“When It Feels Like No One Is Listening: A Message for Tutors Ready to Give Up

April 29, 2026•2 min read

Putting yourself out there as a tutor takes a lot of commitment. Always in the back of your mind knowing that no-one may be interested. Each day you put one front of the other and keep going in the belief that today will be the day!

But then you put out your next post and once again it feels like you are shouting into the void and all you hear back are the echos of silence.

You decide to put on a brave face, you believe you can do this. Just 1 more attempt.

Then something in life happens that you have no control over. Probably something completely unrelated to the business that you are trying to build and it stops you in your tracks.

A part of you thinks why am I bothering with this. It feels like time to quit. To admit defeat and accept it's harder work than you ever anticipated.

I know exactly how you feel. I was there with the tutoring at times over the years and now with building the franchise. You see other people and they make it look so easy.

The truth is, most people just don’t share this part.
The quiet posts. The no replies. The self-doubt.

But this is the part that everyone goes through - whether they admit it or not

But I suspect everyone has their down days. Just take a day to give yourself a break (a couple of years back whilst Hay was at Uni, I jumped on the next train to London and met her for lunch. This was extreme it may be just an episode of a program you enjoy with a cup of tea) and start again tomorrow.

The secret to the success is to keep going, no matter how many "1 more attempts" you need, keep taking them because one day you will get that call, then another and you have started to live the dream that a couple of months back felt so far out of reach.

If you’re at that stage where you’re thinking “is this even worth it?” you don’t have to figure it out on your own.

I’m currently speaking to a small number of people who are considering starting tutoring (or rebuilding their confidence with it).

If that’s you, you’re very welcome to reach out for a chat.

[email protected]

Dawn Strachan

For the past 20+ years I have been a firm believer that learning should be an enjoyable experience. I appreciate that traditionally education has revolved around worksheets, textbooks, listening to teachers. But a grounding in early years and working with children who had a variety of learning styles from I learned that it is an individual activity that is personal to all of us. We don’t all learn in the same way. Our influences, our experiences, our capabilities all influence how we retain information. But through it all, I believe that if we can make it enjoyable and engaging, they will want to participate. With participation comes practice which in turn boosts skill and confidence. With an increase in skill and confidence comes a willingness to have a go. This in turn leads to more practice which leads to a positive spiral of success. The moral, we need to make learning fun, engaging, use a range of techniques.

Back to Blog