Frequently Asked Questions
Our goal at Schedule Any Lesson is to be the value leader and leading online solution connecting lesson takers with private instructors.
We provide private instructors a forum to prominently present themselves and their private instruction services to lesson takers.
Conversely, we offer lesson takers an independent forum for comparing and contrasting private instructors so that they can select the ideal instructor for their specific needs. We recognize and respect that selecting a private instructor is a very personal decision.
Our platform has unique types of site users and we have provided detailed FAQ’s for each type of user to help ensure that you have a great experience during the time you share with us.
We would like to provide you with clear concise answers so that you can make a fully informed decision about how Schedule Any Lesson will benefit you.
We have provided the following four informational sections:
1. Private Instructor Question and Answer Section
2. Lesson Taker Question and Answer Section
3. New Instructor Registration Instructions Section
4. Background Report Section
1. Private Instructor Question and Answer Section
Q. What do I receive with my Schedule Any Lesson membership?
A. Our value proposition offers the following key benefits:
1. Personalized Instructor Website
2. Website Hosting
3. Direct Personalized URL
4. Prominent Listing in Online Directory
5. Direct Access to Lesson Takers
6. Free Leads and Customer Introductions
Our goal is to provide you with a complete Marketing, Technology and Business Development solution and to provide you with far more value than we charge for.
Q. How easy is it to create my personalized website?
A. It is extremely easy and intuitive. Please see the New Instructor Registration instructions below.
Q. Why should I select Schedule Any Lesson over any other lesson connection site?
A. In addition to the value proposition described above it is equally important to understand what we do not do.
1. We do not charge users to search and select private instructors
2. We do not charge our instructors a percentage of their fees
3. We do not require users to communicate through us
4. We do not require users to pay us instead of you
5. We do not require users to schedule through us
6. We do not interfere with how you run your business
Please review the competitor analysis at the bottom of our home page to see how our cost to participate compares to the industry leaders. We want to help you make more money and then keep the hard-earned money that you do make.
Q. Isn’t it in my best interest to have my online service collect payments for me?
A. We do not think it is in your best interest to have any company doing your collecting keep a large percentage of your hard-earned money.
Additionally, we provide you with the flexibility to accept various payment methodologies including cash for your services. We believe that your charge rates and collection techniques are a private matter between you and your lesson takers.
Q. What is the minimum membership period required to participate?
A. We do not charge you anything until you create an online instructor site that you feel very favorably reflects who you are and the services you offer.
When you are ready to publish your site, you will be presented with an opportunity to agree to our Terms and Conditions and activate your monthly subscription.
Promotional Code – if you have a Promotional Code please enter it at checkout and our system will revise your price accordingly. Please enter your Promotional Code in ALL CAPS to be effectively applied.
Monthly Membership – Our goal is to earn our instructors business month after month so we only offer a monthly subscription option. There are no contracts and no long-term commitment requirements. Your monthly subscription may be canceled at any time by providing written notice to us at [email protected] We will discontinue your monthly charges effective with the next monthly charge. No partial month refunds will be issued.
Q. Why do I need to accept the Terms of Use before publishing my instructor site?
A. Our Terms of Use are clearly defined to ensure that all of our site users fully understand the conditions under which they may use our site. We very strongly encourage our site users to thoroughly read our Terms of Use prior to using our site.
Q. Can I have an instructor site and also provide referrals to Schedule Any Lesson?
A. Absolutely. There isn’t anyone that would be a better referrer than an instructor that has already experienced the value of Schedule Any Lesson. Plus, all you need to do is refer four new instructors and you will get the money back that you paid for your membership. It only takes 15 seconds to become a referrer by registering at the Referral Program tab on our home page.
Q. I have a profile on another online instructor website. Can I still subscribe to Schedule Any Lesson?
A. Absolutely. However, we feel that once you get a full sense for the value you receive from Schedule Any Lesson you will conclude that you no longer need the other site(s) and you can save some money.
Q. I already have a website, can I list it on my Schedule Any Lesson site?
A. Absolutely. You may either place your site URL in the Nickname field or in the Instructor Qualifications or Instructor Specialties sections of your Schedule Any Lesson instructor site.
We want you to be able to market yourself in every way possible. You can also link all of your social media sites to your instructor site.
Q. Does Schedule Any Lesson endorse or sponsor any instructors?
A. Absolutely Not. We do not recommend or endorse any instructor. We are providing a free service forum to the public where instructors independently present their skills and services for our site users evaluation and selection.
We understand that selecting a private instructor is a very personal decision and our goal is to provide the public with an opportunity to review instructors until they identify the perfect one for them.
We also want our instructors to be able to decide who they would and would not prefer to provide private instruction to.
Note – we only offer one level of service to ensure that every instructor is treated equally.
Q. How does Schedule Any Lesson decide which instructors to present to potential lesson takers?
A. Our system is geo-coded by zip code. Each potential lesson taker enters the zip code where they would like to receive lessons and each instructor enters the zip code where they would like to provide lessons.
Our system matches instructors and lesson takers based upon proximity to the zip codes provided by each. It starts by providing the five closest instructors to the lesson takers zip code and if the lesson taker passes on the first five it will present the next closest five until the lesson taker identifies the one they would like to work with.
Q. Does Schedule Any Lesson guarantee me new business?
A. Nobody could “guarantee” that you would gain new business. Your success depends upon a lot of factors including the quality of your instructor site, your location, your rates, your responsiveness to prospective customers etc.
What we can guarantee is a forum to dynamically represent yourself to the public with a high-profile website highlighting your skills and expertise.
Q. If I provide lessons in two of the themes of Dance – Education – Fitness & Training – Music – Sports do I need two separate memberships?
A. Yes, in the extreme case where you instruct in two significantly different themes you would need to setup two memberships.
Q. What if I teach several categories such as baseball and basketball or singing and 5 different instruments?
A. We designed our system to be robust so that you can sign up for as many categories (ex. Singing – Guitar – Brass) and subcategories (Trombone – Trumpet – Tuba – Acoustic – Electric) as you are capable of instructing. We highly encourage you to select as many categories and subcategories as you can to connect with as many potential customers as possible.
Q. What if I don’t want to put my personal information on this very public instructor site?
A. It is completely your elective as to what you do and do not make available on your public instructor site. We do not allow our instructors to put their address on the site. The only location information provided is the zip code the instructor prefers to provide lessons in.
A contact phone number is completely optional. The only contact information we require is an email address and that is a good thing. That is so potential customers can contact you directly without us.
Q. Can companies participate on the Schedule Any Lesson platform or is it only for individual instructors?
A. Yes, companies can certainly participate on our site. Please see Instruction 38 under the New Instructor Registration section for instructions on how to activate a business account.
Q. If 4 of us work together do we need one account or four accounts?
A. We are asked regularly whether a group such as a basketball team with 4 coaches or a physical therapy group with 4 therapists need one instructor site or 4 instructor sites. Our answer is yes or no.
The answer is completely dependent upon each person’s goals and objectives. If each person prefers to have their own identity and be contacted directly then each one would want to have their own instructor website. They may even want to offer different coverage zip codes.
Conversely, if the 4 instructors work together as a unit or business and want a central point of contact then they only need one instructor website. Please see Instruction 38 under the New Instructor Registration section for instructions on how to activate a business/combined account.
Q. I just completed designing my instructor website. When will it be activated and available on the Schedule Any Lesson online directory.
A. Once you click Publish your site we will be notified that a new instructor site is awaiting final review and approval. We reserve the right to review and approve all sites before activating.
In addition to subject matter appropriateness we review all sites for quality and completeness. We will review all new sites in a very timely manner and activate if appropriate. We reserve the unilateral right to not publish any site that we choose.
Q. Does Schedule Any Lesson offer services to help me create professional content such as pictures and videos?
A. No. We do not offer any content services. With that said, you do not need any professional content to have an outstanding instructor site. Everything you need can be accomplished with your smart phone and the completion instructions we have provided in the New Instructor Registration section. That section includes everything you need to know including how to establish a YouTube account to upload your videos.
Q. Can I see who has viewed my instructor site?
A. No. That is not information that we collect or share.
Q. I teach/coach/instruct a topic that is not listed on your site. How do I get my service added?
A. We have included an Other category under each of the five main themes for this specific purpose. If your topic does not fit there please feel free to contact us at [email protected] with your suggestion. We are always anxious to hear from our instructors and site users.
Q. Does Schedule Any Lesson offer a scheduling feature?
A. No, we did not build in a scheduling feature at this time. There are numerous scheduling solutions already on the market.
Our purpose is to provide you with a Marketing, Technology and Business Development solution instead of a routine scheduling solution.
Q. Does Schedule Any Lesson provide a solution for instructors that offer online training or live or taped video services?
A. Absolutely. Our instructor solution is an ideal way to introduce your training services to the public through your instructor site. We want you to gain as much incremental business as possible regardless of whether it is in person instruction or previously prepared instruction.
Q. I’m interested in signing up my organization on as a strategic affiliate of Schedule Any Lesson. What are the requirements to become an affiliate and how should I proceed?
A. We are always pleased to affiliate with other high-quality companies that share our vision for quality and integrity. Please send us an introductory email to [email protected] and explain why it would be appropriate for us to develop a mutually beneficial affiliation.
Q. How should I contact Schedule Any Lesson if I have a question or complaint?
A. We are always very interested in hearing from our site users. There is a Contact Us button under the Customer Service tab that you may use to email us at any time. You may also email us directly at [email protected]
Q. Why don’t you provide a phone number on your site?
A. Please understand that we truly want to hear from our site users. We feel that it is in everyone’s best interest that all communications be in writing so that there is a permanent record. We will respond to any emails that you submit in a timely manner. Thank you for your understanding.
2. Lesson Taker Question and Answer Section
Q. What does it cost for me to use the Schedule Any Lesson site to select a private instructor?
A. Our site is always FREE for lesson takers seeking private instructors. Please feel free to use our site as often as you like until you find the ideal instructor to meet your private instruction needs.
Q. Do I need to register an account with Schedule Any Lesson to use your site?
A. No. Please think of us as a completely free online service like Google. We will not ask you for your contact information and we will never ask you for any payment information.
Q. Can I voluntarily provide you with my contact information?
A. Yes. There are three situations where you could provide your email address.
1. If you choose to use the Contact Instructor button on a specific instructors’ site.
2. If you contact us through our Contact Us option or direct email to [email protected]
3. If you sign up for our newsletter.
We would retain your email for quality control and customer service purposes.
There are not any fields that request your address or phone number on purpose.
Q. How can I contact an instructor that I would like to learn more about?
A. It is optional for an instructor to provide a phone number on their site. If they do feel free to call or text them. If they elected not to provide a phone number please click on the Contract Instructor button on the instructor site and this will take you to a page where you can email them directly. We will not be copied on any emails that you send to an instructor.
Q. Does Schedule Any Lesson endorse or sponsor any instructors?
A. Absolutely Not. We do not recommend or endorse any instructor. We are providing a free service forum to the public where instructors independently present their skills and services for our site users evaluation and selection.
We understand that selecting a private instructor is a very personal decision and our goal is to provide the public with an opportunity to review instructors until they identify the perfect one for them.
We also want our instructors to be able to decide who they would and would not prefer to provide private instruction to.
Note – we only offer one level of service to ensure that every instructor is treated equally.
A. Our system is geo-coded by zip code. Each potential lesson taker enters the zip code where they would like to receive lessons and each instructor enters the zip code where they would like to provide lessons. Our system matches instructors and lesson takers based upon proximity to the zip codes provided by each.
It starts by providing the five closest instructors to the lesson takers zip code and if the lesson taker passes on the first five it will present the next closest five until the lesson taker identifies the one they would like to work with.
Q. Does Schedule Any Lesson require instructors to provide a background report?
A. No, we do not require background reports. However, we very highly recommend that all instructors obtain a background report and file it with us.
Q. As a site user how do I know if an instructor has a background report on file with Schedule Any Lesson and if so, how current it is?
A. If an instructor has a background report on file we will place a green shield with a check-mark next to the instructors’ name and indicate Background Report on File Dated (Date of Report) immediately below their name on their site.
If the instructor does not have a background report on file we will place the denotation “Background Report Not on File” below the instructors’ name to ensure that it is very clear as to whether there is a background report on file or not.
Q. As a site user how do I know what offenses, if any, an instructor has on their background report?
A. Schedule Any Lesson uses a very clear-cut distinction when determining if a background report indicator should or should not be placed on an instructors’ site. If the instructor has been convicted of a felony, regardless of what the felony is, we will NOT allow an instructor to present on our site.
We will not allow an instructor with a “known to us” felony to participate on our site. That means if an instructor submits a background report with a felony conviction we will prevent them from using our site. We would never present them on the site and simply not indicate that we have a background report on file.
Clearly there could be instructors on our site with felonies that do not submit a background report to us. That is just one of the reasons why we encourage our instructors to provide us with background reports and we also encourage our site users to favor instructors with background reports on file.
Q. As a site user should I place sole reliance upon the background report indicator to ensure my safety?
A. Absolutely Not. The background check report is prepared by a veteran-owned, government-regulated background check company that employers use for background checks on new hires. The searches contained in the background check follow the industry Best Practice for determining if the person has a criminal history.
That said, you should do as much due diligence as you conclude is appropriate including reference checks and interviewing the instructor to determine if the instructor is appropriate for you.
Please see the Background Report Section for more information on instructor background reports and Schedule Any Lesson’s policy on background reports.
Q. Why do I need to accept the Terms of Use before viewing any instructor profiles?
A. Our Terms of Use are clearly defined to ensure that all of our site users understand the conditions under which they may use our site. We very strongly encourage our site users to thoroughly read our Terms of Use prior to using our site.
Q. Is my business relationship with Schedule Any Lesson or with the specific instructor?
A. Your relationship is 100% with the instructor that you have chosen to do business with. We are providing an objective online directory for you to evaluate and select private instructors. It is completely your responsibility to manage your direct relationship with any instructor you select.
Q. How do I pay my instructor for private instruction?
A. It is up to you to establish your rates and payment methodology directly with the instructor that you have chosen.
Q. If I am unhappy with the instructor that I have chosen may I request a refund?
A. Your relationship is entirely between you and your chosen instructor. It would be prudent to ask the instructor about his/her payment/refund policy before making any payments. As a general recommendation we recommend never prepaying lessons.
Q. Does Schedule Any Lesson offer a scheduling feature?
A. No, we did not build in a scheduling feature at this time. There are numerous scheduling solutions already on the market that instructors can use.
Q. Can I provide a review for the instructor that I selected?
A. No, we elected to not incorporate in a review system at this time. Selecting a private instructor is a very personal decision. The same instructor might be an ideal match for one lesson taker and a horrible match for a different lesson taker through no fault of the instructor.
Q. What if I don’t see instructors in my area on the Schedule Any Lesson directory?
A. We have just started adding instructors to our national directory. Please check back often or better yet sign up as a referral source and help us add local instructors to our directory. Please review our Referral Source Section to see how easy it is to become a referral source and how lucrative it can be.
Q. How should I contact Schedule Any Lesson if I have a question or complaint?
A. We are always very interested in hearing from our site users. There is a Contact Us button under the Customer Service tab that you may use to email us at any time. You may also email us directly at [email protected]
Q. Why don’t you provide a phone number on your site?
A. Please understand that we truly want to hear from our site users. We feel that it is in everyone’s best interest that all communications are in writing so that there is a permanent record. We will respond to any emails that you submit in a timely manner. Thank you for your understanding.
3. New Instructor Registration Instructions Section
1. New Member Registration Screen – This is the first step in creating your online account. Simply provide your name, email and password. You will be able to edit your name, email or password at any time in the future using the Account Settings option under the blue dropdown button at the top right of the navigation bar once you are logged in.
Note: You are not under any economic commitment by creating an online account. In fact, you will not be under any economic commitment until you complete and approve your instructor website. We want you to be fully informed and extraordinarily pleased with your instructor website before we ever ask you for a payment.
You will have an ongoing opportunity to preview your site as you enter items and make changes to your site.
2. Terms of Use Screen – Our Site requires that all Site Users agree to our Terms of Use before access is granted to set up an instructor website or view available instructors. We take our Terms of Use very seriously and we need you to also. Please read all of the Terms of Use prior to agreeing to them.
3. New Member Welcome Email – Our site will send you a welcome email to the email address that you provided during registration.
4. Easy Navigation – Once you have registered your account you can easily navigate to see and edit your instructor site and account settings. Simply click on the Log In option in the upper right corner of your screen. Your name will appear in the blue button in the far-right corner of your screen. Click on your name and a drop-down will provide you with the following options:
A. Edit Profile – allows you to input or revise any element of your profile that you choose.
B. Account Settings – allows you to revise your name, email or password.
Note – We never have access to your password. You may change it at any time.
C. Logout
Instructor Website Completion Instructions
We have striven to make this process very easy and self-explanatory.
This is your opportunity to create a very dynamic and impressive representation of who you are and what you have to offer lesson takers.
The more information and content you include, the more you are personalizing and improving your instructor website. Our goal is to connect you with new prospective customers that are motivated by your site to reach out and contact you directly, whether by phone, social media or email.
5. Upload a Header Image – The ideal image size should be 1800 – 2000 pixels wide and 500 – 800 pixels tall. In English, this means a high-resolution image with a landscape orientation.
Recommendation – Select a photo that dynamically represents the type of services that you provide as an private instructor.
Easy to Replace Image – Once you add your first header image you will be provided with an active option to “Change Header Image” when you are in the Edit Profile mode. You can change it as many times as you like until you get it absolutely perfect. Have fun with this until you really like what you have created.
6. Upload a Profile Photo – This is an extremely important image. This photo personally introduces you to new lesson takers. This image should be a good high resolution 800 pixels wide and 1500 pixels wide. Any high-resolution portrait orientation image will work fine.
Recommendations:
1. Close up head shot
2. No cap
3. Definitely no sunglasses
Easy to Replace Profile Photo – Once you add your first profile photo you will be provided with an active option to “Change Profile Photo” when you are in the Edit Profile mode.
7. Name – Auto fills from the Account Registration screen. You can edit your name at any time using the Account Settings under the blue button at the top right of the navigation bar once you are logged in.
8. View Your Profile – Click on this link on the left at any time to take a look at what your finished site will look like. This selection will open your site in a new window so that you can easily return to the edit profile screen by returning to the initial window.
If you return to the edit profile screen and make changes you will need to click on the refresh screen to see the effect of the changes on the profile view tab you already had opened or close that window and click on View Your Profile on the edit screen.
9. View Sample Profile – Click on this sample profile link to view a very well-done instructor site that could serve as an example of how to complete yours.
10. Your Nickname – This is an optional field. It provides you with an opportunity to add a personal touch to your site.
11. Get Background Report – We do not require that you place a background report on file with us but we very highly recommend it. Our background reports are conducted through a veteran owned company named SafestHires.
If you provide a clean background report (no felony convictions) through SafestHires, the designation under your profile photo will change from “Background Report NOT on File” to “Background Report on File Dated (background report date) and a green shield with a check-mark will appear next to your name.
This background report indicator will give your potential new customers a much higher comfort level about you.
Link to SafestHires/Schedule Any Lesson background report account registration and ordering page.
https://secure.safesthires.com/register/sal-default
Please see Background Reports under our FAQ section of our Customer Service tab for a lot more details on background reports.
12. Organization/Association – This is an optional field. It provides you with an opportunity to represent the organization(s) or association(s) you are a part of that are relevant to your qualifications and expertise as an instructor.
13. Skill Levels You are Comfortable Instructing. Please designate as many classifications as you are comfortable instructing. These designations will assist potential lesson takers in making a good selection the first time. Only those that you designate will appear on your site.
Link to Your Social Media Sites
14. Facebook – Insert the direct link to your Facebook profile. If you are uncertain how to do this simply visit your Facebook profile page and follow these steps: Highlight the URL/address in your browser bar. Copy the URL/address by pressing Control C (to copy). Paste the URL/address by pressing Control V (to paste) while your cursor is in the Facebook address field.
15. Twitter – See Facebook instructions.
16. Instagram – See Facebook instructions.
17. LinkedIn – See Facebook instructions.
18. YouTube – This address field is for you to place a direct link to a YouTube channel if you have one available. It is not to link a single video to. Our instructor site design provides a large window for you to link a singular YouTube video and thumbnail for ease of viewing.
19. Contact Phone (optional) – Enter a phone number if you are willing to receive direct phone calls or texts from potential customers. Please note that unlike other lesson sites we allow direct access to our instructors for your ease of running your business without a third party in the way. We also believe direct communication enables you to connect with the most prospective customers and book more lessons.
20. Contact Email (required) – Regardless of whether you provide a contact phone number or not, we require that you provide an email for your potential customers to use. Please make sure that you provide an email that you will check frequently and will respond to on a daily basis.
21. Lesson Site – This is an optional field. This is an opportunity to indicate the physical location where you provide lessons, if applicable. Please input any descriptor that will be meaningful to your potential lesson takers in your local community such as “Lesson Taker Home” if piano lessons or “Local Natatorium” for swimming lessons etc.
22. Zip Code – This is a critically important field since this zip code will be used to match your location (coverage area) with the lesson takers seeking private instruction. Our system will present prospective lesson takers with the instructors whose zip code are closest to the lesson taker’s desired lesson location zip code.
Recommendation – Please use a zip code closest to where you want to provide lessons or where you feel it is closest to your potential new customers.
Example, say you live in a rural area and there is large sports complex 15 miles from your residence with a different zip code. If you want to instruct at the large sports complex then input the sports complex zip code instead of your residence zip code. That will ensure that you are matched with lesson takers from and close to the sports complex location.
23. Age Group Specialization – Please designate as many age groups as you are comfortable instructing. These designations will allow us to match your designated age groups with the appropriate lesson takers. Only those you designate will appear on your instructor site.
24. Theme – Select one of the five themes that are offered per the dropdown menu. Your entire site will be designed based upon the theme selected. If you want to be presented in two themes such as Sports and Fitness & Training you would need to establish two separate sites.
25. Which Categories Do You Want to Be Listed In? With a single membership you may select as many categories as you are capable of providing private instruction for. Example, under music you could potentially select Piano, Singing and Winds.
If there are subcategories under a category you may select as many subcategories as you like. Example, under Winds you could potentially select Clarinet and Saxophone.
When lesson takers seek private instruction, your site will be presented based upon the categories and subcategories that you have selected. At any time in the future you can select Edit Profile (explained above) and review and or edit all previously selected categories and subcategories.
We recommend selecting as many categories and subcategories as apply.
26. Your Custom Profile URL – This is a key part of your opportunity to directly market your site. As mentioned above, we give potential customers direct access to our instructors.
Not only do we provide direct access to your contact information, we provide you with this opportunity for people to go directly to your personalized instructor site without visiting any of the other Schedule Any Lesson site pages, including our home page.
Why is this valuable to you? It allows you to publish your personal direct URL on your business cards, social media sites, team sites, school sites, marketing materials and anywhere else you represent your private instruction services.
Selecting your personal URL – Simply enter any phrase you would like in the designated field and click Claim URL. If it is available (not previously taken by a Schedule Any Lesson instructor) it will be assigned to you and a green check-mark will appear. If it is taken you will need to configure a different URL just like you would if being notified that your request for an email address is not available.
You may change your personal URL at any time by repeating the process above. If you do make a change your relationship with your previous personal URL will be permanently deleted.
Have fun with this and pick a name (URL) that people will easily remember such as CoachJoe or GrantGardner1. Your personal direct URL will present as follows:
www.scheduleanylesson.com/CoachJoe
27. YouTube Video or Photo – Videos are a very powerful marketing tool. We highly encourage you to include a YouTube video. If you have a YouTube channel instructions for linking that to your instructor site can be found above in the social media section. This field is to link a singular YouTube video and thumbnail.
The subject matter of your YouTube could include:
1. Training video
2. Specific drill demonstration
3. An interview introducing you and your services
4. Testimonials from very pleased customers
5. Championships achieved
6. Creative marketing
YouTube Video Instructions
Step by Step YouTube Video Loading Instructions
Step 1. Log In/Create YouTube account
Step 2. Select the upload video button in the top right corner
Step 3. Select file(s) to upload. Make sure video is set to “Public”, so it can be viewed by anyone.
Step 4. Copy/Save link to YouTube video to be used on SAL profile or other sites
Step 5. (Optional) Select a custom thumbnail or upload your own image. This picture will be what is shown as the still image on an SAL profile.
Step 6. Update all videos settings such as video name and description, then hit ‘Done”.
Step 7. Do not close the page until upload is complete. Once the upload is complete, the link will take you to the video, which can be played.
28. Instructor Qualifications – This is your opportunity to fully describe who you are and what Qualifications you have to offer. We recommend including:
A. Credentials
B. Bio
C. Education
D. Experience
E. Awards
F. Success Stories
G. Teaching Strategy
H. Recommendations
I. Philosophy
J. Other Descriptors
We have included a text editing function in this informational field and the next one, Instructor Specialties.
Please take the time to make sure that your text is clear and concise and presents itself very legibility with spacing, capitalization, bolding, underlining etc.
This text box will expand to as large as you need it so please do not try to force a lot of information about yourself in a small space.
Your effort in this field and Instructor Specialties field one will go a long way towards attracting new customers by highlighting your qualifications, experience and specialties.
Recommendation – You might find it easiest to create your text for this field in Word and then cut and paste it into this field and the next field.
The edit tools provide you with a right and left (at the same time) justify button. It is the edit button with all of the lines the same with. We highly encourage you to right and left justify your text so that it achieves maximum legibility.
Qualification and Specialties fields that don’t have much content or are poorly constructed might prompt potential clients to pass on considering you for private lessons. Please note, you must save changes after each edit as indicated.
Note: We have designed the size of the input field for your Instructor Qualifications and Instructor Specialties to size adjust as needed. We want you to have all of the space that you need and at the same time not have any unused space appearing on your instructor site.
If you input a lot of text the input field may automatically add a slider bar at the right. If you are comfortable using a slider bar then that will allow you to see and edit all of the text that has been input.
If you prefer to see the entire field without a slider bar simply go to the bottom right of this input field box and click on and drag down the bottom line of the box until it expands to your desired size.
29. Instructor Specialties – Potential lesson takers will be very focused on how your teaching specialties align with their specific needs or weaknesses that they are striving to improve.
This is not the time to be brief. If you have highly developed skill-sets and expertise in numerous areas please define each area to ensure the best possible match with future customers.
For example, you could be one of the very best volleyball coaches with tremendous skillsets and experience in six different attributes such as setting, serving, defense, game management, mental toughness and player development.
If you simply indicate that you are highly proficient in teaching high school/select volleyball players you will leave 95% of your relevant skills off and not earn the new customers that you could have with a well-done site.
Our thesis for Schedule Any Lesson is to provide far more value than we charge for.
We highly encourage you to fully represent the value you provide so that you attract the most potential new customers and are able to fully justify your lesson rates.
As above, we suggest that presentation is extremely important.
Please use the formatting tool to make sure you create an impressive portrayal of your instructional specialties. Please note, you must save changes after each edit as indicated.
Please see the Recommendations and Note instructions in number 28 above for additional completion instructions.
30. Instructor Certifications – This is an opportunity to recognize any certifications that you have earned during your instructional career or while you were active in the topic that you are now teaching. These fields are for concise references such as “Gold Star Award” or “Teacher of the Year” etc.
Please feel free to expand upon your certifications in the Instructor Qualifications section above.
31. References – Please consider your references here to be as important as if you were seeking a new job. Dutiful lesson takers will check your references to get a first impression about you as a person and as an instructor. A lack of references could hurt your ability to gain new customers.
Please note, you must save each reference as indicated.
Recommendation – Please make sure that you obtain permission from each of your references before placing any of their information on this very public forum.
32. Instructor Rates – This is an optional feature. It has been designed to allow you to indicate any type of rate you choose from time (half hour or hour) to an event (half day fishing trip) to a complete event. If you do not enter any rates this rate section will not appear on your site. You can type in an exact amount with decimals or use the up/down arrows to select the amount you would like represented.
Please note, you must save each rate individually as indicated.
33. Availability – This is an optional feature. We very deliberately do not offer a scheduling tool as part of our service. Our purpose is to connect lesson givers with lesson takers and then get out of the way and let the two parties manage their relationship directly.
The purpose of this section is to give potential customers a generalized view of when you are typically available and not available for private instruction. You may have a full-time job and only offer instructions 3 nights a week and on Saturdays. This will allow you to convey that to potential customers. You may be a teacher that is off for the summer and you can change your availability to the days and times you are accepting new customers.
34. Photo Gallery – This is the fun zone. This area will accept almost any digital photo and present it well. You may need to crop your photos before uploading to ensure the best possible presentation. We recommend adding at least twelve (12) photos to make your site as impressive as possible. Think of this space as your highlight reel.
This is your opportunity to be very creative and expressive regarding your private instruction and accomplishments. For example, if you won a state choir competition here is an opportunity to recognize that or a regional volleyball competition or a dance competition.
One of the biggest benefits of private instruction is that people are seeking a competitive advantage. This is where you show the successes that you have had as well as the successes of your previous lesson takers.
Note: Less than 10% of uploaded photos will not load properly. They may be unclear or sideways or upside down. If that occurs, you will need to select a different photo to use or adjust the properties of the photo and try to upload it again. If a photo does not present well we will not be able to assist you with this automated function.
A great feature of this area is that each photo can be clicked on and enlarged with the zoom icon that appears when the cursor is placed over the photo. There is also a directional arrow that allows for easy scrolling through of all photos in your gallery. The photos also resize for the best possible presentation during scrolling.
Do Not undervalue this part of your site.
35. Publish Profile – You Did It. Hopefully you agree with us that the build out of your personal site was very easy and intuitive. Please make sure you click on the “View Your Profile” option at the top left to do a thorough final review of your site.
Final Reminder – all of the information that you are about to publish on your site will be completely available to the public. When you agree to our Terms of Service you are indicating that you have the rights or permission to present all of this information publicly.
You are also granting us your consent to use this information for whatever business purposes we deem appropriate. If you are not comfortable with either of these conditions DO NOT publish your site.
Conversely, if you just created a very impressive site and cannot wait for the world to see it so that you can start marketing yourself and receiving new customers, click on the Publish button.
36. Payment Information – We never see your personal information (PI) when you submit a payment. We use the payment processor Stripe, and the information you enter is directly entered into their system instead of ours.
The information is immediately encrypted and submitted to the appropriate card issuer company. We will immediately receive notification that your payment has been approved and your instructor site will be sent to our Administrative team.
Administrative Review – we will review your site for appropriateness and completeness and then activate, if appropriate. Our review process typically takes less than 24 hours to complete. Please bookmark your personalized URL and check back in 24 hours to see if you site is now active.
37. Payment Option – We offer a monthly payment option which can be canceled at any time. If you cancel your monthly payment option we will discontinue your future charges immediately. Please notify us at [email protected] if you would like to cancel.
No partial month refunds will be issued.
38. Promotional Code – If you have a promotional code please enter it at the first stage of the checkout process. Your subscription amount will be revised accordingly.
39. Company Account Instead of Individual Account – We are asked regularly whether a group such as a basketball team with 4 coaches or a Physical Therapy Group with 4 therapists need one account or 4 instructor sites. Our answer is yes or no.
The answer is completely dependent upon each person’s goals and objectives.
If each person prefers to have their own identity and be contacted directly then each would want to have their own instructor website. They may even want different coverage zip codes.
Conversely, if the 4 instructors work together as a unit or business and want a central point of contact then they only need one instructor website.
They would simply want to make the following modifications to their site:
1. Enter a company name upon registration instead of a personal name. For example, First Name: “Prime Fitness”; Last Name: “Studio” will appear as ‘Prime Fitness Studio” on your instructor website
2. Upload a company or team photo in the Header Image field
3. Upload a company or team logo in the Profile Photo field.
4. Enter a company website address in the Nickname field
5. Enter informational text in the Qualifications and Specialties fields
6. Upload a photo of each person involved in the photo gallery
Those minor alterations should very successfully allow you to create a group or company website.
4. Background Report Section
Q. Does Schedule Any Lesson endorse or sponsor any instructors?
A. Absolutely Not. We do not recommend or endorse any instructor. We are providing a free service forum to the public where instructors independently present their skills and services for our site users evaluation and selection.
We understand that selecting a private instructor is a very personal decision and our goal is to provide the public with an opportunity to review instructors until they identify the perfect one for them.
We also want our instructors to be able to decide who they would and would not prefer to provide private instruction to.
Note – we only offer one level of service to ensure that every instructor is treated equally.
Q. Does Schedule Any Lesson require instructors to provide a background report?
A. No, we do not require background reports. However, we very highly recommend that all instructors obtain a background report and file it with us.
Q. As a site user how do I know if an instructor has a background report on file with Schedule Any Lesson and if so, how current it is?
A. If an instructor has a background report on file we will place a green shield with a check-mark next to the instructors’ name and indicate Background Report on File Dated (Date of Report) immediately below their name on their site.
If the instructor does not have a background report on file we will place the denotation “Background Report Not on File” below the instructors’ name to ensure that it is very clear as to whether there is a background report on file or not.
Q. As a site user should I place sole reliance upon the background report indicator to ensure my safety?
A. Absolutely Not. The background check report is prepared by a veteran-owned, government-regulated background check company that employers use for background checks on new hires. The searches contained in the background check follow the industry Best Practice for determining if the person has a criminal history.
That said, you should do as much due diligence as you conclude is appropriate including reference checks and interviewing the instructor to determine if the instructor is appropriate for you.
Q. What company does Schedule Any Lesson require instructors to use for a qualifying background report?
A. Due to all of the variations of background reports on the market we only accept background reports from one company which is SafestHires. They are a veteran owned company that strictly adheres to the high-level of background report criteria that we have established as qualifying standards.
Q. How long does it take for an instructor to obtain a SafestHires background report?
A. On average it takes 1 to 3 days and sometimes longer. It depends upon how many manual criminal record checks must be done at the local reporting level.
Q. What are the background report requirements for Schedule Any Lesson to indicate there is a report on file?
A. There are many different versions of background reports available on the market from a quick electronic scan of national databases to a more in-depth search of court records in the person’s current and/or previous counties of residence.
Our goal is to provide as much high-quality information as possible for our site users to evaluate when selecting an instructor.
Schedule Any Lesson requires the following background report qualifying attributes.
Address Validation
Social Security Number Trace
National Criminal Database Check
Sex Offender Database Check
7 Year County Criminal Check – covering current and prior counties of residence, as identified from the Address History Search
Many background reports only cover one year or three years for their county criminal check.
We feel it is very important to check the most recent SEVEN years to ensure the highest level of protection.
Q. How does Schedule Any Lesson obtain a copy of the instructors’ background report?
A. During the SafestHires report ordering process, the instructor must give SafestHires consent to automatically email a copy of the report to Schedule Any Lesson.
This automated process prevents instructors from obtaining their report first and then not sharing their reports if there are adverse items on the report.
Note: If an instructor determines that there are errors on their report they should contact SafestHires for assistance with resolving the discrepancies.
Schedule Any Lesson retains to the right to not present any instructor on the Schedule Any Lesson site for any reason whatsoever regardless of whether it is related to a background report.
Q. As a site user may I obtain a copy of an instructors’ background report from Schedule Any Lesson?
A. No, we do not release instructors’ background reports. We feel that it is sufficient to provide a ‘Background Report on File” designation as discussed above.
However, all site users should always feel free to request a background report directly from the instructor regardless of whether there is a background report indicator on their Schedule Any Lesson site or not.
Q. What is the cost of the background report to the instructor and do they pay SafestHires directly?
A. The background report registration and reporting process is completely between SafestHires and the instructor. The standard cost for a SafestHires comprehensive background report is $29.99 regardless of how many counties require a manual search of the records.
Q. As a site user how do I know what offenses, if any, an instructor has on their background report?
A. Schedule Any Lesson uses a very clear-cut distinction when determining if a background report indicator should or should not be placed on an instructors’ site.
If the instructor has been convicted of a felony, regardless of what the felony is, we will NOT allow an instructor to present on our site.
We will not allow an instructor with a “known to us” felony to participate on our site. That means if an instructor submits a background report with a felony conviction we will prevent them from using our site. We would never present them on the site and simply not indicate that we have a background report on file.
Clearly there could be instructors on our site with felonies that do not submit a background report to us. That is just one of the reasons why we encourage our instructors to provide us with background reports and we also encourage our site users to favor instructors with background reports on file.
Q. How often do you update the background report indicator on the instructors site?
A. We encourage our instructors to provide an updated background report each year. However, since we do not require background checks, we do not require report updating either.
We have placed sole responsibility for background reporting in the hands of the instructors. Their goal should be to make the very best presentation of themselves possible to the public and that should include filing a background report and then keeping their reporting current.
Q. What does Schedule Any Lesson do to assist instructors with obtaining a background report?
A. We have established a proprietary relationship with SafestHires for quality control and compliance purposes. This includes the following assistance links:
Link to SafestHires/Schedule Any Lesson background report account registration and ordering page.
https://secure.safesthires.com/register/sal-default
Link to SafestHires/Schedule Any Lesson background report ordering instructional video.
Link to SafestHires/Schedule Any Lesson background report blog – top 5 reasons to obtain a report.
https://www.safesthires.com/schedule-any-lesson-top-5-reasons-get-background-check/