Job Discussion Forums

Mozilla · Joined: 16 Mar 2003 Posts: 90

How feasible is this? I'm sick of the bushiban scene and working weekends. I would be happy making 30,000 a month---is this possible? Can a person make a living off of just private lessons?

brian · Joined: 15 May 2003 Posts: 299

I think so.

One word of advice though would be to have a system whereby students pay for classes in advance. One class in advance would be adequate, such that at the end of one class they pay for the next one.

Why do this? Well, privates are notorious for calling at the last minute to cancel or sometimes not showing at all. This might be okay if it is just pocket money for you, but if you are living off of this money then you need to protect your income. Time is money after all. If the student fails to give at least 24 hours notice of any change that they require to the next class time then they forfeit this money. If they give more than this amount of time then the prepaid class can be taken at a later date. You can obviously use your discretion in as much as genuine last minute emergencies and the like, but set the rule up front so that it is clear.

Some students may be resistant to this, but I think that you will find most genuine students would understand. You could present it to them as also being in their best interests as it would encourage them to become serious about their studies.

Aristotle · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1388 Location: Taiwan

Excellent advice Brian, I might also recommend that you request one months payments up front and let them bargain you down to one class payment in advance.
Many teachers have a translated written agreement stating the cancellation fees and penalties. Ask the students to sign it and take home a copy. I might still have it somewhere, if you would like a copy PM me.

I have known teachers that only teach privates on the weekends and make a much better living than the 9 to 5 teachers.
Mind you 12 to 14 hours of privates on Sunday is not my idea of an enjoyable weekend even at over 1000nt per hour. The Monday to Friday off has to a nice change.

Mozilla · Joined: 16 Mar 2003 Posts: 90

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to go about landing privates? Also, I should mention that I am one of the many ABC's running around Taiwan and was wondering how this would affect my chances of landing privates (If any)...

Fortigurn · Joined: 29 Oct 2003 Posts: 390

Mozilla · Joined: 16 Mar 2003 Posts: 90

Fortigurn · Joined: 29 Oct 2003 Posts: 390

Mozilla · Joined: 16 Mar 2003 Posts: 90

How hard is it to get privates?

brian · Joined: 15 May 2003 Posts: 299

While it is true that some people get NTD1000 per hour (or at least claim to!), it is probably more reasonable to expect to get around NTD600 and up. A good way to get a bit more is to have small group classes whereby say three or four students are paying NTD400 each per hour. It can be good for them as it takes the one to one pressure off, and gives them exposure to the problems encountered by other students; and gives you a good income from one class.

Private kids classes tend to be pretty easy to find. Unfortunately most are one to one so expect only NTD600-650 per class. You could try to match them up with each other to create a small class, but often the parents want classes in their own homes so this would not be feasible. Try tealit.com, or some of the Chinese messageboards (if possible) for some contact info. Once you get one student, provided that you are good, you should be able to pick up more.

Aristotle · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1388 Location: Taiwan

What many people do is work for one of the chain schools and teach there own students from the school as privates. The reason they can ask so much is because the class is on the weekend. The more credentials you have the better the price. Combing classes is very effective as well.
Saturday and Sunday are when most private students want class and the days when most teachers don't want to work.
Supply and demand.