For expats who are looking to move out of teaching or editing jobs, starting a study abroad consultancy business and earning commissions for placing students abroad could be a natural progression for you. The following article gives you basic details on how you can go about starting an agency.
Starting your own Education Agency
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Steve
Thanks for the useful information about the industry.
I have a question that others may share: is the market still open for this kind of business in Taiwan or is it saturated? I got the impression that there’s a lot of competition in this industry, but that’s just my impression.
Hi Ken,
The ‘study abroad agency’ business in Taipei city is kind of saturated and is thus very competitive.
Opportunities in this business are probably better in other counties/cities throughout Taiwan but in recent years many agents have also expanded south.
But with the right location and business plan you can still be successfull in a saturated market - just like its possible to open an ESL school in Taiwan’s very saturated ESL market and still be successful. I know of a few foreign owned agencies in Taipei that do very well.
A lot of ESL teachers here in Taiwan also have the advantage of being in daily contact with students and parents (potential customers) so it is easy for them to start small and get some experience before they take risks and go into the business seriously.
I hope you found the article useful.
Steve