Ms. Meldrum, a certified teacher, owns a tutoring business along with this site. Her passion is assisting tutors to succeed in this educational endeavor. She has gathered her wealth of ideas in an E-Book, The Novice Tutor, a cornucopia of material for teachers, tutors and stay-at-home curriculum developers.
When my now adult children were still toddling around the
house, I wanted to earn some money to help alleviate my husband’s and my
expenses. Not ready to return to the classroom-full or part time- I thought, “Well
this is a no-brainer. I have my Secondary
English teaching degree, so I’ll tutor.” Since this was pre-Internet, pre-every-tech-thing,
and pre-The Novice Tutor, Ms.
Adrianne Meldrum’s very informational
e-book, my
tutoring scheme crashed and burned.
Knowledgeable about teaching but clueless about business, I
created some flyers on my Underwood-Olivetti typewriter and pinned them up in
local businesses and schools. Then I made a few phone calls to principals,
colleagues and friends. Nothing happened, so I deferred that dream.
Today, if I did that, Ms. Meldrum would quote from page 7 of
her book that details the five qualities that successful tutors possess. Her first suggestion comes under her sub-topic Patience.
After speaking of the need for this attribute when dealing with children and
adults, she refers to the necessity of it in the business world when she says,
“Running a business takes patience, too. Remember the tortoise and the hare?
Slow and steady wins the race!”
Patience is
essential to absolutely any aspect of life, but is crucial when starting and
building a business. The author adds a
quartet of virtues, Kind but Firm, Knowledgeable, Being a Life-Long Learner and Self-Starter
to her Patience Foundation that together
will turn any entrepreneur into a savvy and successful business person.
Meldrum advises fledgling tutors to start with what they
know. Since she has an elementary school
degree, when she first began her venture, she chose her strong point-math.
She did not stop with that subject, though. Here, and throughout this detailed
book, she urges her readers to challenge themselves, like she did- by studying
other academic areas to add to their tutoring repertoires. On page 11, she
offers an extensive tutoring list by subject area and charges readers to, “Be
willing to go out of your comfort zone. You might just surprise yourself and
discover a new passion!”
This successful tutor and business owner’s passion for this
field is apparent on every one of the 44 pages in this book. Even when she is discussing dry business
topics such as How Much Do I Charge
with the subtopics: Experience, Location, Don’t Undervalue and Raising
Rates (pages 12-14), and Where Do I
Advertise (pages 14-15) her energetic, optimistic tone engages readers.
She allays new tutors’ fears concerning: The Phone is Ringing! What do I ask Parents?, and I Have a Student, Now What? with details
regarding listening, asking, and diplomacy. In these sections she addresses dealing with parents who share their children’s needs as well as their complaints
about teachers and developing lessons. Under the last topic, What About the Next Session?, she urges
instructors to think outside of the box because students who need extra instruction have probably turned off their learning
channels, which now need jump-started into action.
The segment How Do I
Grow My Business? introduces what she calls, The Force, or Social Media. She offers worthwhile suggestions for
using Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to build name and business recognition. Posting
business-related cartoons, funny and inspirational quotes, and showcasing any
services in the top row of Pinterest boards are noteworthy and crucial to any
business. Most importantly, she details the value of creating a website.
“Whether you like it or not, business is done online these days,” she states on
page 22. Her links on how to create, build and maintain a site are vital to a
novice tutor, or any neophyte business person.
Another section that shows Ms. Meldrum’s respect and
understanding for those starting a business is Tutor Resources. What a fount of advice! After speaking about how
beginning tutors are probably, “…strapped for cash” on page 23, she offers
nine invaluable resources : Public Libraries, Garage Sales, Dollar Stores,
Tutor Libraries, Amazon, Teachers pay Teachers, Educents, Pinterest Boards and My Shop. This last one explains what goodies tutors
can find on Meldrum's site, http://thetutorhouse.blogspot.com/p/shop.html,
and in her Teachers pay Teachers store, http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Tutor-House.
The last 16 pages before one with directions on accessing a
private, Just for Tutors Facebook Group and About Me page-both with even more important links for tutors-are where Ms.
Meldrum shares some engaging games sure
to break the ice with nervous, and often defensive, students. The Would
You Rather… task cards are a sure winner with topics like, “Would you
rather be a giant hamster or a tiny rhino,” and “Would you rather get first
dibs or the last laugh?”.
Adrianne Meldrum titles her e-book, The Novice Tutor because she feels that every day is a chance to
learn something new. With such a
priceless and positive attitude, every reader can rest assured that she is
absolutely no novice at tutoring and
building a tutoring business.
If you have always dreamed about starting your own tutoring
business but don’t know the first steps to success, download The Novice Tutor: Answers to Your Questions
About Running a Successful Tutor Business from http://TheNoviceTutor.com. Before you open this book, be sure to sharpen your pencils. After
reading Ms. Meldrum’s advice, you will be able to count on the fact that your
students will gain academic confidence, their parents will be satisfied
customers and you will be on your way to a successful venture.
Happy Teaching,
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