So, you’ve decided to leave your full-time job and set up an online teaching business. Congrats! You’ve taken the first step towards making more income and impact.
But now you might be wondering what to do next. Because you may be a great teacher, but all this business stuff is completely new to you.
Well, as a business coach for language professionals, I know what it takes to start a profitable, sustainable and enjoyable online teaching business. And that’s what I’m sharing with you today.
Ready? Grab a pen and your favourite notebook. Let’s dive in!
Is it worth starting an online teaching business?
The language education world is currently undergoing some pretty huge changes.
First, there’s the increase in online teaching platforms and AI learning tools. These are changing the way the market operates and creating more learning routes for students.
As a result, interest in the traditional classroom format is dropping, but demand for online language learning has never been higher. According to this market research company, the online language learning market is expected to be worth $54.95 billion by 2033. 🤯
So it’s clear that remote learning is the future. And I honestly believe that small, teacher-led educational brands are going to be at the heart of this. After all, many online students still crave that human connection and feeling of community that massive edtech companies can’t offer.
How can I start an online teaching business?
If you have spent most of your career working for language schools or platforms, then this business stuff is probably very new to you.
But FYI – it is not rocket science. Some of the most successful clients I’ve worked with had no business background when they started. Now they are running academies, making decent money and positively impacting their communities.
There is no reason why you cannot do the same.
So, let’s look at what steps you need to take to get started.
Here are 8 steps you should take to start your online language teaching business.
Step #1: Choose your teaching business model
One of the first mistakes I see online teachers make is setting up a social media platform before they have even considered the type of business they want to run.
Because yes – our industry has many different routes you can take.
Here’s an overview of the different online teaching business models:
Freelance teaching business
A freelance teacher is someone who works for themselves as an independent contractor. They may find their own students or they may work for schools on a freelance basis.
Like business owners, freelancers set their own rates, accept which students they want to work with and handle all the admin involved in onboarding and teaching. But they may not wish to set up a business entity or market themselves as a service provider.
Online platforms
This involves finding and teaching students through platforms like iTalki or Preply. While I would not necessarily call this a business model, it is a great option for teachers who wish to start a business without having to grow their student base from scratch or figure out how to accept payments and host lessons.
You will still need to learn about marketing, as there are literally thousands of teachers competing with you (depending on which language you teach). But it is a super convenient way to start or grow your teaching business.
Service provider/business owner
A service provider is someone who offers a service in exchange for payment. In your case, this could be live language lessons, online courses or even digital products.
This model requires you to be a lot more hands-on in your approach to marketing because you don’t typically rely on platforms or schools for work. You work on attracting it yourself.
This is the model I help my clients create because it’s the most profitable, impactful and fulfilling. (It’s also what this blog post is based on)
Membership sites/subscriptions
I don’t typically recommend starting a membership site simply because it requires TONS of work and often leads to burnout.
BUT! It is still an option you may wish to consider if you have identified a clear gap in the market and have the resources to invest to make it work.
Language academy model
This is where you create your own language school that employs other teachers. Whether that’s an online academy or a brick and mortar school.
It’s unlikely that you are starting your journey at this stage. But it may be a long-term goal, so it’s worth keeping in mind as you work through this post.
Influencer teacher model
I don’t know many teachers who start their online teaching business with the goal of becoming an influencer. But it is another option you may want to consider.
This is basically where you grow an audience of several thousand people (usually on social media) and build an online business through selling various offers to students and accepting sponsorship opportunities from companies.
This model involves a lot of work (and often pressure) as you need to create so much high-quality content to keep your audience engaged.
Which teaching business model is right for you?
There is no right or wrong answer to this question because everyone is different. But I encourage you to think carefully about this before you move to the next step.
You should consider:
Your current situation
How much time do you have to dedicate to your business? Would you prefer the stability of a couple of big freelance clients? Or are you in a position to start attracting your own work?
Your goals
Many of the service providers I work with have big ambitions to make waves in their niches. Do you want to make a mark? Do you dream of creating your own online courses? Or do you simply want to create a decent income for you and your family? (which is a totally valid goal)
Your target market and teaching style
Whichever model you choose, someone needs to buy from you to make it viable. So, think about WHAT these people want. For example, if you teach introverts to feel confident with speaking, small, intimate lessons may be better than sharing pre-recorded content.
⚡ Related: How to Choose the Best Language Teaching Business Model for You
Step #2: Decide who you want to work with
Whether you want to be a service provider or a freelance teacher, if you are doing any kind of marketing, you CANNOT skip this step.
That’s because the online language learning market is competitive. And if you are speaking to a general audience, you will struggle to stand out.
It may seem counterintuitive to narrow down your potential students this early on, but I promise that this will help you grow your business faster.
That’s because niching down allows you to:
- Create a course with a tangible goal
- Be super specific with your messaging
- Come up with more content ideas (that are better than generic language learning tips)
- Grow your business quicker
Here are some examples of great language teaching niches:
My client Olivia is an engineer turned English teacher who runs super specific courses especially for engineers. Her clients LOVE her services because she completely understands what they need.
And Elisabetta is an Italian teacher who also speaks fluent German and lives in Germany. She helps German people prepare for their trips or retirement in Italy with beginner language courses. (How cool is that, by the way?)
Since starting my business, I’ve worked with over 300 language teachers, and no two of them are the same.
So, I guarantee that you have a unique set of skills that lend themselves PERFECTLY to a specific audience.
Find your niche by asking yourself these questions:
- Who have you worked with in the past?
- Who are your current students?
- Who would you love to work with?
- Who aligns best with your passions?
- Who needs your help?
⚡ Related: How to find your perfect teaching niche
Step #3: Create an online teaching business plan
Ok, I know this sounds super serious. But don’t worry. You don’t need a 300-page document detailing every single stage of a five year business plan.
The goal of this is just to make sure you have a clear roadmap for starting your online teaching business.
Research your audience
Ok, so it’s not enough to simply choose a target audience. You also need to figure out if there is actually any demand for your services in this market.
You can do that by:
- Searching online for competitors (competition isn’t a bad thing – it shows there is demand)
- Reading online forums to see what people need
- Sending out a survey to your ideal students
- Inviting your ideal students to talk to you on an interview
The information you gather at this stage will be crucial for helping you plan your offer, write your copy and create your content.
Set your goals
It’s important to understand WHY you’re setting up a teaching business and where you want it to take you. So, start by listing your short and long-term ambitions.
For example, a short-term goal may be to find enough students to quit your full-time teaching job. A long-term goal might be to replace (or exceed) your teaching salary.
Don’t hold back here. It’s your business. Allow yourself to dream big!
Plan how you’ll get there
Trying to reach a goal with no plan is like trying to drive somewhere without a map. So, next, think about what tangible steps you will take to reach these goals.
For the short-term goal I mentioned above, that could potentially be to open a small 1:1 course that costs £450 per person, and sell five spaces through social media and networking.
For your long-term goal, that may be to join a business coaching programme to help you turn your 1:1 offer into a scalable group programme that you launch several times per year.
If you can break these goals down into smaller steps, it will be less overwhelming to reach them.
Step #4: Create your offer
If you’re serious about running a profitable teaching business, you need to start thinking like an entrepreneur and not a freelancer.
That means no longer offering one-off or pay-as-you-go classes and no longer charging an hourly rate. Instead? Look at creating course packages.
Whether you bundle them by hours, weeks or months, charging in blocks gives you a more stable income and your students a more structured learning path.
Define your course outcome
Far too many language courses are still built around the CEFR learning scale. You know – an A2 French course. Or a B2 conversation class. This is not unique, interesting or compelling for your students.
These days, students want more than a certain level. They want tangible results, and they want them FAST. So, think about how you can best help them reach the goal you identified in your market research.
Decide how long it will be
Gone are the days of running language courses that run for entire terms or even years.
Nowadays, it’s about breaking entire language levels down into smaller goals that students can achieve in a shorter time frame.
That could be six weeks. It could be three months. Whatever you decide, make sure it aligns with their lifestyle and desires.
Set the price of your offer
I bet you’re wondering how on earth to price your offer now, right? Good question.
I obviously can’t tell you what to charge in a blog post before we’ve even met. But here are a few things to consider:
- Your teaching experience
- Your qualifications
- Your target students
- Your location
- Your course duration
One thing I will say is this: whatever you think you should charge, add 20% on (at least). You are probably massively underselling yourself. 😉
⚡ Related: 6 Clever Ways to Make More Money in your Teaching Business
Step #5: Create a marketing strategy
Now you know your goals and how you will reach them, it’s time to plot the EXACT route you will take to get there. AKA – your marketing plan.
Marketing is one of the scariest things about starting an online teaching business. But it’s easier than it sounds!
My advice? Start small, experiment and keep on taking action.
Here are the things I recommend focusing on.
Choosing your marketing channels
Your student research should have given you an idea of where your target audience is hanging out. THIS is where you want to be marketing your offers.
Don’t just create an Instagram page or a TikTok account because they’re popular. It’s no good wasting time creating content for a platform that your ideal students aren’t on.
Build an online presence on one or two channels before you expand to any more. You can absolutely run a profitable teaching business with just a handful of marketing channels.
Once you’ve chosen your platforms, create accounts and start following people in your niche and people who post content that will help you in your entrepreneurial journey.
Hint: you can find me on Instagram here. 😉
Create a content plan
If you think content is just random language tips or ‘word of the day’ posts – think twice.
These kinds of posts may attract tons of likes on the profiles you follow, but that doesn’t mean those creators are making ANY money from them. In fact, they usually mostly attract learners who will never pay for lessons.
The best types of content is content that is specific to your ideal students. It should answer their biggest questions about what you teach and offer practical tips to overcome them.
Crucially, it should always be linked to your offer, so they know you are not just there to provide free language advice.
I wrote a whole article about creating a content plan, which you may find useful.
Start an email list
Many online teaching business coaches will tell you to create a website very early in your journey. This is BS.
A website will literally serve you no purpose when you first start your teaching business. Because it takes time to truly figure out your positioning, craft your offers and build your audience.
You are much better off investing your energy into starting a newsletter. Because email marketing is proven to be one of the most lucrative marketing channels. And it doesn’t necessarily cost anything to set up if you use a platform like Mailerlite.
Step #6: Decide what you’ll invest in
Brace yourself! When you enter the online teaching business world, you’ll find tons of people trying to sell you services to help you get started.
YES, many of these courses and products are useful. But NO, you don’t have to buy them all – especially at the start.
The first six to twelve months are about building the foundations of your business, which means making investments in essential tools that will drive your business forward right now.
Your priorities should be things like:
- A contract that protects you and your students
- A platform where you can host your online lessons (like Zoom)
- An invoicing system that makes you look super professional
- An email platform that sends lesson and payment reminders to students
- A design tool like Canva to make fancy lesson materials (but the free version is also great)
- A business coaching program to guide you in the right direction (like my course, the Rocket Accelerator – perfect if you are ready to start a group course)
Should you invest in another teaching qualification?
This is a question a lot of teachers ask me. They wonder if THIS is the missing ingredient that will help them stand out. But honestly, if you already have qualifications and experience, you probably don’t need another one.
⚡ Related: Is a DELTA Qualification Worth it for Freelance Teachers?
Step #7: Plan your processes
I hate to break it to you, but more goes into running a profitable online teaching business than finding students on Instagram and teaching them over Skype.
Three of your top priorities as a business owner should be to protect yourself, your time and your income.
How? Let me explain…
Create contracts
If you take one thing away from this post, make it this! Contracts are SO important in your business because they protect you from losing money, dealing with red flag students, and, in extreme cases, legal action.
Automate bookings
Why waste time arranging lessons with every student when tools like Calendly can do it for you? These allow your clients to see your availability and book slots directly, which will save you sooo much time and energy.
Choose a payment processor
PayPal, Stripe, Square – there are tons of trusted payment processors to choose from. Figure out which one works best for you and your clients, depending on where you and they are based.
Decide your sales process
Will you offer a free call to new leads before they decide to sign up? You don’t HAVE to, but it’s effective when you’re still building your reputation and don’t have much social proof.
Step #8: Plan time for your business
The last thing you need to think about as you set up your online teaching business is your schedule.
What do I mean by that? Well, to create sustainable growth, you’ll need to work ON and IN your business.
Working ON your business means anything you do to move it forward – like posting on social media, creating new offers, hosting events, etc.
Working IN your business, on the other hand, means planning, teaching and serving your clients.
It’s easy to get stuck on the hamster wheel of online classes when you’re busy, so reserve some time each week to market your business so your leads don’t dry up!
Common mistakes to avoid when starting your teaching business:
- Lacking a clear niche or target audience
- Not prioritising marketing
- Underpricing your services
- Not setting yourself goals
- Giving up on new ideas too soon
What next?
I could talk for hours about starting a profitable online teaching business, but I think you’ve got enough to keep you busy for now.
But if you are wondering what comes next, then download your free copy of the Successful Language Business Handbook to see what your entire journey may look like.
To your success, teacher!