A father of nine turned his struggle to find the right tutor into a smart, sustainable business helping thousands of families.
Challenge
As a father of nine children, Pete A. was no stranger to chaos. Between school schedules, homework, and his full-time software job, keeping up with his kids’ education was a constant juggling act. When he tried to find a tutor online, he was instantly overwhelmed. There were hundreds of thousands of listings — from Craigslist ads to tutoring agencies to freelancers with their own websites.
What he needed wasn’t more options — it was clarity. But after hours of searching, he gave up, frustrated by the endless choices. That moment of overwhelm sparked an idea: if he was struggling to find the right tutor, other parents must be, too.
Action
Pete decided to build a website that solved this problem. Instead of trying to compete with existing tutoring companies, he focused on curation — collecting the best tutors in one easy-to-use place.
He started by researching the top tutoring platforms online and personally reached out to each one, explaining his idea. Of the ten he contacted, four agreed to partner with him, sharing their data so he could list their tutors on his site. The result became FindTutorsNearMe.com, a platform Pete described as “Uber for tutoring.”
The concept was simple: parents could visit the site, enter their location, and instantly see a small selection of qualified tutors nearby — not an overwhelming list of thousands. If they chose a tutor from one of the partner companies, Pete earned a referral fee. Independent tutors could also join the directory directly, keeping 100% of what they earned.
Result
The project started small, but Pete’s persistence paid off. Over time, his site connected more than 12,000 families with tutors across the country. Today, the platform earns over $5,000 a month in mostly passive income — requiring just a few hours of maintenance each week.
The key to his success wasn’t new technology or a huge marketing budget — it was simplicity. By removing the noise of too many choices and focusing on trusted options, Pete made life easier for parents who just wanted help for their kids.
Lesson
Pete’s story is proof that value doesn’t always come from inventing something new — sometimes it’s about making what already exists easier to use. In a world full of information overload, people will happily pay for clarity and convenience.
Takeaway: If you can save people time, simplify their decisions, or remove frustration, you don’t need a revolutionary idea — just a smart, focused one.
Inspired by a true story originally featured on Side Hustle School by Chris Guillebeau. This rewritten version is independently produced and fully original.