Job Discussion Forums

[Yawarakaijin]

Just curious if anyone out there owns or has friends who own their own eikaiwa. I'm currently working for a Japanese engineering company doing mostly business classes but have recently had an interesting offer proposed to me.

The company also runs a small language school and I have been given the option of taking it over. The owner is currently getting into other areas and has quite honestly told me that he just isnt interested in running the school anymore. With two native language teachers and a Japanese staff member the school is currently making a small profit. If I were to take it over and teach the classes myself as well as keep the one Japanese staff memeber currently working there I would basically maintain if not slightly improve my current income situation. From what I understand the school is in a fairly affluent area of Tokyo and there remains room from growth to possibly increase profits.

Basically he is willing to up and give me his school with no cost to me at all. It does sound a little to good to be true.

I know I have'nt given much detail. Quite honestly I have yet to discuss the issue in depth with the current owner.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience running an eikaiwa and if they were willing to offer up some advice. Thanks in advance:)

[JimDunlop2]

I have no less than 3 different friends who own their own eikaiwas (ranging in size and numbers of students).... But one thing they have in common.... They ALL work like bloody DOGS! Sure, at least it's their own business and they're not working for "the man" but it's not an easy way to make a buck.

Secondly, they pretty much ALL have a Japanese spouse. There are many reasons for this. Visa (first and foremost) but even when that's NOT an issue, they also found it very helpful to have a nihonjin around in order to be able to rent retail space. It's one thing to have landlords rent houses/apartments to foreigners, but it's completely another altogether when it comes to renting RETAIL space -- just imagine 2x the xenophobia....

Third, unless you are i-kyuu (Level 1 Japanese proficiency) or better, -- you'll want to have a native Japanese speaker to work your reception and do the office paperwork. There is a HUGE trust issue in customers being able to speak with a native-speaker rather than a foreigner. Even if you ARE able to understand 90% of what they are saying, and make yourself understood to them at a high level, there are often nuances that get picked up by native-speakers that we just won't get... And that can often mean the difference between making or breaking a contract. (Hence, another reason why most of my eikaiwa-owning friends are married to locals)....

Lastly, I know of ONE person who came in without any of the above, but he BOUGHT the eikaiwa from someone... It was already a well-established (and hopefully thriving) business. If you have the capital, then consider buying an eikaiwa from someone who's looking to leave the business. These kinds of places do abound. I've seen many in my time here. It may be a good way to get your foot in the door.

But honestly, for me -- you couldn't pay me enough to get me to own my own eikaiwa..... Not unless it were solely an OWNERSHIP thing, where I didn't have to work there at all, but oversee the operations, having hired competent enough staff to run it more or less themselves, with me just taking the profit! Yeah, I know... Highly unlikely -- which is why I have no desire for it.

[Brooks]

I know of a teacher who owns his own school.
I think his wife takes care of anything realted to Japanese (answering the phone or talking to customers).
His own Japanese isn`t so good - sankyu level or so.

Business isn`t so good so he got a job teaching at a university part-time.

I think location is key. Ideally the school must be a 5 minute walk or less from a train station.

[JimDunlop2]

Sorry, I kinda glossed over the part where you detailed that this person wants to give you his eikaiwa at NO COST.

Honestly, (and if he is an honest man) ask to see the books. Study them. If you can't understand them, take them to someone who does -- preferably a bi-lingual accountant... It's not something I would undertake lightly without knowing FULL well the amount of money I would expect to bring in each month.....

If he's not willing to show you the books (or if he insists, "Oh, don't worry -- in any given month you'll usually make $$$$$$$...) RUN far away.

[seanmcginty]

Yeah, I would never in a million years want to run a formal Eikaiwa.

I had an Eikaiwa of sorts for a couple of years, I would describe it as somewhere in between a guy teaching privates on the side and someone having a full fledge school. My wife and I set up one room in our apartment as a classroom, invested a fair amount in setting it up, getting materials, and then started offering lessons out of it. For two years it was our main source of income and it was a great time.

But having a real Eikaiwa school is just way too much work for too little reward. Having something big enough that it requires you to hire other people would be where I drew the line, that just opens up a whole new can of worms.

[Yawarakaijin]

Thanks for the response so far guys, very interesting. Just a few more things. I know the man pretty well and I do trust him seeing as bascially we will be working side by side, sharing the retail space, with me looking after the school and him doing his own thing next door.

The rent isnt really much of an issue as probably he will keep the entire building in his name and I simply pay out my portion of the rent ( of course this will be looked into thouroughly) He asks that I retain the Japanese staff member currently working there as she has been with the school forever and the students know her. I'm not too worried about shady business practices but am interested in hearing about all the unexpected events that could possibly come up.

I still do love teaching, nowhere near getting burned out from it, so its all the other small things about owning a business in Japan that I'm kinda worried about.

[gaijinalways]

Contact Earthmonkey about this, he took over a similar situation in another area of Tokyo. One difference is he was already the main teacher, so of course he knew a lot of the students already.

Dealing with clients is a always the tricky part, so having a native Japanese speaker there is essential. Also you have to think about sales promotions as well.

[JimDunlop2]

It's not a matter of trust. Friendship is great but business is business. Seriously. Ask to look over the books before you make a commitment you might have a hard time getting out of (and that could put your friendship at stake).....

[saloc]

I own my own school and have never been happier. But, most of what Jim D says is true - you need absolutely fantastic Japanese or a Japanese employee (my wife is Japanese), and it is hard work. However, if it is run properly, the rewards make it well worth it, both financially and professionally.

If you are to do most of the teaching, you can guarantee real continuity with your students and as it is your livelihood I am sure you would do your best to teach them well. In this case, you can see real improvements and tend to get very loyal customers. But, once you get into hiring other teachers you have to be extremely careful. A bad hire can be terrible for your business and even good teachers who up and leave (as can only be expected in the EFL industry) can cause headaches because students don't like constant change, or a successor may find it hard to live up to a popular predecessor.

More teachers doesn't necessarily mean more money. In fact, unless you have quite a few teachers it can mean considerably less money for you. If teaching is what you love, you would be best to stay small and ensure a good income and continuity. If your plans are to expand, then you really have to look at going very big, to make it worth the headaches IMHO.

I know you are not intending to do this but I would strongly advise against buying a school which only has one teacher. Usually, you are not buying a business in those situations, you are buying students, who may well quit the second the other teacher leaves. You would be as well just starting up on our own. Provided you enjoy the job, have a native Japanese speaker at hand and have a good location, you would soon have as many students as you were buying anyway.

Whatever you do, look at the books carefully - if I read your post correctly, you said that if you take over the teaching and only keep the Japanese staff, you would maintain your salary or maybe improve it slightly. Remember that if you operate as a one teacher operation, there are only so many students you can teach - is there much room for staying small and improving that salary in the future? If not, are you prepared to put in all the extra work for what amounts to your current salary, or willing to take the risks necessary to try and go big?

Sorry this note is long and rambling, but I hope it gives you something to think about.

[Eva Pilot]

I am suited only to the grunt work of EFL. I don't have the motivation or initiative to strive for more.

[Yawarakaijin]

Thanks everyone, all the advice has been very interesting so far. If I were to take it over I dont think I would have any desire to make it into a huge operation or anything.

From what I know now the current teacher is only putting in 5/6 hours per day. So in terms of making it a little more profitable I imagine there is room for growth providing I would like to work those horrible 9 hour days we used to be so used to back home

The more I look into it the more promising/frightening the whole prospect becomes. Have any of you run into any legal difficulties or heard of anyone running into legal difficulties in running an business in Japan as a foreigner. Granted I have'nt done a lot of research into yet but I have read that operating a business as a foreigner in Japan can be quite a headache.

[sethness]

I second the recommendation that you look at the books, to see how much outstanding debt you'd inherit.

Another often overlooked factor is the cost of the office-- it may be that this company is saddled with a very high rent.

Salaries, too-- make sure he's been able to pay them, so you know that the income is adequate and that you're not inheriting his obligation to pay as-yet-unpaid wages.

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That being said, I know only two people who have made their own schools.
One, who works out of his house along the suburb/urban border, is making eeeeasy money. Another, who rents street-level office space downtown, is working too damned hard & spends all his time stressed out-- even bilking his teachers so he can pay his rent. Two extremes...make of this what you will.

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If I were you, if the red ink exceeds the black ink, tell the guy you'd like to take his students BUT NOT take the business license, offices, etc etc.