Episode Transcription

40: To Specialise or Not: Choosing the Right Focus for Your Tutoring Business

0:00:03 - (Kirsty): Should I just specialize in one subject area for my tutoring business? It's something that I get asked all the time and I really, really do believe that it is a vital question and decision that you need to ask yourself and make because it significantly impacts the shape of your business and how effective your marketing can be. When considering whether to specialize or diversify in your tutoring business, there are several factors to consider.

0:00:38 - (Kirsty): I am going to go through them today and then I'm going to share at the very end what I believe is most effective and the clients that I've had where they've had most success. So firstly, we want to understand specialization. You'll also hear me talking about this as niching down or using your superpowers, but basically it means focusing on one subject area or a specific set of skills that you have.

0:01:09 - (Kirsty): So for example, it might be that you are really passionate about math and that's what you focus on in your tutoring business. Or maybe school readiness is your area of expertise. It's where all of your heart and soul and energy wants to go and that is what becomes your specialization. There are quite a few benefits of niching down or having a specialization. So the first one is that you create this expert status.

0:01:41 - (Kirsty): So by focusing on one area, you become recognized as either more of an expert or an expert in that field which can actually attract students who are seeking the best guidance available. And I've used this example before. It's like when you've got tummy pains and you go to the doctor, if it's ongoing and you go to the GP, they're going to probably do very general tests and it might take you, you might get the answers and you might get the support that you need, but it's going to take longer.

0:02:22 - (Kirsty): Then if you go to a specialist who works with IBD patients, a gastro, for example, gastroenterologist is going to get you results a lot quicker because they work with patients like you and symptoms like yours day in, day out, and this is their thing. All right? So by niching down, by having a specialization in your business, you are becoming the specialist for your families. So if you've got a business that focuses specifically on literacy or teaching reading and you've got families out there who are looking for support for their child to help them learn to read or improve their reading, then they are going to choose you over just a general tutor.

0:03:15 - (Kirsty): This leads on to targeted marketing. That's another benefit. When we niche down, it's easier for you to market your services when you have a clear specialty, so your marketing efforts can be more focused and your messaging can be tailored to specific, to a specific audience. So often, and this is, I'm probably going to give a bit of a clue away as to where I sit in this matter, but often people come in and they think I've just got to do everything.

0:03:46 - (Kirsty): I've got to do all of the things. I've got to throw this big wide net and try and get, you know, offer as many different services as I can because then I'm available to more families. The problem is when you are too broad, you don't actually get anybody's attention. If you are just focusing on reading, if everything you do on your website is about reading, if everything you do on your socials is about reading, if everything that you're putting out there is about reading and, you know, showing your expertise, showing what you can do to help, showing the impact that you can make, talking about the services that you offer and connecting with parents on a level that shows your compassion and your understanding for their situation and their child s situation, they are going to be drawn to you.

0:04:35 - (Kirsty): That means your marketing is easier and it's also more effective. The third benefit, and I mean there are plenty more, but I'm only talking about three today, is you can streamline your resources. So having that specialty means that you just are concentrating on one thing, which means one lot of resources, one lot of PD, one lot of planning and less money invested. The number of times I talk to people, and this is definitely a teacher thing, we just continue to do more and more and more PD's and collect and buy more and more and more resources.

0:05:19 - (Kirsty): Stop. Okay, I do need to do a podcast about that, but please stop and know that what you've got already is enough. Know that the knowledge that you have already is enough. And bringing this back to niching down, if you've got that niche area, whether it's age grouped subject areas, an approach that you use, that means you're just focusing the resources around that particular specialization. Now, I did want to talk about the challenges because people bring these up.

0:05:57 - (Kirsty): So these are a couple of the challenges that people will say, but what about this? So the first one is a limited client base. So people will say your potential market might be narrower, so smaller, and that could be a draw card, a drawback, and especially if you're in a smaller community or if your subject is a niche one. So one example of this might be if you teach a language. Okay, now there are all sorts of ways that you can still have your niche, even if it is small, and be successful and get into a larger market.

0:06:37 - (Kirsty): And if that's something that you want help with, please get in touch. But you need to think outside of the box. If you've got a smaller niche, then just promoting your business in the same way that everybody else does might not actually be as effective as it needs to be. So think how else you can get out there. What other communities can you get in front of? What are the modes or mediums can you be delivering your sessions via?

0:07:07 - (Kirsty): Are there different sorts of resources or products that you could be using to upsell? Just because you've got a small niche, I believe, does not mean that you can't still be successful. Now that people are also, like I just mentioned saying or feeling that it, it could mean that we've got a smaller market. And like I said, if you've got something like a language, yes, potentially. But if you're doing reading and spelling, it's a huge market.

0:07:41 - (Kirsty): If you're doing maths, it's a huge market. If you're doing high school science, it's a huge market. There are so many families from all over your suburb, your state, your country, even internationally, you know, there are people in Australia who are tutoring families in the UK and vice versa. So the honnd, I guess, is as big as you're willing to allow it to go just because you've niched down. There are still so many families that are out there looking for your expertise.

0:08:21 - (Kirsty): So I am going to say that, yes, people think that the market might be narrower and they think it might be harder and in some cases it may be a little more challenging. Like I said, if you've got a, if you are specializing in teaching a language, for example, that is one that does stand out as a narrower market. However, there are so many things you can do to get that pond bigger. Now, the cases, or I guess the positives for diversifying.

0:08:56 - (Kirsty): So by diversifying, I mean offering multiple subjects in broad skill areas, this could mean maybe, you know, English and science or literacy and science. Or it might mean covering primary school subjects across the board. Some of the benefits that people talk about are the broader market appeal, which is obviously the opposite to what we were just saying. Then this is the theory that you can appeal to a wider audience, which can be particularly beneficial in areas with fewer students.

0:09:29 - (Kirsty): That's probably going to be true if you are only, for example, doing face to face and you are in, you know, a community where you might be rural or something like that, where there are fewer students, that is potentially when you might find that by offering more than one subject, it is helpful. However, like I said, if you've got a niche, something that you are specialized in, people will travel to you and you can offer your services online.

0:10:11 - (Kirsty): You can diversify the way that you deliver the tutoring that you already are doing. Other benefits, I guess, that you could potentially look at with divers. Fine. Is that more subjects can mean more students and potentially more income. However, I don't necessarily agree with this because of all of the reasons that I've stated already. When you are positioning yourself as that expert, you attract people who are specifically looking for what you're looking for.

0:10:53 - (Kirsty): So I'll use the example before my child is struggling with reading. I've just had a meeting with the, the teacher. The report cards come out. It's really something that she needs to work on. What sort of tutor am I going to be looking for? Am I going to be looking for a tutor who does all primary school or am I going to be looking for someone who specializes in reading? What would you be looking for?

0:11:23 - (Kirsty): You'd be looking for somebody who specializes, right? Because we want the best and your parents want the best. Another example might be my child is in high school and they're doing in high school maths. Am I going to choose the teacher who is high school trained and specialized or am I going to choose the general maths tutor? Now this isn't anything against your abilities. You may very well be able to do from prep to grade twelve in maths. And that's impressive and unique.

0:12:03 - (Kirsty): But especially to begin with, choose a niche to narrow down to so that as a parent you're telling me exactly who you are and what it is that my child is going to get from you. Because when you're too broad, when you're saying, well, I can teach prep to grade twelve, I start to think how well, how well can you teach prep to grade twelve? I might start to doubt the validity and your honesty. And I might start to think that maybe you are saying things that aren't, you know, you aren't actually capable of.

0:12:45 - (Kirsty): Because let's face it, there are not a lot of people who can successfully and effectively teach preps n grade twelve's maths. It doesn't mean that you don't know how to do the maths. It means that you might not know how to teach them effectively. So if I've got that high school student and I am looking for a maths tutor, I am going to be looking for high school math tutors. And when I find the high school math tutor versus the prep to grade twelve math tutor, I personally am going to be going for the high school tutor because not only are they going to know much more or I feel they will know much more about the content that's being taught because how can you possibly know all of the content from to grade twelve across the whole curriculum is forever changing.

0:13:38 - (Kirsty): But I feel like they're going to get my kid because they're in high school and they, if they're specializing in high school then I'm going to make the assumption that they are dealing with high school kids all the time. So yes, there is this idea that you can have increased income opportunities. However, from the experience that I've had and working with hundreds of ladies over the years, those who niche down, especially in the beginning, always seem to get quicker and more effective momentum in their business, which means more growth.

0:14:18 - (Kirsty): They become the go to people in their area for that subject or for that age group or for that teaching approach or that style. Even using sounds right, for example, if somebody is trained and sounds right and that's a thing that they promote, that spreads like wildfire amongst the families, amongst the spechies, that that is a specialization that you have. So don't be afraid to figure out what is your superpower.

0:14:54 - (Kirsty): It could be a subject, like I said, it could be a couple of subjects, it could be a year level, it could be an approach, it could be a program that you run and use that especially to begin with, to niche down and really focus in on who you work with, how you work with them and what that transformation is because you will make more of an impact, you will attract the right people, it will make your marketing easier and you are going to stand out as the expert in your area for that niche.

0:15:34 - (Kirsty): Now I do have ladies often say to me, you know, my business has been going for a few years and I'm teaching reading and spelling. But such and such, their mum asked me if I could do maths. I hate maths. Don't do maths right? If you hate it, please don't do it. You're here creating a business so that you've got the flexibility and freedom. You don't have to do something if you don't like it. Other options that you have are bringing somebody else in to do that or collaborating with somebody who has a maths business and setting up some sort of affiliate agreement where you are getting commission for sending people their way and vice versa.

0:16:24 - (Kirsty): But more often than not, when that happens and you've got your specific niche and somebody your parent says, oh, can we do some maths as well? If you don't feel comfortable or if you don't want to do that, bringing a staff member on who specializes in that area is usually the easiest way to manage that. That then means that, yes, you have got that as a service, but it's not your big focus. That's not what you specialize in.

0:16:54 - (Kirsty): You probably won't even do a lot of promotion on it until you've got a really solid base within the market and within your area so that people know who you are and now they can see this is another thing that you offer as well. All right, so I making your decision clearly, I have told you exactly how, how I feel and what I think about this. But you need to think about your area, okay? You need to think about your experience.

0:17:29 - (Kirsty): What do students in your area want that you can offer them? Are there certain subjects that maybe are underserved that you love or you are passionate about? Are there programs that you are trained in? For example, speech therapy on the gold coast is nearly impossible to book into. So if you are a tutor trained in something like sounds right, then you are highly sought after because people can't get that support that they need from speeches who will potentially be using sounds right.

0:18:09 - (Kirsty): So you are the person that they can come to. And it's not one of the hundreds of things you offer. It's maybe one of the three or two programs or approaches that you run with. So when, again, when you're just focusing on those one or two programs and approaches all the time, I can assume as a parent that you must be pretty bloody good at that because you're doing it all of the time and that's all you do.

0:18:37 - (Kirsty): Whereas if you tell me that you've got, you know, sounds right and this and this and this and you rattle off ten things, I'm a little confused how you aren't getting confused, but also how are you staying on top of all of these programs and approaches and you know what I mean? So figure out what your passion is, what you are an expert at. That is your superpower, okay? The age of the kids as well, all of that rolled in. That becomes your superpower and your niche.

0:19:10 - (Kirsty): And like I said, down the track, if you want to pivot, if you want to bring something else in, go for it. But don't ever feel that you need to be tutoring in an area that you don't feel comfortable with. Or that you just don't want to do. Focus on your superpower and grow that first. Then if other opportunities come up down the track, then you can start to look into those. Hopefully that has helped you.

0:19:37 - (Kirsty): There is no one size fits all answer to anything that we talk about. However, from all of the research that I've done that work with my clients, myself included, this is what I'found most effective. If you have got a tutoring business and you are maybe struggling with this, maybe you're struggling with pricing, maybe you're struggling with boundaries or having a business that is actually making a profit.

0:20:10 - (Kirsty): Then on the 21st, 22nd and 23 may I'm running a free mini course. In this mini course, I'm going to share with you a framework that can help you to move your business forward from where it is now so that you are creating more profits and that you have more flexibility and freedom in your business. I will put the link in the show notes or you can go to www.kirstaggib.com minicurse and sign up there. It is completely free.

0:20:44 - (Kirsty): You'll have time to ask questions at the end of each session, so there's going to be heaps of value for you just within that. But I highly recommend if you've got a tutoring business and you just are feeling a bit stuck, you just aren't sure where to go next and you really want to assess where your business is at and what you can do differently. Then jump on over register, get booked in, block those dates out in your calendar, turn up live, ask the questions and make the most of this opportunity.

0:21:23 - (Kirsty): Enjoy the rest of your day and hopefully I will see you live in that min course.