For many teachers and education professionals, tutoring can begin as a small side project: a few pupils after school, some additional income, or simply an opportunity to work with children in a different way.

For Louisa Graver, founder of Louisa Tutors in Milton Keynes, it eventually became something much bigger.

What began with one-to-one tuition has developed into a growing tutoring business, a team of tutors and, most recently, a franchise opportunity designed to enable other education professionals to build their own local tutoring businesses.

We spoke to Louisa about how the business developed, what she has learnt along the way and why so many of the skills needed to run a business are already familiar to teachers.

From supporting pupils to building a business

Louisa began working with secondary-school students in 2018, supporting pupils up to Year 11.

A year later, she started providing one-to-one tuition in pupils’ homes, working mainly with children across Key Stages 1 and 2.

That experience meant continually adapting her teaching for different ages, abilities and individual learning needs.

In 2024, Louisa expanded by delivering tuition from the Pavilion. By 2025, she had decided to take the next step and develop Louisa Tutors into a franchise.

For Louisa, the decision wasn’t simply about making the business bigger.

“As Louisa Tutors grew, I realised there was an opportunity to support more children than I could reach through one-to-one teaching alone.”

She wanted to create a business that could bring together talented tutors, useful teaching resources and a consistently supportive approach.

Moving into business leadership also allowed her to spend more time developing the team and maintaining the quality of the service.

Where did the idea for Louisa Tutors come from?

The business developed organically from Louisa’s own tutoring.

Working one-to-one with primary-aged pupils showed her how much difference personalised teaching could make when it was delivered in an encouraging and supportive environment.

The move to the Pavilion allowed her to develop the model further.

Then came franchising.

Louisa explains:

“In 2025, I decided to franchise Louisa Tutors so that other education professionals could build their own local tutoring businesses using the teaching resources, systems and support I had developed.”

Today, the model combines personalised tuition with a structured six-week teaching system.

Pupils use ready-made resources, while lessons can still be adapted to their individual needs. Small-group tuition is also used to make support accessible to more families.

But academic progress isn’t the only aim.

Louisa places considerable emphasis on helping children develop their confidence and enthusiasm for learning as well.

The challenge of moving from teaching to running a business

Creating a successful education business requires a different mindset from simply delivering excellent tuition.

One of Louisa’s biggest challenges was learning how to step away from doing everything herself.

She needed systems for recruiting and supporting tutors, developing consistent teaching resources and managing the operational side of a growing company.

Marketing was another new area.

At the same time, Louisa was determined not to lose the personal approach that had helped the original tutoring service grow.

“I wanted Louisa Tutors to grow while retaining the friendly, personal approach that families valued, so I developed each part of the business carefully and gradually.”

It’s a challenge many teachers moving into self-employment will recognise: how do you scale what you do without losing what made it good in the first place?

Teaching skills are business skills

Teachers sometimes underestimate how much of their existing experience transfers into running a business.

For Louisa, teaching remains at the heart of how she works.

She highlights the ability to explain ideas simply, break complex learning into manageable steps, model clearly and adapt the pace according to the person in front of her.

Regularly checking understanding has also influenced how she communicates beyond teaching.

Working with parents taught her to listen carefully, provide clear and honest feedback and offer reassurance when necessary.

And then there are the less obvious transferable skills:

patience, empathy, organisation, adaptability and problem-solving.

All have proved just as useful in business as they were in education.

The new skills you have to learn

That doesn’t mean moving into business requires no new learning.

Louisa has developed significant marketing and social media skills and has become much more confident working with data and analytics.

Rather than simply putting marketing out and hoping it works, she now tracks where enquiries originate, monitors results and uses that information to improve future activity.

“Keeping accurate records has helped me make more informed decisions about messaging, campaigns and follow-up processes.”

Her advice is particularly relevant for teachers considering setting up their own tutoring operation.

Don’t rely entirely on instinct.

Track what you’re doing. Find out which marketing generates enquiries, which enquiries become customers and where your time and money are producing results.

What does Louisa enjoy about running her own business?

For Louisa, one of the biggest attractions is the variety.

She enjoys making decisions, developing ideas and watching them turn into something tangible.

There is still a very strong connection to education too.

She continues to create teaching resources, support tutors and see the progress children make.

But her impact now extends beyond the pupils she could personally teach.

“Creating opportunities for other people while continuing to improve Louisa Tutors is particularly fulfilling.”

The flexibility of running the business is another important benefit.

It allows her to respond to what families and tutors need while also determining the direction in which the company develops.

Louisa’s three pieces of advice for teachers considering a business

Louisa’s first piece of advice is simple:

1. Start before everything feels perfect

Begin at a manageable scale.

Real experience will teach you things that endless planning cannot. Start, learn and improve the business as you go.

2. Track your results

Record enquiries, marketing activity and outcomes.

Good data makes it easier to understand what’s actually working rather than making decisions based purely on guesswork.

3. Build systems — and accept support

As the business grows, good systems become increasingly important.

Clear processes, reliable resources and the right people around you make it much easier to grow while maintaining quality.

Could a tutoring franchise suit a teacher?

Louisa believes the opportunity could particularly appeal to teachers and education professionals who want greater flexibility and independence while remaining connected to education.

She describes the ideal person as caring, organised, proactive and confident communicating with children and parents.

Running a local business also means being comfortable building relationships within your community and being prepared to learn about marketing and business development.

It could therefore suit someone who wants to leave the conventional classroom without completely walking away from their education experience.

Louisa also sees potential for people returning to work who want a route that provides greater control over how they structure their working lives.

Franchisees receive training, ready-made teaching resources, practical business guidance and ongoing support rather than having to create a tutoring business completely from scratch.

Find out more about Louisa Tutors

Louisa is now looking to work with education professionals who share her commitment to helping children make academic progress while developing confidence.

You can find out more about Louisa Tutors and the franchise opportunity here:

Explore Louisa Tutors

Or contact Louisa at hello@louisatutors.co.uk.