Starting your own English teaching business

[leozeh]

Superb 'mycolumbus'

thanks a LOT!!

[kdavid]

A few of the more important aspects come down to schedule flexibiliy, consumer demand and range of income of those you're targetting. For me to start my own school (and make it worth my while), for example, I'd need to charge double what my school is. This usually cuts out a lot of potential students as many Chinese can't see the value in paying more "quality".

Just my 2 cents.

[LauraFaye]

This is definitely something I have considered. I think the market is pretty saturated here in Madrid. However, I am considering a business idea in the US with more of a niche market. Im concerned about qualifications and gaining student confidence, however.

[Boke]

Yes I do have my own school, it was hard to start but I started with privates at cafes and community centers and went from there

[AdvantageEnglish]

I've also turned a spare room into a classroom. It probably cost about $1000 in setup costs. That got me a nice, large 6,seater table, bookshelf, cabinet, whiteboard and a very good set of teaching resources.

The biggest thing is the legwork and advertising... You'll get out what you put in... For me, that was hours and hours of walking around my neighbourhood dropping flyers in letterboxes... I literally dropped thousands of flyers over a few months. The flyers were 8 ads to an A3 page and were made at Kinkos for very little money...

Decorate your room like a classroom... Put up a map of your home country, some English charts or whatever...

At my busiest point I had 25 private students as well as another full time teaching job... I was earning more from my privates than from my full time job but working 7 days a week...

The problem with this is the legality of the work... If this worries you, check whether you can simply claim the income and pay the taxes or if you must be a registered business to operate.

Also... it's a good idea to set up a cheap website - get friends to help you put it into the local language. Offering students the chance to email you in their native language will get you a much greater response rate... Many people are reluctant to write to you in English... If you don't speak the local language, getting a friend to help you as your assistant can be a great investment... Better still, a high level English student can answer your mail and translate your website in exchange for advanced English lessons !

Good luck with it.

[eslsurvey]

I am starting my own business in my home and hoping to attract international students. I live in British Columbia, Canada in a rural area. We are an almost 100% English speaking community which is good for student learning but a challenge for finding students. I am targetting international students who would come as an ESL holiday or as preparation for academic study at a college or university in Canada.

I first need to find out if there is a need for this type of program. My program will be a one month intensive immersion teacher homestudy/homestay. Students would live with me for one month with classes in the home and activities in the community. To find out student needs I designed a student needs survey. It is on this site at
esl student survey
It is also online at ESL International Student Preference Survey . I am looking for adult ESL students in any country who would be willing to fill out this survey. Can anyone help?

Also, has anyone done a live-in ESL homestudy as I am planning? Ideas?

I have a degree in English and a CERTESL Certificate from the University of Saskatchewan and am certified by TESL Canada Federation TESL Canada

I look forward to your replies.

Yours truly,

Barbara

[gfell]

Hi Barbara,

Interesting concept. There would be a need for such a great service, but you would need to market yourself properly and gain the trust that ESL students want. Would be a good idea to affiliate yourself with a larger company or gain some sort of 3rd party endorsement.

You may want to advertise also in kfm.to for Japanese students.