by Maria Magana
Online tutoring has emerged as a lucrative opportunity for teachers seeking greater freedom and income potential. As we move deeper into 2025, the opportunities for educators to build thriving online tutoring businesses have never been more abundant.
“Online tutoring is the golden ticket for teachers in 2025,” explains Elliot Phillips, founder of The Teacher Project and bestselling author of “Teaching on Your Own Terms,” which has been featured by NASDAQ in Times Square. Phillips has guided over 3,000 teachers in transitioning from traditional classrooms to profitable online tutoring ventures, with many replacing their teaching salaries while working fewer hours.
I recently sat down with Phillips to discuss how educators can successfully transition to online tutoring in 2025.
Finding Your Tutoring Niche
According to Phillips, specialization is the foundation of a successful online tutoring business. “The key behind this is to make sure that you get one specific student that you can work with that can be grouped together,” he explains. “If you just teach math or English or French whatever it might be and just try to take some students on, that’s a bad move.”
This lack of specificity creates multiple problems. “You attract students with different ages, different abilities, and it’s not very specific. You become the Jack of all trades, master of none,” Phillips notes. “Those students are all different. They can’t be grouped together, so you end up taking a few students in and teaching them one-on-one.”
The online tutoring market is projected to reach $318 billion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of nearly 20%. In this booming market, Phillips emphasizes that standing out requires becoming an expert for a specific type of student.
“You’ve got to become that expert teacher or the go-to tutor, so you can attract one type of student that will pay you more because you can help lead them to a result,” he says. “Then they can be grouped together because they’re very similar, so you can start working smarter, not harder.”
Creating Your Tutoring Business Model
When it comes to structuring your tutoring business, Phillips advocates for a group model rather than one-on-one sessions. “Working smarter, not harder, is the key,” he insists. “Many teachers transitioning to online tutoring make the mistake of trying to replicate their classroom schedule — teaching 30+ hours a week. That’s the fast track to burnout.”
Instead, Phillips recommends a more sustainable approach. “The beauty of online tutoring in 2025 is that you can replace your entire teaching salary by teaching just a few hours a week online. But this requires being strategic about your pricing and business model.”
For new tutors, Phillips suggests starting with a 12-week commitment from students, delivering 1-2 group classes per week. “One to two group classes per week is an ideal cadence,” he explains. “If a student gets in front of you more, are they going to get better results? Absolutely! But you could never do that one-on-one—you’d sell your time pretty quickly. The goal to become a tutor in 2025 is not to sell your time. The goal is to win back some time, so you’ve got to teach groups.”
Marketing and Scaling Your Tutoring Business
When it comes to attracting students, Phillips is direct: “Forget tutoring agencies. They take a massive cut of your earnings and control your client relationships. In 2025, tutors have the tools to market themselves directly to ideal clients.”
He recommends using targeted social media advertising to reach potential students. “If you know who you want to tutor, you can place that ad and target specific parents and students who are going to respond,” he says. “It’s a lot faster than going around and delivering leaflets and flyers hoping that someone sees it.”
Phillips also warns against common marketing mistakes. “So many teachers, when they start their tutoring business, build a website. You do not need a website because it’s just like a billboard — very shiny, looks great, but it’s got so much information that it’s just confusing your prospects.”
Instead, he advocates for driving potential clients into direct conversations through messenger platforms or simple booking pages. “You can build trust, establish rapport, and get someone booked in if it looks like you can help that student.”
As for pricing, Phillips suggests a progressive approach. “Most new tutors undercharge dramatically. They think about hourly rates in terms of what they made in the classroom. That’s the wrong framework. You’re not just selling your time; you’re selling expertise, convenience, and results.”
He recommends that new teachers who don’t yet have private students start by offering a lower “founding member” rate for an initial 30-day period. “This approach lets you quickly collect testimonials, gain valuable sales experience, and build momentum,” he says. “Every five students, I’d gradually increase your rate. You might start somewhere between $97 to $197 for your first five students, then for students six to ten, boost it by $100 before transitioning to a longer, 12-week enrollment.”
The end goal? “Five groups of five students at $1,000 each for a 12-week program is 25 students total — that’s $25,000 every 12 weeks or about $100,000 a year teaching just 10 hours a week,” Phillips explains. “This is how you can replace your teaching salary tutoring online in 2025.”
With the right approach to specialization, group teaching, and strategic pricing, Phillips believes online tutoring offers unprecedented opportunities for educators. “The education market has undergone a seismic shift. What we’re seeing in 2025 is a complete democratization of knowledge. The barriers between traditional educational institutions and independent educators have virtually dissolved.”
About Elliot Phillips
Elliot Phillips is the Founder and CEO of The Teacher Project, an education technology company on a mission to transform the way teachers educate the world. As a former PE teacher, Elliot is deeply passionate about empowering educators to build thriving online businesses and achieve unprecedented levels of impact and freedom. Under Elliot’s leadership, The Teacher Project has helped over 3,000 teachers start their own successful online teaching ventures, with many replacing their full-time teaching salaries in just a matter of months. To learn more, click here: http://www.teacherproject.io.
Written by:
Maria Magana, the daughter of a small business owner and tradesman, grew up witnessing the struggles skilled trades professionals endure in securing visibility and recognition in an increasingly digital landscape. Fueled by a determination to address this disparity, she launched a writing career devoted to empowering small business contractors to flourish. With a keen eye for detail and a heartfelt connection to her roots, Maria has contributed to esteemed publications such as Young Startups and Home Business Magazine, where her insightful articles illuminate the obstacles and victories of small business owners with creativity and authenticity. Her work bridges the gap between the trades and the digital world, offering a powerful voice to those often overlooked.