One of the most lucrative things I did when I was a college student was to start my own tutoring business. I didn't intend to, it just happened. I started tutoring a few friends for $15-20 an hour and the word started to spread. Soon I was tutoring the friends of my friends and making enough money to buy books, beer, and anything else I needed while I was away from home. All it took was a little word of mouth and my tutoring business got off the ground. I was 20 years old and running my own business. Now as a 35 year old, I am still involved in tutoring, but charging about three to four times as much as I did when I was in college. As they say, hindsight is always 20-20 and looking back I realize that if I knew then what I know now, I would have made a lot more money. The following paragraphs highlight some advice I would have given myself if I could have.

The most important change I would have made would have been to get involved in tutoring online. This would have allowed me to tutor from the comfort of my dorm room and save the time I spent traveling to meet with clients.

Contact the local schools and see if you can tutor some of their students. Teachers, guidance counselors, and administrators are always looking for someone to help struggling students and would be thrilled to foster a relationship between their school and the local colleges.

Do some research to determine what the local tutoring fees are and set your fees appropriately. You wouldn't want to earn less than you could and you also wouldn't want to turn clients away because your prices are set too high.

Establish a few pricing plans that students can choose from to entice them to sign up for more sessions than they normally would. For instance, if you regularly charge $30/hr, you may offer a plan in which the student pre-pays for 6 sessions at $27 each for a total of $162, or a plan in which the student pre-pays for 10 sessions at $25 each for a total of $250. At first it may seem like you would be earning less money but by offering the packages you are guaranteeing that you will be paid for more sessions that the student may have signed up for if you were charging the higher rate ($30/hr).

Offer discounts to people who bring in other clients for you. The best form of advertisement is word of mouth. Encourage your clients to do your advertising for you by recommending you to their friends and classmates by offering a discount for every new client that they help you land.

Talk to professors and let them know who you are and that you are available to tutor their struggling students. Professors may not have the time to offer as much extra help as their students may need and would be more than willing to pass on your name.

Print and distribute fliers or take out an ad in the school's newspaper. Post tab-fliers in high traffic locations such as the student centers, lounges, cafeterias, and sport centers. Be sure to include the subjects you are willing to tutor, your phone number, and email address, in addition to your name. You may even want to come up with a memorable name so it will be less likely to be forgotten.

Set goals. Consider all of your other responsibilities and then decide how many hours a week you can spend tutoring. Make sure your goals are realistic and attainable. Once you have a goal in mind, work hard to reach it. Provide quality tutoring, advertise, and encourage your clients to spread the word for you.

College is full of students who could benefit from a little extra help. Why shouldn't you benefit financially by providing this much needed help?