3 Tips to Raise Your Rates With Confidence

There comes a time in every tutor’s business when you’re ready to raise your rates! 

This is common practice and we know it has to happen, but still, it can feel a little uncomfortable. We also know it comes with many questions around when to do it and how to best communicate the information.

Here are Three Tips to Get You on the Right Track When You are ready to Raise Your Rates:

1. When to raise your rates.

This is a question we get asked all the time. 

There are two times when it makes the most sense to raise your rates:

At the start of the new school year or new tutoring session. When a family signs up to work with you, they aren’t going to be expecting you to raise their rates mid-session. This is especially true if they’ve signed a contract with a stated rate for a school year, a set amount of sessions, or time. 

Be sure you give your current student’s families as much advanced notice as possible. If you’re planning to raise your rates at the beginning of the academic school year, think about letting current students know at the beginning of the summer. 

Clearly communicate the exact date the new rates will go into effect. This will allow for any questions beforehand and you can clarify anything needed. 

As you bring on new students. If you’re considering raising your rates and you’re bringing on a new student mid-school year or mid-session, this is a great time to institute that new rate. 

When you do this with new students mid-year, it helps to solidify your decision to raise your rates across the board at the start of the next session. 

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2. Communicate your new rates.

There are multiple ways you can communicate your new rates:

• A phone call
• In-person at pick up or drop off
• A quick Zoom chat
• An email or formal letter sent home with your student

It is also helpful to include language about rate increases in your student handbook. You don’t have to put an exact rate of increase or exact figure in your handbook, simply include a statement that prepares families for an annual increase. This way, families will know from the start that, as a business owner, your rates will go up. Then, they will be prepared when you let them know about the rate increase before the start of the next session.

3. Explain your new rates.

We often see educators who are looking to raise their rates being overly verbose in their explanations to their families. This is usually the result of a mindset issue. They feel like they need to justify their decision and back it up with lots of unnecessary information. This is a situation where you can give too much information.  

Find more mindset support by reading 3 TIPS TO SHATTER THE POISON OF PERFECTIONISM!

However, if you’re raising your rates because you’ve gotten additional certifications or completed additional training, this is a situation where you’re bringing more to the table and you do want to communicate this with your student’s families. 

Similarly, if you are raising rates because your expenses have increased, you can communicate that as well. Just remember, you do not need to go into detail.

Embrace a mindset of knowing your worth as a business owner and educator, 

Note: If you know that one or two families will struggle with your new rate, you can always have a private conversation with them and let them know that you can help them make it work.

Remember, this is a common practice across all businesses. Now, go on and raise those rates!

The decision to raise your rates and how you will communicate that decision is always a tricky one. We find that having other tutors in your corner who have been where you are makes it easier to see all sides of a situation like this. That’s why we want to invite you to join the Member’s Academy.

Check Out Our Membership Just for Tutors!

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