15 May 2026 · 5 min read · By Harriet
People always ask the same thing. 'How did you actually do it?' Not the polished LinkedIn version — the real one. Here's the short version of how I left teaching and built a tutoring business that now teaches 100 children a week.
The decision didn't happen overnight
I was a Year 1 teacher for five years. I loved the children. I did not love the rest. By the time I went on maternity leave I already knew, quietly, that I wasn't going back — I just hadn't said it out loud yet.
What changed it from a feeling into a plan was one small experiment. I took on two children for an hour a week at my kitchen table. That's it. That was the moment everything shifted, and I'll tell you why in a second.
What I built (and what I didn't)
I didn't build a fancy website. I didn't quit on a Wednesday. I didn't post on Instagram for six months hoping someone would notice. I built one specific thing first — and that one thing is what every teacher I now work with builds too.
Within months I had a waiting list. Within a year I'd replaced my teaching salary. Within two I'd doubled it, working fewer hours, on my own terms. The model is repeatable. It isn't luck.
What I wish someone had told me
That the maths works much faster than schools want you to believe. That you don't need to replace your full salary on day one. That the children you'll teach as a tutor are nothing like the version of teaching that's burning you out. And that the biggest thing standing between you and your exit isn't money — it's not having a plan.
Want the full playbook?
I cover exactly how I built this — the pricing, the structure, the first-clients formula and the exact steps to leave teaching cleanly — inside The Ultimate Teacher Exit Plan. If you want the full version, you can find out more about the course here: /the-course
Want the full step-by-step? See The Ultimate Teacher Exit Plan — the complete course for teachers leaving the classroom.
