I love seeing TutorSource at work. I get to sit back on my computer and watch the messages from clients come in and see all the tutors sending their responses. Eventually, the messages change color when a client hires a tutor. A match has been made. Tutoring can begin.

Sometimes, though, it doesn’t always work that smoothly. People have questions: is the site safe? Who are these people I’m speaking with? What if I don’t like my tutor?

A big part of my role here is to address questions like these. Yes, we are a real company (I love this one). Yes, our tutors have all had background checks. Yes, that professional tutor really only charges $45/hr. No, there aren’t any more fees at checkout.

What most people don’t realize is that most professional tutors only get paid $25-$45/hr at tutoring agencies. You only pay more there because you have to pay for buildings, staff, textbooks, and salesmen. Why pay $50-$150/hr for buildings and books? You have a home, you have your books from class, and your staff is right in front of you. For most tutors, you only pay us a few dollars an hour, and the rest of the fee goes straight to the tutor.

That last statement is what makes TutorSource great. We’ve built a company where we can grow and keep growing, even though we only make a few dollars when our clients use us to find a tutor. How can we do this? Just like this:

#1. Attract and promote the best tutors we can find

#2. Let them charge whatever they want

#3. Pay them every cent

#4. Rinse and repeat

What makes TutorSource work isn’t people like Paul and Ramit (meet them here). It’s in our tutors, the people who do the real work for us. We discovered a long time ago that keeping your tutors happy is the best way to grow your tutoring business. If they want to work through us, they’ll be more responsive to customers and more likely to do a great job for years to come. This in turn brings in more customers, which helps us grow and grow, despite only making a little bit at a time.

From my desk here in Santa Monica, I get to talk with clients and tutors all over the country. Have a question? Give me a call. I’ll be here, watching my screen light up.