Teaching a new language can be an extremely fulfilling career. It can introduce you to new friends, different career opportunities and allows you the flexibility of working anywhere in the world. Therefore, it’s a great time to start planning how to open your own language teaching business. Below, we break down how you can do it.
Educational training
There’s a chance that you can already speak a different language fluently. Some people grow up speaking a different language at home, whilst others learn and develop it throughout their lifetime.
If you can’t already speak another language, it’s important to learn one before trying to teach others. Several educational institutions including TAFE and different universities offer language courses. It’s recommended to undertake research to find the program that suits you the best, and will teach you the necessary fundamental skills.
Australian Business Number (ABN)
To run a business in Australia you require an ABN. Registering for an ABN is quite a straightforward process. As your language teaching business is likely to be run as a small business, we recommend the ‘company’ option.
Location
To ensure that your business is successful, you require a location where there is a high demand for the business. This may be in a prominent back-packer area, a business area or even close to the airport. Therefore, it’s important that you consider what language you’ll be teaching, and then do the adequate research to locate the demand.
Once you discover where the demand for your business is, it’s simply a matter of finding the right location. It won’t need to be too big, and if the demographic is right it’ll be paying its own rent in no time.
Bookkeeping
There are several different aspects you have to manage when running a business. One of these is the financial aspect. It’s likely that you won’t understand all the different rules and principles of finance. That’s perfectly okay – many of those who do have university degrees in it. Therefore, we recommend utilising a platform such as Xero. Through filing your receipts and using this resource, you’ll be able to focus on what you do best – teaching a language.
Acquire customers
Once your business is up and running there’s only one more thing you need: customers! If you selected your geographic area correctly, there will already be a pre-existing demand for the school. Therefore, all you need to do is a little advertising to bring these customers into your business. Whilst your method of advertising will depend on your budget, we recommend the following methods to reach your target audience:
- Social media.
- Facebook/Google ads.
- Local signs and billboards.
Through these methods, you can ensure your business is visible to the public eye. This means the customers can find you, and your business can run successfully.
Final thoughts
In conclusion, opening your own language teaching business can be an extremely profitable and rewarding career choice. It can create life-long bonds with clients, with unique challenges presenting themselves everyday. Whilst you’re likely to encounter hurdles on your journey, with the right planning and execution long-term success is likely. For further enquiries or questions about running your own language teaching business, a business lawyer may be able to assist.
