Testimonials

Craig Johnston

My name is Craig Johnston and I was a JET (High School teacher employed by The Education Board) in Kyoto Prefecture from 1997 to 2000.

Now, I am a very content franchisee of Smith's School of English.

Near the end of the three years on the JET program, I was considering my options for the future. I planned to go home to start my new career but I really enjoyed my life in Japan and knew that I wanted to stay here. Preferably in my beautiful little part of it, Miyazu. All the foreigners on the JET program here wanted to stay but they found no acceptable options. I had already purchased the geographically exclusive rights to Smith's in this area. (The quick and the…)

There are no big private schools in my area and this means very simply that there are no job opportunities after JET. My colleagues from the program either drifted back to their home countries or ended up in big chain schools in one of Japan's hyper cities. Smith's English schools can go anywhere in Japan and so I put mine right where I want to be, Miyazu, Kyoto.

I knew that I too could easily get a job as an English teacher in an English school somewhere but that was only delaying the inevitable of what I should do next. I'd be stuck on a wage most likely lower than the JET program, wasn't guaranteed of living somewhere I liked, unlikely to have job satisfaction, and even less likely to have any freedom. I'd be going backwards. That's when I decided to phone Mark Smith. That was the best thing I ever did.

I phoned, asked a couple of questions, immediately felt a bit more relaxed about it, and made an appointment to visit Smith's Head Office in Osaka. From the moment I walked in the door I was made to feel at ease with the friendly, down to earth but very professional environment.

I thought the JET program's conditions and salary were good, but now I realize that the money was just peanuts compared to how much I can earn as a Smith's Franchisee. It's really up to you. That's the beauty about the Smith's setup. The freedom. They're here to support you providing services such as:

•    Professional accounting and legal support
•    Professional sales and receptionist support (they answer all your calls)
•    Advertising support
•    Bulk buying discounts
•    Curriculum training and ongoing teaching advice
•    Visa sponsorship

Sure they have a few rules necessary to keep all the franchises running in sync but apart from that I decide on everything else. I'm my own boss.

I knew nothing about business, let alone the English teaching business in Japan. But with my well-liked face and the know-how and support of Smith's, I had over 80 students within my first year. The average Smith's student pays about 13,000 yen per month, so you do the math!

With 80-plus students it would be impossible for me to teach English and handle the phones and administration needs at the same time. With Smith's I have professional English-speaking staff working for me 51 hours a week at a fraction of the cost of what it would cost me to hire them myself. All I need to do is concentrate on teaching and attracting new students. This enables me to handle the 80 students all by myself.

I have NO staff costs nor concerns.

I'm very grateful to Mark and the team at Smith's for providing this opportunity.

 

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