February 2012 I attended my first lesson. It was nearly my last, but I put my fears behind me, smiled and went for it regardless...

A lot happens in over 14 years, but the incidents you remember most are the one where the family is at the centre of it, not the resources or the formal "stuff" but the people who make tutoring such a privilege.

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Flying Folders

In many, many respects I am incredibly disorganised. One of the habits I have tried to get into over the years is to attach paper into folders rather than just laying it in.

One morning I pulled up at a farm. It's beautiful. You can see for miles across the fields.

That morning was quite blustery and as I opened the boot one of the folders blew open scattering the paper inside everywhere!

The mum and the brother frantically ran through the crops trying to rescue everything for me, whilst the daughter and I scurried around the car trying to capture the multiple bits of paper that had made a bid for freedom...

I felt awful. In my mind they would probably never want me to go back again. Yet I still work with the daughter, I also work with the niece and they have recommended me to countless others.

Open-Toed Sandals

I used to go to a family who had cream carpets in the dining room where we worked, so I always insisted on taking my shoes off. The mum would say not to worry, but I felt bad walking on their light coloured carpets in outdoor shoes, especially in the winter.

One evening when I arrived the mum was at work. She was a paramedic and often on shift. I took my shoes off and left them by the front door.

Half way into the lesson the younger daughter came in and asked to talk to the sister I was working with.

A moment or two later they both reappeared.

With my shoe.

My shoe was no longer a "Doc-Martin" style of shoe. Now it was an open-toed sandal.

They had a beautiful, very playful puppy who loved shoes. (This was the reason the mum had always said to keep my shoes on). He'd found my shoe and redesigned it...

It was purely my fault. The mum had warned me. And to be honest, the dog was so beautiful you couldn't be cross with it, even if you'd wanted to be...

Marketing That Changed Everything

When I first started tutoring I used to have magnets on the side of my car. Nothing fancy, literally just 1:1 tutor that comes to you and the phone number. It might have been phrased slightly differently but that was the principle.

One night whilst I was working with someone, the mum popped her head around the door and said friends were there and she was heading out to dinner with them. The dad was in the other room if needed.

I wished her a good evening and thought nothing more of it.

The next day, both those friends phoned to ask if I could support their children. They'd seen the magnets on the side of the car and it/I had become the topic of conversation.

I did support both their sons' and years later I still have links with one of the families. In fact, one of those friends has recommended me to many, many people over the years.

Those magnets, which I was told made me look like a taxi driver, have earned me thousands over the years. I took them off a while a go because I struggle to keep up with demand, even though there is a team of us working in the local town now.

When I look back over the past 14 and a half years, it's funny what stands out.

It's not necessarily the big business decisions or the things I spent hours worrying about.

Sometimes it's the little moments.

A folder blowing across a field. A dog eating my shoe. Or two magnets on the side of my car that happened to be seen by the right people at the right time.

And that last story, in particular, reminds me of something I think is really important.

We can spend so much time wondering how we're going to grow our businesses, thinking we need to do something bigger, better or more complicated.

But sometimes it's a very small action that makes the biggest difference.

And that's one of the things I want to bring into our new Tutor Support Membership.

Each month, will focus on a different aspect of building your tutoring business with tasks for you to take away and implement if you choose to. There will also be a community of like-minded people that we can share our ideas, challenges, successes with so that we can grow and learn from each other.

If you are interested, you can learn more here: Join our franchise and build a flexible tutoring business