I think 49% is a fair offer. And I also think that it’s a great opportunity for anyone here with good ideas who doesn’t necessarily have the capital to set up a school.
Hell, I own a lot less than 49% of my current school and I’ve invested exactly 50%. I trust my co-investor. Or at least I think I do.
Skepticism is fine, but if someone is going to finance you into a school do you really expect them to give you control of it too?
Control means you get to decide who gets paid what. If I were putting my money in I would damn well want to be sure that a)my interests were protected and b)the person with the business experience was making the decisions. Or do you think that being a teacher qualifies you to run a business?
Like Fox said, you can either work for salary, or you can work for salary AND a share of the profits. I know which makes more sense to me.
I’ve met Fox a few times and would be more inclined to trust him than most people I meet.
Of all the people I’ve ever met during my extensive travels through life, Fox is without doubt one of the very very few people I’ve ever met that I would basically trust implicitly. He’s the straightest bloke I know, I think, and if I was a teacher and had more than two brass pennies to rub together I’d be on the phone in a heartbeat.
OK. I’m going to stop now before I puke.
Thanks guys. Cheques are in the mail.
When a person states that they are unwilling to have an equal partner warning bells go off in my head. I get the “It’s their way or the highway” feeling. If they want all of the control now then you will never have any control in the future. How can you “own” a business if someone else controls it? The entire proposal is great in theory, but is it truly practical? What happens when there is (and there will be) a disagreement between the two owners? Who gets the final say? Mr.51% does. Been there, done that. It is just a better idea to try and make it on your own.
I personally know many teachers who are more qualified to run a school than the current owners.
Working at an already established school gives you a guaranteed income. Opening a new school is risky at best and most schools fail in the first year. Profit sharing is nice, but what is 49% of $0? I am not trying to be overly negative, but people need to know that these thing can and do happen. Anyways, I hope I didn’t hurt anyone’s feelings.
Yeah, and hopefully THIS one won’t bounce.
Maybe the person putting up the money has more experience or more knowledge in the given field.
Not everyone is a control freak.
The same way you can control a business when someone else owns it. There are plenty of CEOs who control a hell of a lot before something goes wrong.
It isn’t always that way.
I don’t completely disagree with this. But the whole point seems to be that some people don’t have the necessary capital to make a go on their own. This is a good opportunity for them to see if their idea is viable or not.
And I personally know some teachers who can hardly go to the bathroom themselves without assistance. So what?
But most schools that fail are short on ideas and don’t have a clear strategy. I think the whole point here is that if you have valid ideas, then you can make money from it. And I don’t agree with the assessment that opening a school is risky at best
You know the answer to that. But what if you have a good idea? I think I pretty well understand what Fox is looking for. However, I don’t think it will be easy to find many people with good ideas who are actually willing to put up the cash.
These things can and do happen, sure. No reason for anyone’s feelings to be hurt. But I get the idea the Fox is making an offer that is sincere and that both sides can benefit from. There is no sense of a rip-off. At least from me.
JD,
My concept is very simple. I don’t want to discuss it on the Internet for obvious reasons, but if you give me your number I talk to you about it by phone. It might be an idea you’d like to explore in Yinge.
FM,
You’re welcome to any opinion you have. I’m a cautious person too when it comes to money, but I’m not averse to managed risk.
From what I’ve read, it sounds like a good idea.
I’m in for way less than 49% here and I’d be smiling if I were making $120K or more a month. 
I’m not. 
Seriously though folks, it sounds like a winning position. Especially interesting to those with long term plans.
[quote=“Fox”]FM,
You’re welcome to any opinion you have. I’m a cautious person too when it comes to money, but I’m not averse to managed risk.[/quote]
Fox, you have a lot of upstanding and well respected Forumosa members singing your praises. I will try to be a little more open-minded in the future. Best of luck.