There is a thing called “time-for-money” trap. It means to be stuck in a mindset of trading our time for a certain fees. This is quite common among tutors, coaches, teachers and trainers. I struggled with it and am still struggling with it.

Why is “time-for-money” a trap to tutors? Because we cannot scale our revenue that way. There are only so many hours in a day, and if we are paid by the hour, there are only two ways to increase our income: to increase the size of our classes, or to increase our hourly rates. There are many reasons I believe that increasing the class size can only go so far before the effectiveness is lost. Increasing our hourly rate is a feasible business strategy, only when we can find customers who can afford our rates.

Another reason “time-for-money” is a trap, is because we tutors are not incentivized for doing a better job.

For example, three years ago, you took 2 lessons to teach a certain concept well to a student. Three years later you only need 1 lesson to deliver the same results, because you are more experienced and more skilled. If you charge by the hour, wouldn’t you be paid less as you get more skilled?