Job Discussion Forums

chengdu4me · Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 11:35 am Post subject: Starting a Private School

I read a lot of animosity here towards many of the "private" schools or mills, as they have been referred to.

If anyone has been over there long enough to know the answer to this, I would appreciate some feedback. I am moving to Chengdu at the beginning of 2010. I am getting married as soon as I arrive. I know that any business operating in China must have a Chinese citizen as 51% owner....gee! ...that would be my wife! HAHA My finacee knows nothing about running a business, much less a school. I have 25 years of management experience, from small to global requirements, so I think I could do OK if the deck wasn't stacked to high against me.

So, what licenses, certifications, hoops, hurdles, bribes, and mudbogs does one have to negotiate to open their own school?

I was thinking that a school operated by an ethical westerner, with western teachers could be a win-win! Any thoughts?

sui jin · Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 184 Location: near the yangtze

In my view you're asking for trouble.

Sorry to be negative, but the biggest problem is that your fiancee has no business or school management experience. She will have to do all the negotiations and persuasion with the parents who cough up the money for their darlings to attend your school, she will have to deal with all the licenses, bribes and hoop-jumping ceremonies for the local government. She will need the connections to get the licenses etc. and to know the right person to bribe. Training schools are highly regulated here. Of course there are 'illegal' or 'semi-legal' ones , but not run by foreigners.

Even if your Chinese is excellent, I think parents and officials would never deal with a foreigner. So all your business experience may be useful once the school is up and running, but getting to that stage may well be impossible

chengdu4me · Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 2:28 pm Post subject:

Oh...this is good! You're not being negative...no apology necessary. That was my concern....being...a question to myself....as the 51% business owner, could she be a silent partner? how much would she need to be involved? What can of worms would I open up trying to handle all the administrivia myself?...OK! So, thanks for that!...this helps!...So maybe her brother with his business degree and perfect English could be the partner?

Sonnibarger · Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 320 Location: Wuhan

IMO its going to be a hard battle opening a school... there are a million and one English training centers... most have alot of pull and wont think twice about using some of the connections to destroy a new school... one thing you could consider is... open the business as "English consulting"... if you classify as a school you will have a lot more hurdles to jump through...

Buck Lin · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 405 Location: nanchang china

My suggestion after setting up a school for a Taiwanese in Shanxi is to start small doing privates in a location and then register yourself. This is the problem in China. They force people to break the law because they want you to fail. In Shanxi they charge 200,000 for the paper that makes you legitimate. I have a Chinese friend in Henan that has been in business for 10 years with about 200 students who does alright. And then there are the franchises you can buy into. Lee Yang Crazy English, English First to name a few. They will provide you with legitamacy, but waste your money.

rmcdougall · Joined: 28 Feb 2009 Posts: 71

I'm looking into this.

I'm working with a guy named Lee Henderson to create a language school in Pudong, China.

We've work through the numbers and they aren't good. Will Chinese students pay BIG MONEY for a phillipines teacher?

I've had great success with Phillipines teachers, but only when they teach accredited courses the students need to pass.

Can I sell them to students for normal classes? If so, the numbers work well, baby!

sharpe88 · Joined: 21 Oct 2008 Posts: 226

No she doesn't need to be involved beyond using her name. And no you don't need a Chinese citizen as a partner necessarily. You got to do your homework

"I know that any business operating in China must have a Chinese citizen as 51% owner....gee!"

Teatime of Soul · Joined: 12 Apr 2007 Posts: 905

China.Pete · Joined: 27 Apr 2006 Posts: 547

Kenneth Hayes, one of the principals behind Middle Kingdom Life, has written a four-part article summarizing his experiences with starting a school in China. You will find the first of these articles at http://middlekingdomlife.com/wp/other_work/opening-your-own-school-part-one/ , together with a wealth of other information about working in China. Upon reading a few of the articles posted on this site, you will learn that Kenneth had a fair amount of experience in education when he entered into this enterprise.