Evan's Blog

Tue, 23 May 2006 12:28:34 +0900

Dear Sir or Madam, I am interested in finding a new teaching position. I am a native speaker, well qualified, and love teaching English. My resume is below. If you have any questions or require further information, please don't hesitate to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Best regards, Jonathan Seidenfeld jonasei@hotmail.com ---------- Education Advanced TESOL Certificate, Transworld Schools, San Francisco, CA. Awarded 12/05. TESOL Certificate, Transworld Schools, San Francisco, CA. Awarded 6/05. Brandeis University, Waltham, MA. BA awarded 1985. Philosophy Major. English Teaching Experience (1985-1991) I have six years experience teaching English to students of all ages and levels of ability in Tokyo, Japan. My experience includes syllabus design, lesson planning, and assigning home study in the following environments: • Corporate - Isuzu Motor Corporation, (Fujisawa, Japan) • Junior Colleges - Shobi Music Conservatory; Ochanomizu Business College • Private English Schools - Gregg International College of Languages and others, all in Tokyo Educational Administration I was head English teacher at the Shobi Music Conservatory, responsible for student level placement, test generation, textbook selection, and grading. I also met with parents and taught special classes in order to ensure continued enrollment and to recruit new students. Business Experience While living in San Francisco (1992 – Present), I worked in the interactive entertainment (videogame) industry at various companies including Sega Enterprises and Sony Computer Entertainment. I also worked as a private consultant, frequently traveling to London, Tokyo, Prague and Paris. Communications I’ve created many presentations, documents, articles, white papers, and other materials for the electronic entertainment industry. Planned, organized, and delivered large-scale consumer product demonstrations as well as many other informational presentations. Some of these presentations were for audiences of over one hundred people. Spoke on panel entitled “Future Trends - Entertainment, Technology & Multimedia” at conference on Media and Entertainment in Asia organized by the Asia Society of Southern California, in Los Angeles. (6/96) I speak conversational Japanese. Hello, Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Thor Edens and I am a professional teacher of ESL/EFL. I received a degree in Sociology/Anthropology from St. Marys College of Maryland, a top honours college in the USA, and later recieved my TEFL diploma from Bridge-Linguatech in Colorado. It is also important to note that I recieved training from the US State Department via the Peace Corps whom I served in Mali. I have spent the last 2 years teaching in Seoul, Korea and would like to expand my resume and join a reputable company such as yours. Thank you, Thor Edens email me at demonicat@gmail.com for CV (resume), references, photo, and diplomas -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am looking for a rewarding position teaching older children, teenagers and/or adults in Korea, Japan, China or other Asian countries. You should hire me because I: am a Native speaker of English. hold a Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies – Writing & Poetics/Buddhist Studies. have over a decade [10+ years] of teaching experience including experience teaching a wide variety of subjects and levels in Thailand and Vietnam. am currently employed as a lecturer in a university in Bangkok. am a compassionate and mature person who works well with others. am a long-term resident of Asia and culturally adapted to working with and teaching Thais, Vietnamese, Chinese and other Asians. In addition to thse qualities, I am reliable, hardworking, punctual, patient and friendly and possess solid computer skills. Please have a look at my CV that follows. You can also see my website at: http://spaces.msn.com/jrexperience If you find my application to be of interest contact me to set up an interview at your earliest convenience. Best regards, John Ross Lecturer, Tourism Industry program Faculty of Management Science Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, Bangkok e-mail: jdross23@gmail.com or johnross23@ethailand.com NATIONALITY: American DATE of BIRTH: January 6, 1965 A mature and responsible, reliable and diligent native speaker of English with over a decade of experience living and teaching in Bangkok and currently lecturing at a university seeks a part-time position teaching English to teenagers or adults. EDUCATION *Bachelor of Arts - Interdisciplinary Studies [Writing & Poetics/Buddhist Studies] Naropa University, Boulder, CO, USA, Dec. 1992 *Teacher Training Course, AUA Language Center, Bangkok - June 1997 SKILLS *Computer literate – familiar with Microsoft Word, Explorer, Excel, PowerPoint & Publisher programs and Adobe Acrobatand Photoshop. *Able to translate from written Thai/Lao to English. *Intermediate Thai/Lao speaking ability. *Superior writing/proofreading/editing skills. EXPERIENCE Full-time Lecturer – January 2005 – the present Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, Bangkok *teaching English for Tourism 3 Lesson Writer – November 2005 – the present You Can Read the Bangkok Post website: *write weekly lesson based on articles about tourism from the Horizon section click on: http://readbangkokpost.com/weeklies/ English Instructor – September – December 2004 HCMC University of Foreign Languages & IT, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam *taught lower-intermediate level of general conversation English Instructor - June - December 2004 Singapore International Training Consultancy, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam *taught elementary to intermediate levels of general conversation Full-time Lecturer - June 2002 – June 2004 Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, Bangkok *taught English for Tourism 3 + 4 and English for Hotels 4 Full-time Lecturer - May 2000 – May 2002 Silpakorn University, Bangkok *taught English for Guides 1 + 2, Listening & Speaking, English 1 + 2, Basic and Intermediate Writing Part-time Instructor – May - August 2000 Oriental Hotel, Bangkok *taught Food & Beverage staff at Sala Rim Nam Restaurant Full-time Lecturer - June 1999 - April 2000 Rajabhat Institute - Suan Dusit, Bangkok *taught Discussion and Debate, Diction & Speech, English for Communication, English for Marketing 2, Public Speaking, English for Hotels, and Listening & Speaking 2 English Instructor - June 1997 - June 1999 AUA Language Center, Bangkok *taught all levels from Intro (beginner) to 13 (upper-intermediate) and Intensive Program Full-time Lecturer – Jan. 1998 – Jan. 1999 Rajabhat Institute - Suan Sunanda, Bangkok *taught English for Hotels, English for Tourism, Public Speaking, Formula Writing, Listening & Speaking, Business English, and Extended Writing Academic Manager - February - June 1997 Practical Training Co., Ltd., Bangkok *co-coordinated corporate language program *designed course materials, seminars, tests and forms *edited correspondence and promotional materials Full-time Lecturer - June 1994 - June 1996 Dhurakijbundit University, Bangkok *taught Listening and Speaking 2 Teaching Assistant - June 1993 - April 1994 St. John's Vocational College, Bangkok *prepared and led extra-curricular English language activities in the classroom INTERESTS Travel [have traveled extensively in South and Southeast Asia], literature and poetics, Comparative religion, History, Psychology, Film and Current affairs. REFERENCES Available upon request.

Thu, 18 May 2006 09:44:37 +0900

EES is an English conversation school located in Hokkaido, Japan. We are now accepting applications for an English teaching position. EES is committed to providing quality English lessons to our students. In keeping with this commitment to quality, we have very high standards for our teachers. We will consider only professionals who meet our requirements and who share our core values. As this is a career position you must be willing to commit to living in Japan for the long term. For those who can make this commitment, we will provide ongoing teacher training and professional development. This will take the form of in-house training programs, as well as outside seminars, certificate courses and forums. In addition we will assist with Japanese language and cultural studies. We aim to provide a satisfying career for those serious about teaching English as a profession. Minimum requirements: native speaker of English Bachelor's Degree in a field related to English language teaching EFL teaching certification (CERTA, TESOL, TEFL, etc.) from an accredited institution with a minimum of 100 in class contact hours basic conversational level Japanese The EFL (English as a Foreign Language) industry in Asia is still in its adolescence. In any new industry there is an initial boom period during which any players may enter and regulations and standards are almost non-existent. As an industry matures, demand for regulations and standards increase due to public demand and increasing corporate competition. At EES we believe that this initial 'Wild West' period is drawing to a close and the future of EFL in Asia will see increasing demand for professionalization. Our strategy is to be on the leading edge of this market maturation. By setting standards for our teachers and programs far above the competition and by educating the public on what constitutes excellence in language learning we will lead the EFL industry in Asia into a new era. In order to do this we must build a professional, highly qualified team of teachers and teacher support staff. A career with EES is not for everyone. Only those who are able to share our vision and commitment to excellence will find a place for themselves on our team. But for those who do we offer a long and rewarding career opportunity. If building a career for yourself as an English teacher and being on the forefront of the revolution in EFL in Asia interests you, then this position is for you. Starting position is part time with a salary of 200,000 yen per month. The first month will be a training period with a reduced training salary of 100,000 yen. Full time may become available within the first year depending upon student enrollment. Full time salary will start at 250,000 yen. Full time workers will be given annual raises depending on performance and qualifications. EES follows the guidelines set by JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) outlined in their Human Resource Management section (http://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/setting_up/section4/) in accordance with Japanese labour law. Please refer to the JETRO website for more information. In house classes are for children (Elementary School Grade 1 to Junior High School) and adults (Senior High School to 70+). Children’s classes are from 2-8 people, adults 2-6. In addition, we teach company classes (usually larger groups) at various businesses in our area. For this reason an international or Japanese driver’s license is required. Accommodation is available for about 50,000 yen per month. Teachers are encouraged to bring enough money with them to fund the purchase of a vehicle, set up accommodation, and cover living expenses for the first month (about 500,000 yen is recommended). Teachers are encouraged to purchase their own vehicle, as most of the leisure activities in the area (such as surfing in winter, snowboarding in summer) require a vehicle. EES has a contact at a local car dealership who has given us good deals on used cars and excellent service and support of those vehicles in the past. We will provide assistance with applying to Japanese immigration for a working visa or with extending your current visa. EES is located in Muroran, Hokkaido, about 3 hours Southeast of Sapporo, and about 2 hours from the world class ski resort of Nisseko. Please refer to the Muroran City homepage for more information about living in Muroran(http://www.city.muroran.hokkaido.jp/main/org1200/english/english_index.html). Applications must include a cover letter explaining why you would like to work at EES and live in Japan long term, CV, and resume complete with a recent photo and personal and/or work references (references will be contacted). Applications should be sent by email to Evan Burkosky evan@eesjapan.com. Applicants passing the initial screening process will be invited by email to a series of interviews conducted online via videoconferencing using Skype with Video. Due to time constraints only those passing the initial screening process will be contacted. We look forward to hearing from you!

Labour Standards Law

Wed, 17 May 2006 08:45:28 +0900

Labour Standards Law [of Japan] (Law No. 49 of April 7, 1947) (Provisional translation by the specialist) Amendments: Law No. 97 of Aug. 31, 1947 Law No. 70 of May 16, 1949 Law No. 166 of May 31, 1949 Law No. 290 of Dec. 20, 1950 Law No. 287 of July 31, 1952 Law No. 171 of June 10, 1954 Law No. 126 of June 4, 1956 Law No. 133 of May 2, 1958 Law No. 137 of Apr. 15, 1959 Law No. 161 of Sep. 15, 1962 Law No. 130 of June 11, 1965 Law No. 108 of Aug. 1, 1967 Law No. 99 of June 15, 1968 Law No. 64 of July 18, 1969 Law No. 57 of June 8, 1972 Law No. 34 of May 27, 1976 Law No. 78 of Dec. 2, 1983 Law No. 87 of Dec. 25, 1984 Law No. 45 of June 1, 1985 Law No. 56 of June 8, 1985 Law No. 89 of July 5, 1985 Law No. 99 of Sep. 26, 1987 Law No. 76 of May 15, 1991 Law No. 90 of July 2, 1992 Law No. 79 of July 1, 1993 Law No. 107 of June 9, 1995 Law No. 92 of June 18, 1997 Law No. 112 of Sep. 30, 1998 Law No. 87 of July 16, 1999 Law No. 102 of July 16, 1999 Law No. 104 of July 16, 1999 Law No. 151 of Dec. 8, 1999 Law No. 160 of Dec. 22, 1999 Law No. 35 of Apr. 25, 2001 Law No. 112 of July 11, 2001 Law No. 118 of Nov. 16, 2001 Law No. 98 of July 31, 2002 Law No. 100 of July 31, 2002 Law No. 102 of Aug. 2, 2002 Law No. 104 of July 4, 2003 CHAPTER IX RULES OF EMPLOYMENT (Responsibility for Drawing up and Submitting) Article 89. An employer who continuously employs 10 or more workers shall draw up rules of employment covering the following items and shall submit those rules of employment to the administrative office. In the event that the employer alters the following items, the same shall apply: (1) Matters pertaining to the times at which work begins and at which work ends, rest periods, rest days, leaves, and matters pertaining to the change in shifts when workers are employed in two or more shifts; (2) Matters pertaining to the methods for determination, computation and payment of wages (excluding extraordinary wages and the like; hereinafter in this item the same qualification shall apply); the dates for closing accounts for wages and for payment of wages; and increases in wages; (3) Matters pertaining to retirement (including grounds for dismissal); (3-2) In the event that there are stipulations for retirement allowances, matters pertaining to the scope of workers covered; methods for determination, computation, and payment of retirement allowances; and the dates for payment of retirement allowances; (4) In the event that there are stipulations for extraordinary wages and the like (but excluding retirement allowances) and/or minimum wage amounts, matters pertaining to such items; (5) In the event that there are stipulations for having workers bear the cost of food, supplies for work, and other such expenses, matters pertaining to such items; (6) In the event that there are stipulations concerning safety and health, matters pertaining to such items; (7) In the event that there are stipulations concerning vocational training, matters pertaining to such items; (8) In the event that there are stipulations concerning accident compensation and/or assistance for injury or illness outside the course of employment, matters pertaining to such items; (9) In the event that there are stipulations concerning commendations and/or sanctions, matters pertaining to their kinds and limits; (10) In the event that there are stipulations applicable to all workers at the workplace concerned on matters other than those contained in the preceding items, matters pertaining to such other items. (Procedures for Drawing Up) Article 90. In drawing up or changing the rules of employment, the employer shall ask the opinion of either a trade union organized by a majority of the workers at the workplace concerned where such a trade union exists, or a person representing a majority of the workers where no such trade union exists. 2. In submitting the rules of employment in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Article, the employer shall attach a document setting forth the opinion stipulated in the preceding paragraph. (Restrictions on Sanction Provisions) Article 91. In the event that the rules of employment provide for a decrease in wages as a sanction to a worker, the amount of decrease for a single occasion shall not exceed 50 percent of the daily average wage, and also the total amount of decrease shall not exceed 10 percent of the total wages for a single pay period. (Relation to Laws and Ordinances and to Collective Agreements) Article 92. The rules of employment shall not infringe any laws and ordinances or any collective agreement applicable to the workplace concerned. 2. The administrative office may order the revision of rules of employment which conflict with laws and ordinances or with collective agreements. (Validity) Article 93. Labour contracts which stipulate working conditions inferior to the standards established by the rules of employment shall be invalid with respect to such portions. In such a case the portions which have become invalid shall be governed by the standards established by the rules of employment.

Mon, 8 May 2006 13:07:05 +0900

It was Golden Week last week. Unfortunately it wasn't very pleasant. We had yet another argument over running the school, this time about advertising. Sakiko feels I'm too narrow minded and self centered, and she's absolutely right. I've got to try and work on considering other people and cooperating with others. The final result of the argument this time is that we've agreed to disagree on how we manage money. Sakiko finally realized that I'll never accept her way of being a saver, and I accepted that she'll never be an investor. So we've agreed to split all the money we have now 50/50. From now on she'll get 250 thousand a month to save and do with as she pleases, and the rest is mine. That means that I now have about 3 million in capital, and about 400 thousand a month to put into the business. Of course I also have to put some aside for expenses and emergencies. Still I reckon I can easily put about one million in capital into the business, and have about 200 free after all expenses. This means that I am now on the borderline of being able to hire another teacher. In fact, I can probably start recruiting now with an aim to have someone start in July. First though, I'd like to see about 100,000 a month free and clear above wages. In order to do that, we need another 15-20 students. I'll start advertising and recruiting now. Hopefully in a month or two I can build enrollment and find a teacher. That means I must start Home Post, Doshin and Mite Net ads this month. Next month our Yellow Pages ad will come out as well. I've really got to find some way to turn our trickle of new students into a steady stream, and I think that just means continually stuffing the pipeline with ads. To reach our goal of 60 students by July, I'll have to look at plenty of ads. Posters, newspaper and magazines, flyers and maybe tissue packs as well. The thing that troubles me is that it's a little too late, advertising should really be done in March. But oh well, shouganai.

Be Positive

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 15:23:26 +0900

This blog has just proved its usefulness. I had been feeling down, thinking that the business isn't getting anywhere, focussing on where I want to be and how far we still have to go. I hadn't been thinking about what an amazing amount we've already accomplished this year! Reading back over my posts, I've just been reminded about how much we've actually accomplished. It's still just the starting months of 2006, but already we've registered the business, set up a new accounting system, put into place a new and excellent curriculum, streamlined scheduling through a very effective and convenient online system (which has also successfully justified a slight, much needed price increase), drastically increased our advertising, secured a valuable company class, and inproved our reception services through the purchase of a digital cordless phone that allows for a better message on our answering machine, and most importantly, the ability for Sakiko to answer calls while at home (I've given up on asking her to come to the office). In addition, I've found that bookkeeping is actually quite simple, and something I can easily handle myself. Now I just have to choose our newspaper advertising for the year, find a good translating service to outsource some of our translating needs to, and we'll be all set! What would make this year spectacular now is if we could just increase our student base 20-30%. Then I could hire a another teacher next Spring, and look forward to a big year of growth in 2007!

Down

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 14:32:10 +0900

Compared to the mood of my last post, I'm pretty down now. Despite trying to separate work and personal life, and create some relaxing time, I've been extremely busy the last couple of weeks. I've been unable to get a decent night's sleep, and have been getting more and more tired. On top of that, I had another stomach virus which had me in hospital for a day two weeks ago, and now I've got yet another bad head cold. I wish I could just sleep for a week and wake up fully energized and healthy! On a positive note, I attended David Paul's one day training certificate course on teaching children, and found it quite usefull. I'm confident that I made a good choice in going with his books. His materials and training courses should be good to provide the basis of our teacher training as far as kid's classes go. I'm a bit depressed because I haven't gotten much of a reaction to my new posters. I've put up about 100 around town, but haven't gotten any new business from them yet. Of course, I knew this would likely happen, and told myself not to expect a return on this advertising in the short term, but considering that this is the month when new students should be joining it's a bit depressing. I wish we could have launched more advertising earlier in the year, but that's the way it goes. I'm increasingly feeling that we've got a large disparity in our business. In fact, I believe we may be in violation of our number one core value, that of providing quality English lessons. I fear that we are suffering from a lack of good customer service, due to not having a proper customer service rep. In addition, I'm so busy lately that I suspect my teaching is suffering. I'm not able to teach good lessons being as tired as I am and with as little time to plan lessons as I have. In reality, I'm just suffering from exhaustion. I'm trying to do way too much by myself. But the problem is we can't afford to hire more staff until we make more money. It's a catch 22, we can't provide good service, which will set us apart and get us more customers, because we don't have the money to hire people to provide that service, since we don't have enough customers for us to make money.... it's a vicious cycle. The only way I can see out is to just do my best for another year, get plenty of rest so that I can teach good lessons, and put all available resources into advertising so that we can increase the students numbers to where we can hire more staff. Ideally, I'd like to increase the advertising until we've got a waiting list of customers, then I can guarantee enough work to hire another teacher. Once we've got another teacher we can expand our class times and increase profit to where we can hire a customer service rep. I'd like to start interviewing prospective teachers around July, so that I have a short list of candidates to start in March. That means I've got to iron out our employee benefits, holidays, pay structure etc, and get it all into the employee handbook. For advertising, I'm thinking posters (will continue posting them up until I run out), Home Post monthly ad, and newspaper ad. I must look into the newspaper advertising and decide whether to go with Doshin or Minpo. I'm inclined to go with Doshin, because they've always been good to us, given us press coverage, been polite etc. Minpo on the other hand, have been generally rude and un-accommodating. It will likely come down to cost though. One positive thing is that I'm getting a handle on the accounting. I've found that it's actually quite easy to catch up on the books, and in fact have got them all almost up to date. While it's obviously best to have them updated daily, I now know that I don't have to panic if I get a bit behind. Still getting the hang of entering data and where though. Biggest thing I'm facing now is the fact that I need a good rest! Ohwell, next week is Golden Week, and we've got no big plans, so hopefully I can take it easy for a bit.

JETRO

Thu, 20 Apr 2006 10:55:25 +0900

http://www3.jetro.go.jp/examples/servlet/directory.DirectoryServlet

Success!

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 10:26:10 +0900

It's been quite a while since I've posted. Have been quite busy as usual, but on top of that Sakiko has developed a real interest in online shopping and auctions, meaning that she's always using the computer. I've made some real progress in the last couple of months. First of all, Sakiko and I have had a good talk about the school. We were able to work things out at last. All the resistance she's been giving me has really been out of fear that the school will take over our lives completely. She's afraid that as it grows our personal lives will disappear. We've realized that from now on we have to try to keep our personal and work lives separate. I must remember to leave work things at work, and to completely relax when we're at home and on days off. The ability to completely separate work and personal life and learn how to switch between the two smoothly is a necessary skill that I must develop if I'm to keep my sanity. I must try to avoid the stereotypical entrepreneur lifestyle of working 24/7. Sakiko is just tired of me being stressed out and overthinking all the time. I had been trying to prove to her that I could build this business, and had thought that by constantly working on it I could show how serious I am about succeeding, but instead I just drove her crazy with my constant obsessing. No surprise really. We also finally reached an agreement on finances. She's agreed to take 300,000 a month from the school for our combined salaries, and to use that for all personal and home savings and expenses. The rest will remain in the school's account, to be used by me for whatever projects I have. She's also agreed that I need a credit card in my name which I can use for school expenses. This is a big step, because it means that I now feel as if I have control over the business. This will also allow us to further separate work and home life. We've also had a great development with the business. Out of the blue a local manufacturing company called us and asked us about company classes. They had found us on the internet (the website is starting to pay off) and wanted a teacher for group lessons at their office. We've negotiated a contract for 60,000 a month for a weekly lesson for up to 20 students. This extra 60,000 is a real boost, which will allow us to increase our advertising, build up our inventory of textbooks to reduce waiting time for students ordering books, make improvements to the classroom and office, etc. The first lessons started this month, and I've already used the first month's payment to complete a project I've been planning for two years; professionally designed and printed posters for the school. That's right, I've finally succeeded in getting this advertising effort into place! We've just received a shipment of 500 full-color, full size professionally photographed and designed posters, all with my smiling face in closeup. They turned out beautifully, and I've wasted no time in going around asking local shops to post them in their windows. So far I've got about 50 around Nakajima and Chuo cho. I'll continue putting them up over the next year untill they're all posted. This will get us some great exposure and give GEOS a little competition! It seems as though we may just become the #2 Eikaiwa in this area by the end of the year. My dream of becoming #1 and closing out GEOS may be coming true! This extra income will also pay for Home Post and Minpo or Doshin newspaper ads as well. I've got to get on that and get some designed soon. I reckon I'll probably wait and time that to coincide with our Town Pages ad coming out in June. All of this is also due to the fact that my Japanese has been improving lately, to the point where I've actually been able to conduct simple business deals and negotiations all in Japanese. Using my newly improved Japanese skills, I was able to negotiate about a 60% discount on the poster project, by offering a month's free lessons to the photographer's daughter and the design studio, and by negotiating a deal with the printing company whereby we will do English translating and proofreading for them. This deal has already paid off, not only in the discount given on the printing of the posters, but in further translating and proofreading work. On Saturday, we received a phonecall from the printers asking for a quote on a translation for a label they were printing. Surprisingly, I was actually able to do the translation of it myself using MS Word translating software and my newly improved knowledge of Japanese grammar. It took me three hours to translate a single page, but nevertheless I was able to do it, and it should lead to further business in the future. I am delighted that we are beginning to make these contacts in the local business community, as it will certainly lead to more work for us. In fact, Saki's parents introduced me to the Manager of the Sun Route Hotel last week while he was at their shop, and mentioned the idea of doing Company Classes for them as well. If we could sign a contract with them it would be a real bonus, as then we could market Company Classes to the other hotels in town as well. We're going to Sun Route's 70th anniversary celibration on the 19th of this month, and that may be my chance to pitch the idea some more. All of this means that we are increasing the influence and local awareness of EES. With the increased exposure and advertising, I expect enrollment will continue to increase. We may be able to hit my target of 60-80 students by the end of this year. If we can hit that target and also get a few more Company Classes, then I will most likely be able to hire another teacher to start next March. That gives me about ten months to get all my systems in line and everything documented. One down side to the increased business lately is that we've had to further put off getting our bookkeeping computerized. We're now 4 months behind. If we don't get it caught up by the end of this month, then I seriously doubt if we'll be able to at all for this year. I've got to get it all in order. Unfortunately, Sakiko still has all the info I need stashed somewhere I'm unaware of. I need to get it all sorted out and into the file cabinet. My priorities for April are many: Put up more posters weekly. Get the bookkeeping caught up. Start newspaper advertising. Finish the translation of new pages on website. Design and print a school info pamphlet. Pitch company classes to Sun Route Hotel. In addition to all this I will be attending David Paul's Teaching English to Children one-day certificate course in Sapporo April 23rd. I have recently purchased his book Teaching English to Children in Asia, and I believe that it will become the main training text for children's classes at our school. In addition, I can see the book and basic structure of the certificate course becoming the basis of a Teacher Traning Course I would like to develop and offer at EES, which would be targeted at helping the local public school teachers learn to teach Elementary and Junior High classes. I hope to speak with David Paul and see if we can work out an agreement where EES is authorized to use his materials in our courses.

2 Years In and Still a Startup

Sun, 12 Mar 2006 17:03:42 +0900

Searching various Entrepreneur sites on the net I've been struck by the fact that despite having opened our doors two years ago, we're in fact still really a startup business. The first two years were more or less just a practice run, with me developing my teaching style. Last year we made some general business improvements, such as banking and payments, but it hasn't been until this year that we've got our basic business systems into place. Also, it's only been since this January that we've actually been registered as a business, albeit a Sole Proprietorship. As of this month we now have our banking and payment, curriculum/teaching, scheduling, accounting/bookkeeping systems and general school policies in place. I just have to develop our advertising and employee systems now. Once we've got enough customers waitlisted, and all employee related systems and manuals completed, we can consider hiring another teacher for next spring. For this year, I need to study as much as I can about business startup in general. I still have a lot to learn!

The Balance of Power

Fri, 17 Feb 2006 23:00:20 +0900

The more I think about it, the more I realize that the fundamental differences betwwen our thinking when it comes to money and therefore the business are too far apart for it to ever work. When we first started the school we did it as a partnership, though I always assumed that if it was successful and took off she would step aside and let me run it. Unfortunately now that we are succeeding she hasn't stepped aside, but in fact has come to control all of the business' finances. This means that I am unable to run the company. Sakiko is by nature a saver. She believes in putting aside as much money as possible in a safe place. She enjoys watching it grow. She does the same thing with everything, whether it be crackers, snacks or what have you. She loves saving and collecting things. This is why our house has become overcrowded with little bits and peices of junk that she can't bear to part with. Above all else, she hates risk, and doesn't want to invest money in anything, even our own business. I, in contrast, am an investor. I hate to see money just sitting idly by. I want all my money to be maximized and working for me. I am an entrepreneur at heart, and am willing to take risks (albeit controlled) in order to acheive my goals. Above all else, I'm a dreamer and a doer. I'm only happy when things are on track and clicking right along. I hate stagnation. Our personality types are in direct contrast. Problem is, we never realized it before we were married, as it never came up. We never had a serious disagreement until it came to our finances. My big mistake was in letting her take over control. I let it happen because first of all I couldn't handle the finances in Japanese, and second I had developed bad habits about money, spending far too freely and getting into debt. I needed to develop better money habits and mature in my attitudes towards money. Knowing that she was watching every yen I spent helped me develop better money habits. Now that I have though, and I know I'm more than capable of handling my money myself, I want control of it back. Also I'm also slowly getting to where I can function in Japanese. Sakiko is naturally good at budgeting and saving, and takes pride in controlling her own finances. Therefore, it's not possible for me to simply take over control of our combined finances. The only solution is to split them. We'll have to separate money and accounts into mine and hers, and use a joint account only for necessities such as monthly household costs and joint savings. The same will have to be done with the running of the business. No business can be run by two masters. Somehow I will have to take over control, and get her to accept a position as an assistant only. How to do this is a huge and complex problem. How can I accomplish it when she refuses to even discuss money or business matters? At the moment if I even mention a money or business matter she becomes angry and defensive and switches too rapid fire Japanese which she knows I can't understand. My natural instinct is to do it by force. Simply deliver an ultimatum and take the bank books and credit cards away from her. However, this will only result in hurt feelings and loss of all cooperation. Even worse, I know she'll find ways to undermine me and sneak back into power if I do it this way. No, I've got to do it slowly and strategically. I've got to find ways to slowly take back control without her realizing it. It's not my nature to be sneaky as I consider it deceitful, but we're playing by different rules here. She got control by doing things the Japanese way, through subtlety and diversion, and I'll have to do the same. The challenge will be in outstrategizing and outsmarting her. I'llhave to pull the rug out from under her without her ever realizing it. What a challenge! Outmanuever a conniving Japanese woman! Is it even possible? It must be! I must try! But this will be the most complex game of strategy I've ever played. Far more complex than any game of chess. I need a game plan. What's my strategy? Well first of all, I need information. I will have to launch a subvert intelligence gathering campaign. And I will have to do it without her realizing what I'm up to. My first step will have to be to look at all her books. I've got to find out what the current state of our finances and monthly bills are, as at this point I have no idea!