# Your ideal student profile — a worksheet

20-minute exercise. Do it once a year. Saves you from teaching the wrong
people for free for the rest of your career.

## Step 1 — The four buckets

Open your last 12 months of students. Put each one in exactly one bucket:

- 🟢 Champions — pay on time, show up, recommend you, you enjoy teaching them
- 🟡 Stable — show up reliably, pay, but no extra spark
- 🟠 Heavy maintenance — lots of cancels / reschedules / WhatsApp outside hours
- 🔴 Net negative — drain you, late payments, late notice, complaint-heavy

If you can't decide, default to 🟡 Stable.

## Step 2 — Champions in common

For each 🟢 student, note:

- Why they originally came (goal, deadline, life moment)
- What they pay you per month on average
- How they found you
- One specific thing they often say about your classes
- How long they've been with you

Look at the list. Patterns will jump out. Write your ideal student in
one sentence:

  My ideal student is …………………………………………………

## Step 3 — Heavy maintenance

For each 🟠 student, ask:

- What specifically eats your time?
- Is the friction temporary or structural?
- Are they paying enough to justify the time you actually spend?

Most teachers find 2 or 3 students take 30%+ of admin time.

## Step 4 — Decide per bucket

- 🟢 Champions → Protect. Block recurring slots. Ask for referrals/testimonials.
- 🟡 Stable → Lift one level. What would turn them into Champions?
- 🟠 Heavy maintenance → Set a boundary. Stricter cancellation policy. No off-hours WhatsApp.
- 🔴 Net negative → Plan an exit. Finish current package, don't renew. Politely.

## Step 5 — Rewrite your description

Now that you know who you teach best, your public-facing pages should
reflect it.

Bad: "I'm a friendly teacher of Spanish for all levels."

Good: "I help working professionals (B1–C1) keep up business Spanish in
weekly 1-hour sessions, with structured homework you can actually do in
20 minutes between meetings."

Specific beats vague every time.

## When to redo this

Every 6–12 months, or whenever you feel burned out. Patterns shift as
your business grows.