Finding the time to think about your tutoring business and grow your skills isn’t easy. As a business owner, you’re likely spinning a lot of plates, from leader to administrator, educator, and strategist. So how can you find the time for personal development?
Turning to books to help you think more clearly, lead more effectively, and build businesses that last is a great idea. In fact, that’s just what Mandeep Singh Narwal, founder of The Scholar Private Tutoring, did.
These recommendations come straight from our ‘In Conversation’ series, where we learn from tutoring leaders how they create businesses that thrive. Watch the full interview here or take a look at Mandeep’s recommendations below.
Whether you're just starting or scaling up, there's something in this list for everyone.
7 book recommendations to support your tutoring business
The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life, Steven Bartlett
Raw, honest, and genuinely motivating, Bartlett distills hard-won lessons from building a business from nothing into 33 principles you can actually use. It's less about theory and more about mindset. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to get back to work!
Radical Candor: How to Get What You Want by Saying What You Mean, Kim Scott
Great tutoring businesses are built on great relationships with tutors, clients, and students. This book makes the case for honest, caring communication as the foundation of strong teams. If you manage people, this one will change how you give feedback.
A Minute to Think: Reclaim Creativity, Conquer Busyness, and Do Your Best Work, Juliet Funt
When you're running a busy agency, it's easy to spend every hour reacting rather than thinking. Sound familiar? Funt's book is a practical guide to carving out the space your best ideas need. It’s a timely read for anyone who feels constantly behind.
Principles: Life and Work, Ray Dalio
Dalio built one of the world's most successful investment firms by being relentlessly systematic; documenting his decision-making, learning from mistakes, and creating clear principles to live and lead by. It's a dense read, but the reward is a framework for running your business with greater clarity and consistency.
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, Jonathan Haidt
This one isn't a business book, and that's exactly why it's on the list. Understanding what today's students are navigating outside of their lessons makes you a more empathetic, effective tutor. Haidt's research is eye-opening and essential reading for anyone working in education right now.
The Optimistic Child: A Proven Program to Safeguard Children Against Depression and Build Lifelong Resilience, Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D
A classic from the father of positive psychology, this book offers a research-backed framework for helping children build resilience. For tutoring businesses focused on the whole student, not just their grades, it's an invaluable perspective on what lasting support actually looks like.
Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You, Ali Abdaal
A refreshing counterpoint to hustle culture. Abdaal argues that the most sustainable path to productivity isn't discipline or pressure, but rather enjoyment. For tutoring business owners building something for the long term, it's a useful reminder that how you work matters just as much as how hard you work.
There we have it! A brilliant, eclectic list from someone who clearly thinks deeply about education, leadership, and the kind of business worth building. If you haven't already, watch our full conversation with Mandeep here; it's well worth it.
