Yes, we do! As a matter of fact, I have worked hard this year to create a community for both myself and the people who follow me, but I also am building my own network of reliable tutors that I can feel confident working with. How? Well that story follows the timeline of my journey as a tutor. If you are interested, keep reading! It is quite a story!
In 2022, I made the decision to leave the physical space of my classroom. I have to tell you that I was terrified. It was all I ever knew. I had visited with several people about possible jobs, but nothing really called to me. I had been teaching in the classroom for 32 years, I had added online tutoring in the evenings, and I really enjoyed doing that.
I had trained myself with the Google tools by taking both of the Google for Education courses and passed both of them and I loved that! So, I was really wondering what my future was going to look like.
I knew that I was really going to miss the kids, but I just didn’t want to be in charge of a full classroom for 8 hours a day anymore. I really needed a reset. So, I did some research and found Joanne Kaminski. She is an online reading teacher, and I did a binge watch of her online YouTube channel and as I listened, I really thought, “Hey, if Joanne can do this, I can too!” With that decision in mind, I continued to do research to figure out what tutoring was going to look like as I moved forward.
I finished my year with the online company that I was working with for the last two years. They were really good about providing me with students, I now understood how I could support my learners online, I had a lot of confidence and understanding of the Google tools and how I could use them to create my own community. I jumped off the high dive and was hoping it would hurt when I hit the water.
Well, it kind of stung when I hit the water. It wasn’t that I wasn’t doing things right. I just needed more structure. When I found out that Joanne Kaminski had written a book for tutors to build an online business, I ordered it and devoured it in a day. I was so glad I read it because it confirmed that I was doing things right, but that I probably could improve on some things. So I concentrated on those things and found my business intelligence was growing.
I also joined JoAnne’s Facebook community and that is where I learned about Esmy Lozano. I began to follow her because she was speaking about Instagram and how to get students by using this platform. I really wanted to learn more. I had already learned all about the teaching tools, I knew how to teach, I knew how to structure my business, now I needed to grow my presence. So, I hired Esmy as my coach and she helped me realize that I needed to grow my presence and she showed me how. I still need to do a better job of building my brand, but I do think that I learned a lot about stories and how to create Reels to share with others.
I then thought about TikTok and if I even wanted to use this platform. I jumped again, and even though I don’t like what some of the content others put on this platform looks like, I do know that I am putting out things I want to share with others. So, I began to post on both Instagram and TikTok and it is finally producing returns. I am growing my presence on both platforms, my Facebook Tutoring with Sheryl page at Midwesttutor.com is growing as well.
I have been able to get another new student and am loving working with her as well. We meet twice a week online and she is another bright star in my week! I had built trust with my student’s mother and she was ready to move forward with me. I felt so humbled and honored, especially because her mother is a teacher. It is such an honor when another educator hires you to work with their child.
If you are new to the tutoring world, don’t worry about getting students. It will happen. It isn’t as fast as it is if you work for an online company or a company you actually work at in person. But, you can grow your presence. You can build trust. I continue to work on my professional relationships and I delighted to have talked with other professionals and continue to learn from them as well.
I have learned that you need to show others what you do so they know more about you. My goal in 2023 is to host two summer camps online, and to continue to grow my online tutoring. I still love to travel to the homes of my current students, but I also love to work online. They are alike and different at the same time. If you haven’t read my post on my comparison between the two of them, you can check it out here!
Most of my online information is centered around math and how we can support our kids on their math journey. I specifically focus on elementary-aged kids in grades K-6. I do offer support in other areas as well when parents ask, but I really focus on math. I think that math is its own language, and helping kids understand it is something that I find challenging, and I enjoy supporting them. It is such a joy to see them light up when they get a concept that had been a puzzle to them, and now they can understand it and they are finding success in their classroom.
Be sure to go back and check out the links in this post. If you are ready to have your child work with me, I would be very humbled! Just click on this link and fill out my very short form. I will get in touch with you and we can do a free assessment or consultation to see what your child’s needs are.
Have a great time celebrating the holidays with your family and friends! I hope it is wonderful. If you are looking for some fun activities you can do with your kids and family by going to my resource page and printing out some freebies! If you are seeking some items to support your child in math, be sure to visit my Etsy shop. You may find something there as well.
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Tutoring with Sheryl 