COVID-19 has been a hugely disruptive phenomenon affecting all facets of the education sector. However, the current environment has also created countless opportunities for small, education-themed businesses to thrive. Let’s take a look at 4 business ideas that have been profitable for some entrepreneurs in the wake of COVID-19:
1. Tutor
When COVID-19 threatened to reach critical mass, government officials in many locations made the decision to either close schools completely or migrate their students’ learning online. In either case, there were children whose academic progress got derailed.
There has always been a market for knowledgeable tutors – but, all of a sudden, the demand for them has skyrocketed as worried parents scramble to keep their kids from falling behind academically.
Skills and Credentials Needed: You’ll need to be a clear communicator if you hope to succeed as a tutor. It is ideal to have teaching credentials including a bachelor’s or master’s degree in education. However, it’s also acceptable to hold a degree in the subject you intend to tutor. It’s also helpful to have familiarity with using online conferencing platforms such as Zoom.
2. Homeschool Curriculum Publisher
In response to COVID-19, massive numbers of parents have made the decision to homeschool their children. This has created an unprecedented amount of demand for homeschool-friendly curriculum. In fact, one homeschool curriculum seller has had so much trouble keeping popular products in stock that they’ve proclaimed “Homeschool curriculum is the new toilet paper”.
In particular, there are opportunities for publishers of up-to-date, secular-worldview homeschooling materials. There are already many well-established publishers of curriculum; however, quite a few of them publish materials intended specifically for homeschoolers who choose to teach their children from a protestant, Catholic or other religious perspective. The newest group of homeschoolers tends to be secular, and so their needs are somewhat underserved by the existing base of publishers.
Skills and Credentials Needed: Education is extremely useful in this particular business niche. It would be beneficial for a small publisher to have a working knowledge of the publishing industry plus an excellent grasp of the subject material to be published. However, knowledge gaps could be filled by hiring employees with relevant experience and expertise.
3. Homeschool Curriculum Online Shop:
You don’t need to publish curricula to take advantage of the strong demand for it. It’s possible to open a web shop and sell other publishers’ curriculum.
Skills and Credentials Needed: You don’t need any specific academic credentials to open an online shop, stock it and fulfill orders. If you don’t already know how to use online shopping platforms or shopping cart software, there will be a learning curve as you figure that out. Furthermore, it’s helpful to have expertise with digital marketing methods, but these can be learned on the job or outsourced to a marketing specialist.
4. Homeschool Blogger
Sizable numbers of new, unprepared homeschooling parents are stressed out with trying to figure out how to best go about the task of educating their children at home. They’re scouring the internet in search of advice on how to handle various aspects of homeschooling.
They have questions: What are the relevant homeschooling laws in their state? What, exactly, should their children be learning? What curriculum should they be using? Which books are worthwhile? What’s the best way to set up a comfortable workspace so their kids can be productive at home? How should they handle it when their kids’ productivity stalls?
This situation has created lucrative opportunities for knowledgeable homeschool bloggers who are in a position to help. Some earn money by creating reviews of various books and curriculum; these reviews can be a source of affiliate commissions from the retailer if a fellow parent actually uses their links when making a purchase. This sort of content can be lucrative to create, because curricula are expensive, and successfully selling it can result in attractive commissions. Many parents are wary of making such a large investment without some reassurance that the course of study they’re considering for their child is a good one.
Skills and Credentials Needed: Blogging doesn’t require any specific academic credentials. It does require discipline and the ability to communicate well via one or more forms of media. You’d typically have to be a skilled writer, photographer or videographer to attract an audience for your blog. It’s also helpful to have some actual homeschool experience, although you don’t have to be an expert for your insights to be helpful to others.
It isn’t easy to start a new business in the post-COVID-19 environment – but, if you’re in need of some ideas that look viable, these could all be worth considering. Given the current status of education, there are definitely opportunities in the education sector for smart entrepreneurs to profit from.
Tutoring stock photo by Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock
