8 Online Language Coaching Business Success Stories [2024]

Updated: November 19th, 2023
Start An Online Language Coaching Business

The world has become more globalized. Businesses have become cross-border, and executives have to travel to meet new customers. One thing that is obvious is that there is a need for language translation services.

If you have proficiency in one or more foreign languages then you can consider working as a language coach.

Teaching a language online is intensive as you have to meet and communicate with the audience often, and check their progress. If you are looking for an opportunity to earn working online, consider starting online language lessons.

Here are some real life success stories of starting a online language coaching business:

1. Marlena Jorn Tutors ($2.88K/year)

Marlena Jorn, founder of Marlena Jorn Tutors, was inspired to start her business after witnessing a decline in the availability of the German language throughout her own education. With six months of teaching experience under her belt, Marlena felt confident in her abilities and decided to branch out on her own, offering private, one-on-one German lessons to both children and adults. Through word-of-mouth advertising and a strong online presence, Marlena is working towards building a solid clientele and making German available to anyone interested.

How much they make: $2.88K/year
How much did it cost to start: $300
Current team size: 1

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On Starting A Private German Lessons Online Service

Marlena Jorn started Marlena Jorn Tutors in teaching German to a group of people privately; she learned through experience what worked best to design her class structure and advertising/marketing materials, and from word of mouth has gained a very successful response so far.

About
Marlena started Marlena Jorn Tutors over 3 years ago
Revenue
Marlena grew the business to $240/month
Costs
It cost Marlena $300 to start the business
Read by 5,936 founders

2. Andalus Institute ($900K/year)

Muhammad Al Andalusi, founder of Andalus Institute, came up with the idea for his online language learning institution after struggling to find a comprehensive Arabic program in his hometown. Inspired by mentors who taught lucrative skills, Muhammad combined his language, tech, sales, marketing, and public speaking abilities to create Andalus Institute, which quickly surpassed his initial goal of $1,000 per month and now averages $30,000 in revenue per month.

How much they make: $900K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
Current team size: 11

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Transforming The Love For Languages Into A $30K/Month Arabic Online Learning Platform

Andalus Institute is an online language learning institution that teaches Arabic to students in an average study period time of 15 months, unexpectedly crossing 6 figures in revenue within the first 6 months of launch and has since averaged $30,000 per month in revenue.

About
Muhammad started Andalus Institute about 5 years ago
Revenue
Muhammad grew the business to $75K/month
Costs
It cost Muhammad $500 to start the business
Read by 5,120 founders

So... can you actually make money with a online language coaching business?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

  1. Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
  2. Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
  3. Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now

3. Duolingo ($162M/year)

How much they make: $162M/year
Current team size:

reCAPTCHA and Duolingo: Luis von Ahn: How I Built This with Guy Raz

Discover how a PhD student's creation of CAPTCHA has evolved into the language-learning app Duolingo, valued at $1.5 billion today and experiencing a surge of growth during the pandemic.

Revenue
Luis grew the business to $13.5M/month
Read by 1,003 founders

4. Fluent In 3 Months ($1.09M/year)

How much they make: $1.09M/year
Current team size: 11

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Benny Lewis On How To Make 7 Figures Language Hacking

Fluent in 3 Months receives over 2 million monthly visits and Benny Lewis, the founder, is now a 7-figure business coach who teaches people how to create online businesses.

About
Benny started Fluent In 3 Months almost 15 years ago
Revenue
Benny grew the business to $91K/month
Read by 903 founders

So... can you actually make money with a online language coaching business?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

  1. Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
  2. Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
  3. Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now

5. Hyperfluent ($120K/year)

While the country was recovering from the effects of the Great Recession, Eva, like other graduates was having trouble finding a job. She took a road trip to decide the career path she wants to take, and remembered jotting down three of her passions: children, travelling, and languages. This was the start for Hyperfluent.

How much they make: $120K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
Current team size: 0

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How I Make $9K/Month Teaching Languages To NBA And Premier League Players

Eva Rosales founded Hyperfluent, a language acquisition consultancy service, which incorporates personalized consultations, tutoring and translational services, language immersion programs, and more, and can make a monthly profit of $9,000-10,000.

About
Eva started Hyperfluent about 13 years ago
Revenue
Eva grew the business to $10K/month
Costs
It cost Eva $1000 to start the business
Read by 2,249 founders