Job Discussion Forums

[HaveAGoodRest]

Hi,

I'm looking for someone currently teaching ESL in China who might want to make some extra money by partnering together to get some English classes going and make a profit off it.

I have a good idea for an English teaching venture, and I want to bounce this idea around with a teacher currently in China.

I'm 28. From Chicago. Taught ESL for 3 years, 7 months of which were in China.

PM me, and we can talk more on Skype or by email if you're interested.

[RonHex]

bold man to try n open a esl business in BJ.. im gonna open a cornerstore that sells cigs and water.. dont see enough of those around.. hell might even sell warm beer and baijou just to change things up a bit. dont mean to take the piss but if ur thinking of opening a school in BJ u dont need a teacher u need a highroller with some gov't pull.. a lot of pull.

[RonHex]

bold man to try n open a esl business in BJ.. im gonna open a cornerstore that sells cigs and water.. dont see enough of those around.. hell might even sell warm beer and baijou just to change things up a bit. dont mean to take the piss but if ur thinking of opening a school in BJ u dont need a teacher u need a highroller with some gov't pull.. a lot of pull.

[LanGuTou]

HaveAGoodRest:

I don't want this to sound demeaning but I think you should take the advice stated in your own username! Sit down, take a deep breath and then rethink.

Unless you are very financially secure with northwards of USD100K that you want to risk, the chances of establishing a legitimate and profitable foreign language school in Beijing are virtually zero. In the first place, you need to obtain a business licence and then you will have to compete with the million and one other schools all trying to do the same thing.

You are much better off sticking to a job as a foreign teacher with a few private gigs on the quiet!

[Chris_Crossley]

Suffice it to say, China is not the U.S. or any other (Western) country, so my advice is: don't treat it as if it is, because it's not.

Setting up an EFL business requires business connections with the locals as well as local government permission and a lot of time and patience, not just capital.

Don't forget that you're (going to be) in someone else's country, not yours.

I don't mean to sound patronizing or anything, but what appears to be a very simple-minded, one-dimensional approach, based, I dare say, on what may be the norm for citizens of one's own country, will not reap the results that you want in China, and it is no good your being naive and/or starry-eyed about your chances. Dreams you may have, but, in China, reality has to kick in and play its part - as, inevitably, do locals when playing theirs.

These private language schools do not spring up in China overnight, nor must one necessarily assume that the world (if not just China) is going to be one's oyster even if a business involving foreigners does get started.