First-time tutor here — raised my price and lost a student’s ongoing booking. How do you handle price increases with existing students?
I started tutoring on Preply a little while ago and set my price way too low starting out ($13 which, with commission, comes out as less than the minimum wage in my country), without really understanding the market or the commission structure. I recently tried to raise my price for a family with two kids (they pay one 50 min lesson together for both). They said the new price is too expensive and they’re going to stop lessons after their already-booked sessions finish. The new price I‘d like to raise is $24. Considering that I have to do preparation and follow-up for both kids individually as they are at such different levels, I think that’s be more than fair as the time I spend on them is a lot.
For those of you who’ve been through this: how do you typically handle raising prices with existing students? Do you offer a lower “loyalty” rate for people who started with you early on, or just accept that some students will leave when you adjust to a fairer price? Also curious if there’s a smoother way to introduce a price change next time, so it doesn’t come across as a big jump.