VUCA is a term coined by military people to describe the kind of world we are facing now.

V is for Volatile.
U is for Uncertain.
C is for Complex.
A is for Ambiguous.

VUCA not only describes the military landscape. It is used by many thinkers to describe the business landscape, the political landscape, and recently, the education landscape.

As freelance tutors, are we affected by the VUCA world?

You bet.

Really?

Here’s a few questions I have for you. They keep me up at night some times.

-School syllabus changes so fast, how do I keep up?

-Do I invest time and energy to make a proprietary curriculum? Will that bring in more business and allow me to be more profitable? What if my competitor steal my material?

-Education videos on every subjects are available on YouTube for free. What can you offer that parents and students are willing to pay for?

-People are spending more and more time online, on their phones. How do you engage them effectively?

-MOE is changing the focus of their policy. It’s not only about the paper chase anymore. They are talking about holistic development of students. What does that mean to parents’ expectations? Are they going to look for something different in tutors?

-Younger tutors who are undergrads or early 20s are more likely to connect to young students better. They are fresh out of school so they are more familiar with the exam questions. They are willing to charge less. How do I compete against them?

-How do I leverage on a team instead of trying to compete as a one man army?

-Students are getting busier in school. They have less and less time for tuition. How do I schedule lessons for such a busy group?

-Local birth rate is declining. We have a shrinking schooling population. Even schools are merging. Will I be affected by this shrinking pool of customers?

Do you resonate with any of these questions that is bugging my mind?

I don’t have all the answers to these questions, but I believe in one thing: If we start preparing for it today, we won’t be in for such a surprise tomorrow.

In 2019, my mission is to help 100 freelance tutors become more productive and profitable in their practice through the power of technology. I am putting together a series of workshops to equip tutors with future-ready skills. If you are keen to be updated about these workshops, leave a comment please. #VUCA #FREE #2019mission