a computer can revolutionise
their lives. The internet opens doors that they never dreamed were there.
Emailing provides frequent and virtually or completely free contact with
relatives and online shopping can be an absolute boon. Hobbies become
easier to pursue and chat rooms can provide a way to find new, like-
minded friendships.

Often when I meet a new client they tell me that their

son/daughter/grandchild has tried to show them how to do things, and the
usual comment is that “they do it so quickly I can’t remember what they
did” or “they did it for me and now I don’t have a clue!”.

The main reason your clients will contact you is so that you can teach
them how to use their computers for the specific purposes that will
enhance their lives. Nothing more, nothing less.

Whether you’re looking to start a brand new home-based business, or

you’re already running an adult computer tutoring service, you’ll find

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 This document is the first 14 pages of my book ”Computer Tutor – The Complete Business Handbook”
For more information please visit: www.julietlynn.com/book

helpful advice, information and inspiration within these pages. This book
will be an invaluable reference tool which will take you step by step
through everything you need to set up and run your own successful
Computer Tutoring business.

The following pages are crammed full of everything I have learnt through
personally tutoring hundreds of clients. You will find details of teaching
methods that are appropriate with adults, how to promote your services,
set your rates and a system for record keeping, and much more besides.
Everything’s here to get you off to an excellent start and beyond.

There’s some important advice too about how to develop your own skills
and how to handle the rare but tricky situation. Also included are
references to other resources that you can turn to for more information.

When I started in this business I had no formal IT qualifications and

limited teaching experience, but with a good basic knowledge of home PC
use I quickly built a profitable tutoring service which gave me the lifestyle I
wanted, and you can too. It was a steep learning curve though. I fumbled
my way through the early months, not knowing what to expect or how to
handle a surprise situation. That’s not how it will be for you though!

I’ve included everything I can think of to make starting your business a far
easier experience than I had when I started mine. And you’ll be glad to
know that the pages aren’t padded out with general advice on starting just
any business – everything’s relevant to this specific niche.

My goal is to help you to develop a sound business, based on firm

foundations which will enable you to fulfil your own personal and
professional ambitions. With confidence gained through reading the
practical advice and tips within these pages, you can be up and running
within a couple of weeks and looking forward to many years of rewarding
work helping an inspiring and interesting group of people.

So, what are we waiting for? Let’s get started!

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 This document is the first 14 pages of my book ”Computer Tutor – The Complete Business Handbook”
For more information please visit: www.julietlynn.com/book

Section One

Overview of A
Computer Tutoring Service

Here we take a look at the background of this business, the reasons

why the demand is so high and a basic outline of how this particular
business model operates.

L et’s begin by defining the basics. A computer tutoring service can

take many forms. It can provide tuition to individuals or groups of varying
sizes and ages and at any level from beginners to advanced.

It can teach a wide range of computer uses or concentrate on specific

applications such as office suites or graphic design programs. It can even
specialise in teaching a professional skill such as website design.

Teaching can take place in a specific environment such as a training

centre or an office, in the tutor’s or the client’s home or at their place of
work - and now even remotely over the internet.

My decision to operate my service in the way I do was inspired through

my work as a volunteer assistant for a beginners’ computer class held at a
local adult education college. As I had a good understanding of how to
make my home PC do what I wanted (well, most of the time anyway!),
and my aim at this stage was to take a teaching qualification for which I
needed teaching hours, this seemed like a good move.

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 This document is the first 14 pages of my book ”Computer Tutor – The Complete Business Handbook”
For more information please visit: www.julietlynn.com/book

I quickly realised that for many of the learners (whose ages ranged from
mid-thirties to mid-seventies) this was not the most appropriate learning
environment for all of them. Because many of the courses were provided
through Government funding, the learning centre needed to produce a
high level of learners who achieved a recognised qualification at the end
of each course – not something all of them wanted or needed.

Although the tutors were excellent and well-prepared, a lot of the learners
felt very frustrated due to the high numbers in the class and the wide
range of ability levels which made it difficult to give everyone the help they
needed. Some learners who had physical difficulties such as very poor
eyesight, hearing, or arthritic hands were not always getting enough
personal attention.

One class member, a lady in her seventies who had an abundance of

enthusiasm, asked me if I would help her at home on her own computer.
These personal sessions were a fantastic success and I quickly realised
that there was a huge need for this type of service that simply wasn’t
being adequately met.

That was four years ago. Since then I have fine-tuned my businesses
and will now show you how to provide…

The ideal adult computer tutoring service

• You will visit your clients in their own home

This eliminates any need for you to provide premises and pay all
the overheads entailed in doing so. Your client will feel more
comfortable in their own environment.

• You will use your client’s own equipment

It makes sense for your client to get used to their own system,
printer, internet connection, applications and so on and you can set

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 This document is the first 14 pages of my book ”Computer Tutor – The Complete Business Handbook”
For more information please visit: www.julietlynn.com/book

their computer to their own preferences. You can work with the
client’s own files and documents and not have the expense of
purchasing and maintaining equipment.

• You will teach one-to-one

This is a virtually stress-free method for both client and tutor.
You’ll be able to give individual attention to your client and the
learning process will be faster. You may occasionally be asked to
tutor a couple or two friends and this can work well too provided
their needs are the same. This is also financially rewarding for you
as it gives you the opportunity to increase your fees without
significantly increasing your working time.

• You can choose to work days, evenings or weekends

Because most of your clients will be retired, their time will usually
be very flexible and they’ll be willing to accommodate your own
working hours.

Why Does This Business Model Work?

Your timing couldn’t be better. Each year more and more households
acquire a personal computer and the number of mature users is steadily
increasing.

The following is an extract from a BBC News article published in May

2005:

“A survey of nearly 1,500 people for Telewest

Broadband found that technology, especially the net, is
helping older people find new interests. Fifty-seven percent
of over-50s in the survey said being online had introduced
them to new experiences.

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 This document is the first 14 pages of my book ”Computer Tutor – The Complete Business Handbook”
For more information please visit: www.julietlynn.com/book

"The internet can be an effective means of delivering

access to vital services and information about health,
hobbies and employment, as well as helping older people
keep in touch with friends and family and access vital public
services," commented David Sinclair, social inclusion policy
manager of charity Help the Aged. But, he said, better
education and advice was vital...

The above extract focuses on the over 50s, but there is a huge sector of
the adult population below this age that has yet to become computer
literate. Many people who are still only in their thirties did not receive
adequate IT education at school and have not acquired computer skills
through work.

As technology becomes increasingly integrated into our everyday lives, it

will become almost essential for the majority of this group to learn how to
use it. Private computer tuition will be a valuable service for many
years to come.

Good news for the Computer Tutors!

Summary

• Adults generally prefer one-to-one tuition over classroom

situations
• You don’t need to provide premises or equipment
• You can choose your own hours – daytime, evening or
weekend
• You can work full-time, part-time or for an additional income
• The demand for this service is huge!
• The demand will remain for the foreseeable future

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