Job Discussion Forums

[Yawarakaijin]

Just curious. Has anyone out there started their own school or have friends who have? I have been teaching ESL for some 8 years now and really enjoy it. Admittedly, I do not possess the qualifications to move into a position teaching at university level. From what hear it seems like even those positions are being taken over by university grads fresh of the boat with the help of recruiting agencies and universities looking to cut costs.

So I'm curious. What are some of the hurdles to opening your own small scale English school? I'm curious to know things like...

1.) How many students would someone need to make it viable.
2.) Restrictions on non-Japanese starting a business in Japan.
3.) General success and failure rates of schools.
4.) How the big 4 might react to you moving in on their territory.
....things like this.

Just something I've been thinking about recently and would love to hear thoughts on the matter.

[Sweetsee]

I would say that the biggest hurdle to starting a business in Japan is start up costs, you need a lot of money. And I heard you will need 70 students to break even.

I met an American who opened a school in Yamagata. Started out okay but I bellieve he quickly reached a peak and perhaps has become a whole lot of work, maybe too much.

Another guy I knew did what most do, stole 70 students from the Eikaiwa he was working at and opened his own place around the corner. He is probably doing okay, don't know. He also stole a teacher, married a student and knicked plants from his former employer.

Also, unless you have a Japanese partner/spouse I doubt you can do it.

I think a question you have to ask yourself is: do I want the hassle?

[seanmcginty]

I had my own "school" for a couple of years. I don't know if you can call it a school, I just had an extra room in my apartment that I furnished as a classroom.

It wasn't too hard or that expensive. I had spent 3 years teaching at big Eikaiwa and when I left my last job I took about 20 students with me. There was a lot of up front expenses in getting the apartment and buying everything that I needed, but nothing I couldn't afford with the money I had saved up working. I have a Japanese wife who is also an English teacher and we did everything together, without her I wouldn't have stood a chance. Things worked out really well for us though.

There are a lot of advantages and disadvantages to running your own school. Unless you do really well the money isn't going to be much better than what you could make at a regular Eikaiwa teaching job. Thats because of all the expenses you have to pay yourself, and the fact that it'll probably take a few months for you to recruit enough students to get by. I took some part time jobs at other schools to make up the difference.

Its a cool experience though. You don't have to answer to any boss, which was the real drawing card for me. On the other hand you have to answer directly to your students, who can be demanding sometimes. I actually had less vacation time on my own than I did as a full time teacher at a school. On the other hand I was teaching at home, so when I wasn't in class I could do whatever I wanted. It didn't even feel like I was working most of the time because of that, which was very cool.


One thing I would definitely advise against is franchises like Smiths. They charge you outlandish fees, offer very little in return and basically force you to follow their method. One of the biggest advantages of your own place is being able to set your own curriculum and be truly independent as a teacher.

[Sweetsee]

Same money,
less freedom,
more hassles.

[Genkikiwi]

Here`s one guy`s experiences opening up his own school

http://www.gaijinpot.com/bb/showthread.php?t=9618&highlight=Evans