A podcast for tutors to share their story on transitioning from being a classroom teacher into a self-employed tutor.
We share business tips and ideas to help increase income. The aim is to support teachers to create a life they want around a business that provides high-level value.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
Do you need to be ruthless to succeed in business?
We often hear stories about successful entrepreneurs making difficult decisions, prioritising profit and refusing to let emotions get in the way. But does building a strong business really require us to become colder, tougher or less caring?
In this episode, Richard explores what ruthlessness actually means in a tutoring business and whether it is possible to remain kind, generous and values-led while still making commercially sensible decisions.
We look at the tension between putting people first and protecting the business, including difficult customers, pricing, boundaries, competition, saying no and knowing when generosity has gone too far.
Richard also shares thoughts from tutors and business owners who were asked what makes someone good at business—and whether integrity, empathy and a strong moral compass help or hinder long-term success.
Perhaps the real challenge isn’t becoming ruthless with other people. Perhaps it is becoming more ruthless about protecting your time, maintaining your standards and building a business that can genuinely last.
In this episode:
• The difference between ruthlessness and strong boundaries
• Whether putting people first can coexist with profitability
• Why saying no does not automatically make you unkind
• The danger of allowing one demanding customer to consume your business
• Competition, collaboration and protecting your own opportunities
• Being ruthless with distractions, habits and self-doubt
• Making difficult decisions without abandoning your values
What are you willing to be ruthless about in your business?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
21 Sept 2026
Do It Uncomfortable: Why Confidence Comes After Action
What if feeling uncomfortable in your business isn't a sign that something is wrong?
What if it's actually a sign that you're growing?
In this episode of Grow Your Tutoring Business, Richard explores the uncomfortable parts of running a tutoring business — selling, showing up, following up, raising prices, saying no, investing in yourself and trying something for the first time.
It's easy to tell ourselves we'll take action when we feel more confident. But perhaps we've got it backwards.
Confidence often comes after the action.
Richard explores a simple process:
Discomfort → Action → Evidence → Confidence
He also looks at an important distinction: when should we lean into discomfort, and when is that uncomfortable feeling telling us something doesn't align with our values?
In this episode:
• Why we avoid the things that could actually grow our businesses
• The danger of "positive procrastination"
• Why sales and visibility can feel so uncomfortable
• How to distinguish growth discomfort from a values problem
• Why confidence doesn't have to come first
• Learning to say no as a business owner
• Building evidence that you can do difficult things
• Why being kinder to yourself matters when things don't work
You don't need to become fearless.
You just need to become a little more comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
8 Sept 2026
He Called Me a Leech on LinkedIn… So I Invited Him Onto My Podcast
A stranger sent me a brutal message on LinkedIn, questioned the ethics of my tutoring business and then publicly called me a “leech”.
He knew very little about me.
So rather than spending days arguing with him online, I invited him onto the podcast.
In this episode, I sit down with Simon Nicholson to talk about what made him send that message, why he believes private tuition shouldn’t need to exist, and whether building a business from the problems within education can ever be morally justified.
We talk about:
What happens when online criticism becomes personal
The responsibility we have for how we behave on social media
Whether tutors are benefiting from a broken education system
Why so many experienced teachers are leaving the classroom
Whether those teachers should use their skills to build tutoring businesses
Simon’s concerns about AI and the EdTech industry
Education reform and whether the current system needs completely rethinking
Why human connection may become even more important as AI grows
We definitely don’t agree on everything.
But what started as a pretty unpleasant interaction online became a much more human conversation.
If being visible in your tutoring business worries you because you’re scared of criticism, judgement or what somebody might say about you, this episode is particularly worth hearing.
Here is the LinkedIn Post https://lnkd.in/p/evzbZmxH
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
Who has been a guest on Grow Your Tutoring Business Podcast
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Richard Cowell
Vicki
Jenny McGowan
Zainab Sabor
Deborah Salisbury
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Spotify
5.0 / 5
18 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 36 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
71
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
0
Contact Grow Your Tutoring Business Podcast
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
