Job Discussion Forums

[ISSAKAB]

I'm late 40s British male having changed career and been CELTA qualified since 2010.

Since 2011 I've worked in West Africa, Italy, Spain and UK with all ages and levels.

In Sep 2014 moved to live and work in large city South of France. I've been trying to get a business established as an autoentrepreneur which is the statute in France for working as a private teacher. I came here because I speak French I also want to stay in Europe because I have elderly parents in the UK, otherwise I'd be back in Francophone Africa.

The business isn't going anywhere as well as I'd expected. I have adverts on four websites (boncoin, profs particuliers etc) am registered with half a dozen agencies, my CV has gone round all the training organisations, I put well designed colour posters up in shops and bars around my local area.

I don't want to work for any more organisations or crappy institutions (still waiting for a contract and salary from a big public university where I've worked one day a week since September). I'd wouldn't have thought that 2- 3 private students per day was over ambitious. More than 20 years ago I started a small part time business from home doing massage and aromatherapy and within 18 months had sufficient clients that I was able to jack in my awful day job as a registered nurse. I've had some work via agencies and that keeps coming, but it's not enough.

Anyone who has had experience of building their own business teaching privately in Europe, although I guess similar things may apply elsewhere, please share your experiences, advice, suggestions especially ways of finding students.

thanks

[suphanburi]

Marketing is more than sales and advertising.

PPPP: orice, product, place and promotion all come into play.

You may need to have a look at your SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) as well.

Simply shooting a cannon down the street won't usually do much if there is nothing there to hit.

.

[spiral78]

Acronyms and metaphors aside:-) - a large part of the problem is probably that business classes through one's employer are fairly ubiquitous - and paid by the employer. It isn't that many students in the European environment who will
1. have the motivation to take such iniative
2. have the willingness to pay from their pockets
3. stick with it
...to stock up your privates list.

You might try marketing your services directly to a couple of companies. I know some people who've made a very good living doing this. There are benefits to the company in cutting out the middleman - language school, and in terms of retaining someone who knows the company/students, and who is reliable and professional. Downsides are that you would need to be licensed so that a company can report you on its annual books openly as a legit expense.

[ISSAKAB]

Thanks spiral78 I'm taking some advice next week on how to set things up so that I can offer services direct to companies. France is complicated because you need some special statute so that you can be paid through an official training system - companies get sort of tax credits back from the government to use for training. It's France, it's bureacratic and complicated. I registered to accept CESU vouchers with one student, again a crappy website which wouldn't work, despite several attempts on mine and other people parts.

I don't especially want to deal with 'professionals' I've found them quite arrogant at times. Prefer teens and young adults preparing for exams. And over 55's.

[nomad soul]

[Andre 3000]

Are you a member of Tesol France?

http://www.tesol-france.org/en/

They have regular job listings.

[Jmbf]

Some good advice here, especially regarding PPPP. I managed to build up my private student client base from 1 initial student up to my current load of over 50. However, it took me a lot of time and trial and error.

Find out what's popular / trending in your local area and try to cater to that demand. IELTS / Cambridge YLE / Phonics / Business English or whatever it might be. If you can find and establish yourself in a niche field then you can do very well.

Think carefully about the layout and content of your ads. Are they distinctive? Do they look professional? Is your message clear? What are your key differential advantages? How about pricing? Are you going for high end or low? I consistently undercharged during my early days in order to gain more clients. Once I was more established then I was able to command much higher rates. Decide on a strategy from the outset (and of course bear in mind that it might have to be adjusted later on).

I would also think carefully about the placement of your advertisements. Ideally you need to target schools, centres, housing estates etc etc where your potential students are likely to be.

Above all else, in the private tutoring field your reputation is key. Once you have a few satisfied clients then word of mouth referrals should kick in and those will become one of your main sources of new clients.

[ISSAKAB]

Thanks very much Nomad Soul, Jmbf and Andre3000 I will take up your excellent suggestions.

[nomad soul]

A correction for clarification:

- Print business cards with your name, title, website, smiling photo (optional), and contact info on the front of the card, and a 5-6 bulleted summary of your services, qualifications, and skills on the back.

[ISSAKAB]

Brilliant suggestion nomad soul for the biz cards, I hadn't thought of it. I'm considering taking a 'sabbatical' for ten months, taking a job at a language school, letting my flat out and saving some cash then returning here and investing properly in a website, biz cards, a vehicle and possibly premises.