🎯 Work Smart Wednesday - February 12, 2025
What I would do if I ran a language business, wantrepreneur vs entrepreneur, and a quote on strategy
Work Smart Wednesday
👋 Hey there!
Here is your fortnightly dose of Work Smart Wednesday.
In these emails I will share with you 3 things to help you work smarter.
1. 🔠 What I would do if I ran a language business
One of my acquaintances from my university days recently posted a complaint online about how he was hardly earning anything by teaching English as a foreign language. He seemed to think it was impossible.
Not only have I previously ran a language business myself, I have helped multiple others start and grow successful language businesses. It is absolutely possible to earn good money working few hours as a language teacher.
If I started a language business today here is what I would do:
Firstly, you can expect anywhere from £10 to £400 per hour (ph) when directly teaching yourself. Most commonly in Europe early on when properly run you're looking at about £40ph for 1:1 or £120ph for small groups. There is no "fair price". Price is whatever people will pay you based on two key “levers”:
How valuable they think filling the gap in their current situation is.
How likely they believe it to be for you to help them achieve their desired outcome.
If you want to increase your earnings, first focus on one of those two levers. I don’t usually recommend switching model (e.g. from 1:1 to group or courses) at this point because the mechanics are different, due to your experience so far you likely feel more comfortable in a particular model and we can get to decent money more easily in that one comfortable model straight away. Pick one model and run with it, they can all work and they can all make great money. You will want to improve both of the levers mentioned above, but it is easier to do one at a time. Increase the perceived value of the gap, or increase the perceived likelihood of achievement. The easiest way to do either is to specialise.
Think of what skills, experiences, background, and interests you have that help set you apart from most other teachers. You will have many. Specialise in ONE. They are all good, there is no “right” answer. Pick one and run with it for a few months at least. The unique positioning of your offer will help a lot, it helps people say “hell yes!” when they are the right fit for you and it helps other people remember you (rather than you being a generic language teacher).
Some examples:
I picked my current Spanish teacher simply because he said likes talking about history, gaming, and politics in his profile - he was the only teacher who didn't sound like everybody else and I could see I would immediately have something of interest to talk with him about.
When I ran a language business I didn't have a TEFL certificate and I sucked at grammar, so I specialised in C1 and C2 learners who wanted to speak with native speakers and have natural conversations (and I ran it as an AirBnB experience, among other things, to "speak English with a native in a pub". I charged £40 per person per hour for small groups up to 4).
I have helped people specialise their language teaching business in a huge range of things from food and wine tours, British university life preparedness, specific examinations (like IELTS), film and cinema, small fixed groups for social elements, specific jobs (like construction or finance), and all sorts of other stuff. It raises the earnings and ease for the teacher and the enjoyment of the student every time.
You will want to outline your offer and think about what “chain” people will go through when working with you. “Where” are they when they start? What would be their first, easy, entry point to work with you? What will be the main offer? What result will they achieve and in what time frame? What happens after they achieve that result, how could they continue working with you? Etc.
Then, to get your first clients, do some warm outreach. I often start with warm outreach for the businesses I work with - it is easy and it gets results. You can really build on the momentum warm outreach quickly creates. Tell people you know what your new offer is and who it is for, ask them who they know who would benefit. For a language business I would also post in a local groups, like Facebook groups. Done properly, it is very likely you will get at least your first 10 customers this way. It is easy to build momentum from there. No need for a website or social media or any of that stuff. Quick interactions for fast feedback, and quick cash we can use to build with.
Business gets easier as you get going. Like rolling a big boulder, the hardest part is starting. Get started, reach out for help, build on your momentum.
Special shout out to two of my clients this week, Kaidi and Ghayth.
They run different businesses and are at different stages but both achieved big milestones this month.
Kaidi, a coach, achieved her first $5k month (10x what she used to make) in just 7 weeks of working with me. Even more importantly, her mindset has developed massively where now she has a bias to action and an abundance mindset. It’s all on the up.
Ghayth, a social media marketing agency owner, booked his first proper holiday! We have been working together for 11 months and his business is now making $500,000 per year (22x what it used to make) and he only works 6-10 hours per week. Time for a well-earned break.
Kaidi 7 signups for our new group already and abundance mindset (30 seconds)
Ghayth 500k per year 6-10 hours per week (90 seconds)
2. 🤡 Wantrepreneur vs entrepreneur
This post by Chris Do expertly outlined the difference between entrepreneurs and “wantrepreneurs”. It is a great example of a “vision post”, outlining how life could be different for your leads if they make the positive change you help with.
TL;DR:
Focus on value and ROI, not cost
Spend money to save time
Hire help, especially experience
Trust abundance
Compete only with yourself
Keep learning
Think long term
Take calculated risks
Take action
Take responsibility
P.s. Chris Do’s stuff is great. I shared his thread on how to get your first client as a new freelancer before, and his content in general is pretty solid. Well worth a follow.
3. 💡 Quote I'm pondering
"A business with no strategy is like driving with no map - sure, you’ll get somewhere, but probably not where you want to be.”
People often start businesses to increase their freedom. Instead, they accidentally build their own prison. It is incredibly important to explicitly define what you’re optimising for and to build your business with that goal in mind.
I brought a special mention to two of my clients this week specifically because they started with a clear map and are well on the way to where they want to be. Together we have built something that is achieving their core goals.
Kaidi wanted steady cash and time so she can pursue a career in comedy; we now have solid retention and a new group programme to bring a steady $5k per month on roughly 5 hours per week (and we will grow income further from there). We now use comedy in our marketing for this business to practise and to start building our reputation and now that finances are becoming secure we can start to lean into the comedy more.
Ghayth wanted influence, impact, and time to improve things in his region and enjoy life. Now he is seen as a major player and works directly with all the major influencers in the MENA region bringing life lessons to millions (his most recent client got 5 million views in 4 days!). He makes over $500k, and works 6-10 hours per week. He is now able to simply enjoy his life while making major impact.
Get some help and outline a proper strategy - you will achieve much more, much more quickly.
👋 Want to work together?
When you’re ready, here are 2 ways I can help you:
🔍 Clarity Call - We will discuss your situation and create a step-by-step action plan together so you know exactly what you need to do next for maximum impact
🧩 Are we a good fit together? - See whether you and I are a good fit together by answering this short quiz. You will immediately see whether or not we are a good fit, and receive a personalised answer for what the next best step will be for you based on your answers.
That's it! I can't wait to hear what you think. What did you find most useful? What do you want more or less of? Reply to this email now and let me know
Also, if you have anything interesting to share, I want to know about it😊
Have a great week,
John
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