Cost of Opening a Language School in China

Business Money
#1

My boss at Joy owns 2 schools in China and 3 here. I asked her how much it cost to open a school here and she said anywhere from NT1 million to NT2.5 (depending on the location and stuff.) I then asked her what the cost of opening a school in China was and I was suprised to have her tell me under NT200,000 (180,000 to be exact.)

She then went on to tell me how much cheaper labor is there (local and foreign.)

I asked her if I could open a school there (Joy style) if I wanted to and she said yes (that means it should be yes to you too.) I asked her about risk and stuff and she said it’s not so bad because of the low start up and it being in education.

She also said those prices were for level 2/3 cities (will Beijing/Shanghai being level 1 cities.)

I’m going to pick her brain some more today if she’s there. Thought I’d share the knowledge. Someone recently told me to “open a school in China.” It seemed daunting at the time, but I felt a lot better about it after talking with her.

Forumosa Splittists
#2

OK, so I guess when said “you,” she meant me. One will be needing a contact of some sort there (but I’m sure some asking around could find one.) She said it’s very profitable because of the difference in rent and salary (the 2 biggest profit killers.) Here be some numbers:

Rent - China: 1,875RMB | Taiwan: 14,500RMB

Chinese Teacher - China 25RMB/hour | Taiwan: 120RMB/hour

Tuition - China: 245RMB/3 months | Taiwan: 1,650RMB/3 months

She also said a manager that’s going to be putting in like 10 hours/day costs about 10,000RMB/month (or about NT40,000)

There be your numbers. I might squeeze out a few more details next week. She said everyone’s coming in now and it won’t take long before it’s too late (but it’s not too late yet.)

#3

Large pinch of salt required.

#4

You’d also have to live in China.

#5

120RMB/hour is about NT$480/hour. That sounds quite high for a local teacher.

The Chinese teachers at my school make a little under $25K per month. That’s for a 44 hour week (class and prep time). That’s definitely not $480 per hour.

#6

Joy has a different setup than most Buxibans. The Chinese teacher doesn’t just sit in class watching you teach for 2 hours. Their English is really good (really it is) and they teach the grammar and stuff one hour of the class.

I think there might only be a foreign teacher approx 1 hour of 4 where I work.

No, you wouldn’t. I remember her traveling there a few times while setting up the second one, but she lives here. She made a big deal out of the manager. She said 40,000NT/month is a VERY good wage in China (at least in the part where her school is.)

Yes. Foreigners can’t own own a school so the whole thing has to be done through a Chinese citizen. Also, the rules aren’t made of laffy-taffy like they are here (according to her.) Things have to be all set and legal before the doors open to new students.

I do know that if I wanted to open a language school here (and I don’t) it’s going to cost me at least 500,000NT (at least.) And that’s with me working there. If I was looking into the language school business, I’d seriously consider opening one in China over one here (because it will be up, running and making money without me in class every day when all is said and done.)

Just passing on information to anyone that was curious.

#7

You would be mad to do business in China other than with someone you trust a great deal and who would be almost unable to rip you off or who would lose as much as you from doing so. And make sure the fees are paid into your own personal bank account. In Hong Kong.

#8

Or you could use your western creativity to come up with even better ways to rip of the locals than they can, such as hiring albino chinese and saying they are westerners.

#9

This post makes me a little sad.

Do you want to actually improve English learners English or just simply make money?

Don’t answer that. We all know the answer. Hence the sadness.

#10

Both. Your post makes me a little sad… wait, no it doesn’t.

And where exactly do you currently volunteer teach?

That’s the impression I keep getting… Though if it wasn’t risky, it wouldn’t make money.

#11

Don’t forget to factor in the franchise fee(if aplicable) and of course the royalties which in some chain schools can be as much as 30%.

#12

Ah yes, I’ll ask about that one as well.

#13

Did your boss mention if there are foreign teachers there?

I imagine that would be the lure for the chinese students, much as it is here.

That would substantially add to the cost. Salary wise and recruitment wise. And probably necessitate you as a foreigner being there to manage.

I’d have thought that without that drawcard, you’ll just be another buxiban. That of course does not doom you to oblivion, just makes it more down to earth. A well run school with capable staff and management will attract business regardless of country.

From what your boss says, it seems she’s the silent partner injecting the capital, while the manager she has there is doing a great job with a salary to reflect this.

#14

Yes, but she said they’re not so important. I believe her because she’s running her school in Zhonghe without almost any foreign teacher support. Joy does things differently.

Yeah, something like that. I just thought it was all pretty interesting.

#15

Several friends have gone this route before… all are making less than here. They are all returning to concentrate on their biz here. All foreigners. They said that whilst costs were low yes, the tuition is also low.

They said they make more from their TW ops (up to 4x more) than they do from the China ops. All the ‘extra’ costs and brown paper bagging isnt worth it.

#16

[quote=“AWOL”]Several friends have gone this route before… all are making less than here. They are all returning to concentrate on their biz here. All foreigners. They said that whilst costs were low yes, the tuition is also low.

They said they make more from their TW ops (up to 4x more) than they do from the China ops. All the ‘extra’ costs and brown paper bagging isnt worth it.[/quote]
Cool, I was just about to ask if anyone knew any big noses that tried making it in China. Did they go at it alone, or were they a part of a chain?