Meet Beth Geoffroy | Private Tutor & Math Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Beth Geoffroy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Beth, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I probably don’t have the most typical “start-up” story that other business owners have. My business began when my husband and I moved from Florida to Texas and I was still a classroom teacher. We moved in May, so I began offering private tutoring in my new area to make ends meet during the summer months while I was searching for a teaching position. However, once I started working with students in a one-on-one environment, and I saw that the demand was there, I quickly decided that I did not want to return to the classroom, and I wanted to make tutoring my full-time work. I began thinking about ways I could help my community by offering support outside of the classroom. I didn’t necessarily know what it would take to start my own business at the time, but I did know how to help parents and students with filling in learning gaps, or providing extra practice to strengthen skills. I knew there was a lot to learn about building a successful business, and it needed to include providing excellent service if I wanted that business to grow. I wanted to create a professional online presence so parents would know that I was serious, and that this wasn’t just a side-gig. I made sure to meet students with patience and a fun approach to learning to help them gain the confidence they needed to be successful.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I have run my own private tutoring business since 2012. I mostly work with students in grades 6 – 11 in math, but I also work with elementary students in all subjects if requested. I started out driving to students’ houses after school to help support them with homework, extra practice, filling in learning gaps, etc. After a few years, I was able to have a home with some extra space for a home office. Students would come to my home for their sessions which allowed me to help more students since I didn’t have to factor in drive-time between houses and could schedule students back-to-back. For those first few years, my business grew and grew. Clients would refer me to their friends and family members. I am forever grateful to clients who tell others about me.

In 2014, I began learning more about online tutoring. I researched software and websites that could make this all possible, and I began offering online tutoring to a few of my clients in 2015. At the time, many parents were hesitant about online tutoring. They didn’t think it would be personal enough and didn’t think their children could learn in this way. I think many didn’t understand the technology, so it was scary to them. However, in January of 2019, I asked all of my clients to give online tutoring a try for 1 month. If they didn’t like it, they could return to in-person tutoring at my home for the remainder of the school year. Out of the 20 students I had at the time, only 1 returned to in-person tutoring simply because the rural location they lived in did not have good internet service. I think many parents saw the benefits of online tutoring, and their children were still getting the same level of help they needed. This is probably the biggest step I took for my business and the thing that I am most proud of. I had no idea what the world had in store for all of us just a little over a year later in spring of 2020. The fact that I was already running my tutoring business 100% online before the pandemic gave my current clients and students some relief, and brought in new clients and students looking for someone who could help right away.

The more closely I worked with parents and students, the more I heard the same theme over and over: Parents were frustrated with understanding the methods in which their children were being taught math skills at school. I would hear phrases like, “They don’t teach math the same way anymore.” and, “I’m just not sure how to help them. I can show them the way I learned how to do it, but that’s not what the teacher wants.” So in 2014, I began making math videos on YouTube focusing on helping parents help their children with math. I wanted to create a platform where I could show how these alternative methods worked. I immediately started getting feedback from my clients as well as people on YouTube about my content. Because I already offered online tutoring, I even started getting new clients who found me via my videos! I started working with students all over the country, which is something I never really considered could happen from creating my channel, but I’m so glad it did! My current record for longest distance between my students and me is from Colorado to Pakistan! I currently have students in 4 different time zones, one of them being Frankfurt, Germany!

Owning my own business and working online with students has given my family and me such freedom and flexibility. My husband, our 2 dogs, and I were able to move to Colorado in 2023. My husband grew up in Colorado and wanted to return to be closer to family, and I’m so grateful that we’ve been able to do so. We love living near the mountains and being surrounded by nature!

I am so thankful to my past and current clients who have made this life possible for me. There is no better feeling than to help students gain confidence and show them that math isn’t so scary after all.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Living in Loveland has been the absolute best! There is always something to do! Our favorite restraunt is A.K.A. Kitchen – their food and drinks are out of this world! We also love walking around Downtown Loveland stopping in to check out the many boutiques and art galleries. For a fun date night we often see a movie at the Metrolux, or maybe listen to some live music in the Foundry Square. I also like to check out the Loveland Art Museum, as well as our favorite breweries: Loveland Aleworks, Verboten, and Sky Bear. A tour of the Benson Sculpture Park and Chapungu Sculpture Park is a must. For more nature, we sometimes head just 1 hour west to Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park, or perhaps Horsetooth for some hiking or even camping.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband, Jared, is hands down, my biggest supporter. He saw how miserable I was teaching in the public school system, and was right there with me as I was getting started with my tutoring business. There were many nights I needed to work late to help my students and he was ready with dinner when I got home. For many years I opened up our home as a home office to meet students in person and he was welcoming and patient to everyone who came through our door. The financial, emotional, and mental toll that owning your own business can bring can be overwhelming and stressful, but he was there for it all, and still tells me regularly how proud he is of me and my success. I really could not have taken this leap of faith without his support.

Website: www.mytutoringbee.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytutoringbee/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-geoffroy-7542034b/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyTutoringBee/

Youtube: https://www.facebook.com/MyTutoringBee/

Other: TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@mytutoringbee