Job Discussion Forums

Kootvela · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 513 Location: Lithuania

Precisely. I allow 2 cancellations per month and they have to pay for the 3rd one. I think having an agreement inw riting is respecting both oneself and students. Chasing after money....then you're in the wrong profession.

Tracer · Joined: 22 Oct 2008 Posts: 65 Location: Warszawa, PL

Thanks for all of the replies guys. They were informative, helpful and entertaining.

People responded with a number of good suggestions and hints about how to market yourself as an English Teacher and pick up private lessons:

1. Word of Mouth
At some point in our lives, most of us have probably heard that word of mouth is the most effective, desirable and powerful form of advertising possible. Of course this applies the same to an English teacher as it does to a product.

- Ideas for Generating Word of Mouth Advertising

a. Hand out business cards to your existing students and remind them that you give private lessons. If they like you, they'll recommend you to their friends and family.
(You'll have to be working at a school or two for this one to work, and you might want to be careful about it since, some school administrators might not approve.)

2. Send Letters to Companies
(You'll probably need to be set up as a company to do this, since most companies will want an invoice from you for tax purposes.)

3. Advertise in a Well Regarded Newspaper
Okay, I don't know a well regarded Polish newspaper from a piece of garbage, but I put an ad in Gazeta Wyborcze (Warszawa) for a week and picked up my first client. (My roommate said this was a good paper to advertise in). The rates were reasonable and my week long ad cost the same as I'm charging for a private lesson, so it was a good investment in my opinion.

Quality of the Client
A lot of people mentioned that the best clients are managers at companies and other professionals who can afford to pay and are willing to sign and adhere to a contract. University students are flaky and well, let's face it, poor.
For these reasons, I've decided to cut all of my marketing efforts to students; (of course, this doesn't mean you won't be able to find a few diamonds in the rough if you like working with students).

Also, when you work illegally you're at the mercy of your students. If they flake out or don't pay, you eat the loss. Kootvela mentioned that she charges her students for canceled lessons and can enforce this since it's in her contract.

Harry from NWE mentioned that, in his opinion, starting a company in Poland isn't as difficult as most people think. He also suggested billing in advance.

Again, thanks again for all of the suggestions. They've inspired me to write a couple new threads.

sharter · Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 878 Location: All over the place

Stick an ad up in the British Council.

dynow · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080

Kootvela · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 513 Location: Lithuania

TwinCentre · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 273 Location: Mokotow

Privates are all I teach at the moment. I find that a ruthless but polite approach from the very beginning works wonders here in Warsaw:

1. Most Polish people expect to be able to negotiate on your price. BUT, they also seem to understand the term 'fixed'. I state clearly my rate is 'fixed at....' then they either take it or leave it. Most take up the offer.

2. Forget the cancellation policy of the student having to pay if they don't give 24 hours notice etc etc. Just say 'I have lots of students and to have lessons with me you need to come every week. If you cancel more than a couple of times, then I will have to fill your time slot with another student." It works well for me.

3. You might not believe this works: Never speak Polish, tell them you don't speak any Polish at all, and don't know much about Poland or Polish culture....but want to learn! You become much more desirable as a teacher. No....I don't know why that works either.

4. Give them homework every single lesson, whether they want it or not, I reckon something about that makes them less likely to cancel the following lesson.

5. Be a great teacher. Believe that you are better than other teachers. Believe that you are doing the student a favour. Make the student feel that they are lucky to have a slot with you each week. It fits the Warsaw mentality. If the student wants to mess you about, just say goodbye, pronto.

This all works for me. AND look, I can't even spell! I charge more than average, but less than average for other ex-BC teachers. There are some annoyances, but generally working alone is way better than working for a school.