Monthly Archives: December 2007

English in Japan

English in Japan. Simply put, it is everywhere and nowhere at various levels of correctness and authenticity. It is being used by some Japanese on a regular basis to communicate with foreigners they meet or correspond with through their business or study. It, or some semblance of it, is found on thousands of T-shirts and [...]

Why Become a Teacher-Owner Now?

Why become a Teacher-Owner of your own English Conversation School in Japan at this moment? Because the largest corporate English conversation school in Japan, which had 60% of the market share went out of business three months ago after a 21-year build-up, and left hundreds of thousands of its students with little to show for [...]

Make a Difference! Help Your Students Realize Their Full Potential!

We teacher-owners of Smith’s School of English are very lucky to be able to enjoy not only the rewards of owning and operating our own schools but also to make a difference in the lives of our students and to really be able to help them to realize their full potential. Unike the teachers at [...]

Christmas and New Year’s – a welcome time to reflect on the progress so far and make bold plans for the future!

I really enjoyed reading Adrian’s posts too. It is great to see that someone has been in this business as a Smith’s owner for over 7 years and still really enjoys it and has helped his students to get great results on the EIKEN and TOEIC. Makes me still feel like an infant with only [...]

We Are the Lucky Ones

The downfall of that other company is indeed unfortuate for so many people. And now, another company has been trying to save the day for them, hitting a lot of brick walls, making promises they can’t keep, disappointing many. That too, is unfortunate. As franchisees, we are the lucky ones. We are kept informed, we [...]

Christmas present to my students

On December 25th all students from my school, Smith’s Tsukaguchi franchise in Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, received Christmas cards by postal mail. All cards included a hand-written message from me, thanking them for studying at Smith’s and wishing them a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I also included a Christmas present, a Starbucks [...]

2007 recap

Boy oh boy…it’s been one heck of a year for me. While there were a few hiccups on the way I feel that 2007 was great preparation for 2008 and beyond. While a few side projects took up some of my time (network marketing and material development) I spent most of the year focusing on [...]

how very true

Another great post by Al Bartle…I completely agree with his comments regarding missing his students. Life just doesn’t feel the same when I can’t hear about their adventures. Walking around Hirakata I do run into a few of them and we chat or sometimes go and grab a cup of coffee (or juice for me [...]

Lot’s of Time Off! Lot’s of Nice Christmas Gifts! Great Students!

Well, another great benefit of Smith’s School is the long holidays that we have to rest and spend time with family and friends and travel if we choose. The Christmas-New Year’s Holiday spans 15 days this year (from Dec. 23rd to Jan. 6th). It’s been only two days so far and I already miss my [...]

Great Advice Craig! Get Out and Meet the Local Merchants and Show the Brand!

I really enjoyed reading this one written by Craig, the owner of the Ohtsu School. It expresses exactly what we must do to succeed. Become a part of the local merchant family and show the brand. Get to know the people doing business in the vicinity of your school and let them know that you [...]

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