For tutors, teachers, trainers and tutoring business owners
Turn your tutoring into a proper business, without teaching a single extra hour.
Learn exactly what to charge, where to find students, how to stop losing money to last-minute cancellations, how to build a team, free up your time, and build a tutoring business that pays you properly. Live! with me every month.
"Her teaching and Leadership skills make her a valuable "Teacher of the teachers"." — Gabriela, AIESEC representative, Business English Classes project, Craiova
You are brilliant at teaching. Nobody ever taught you the business bit.
And it shows up in ways that keep you awake.
- You picked your hourly rate out of thin air years ago, and you quietly hope nobody ever questions it.
- A parent cancels 40 minutes before the lesson, and you swallow the loss, because you have nothing in writing to point at.
- Your diary is either frighteningly empty or so full that you have no life left in it.
- Money comes in, money goes out, and if I asked you today what is actually yours and what belongs to the business, you could not tell me.
- When the diary goes quiet, you start worrying about where the next bit of money is coming from, and you are scared it shows when you talk to people.
- You give extra time, extra resources and the odd free session because you are nice, and even if you know you are not a charity, you still feel uncomfortable asking to be paid.
- You are the business. If you stop teaching, everything stops.
- Referrals have carried you this far, but at a certain level they run out, and you know you need a proper marketing plan even if you have no idea where to start.
- You post on social media at least once a month, sometimes more, and nothing comes out of it except a like from a friend, and if you are honest, you are starting to hate it.
- You have a course, a group, a sales page and three other ideas on the go, and every time you say yes, I'm going to do it, you spread yourself so thin that you lose the momentum, because nobody is there to ask you whether you did.
- Someone enquires, asks how much per hour, and then disappears, and you never find out why.
Right now you have exactly one lever: teach more hours. And there are only so many hours in a week before something in your life gives way.
You didn't start a business. You started teaching.
Then you got a student. Then another. Then referrals came, your diary filled, you put your prices up a bit and you created your own materials. Maybe you started groups, brought in another tutor or made a course. And one day you realised: hang on. This is a business.
The business happened around you. Now it's time to learn how to run it properly.
This was never your fault...
Your training taught you how to teach. It didn't teach you how to price a package, write terms and conditions that protect you, set up a payment link, build a referral system, or plan a year of income around school holidays.
Nobody hands you that. I know, because I had to learn every bit of it the hard way. Twice. In two different countries.
I opened my first language and music school in Romania in 2009, when I was 25. Three years later, I opened a CPD training centre, certifying other people to become trainers and quality assurers. Then in 2018, I moved to the UK and started again from nothing, with my third school, this time online. The Tutors Academy of Business is the fourth.
Every expensive mistake I made is a lesson I can now hand to you in ninety minutes.
"She also always tells the truth. She's not going to go out of her way to protect my feelings- she's not mean lol- but she knows that honesty is the only way for me to achieve my goals." — Cici, Copywriter, UK
Introducing
The Tutors Academy of Business with Valentina
A monthly membership for tutors, teachers, trainers and tutoring business owners who want to run this properly, charge properly and get their life back.
Every month we take one part of your business and we fix it. Inside the Academy, we work through the business skills nobody taught you when you learned how to teach. One area at a time. I teach it, you start applying it to the business you already have, and then you bring me the questions, problems and things that aren't working. No theory left sitting in a folder. No course you never finish.
Built on the 3 + 1 Method
Three weeks of structured business building. One week off to catch up, reflect and integrate.
This is how I run my businesses on three weeks a month. It is the only monthly membership rhythm designed for people who already teach full days.
Week 1
Train + Implement
Live! Training, up to 90 minutes
Learn the strategy and start applying it to the business you already have. Recorded and in your portal the same day, with full transcript and a workbook.
Week 2
Ask Me Anything
Live! Q&A, up to 90 minutes
You understood it in the training. Then you tried it and hit a wall. This is where you bring that wall to me and we knock it down.
Week 3
MemberMind
Live! Peer membermind, up to 90 minutes
What is working, what is not, and what everyone else is trying. The room where you stop feeling like the only tutor figuring this out alone, and decide what happens next. You say out loud what you will have done by the next one, so somebody notices if you haven't.
Because the goal isn't to spend your life learning about business. It's to build one that works.
"It gave me a starting point and a clear calendar to follow which immediately reduced my overwhelm and helped me breathe with relief." — M.M.
Is this you?
This is for you if
- You didn't set out to become a business owner. You got good at teaching, and the business happened around you.
- You are a self employed tutor in any subject. Languages, maths, English, music, academic, scholastic, exam preparation, compliance.
- You run a tutoring business with other tutors working under you, or you want to get there.
- You teach alongside a job or another business, and you want your tutoring to become a proper income in its own right.
- You are a teacher, trainer or CPD provider delivering professional training.
- You already have students, and you know the bottleneck is the business, not the teaching.
- You are willing to actually do the work rather than just watch.
This is not for you if
- You have never taught anyone and are looking for a business idea.
- You want somebody to do it all for you. I teach you to run it yourself.
- You are looking for a shortcut that skips the implementation.
- You already run a large education company with a full operations team.
What we are working on together
Every training sits in one of four areas of your business: Package, Market, Sell and Run It Like a CEO. One area at a time.
Because this is a membership, not a course, you never have to start at the beginning. Join this month, work on this month and every past session is waiting in your portal.
Package
Have I actually packaged what I know strategically?
- How to Work Out What You Should Actually Charge
- How to Package Your 1:1 Services Instead of Selling Random Hours
- How to Move from 1:1 to Group Programmes
- How to Turn What You Teach into a Self-Study Course
- How to Turn Your Knowledge into a Content Library
- How to Decide Between a Library and a Membership
- How to Build a Membership People Have a Reason to Stay In
- How to Turn Your Expertise into a Book and Publish It on Amazon
- How to Build Your Product & Service Mix
- How to Build an Offer Ecosystem That Leads Customers to Their Next Step
Market
Do I have a reliable way of attracting the right people?
- How to Understand Your Customer's Awareness & Buying Journey
- How to Position Your Education Business So People Understand Why They Should Choose You
- How to Find Students, Properly, with Marketing You Will Actually Keep Doing
- How to Build a Referral System That Consistently Brings You Students
- How to Get Found on Google, LinkedIn and Your Own Website
- How to Create Content That Moves People Towards Buying
- How to Build and Nurture an Email List with a Lead Magnet That Actually Leads to Your Offer
- How to Plan a Marketing Campaign Instead of Posting and Hoping
- How to Launch and Enrol Students into an Offer
- How to Turn Student Results into Marketing That Builds Trust
Sell
Do I have a proper way of turning interest into revenue?
- How to Turn an Enquiry into an Enrolment
- How to Sell Your Programme Instead of Your Hourly Rate
- How to Have Sales Conversations Without Feeling Salesy
- How to Handle Sales Objections
- How to Follow Up Without Chasing People
- How to Build a Simple Sales System from Enquiry to Payment
- How to Write a Sales Page That Helps People Buy
- How to Write Emails That Sell for You
- How to Sell Through a Workshop, Webinar or Live Training
- How to Keep, Re-Enrol and Sell the Next Step to Existing Customers
Run It Like a CEO
Is there an actual business structure underneath all of this?
- How to Build Sound Financial Foundations
- How to Plan Your Business Year Around Your Income AND Your Life
- How to Create Terms, Conditions & Boundaries That Protect Your Business
- How to Build Systems and Automations That Give You Your Time Back
- How to Use AI to Reduce Your Admin
- How to Know When You're Ready to Hire
- How to Recruit and Onboard Your First Tutor
- How to Train Other Educators to Deliver Your Method
- How to Manage and Quality-Assure a Teaching Team
- How to Move from Tutor to Manager and CEO
Some of these topics are not set in stone and we can update them with what you truly need. Members vote on what we cover next.
Everything included in your membership
Monthly Train + Implement Training
Up to 90 minutes live with me on that month's topic.So you finally understand the why, not just the what, and start applying it straight away.
Monthly Ask Me Anything
Bring the thing you got stuck on.So you are never stuck for more than a couple of weeks.
Monthly MemberMind
Peer support with other tutors building the same thing.So you stop doing this in isolation, and somebody keeps you to what you said you would do.
The full recording library
Every session recorded and uploaded the same day, and it keeps growing.So missing a live call costs you nothing.
Transcripts and workbooks
Every session comes with the full transcript and a workbook.So you can skim, search or feed it to your own AI to build your action list.
Templates and swipe files
Terms and conditions, pricing structures, email sequences and more,added as we build them.
The member community
Ask a question between calls and get answers from me or the room.This is in our private space inside your portal + a WhatsApp group.
Member discount on 1:1 time with me
When you need me on your business specifically, you can book a 1:1 session at 50% off.So the thing that is specific to you gets unstuck without waiting for the next call.
Picture next September
- You know exactly what you charge and why, and you say the number out loud without flinching.
- You are not only selling your hours anymore. You know what else people can buy from you, and how it all connects.
- A family cancels late and it costs you nothing, because your terms handle it and you never have to have that conversation.
- You have a repeatable way of finding new students, so an empty slot in your diary is a scheduling question, not a panic.
- Your marketing is a plan you can keep, on platforms you don't hate, and new students still find you when the referrals go quiet.
- You have one plan where everything fits together, and for the first time it feels freeing rather than overwhelming.
- You pay yourself on the same date every month, like a person with a job, because your business finally has a structure.
- You know when your holidays are next year, and you have already planned the income around them.
- You are not the only person who can deliver. You are the person who built the thing.
You stop being a tutor who has a business. You become a business owner who happens to teach.
What people say about working with Valentina
"In the past, I've based my prices more on competitor analysis rather than what I want/need and what my clients want/need."
"So much was valuable [...] Starting here made the more technical stuff (i.e. Ts and Cs and pricing) make sense. In the past, I've based my prices more on competitor analysis rather than what I want/need and what my clients want/need. The structure of the workshop and your engaging explanations made everything really clear."
— Sarah, English coach, UK"I'm just a mom that can speak English."
"When she asked me at the beginning of our master class what I wanted out of it, my reply was that I would like to start my private tutoring service [...] Her reply had me STUNNED!!! "No, no, no, I want you to have your first paid client by the end of our [...] course". I thought she must be CRAZY!!!! I have absolutely NO clue what to do, I'm just a mom that can speak English. Yes I've worked with children for twenty three years. Teaching adults online is a TOTALLY different thing. But hey, trying will not kill me. So there my journey started. She took me through ALL the do's and don'ts. She trained me on tech stuff that I did not even knew I'm going to need. She organized the overwhelming amount of information on the internet into what is important and what is just rubbish. [...] From one student at the beginning, I'm standing at the moment for November having NINE of her students."
— Susan, childminder / ELF tutor, South Africa"I was able to open my own small business in this field of foreign languages."
"My work experience in this field began in April 2016, when I first met Valentina, the person who taught me how to manage all the stuff related to the teaching life. [...] I was able to open my own small business in this field of foreign languages, after being part of her team for almost three years. Therefore, do not hesitate to contact Valentina because you will certainly find out what you need in order to succeed in your professional plans."
— Rebeca, language tutor, RomaniaHello, I'm Valentina
I have been exactly where you are. Sitting with an empty diary wondering where the next student comes from. Refunding a family because I had nothing in writing. Working every hour available and still not knowing whether I could pay myself that month.
I opened my first language and music school in Romania in 2009, at 25. Three years later I opened a CPD training centre, certifying other people to become trainers and quality assurers. I trained teachers, but also lawyers, librarians, jewellery makers and the manager of a football team who needed to train his own staff.
In 2018 I moved to the UK and started over. Today I run an online language business, VP Modern Foreign Languages, my third school, teaching overseas nurses to pass the English exam they need to work here, and I run it on three weeks a month, roughly three hours a day.
I am a certified Trainer of Trainers. I have a degree in French and English, and a background in maths and programming, which is why the tech side does not frighten me and why I can walk you through it slowly.
Nearly two decades of learning this the expensive way. You get it in ninety minutes a month.
Founding member pricing
Join before 1 February 2027 and keep this price for life
From 1 February 2027 the membership goes to $150 a month for everyone who joins after that date. If you are already inside, nothing changes for you. Ever.
(approx. 73 GBP)
Locked in for as long as you stay a member.
Become a founding memberThat is less than three hours of your own tutoring income for three live sessions with me, the full recording library and the community, every single month.
Cancel any time with 30 days notice by email. No contract, no lock in.
Questions you are probably asking
Who exactly is this for?
Tutors, teachers and trainers of any subject who are running, or want to run, their teaching as a business. Language tutors, maths tutors, English tutors, music tutors, academic and exam preparation tutors, and people delivering professional or CPD training. Whether you work alone or have tutors working under you, this is built for you.
When are the calls?
The Train + Implement training is in week 1, the Ask Me Anything in week 2 and the MemberMind in week 3. Week 4 is off.
You will get an email at the start of every month with the confirmed dates and times for the month ahead, so you can put them straight in your diary.
What if I cannot make the live sessions?
Every session is recorded and uploaded to your portal the same day, along with the full transcript and a workbook. You can watch on your own schedule and bring your questions to the next Ask Me Anything (AMA).
If you cannot make it Live! to the Ask Me Anything, you can either ask your questions in the community or send them via a form to be discussed during the AMA sessions.
General questions will become new trainings, short or long. Specific questions will be answered for you in written or video format, whatever works best for the questions.
How much time does this actually take?
Three Live! sessions a month, one a week for three weeks, and week four has nothing at all. If you only ever came to the Train + Implement training and watched the rest of the recordings, you would still be further ahead than you are now. The 3 + 1 rhythm exists precisely because you already teach full days.
Do I have to start at the beginning?
No. This is a membership, not a course, so there is no fixed order.
You join, you work on whatever we are covering this month, and every past recording sits in your portal for whenever you need it.
Every training sits in one of the four areas, Package, Market, Sell or Run It Like a CEO, so you can go straight to the one your business needs most.
Do you offer refunds?
No. You are paying for access to the portal and the live sessions, not for consumption, so once you are inside there are no refunds.
What you can do is cancel at any time with 30 days notice by email. Billing runs on a 30-day cycle, and you will get a reminder email seven days before each payment so nothing ever takes you by surprise.
How do I cancel?
Send me an email with 30 days notice at contact@valentinapopescu.com and I will take care of it. No forms to hunt for, no retention phone call, no awkwardness.
I am not very technical. Will I keep up?
Yes. Every technical thing we do is a live screen share where you follow along with me, click by click. I have a background in programming and I have spent nearly twenty years teaching people who did not, so I go slowly and I do not assume.
Is this only for language tutors?
Not at all. The business of tutoring works the same whether you teach French, fractions, phonics or the flute. Others might teach copywriting or pilates. My own background is languages, so some examples come from there, but everything we build applies to any tutoring subject.
I already have a busy tutoring business. Will this still help?
Usually more, not less. Busy tutors are the ones most likely to be underpricing, absorbing cancellations and working without proper systems, because there has never been a spare moment to fix any of it. And hiring your first teacher is on the list, in Run It Like a CEO.
Can I work with you 1:1?
Yes. As a member you can book 1:1 time with me whenever you need it, at 50% off my standard rate, with no package to commit to.
If you want me alongside you for longer, there is also a 1:1 programme by application, for six or twelve months, with done-for-you help on things like your terms and conditions, contracts, curriculum and sales page. Ask me about it in the community or by email.
What happens straight after I join?
You will get your portal login immediately, along with the dates for your first month of live sessions. Watch anything already in the library, then come to the next live call and introduce yourself.
You have spent years getting good at teaching. Give yourself one year to get good at the business.
Twelve months from now you will either still be guessing at your prices and absorbing cancellations, or you will be running something that pays you properly and gives you your week back.
PS. The founding price is $97 a month and it stays $97 for as long as you remain a member. From 1 February 2027 it goes to $150 for everybody new. This is the cheapest this will ever be.
PPS. There is no contract. Cancel any time with 30 days notice by email. The only thing you are committing to is finding out what your business looks like when somebody finally shows you the parts nobody taught you.
PPPS. If you are still hesitating because you are not sure you are "business" enough for this, you are exactly who I built it for. I was not either. I learned. So can you.