Setting Healthy Boundaries When You Run a Tutoring Business

Now that we’re into the start of the new school year, it seems like the perfect time to tackle one of those important topics for us tutors and educators. What is that, you ask? Tutoring business boundaries! Specifically, why do we need to start off the school year with healthy boundaries, and what are the most important areas we should set boundaries around?

Why is it so important, when you run your own tutoring business, to set healthy boundaries? Because setting and protecting boundaries keep us from burnout!

Here are our top 3 areas you need to set and enforce healthy tutoring business boundaries when you run a tutoring business.

Honoring Your Time

We know, we all want to be flexible. We all want to help families. We all have hearts to serve. But it is so important that, right from the beginning, we set clear expectations with prospective families about what our schedules look like. This is true, too, for existing families who are returning to you.

Let them know upfront that you don’t have unlimited availability. And that is okay! You have your own life, too. Let them know specific information about when and how you are available to communicate and how long it might take you to respond.

It’s so important to really honor your time. Setting boundaries around your time is probably the most important thing you’ll need to protect as a tutor and educator.

Enforcing Your Policies

You worked hard to set up your clear policies around cancellations, late arrivals, and when payments are due. But then you start to get families running late, or missing sessions, or late payments.

What do you do?

This is the time when you need to enforce those policies and boundaries that you’ve already set. They’re good, not bad. So, be sure that you are enforcing those in a polite and calm way. If a student misses, you already have a policy in place for how you’ll proceed. If you have a late payment, you already have a policy in place for how you’ll proceed. These already-established policies make your path forward clear. Don’t be afraid to stick to them.

Embrace being the C.E.O. of your own tutoring businesses! Check out the Be the CEO of Your Business Training in our Members Academy!

Finding time for yourself

Even just if in small, small bits -find time for yourself. And once you’ve found time for yourself, be protective of that time.

What does that mean to be protective of your time?

You don’t have to be a fierce defender of that time. The reality is there’s a lot going on. There’s a lot competing for our attention and our time. But at the end of the day, time with your family and downtime to rest and relax your brain are so important to protect your mental and emotional health, as well as the health of your family.

So, even though this is a busy time of year, find time and ways in your schedule where you say, “No. This is my time for me and my family.” Start being protective of that now so you can build that muscle and it will be easier to protect that time as the school year goes on.

This post on how to keep your tutoring business small can also help.

Take care of yourself

Let’s just take care of each other. If you’re having a hard time with any of these things, reach out to us or another close educator friend. Don’t forget, we have each other through all of this!

Another important part of running your tutoring business is keeping up with your business tasks and projects!

Check out our Tutor Business Planning Bundle here.