My second startup in my series of 24 startups in 12 months was the least demanding one. In contrast to the first 2 weeks I had, when launching my startup #1 of 24, where I found myself having so many tasks at hand, in startup #2, I had a lot of time to relax. And, while the effort needed for startup #2 was a small fraction of that in startup one, this startup gave the most upcoming revenue within the first 2 weeks.
In this post, let’s talk about my Startup #2 – the venture that demanded the least effort yet yielded the most revenue in the short term.
Unlike its predecessor, Startup #1, which promised freedom from time and location constraints and boasted scalability, Startup #2 offered none of these prospects. Yet, it gave simplicity, immediacy, and profitability.
About Startup #2 of 24
So what’s this startup? Well, it’s basically a one- to – one tutoring business, with me providing tuition lessons for students.
How I started Startup #2
Step 1: Get Clients
There are many ways to get tutoring clients or students. You could do your own marketing or register as a private tutor with tuition agencies to get students. I decided to leverage on the tuition agencies to get students, rather than starting from zero. This way, I could get students faster and with less effort on marketing, while saving on advertising. Of course, the downside is the 50% commission for the first month.
Since, I’ve decided that I ‘ll rely solely on tuition agencies to get my students, all I needed to do was to sign up with the tuition agencies. To do so, I did a quick Google search for tuition agencies in Singapore:
Next, I signed up for most of them I found on the first few pages of the Google search. This involves filling up forms, describing yourself, your education, what and where you want to teach.
Filling in all the forms literally took just 2 hours.
Step 2: Apply for Assignments
Once you have registered for assignments, you will receive notifications from agencies for the available assignments. The screenshot below is an example of the list of assignments I receive from the agencies:
Note that applying doesn’t guarantee that you get them, but not applying means you sure won’t get it.
I applied for quite a few whenever I receive an assignment notification (typically via telegram, email, or Whatsapp, depending on the tuition agency). Typically, you get a higher chance of getting an assignment if you reply as soon as you receive the notification. Also, you need to be able to support with past experience to get the assignments.
I turned on notifications for my emails for these 2 weeks (typically, I silence all notifications), and spend probably just a few minutes each time to apply. There are some agencies who may call up to understand more about your qualifications, sometimes, it’s the parents who request that you call them to discuss more.
Once everything is confirmed, the agency will send you the exact address, and the details of the assignment (e.g. rate, subject, date and time).
How Startup #2 Performed
I manage to get enough assignments within these 2 weeks to earn slightly more than $1k/ month. Do note that if I earn $1k/month, the first month would be just $500, because of the 50% commission.
While I’ll only receive my pay after 4 lessons, the first month revenue in startup #2 way exceeds that of startup #1.
As such, Startup #2 will go down as the least demanding Startup, with the most immediate revenue stream.
Why I setup Startup #2 this way
I made this startup this way after watching this video below, where Noah Kagan and Tim Ferriss helped a Yoga instructor launch a business. Unlike Noah or Tim who have a large audience where they could market to, the Yoga instructor in the show doesn’t. Instead of trying to teach her how to start by building an audience, and then marketing to them, and then sell, they started by making her get people to sign up for a trial session for $10.
In my case, it’s to offer tuition lessons for students, and leveraging the traffic that the tuition agencies already have to get students. Through the tuition agency, and by doing a good job, could I “increase” my own organic traffic via word of mouth of my existing students.
This, is how I intend to build up Startup #2.
In addition, with it being my highest cash generating startup now, the revenue from Startup #2 could be used to fund my other ventures (recall I’m doing 24 startups in 12 months).
Limitations of Startup #2
While startup #2 gave revenue the soonest (1 month after its inception), with the greatest amount of revenue to date, there is a limit to how much I can scale startup #2.
I just have 7 days a week, 24 hours a month. If I take on too many assignments, I’ll have less time to work on other projects. Hence, the current plan is to limit Startup #2 to a maximum of 10 hours per week.
Startup #2 is likely my only startup with an active business model
Startup #2, my one- to – one tutoring business is going to be my only startup with an active business model.
I now already have 1 business that generates cash for me to fund my other projects, and my living expenses, so I don’t have such an urgency to get more ” immediate” revenue streams. I also have limited time, and want to carry-on as a startup of 1 person. Hence, this active model is unlikely to go on to the next one.