What Does a Business Tutor Do?

The title 'business tutor' is a generic label that can apply to a personal teacher who helps an individual master business-related academic coursework or a practical mentor who helps a business owner master the functional aspects of running a business. In either case, a business tutor is expected to have expert knowledge that will be delivered on a one-to-one basis. This tutoring can take place in person, over the internet or on the phone.

Tutoring is a method of teaching that relies on one-to-one interaction between an expert and a learner. The learning model is based on the notion that extra individualized instruction, with explanations targeted to the learner's specific areas of weakness, can enable a student to learn material that was not grasped during a group lesson. Tutors are available in every conceivable subject.

A business tutor in the ordinary sense is simply a tutor with topical expertise in business-related subjects. This sort of tutor can be engaged at the undergraduate or graduate levels. The tutor can focus on coursework or test preparation. Typically, a business tutor in this context meets with a student and goes over homework, daily lessons or sample exams. Some tutors will use their own lesson plans that are developed after the tutor assesses the student's individual needs.

The types of academic subjects that a business tutor might be hired to teach include business math, statistics and writing. Some tutors are engaged to help with specific content areas, such as accounting or economics. In the test-taking arena, a business tutor might be hired to help prepare a student for a standardized admissions test to graduate business programs.

Another type of business tutor is a mentor to business owners. Some commercial businesses, government agencies and nonprofit organizations run programs that match experienced business executives with inexperienced business owners. This sort of mentoring takes a individualized, hand-on approach to increasing the knowledge-base of working people. Business tutors are often engaged at the startup phase to help entrepreneurs create business plans, generate financial statements, prepare loan packages and do market surveys.

This type of clinical approach to business learning can also impact an established business owner. A business tutor can help reorganize a business so it is more profitable or create a strategic plan that can impact the business' prospects in the future. In this way, the tutor functions much like a consultant but with more of a hand-holding, personalized approach.