English In France

Teaching English in France, shouldn't be too difficult right ?

It isn't really. Unless you want to teach " professional English" and allow your students to access government funds which cover the costs of ongoing work related education.

You must be a registered teacher/coach/trainer. Obtaining this registration number is quite an adventure. Fortunately I've passed that hurdle.

Then you must find students. This is going quite well. Although I expect it to slow down during the summer I think the pace will pick up again in September. I currently have 12 students. It has taken me about a month to reach this number.

The problem ?

The delays in getting paid are quite long.l can only start the lessons a month after signing a contract. Then there's a 60 day delay from the time I bill my first lessons to the time I get paid. Most of my students are starting their lessons in September. Some are starting mid august. This means I will receive my first payments end of October, beginning of November.

My first 12 students have signed up for 60 hours of lessons. After taxes and expenses I receive 25€ an hour per student. They will be doing 3 hours a week.

My current students ( not professional English) have (for the most part ) left for the holidays. I'm setting up an Italki account but I think it will take time before I reach a good number of students.

So my current income has slumped. I was thinking of borrowing 1500€ that I would begin to repay in November at a rate of 100€ per month.

These are government funds so although they are slow and highly bureaucratic, they always pay.

The risks are :

-Students missing lessons and doing less than the agreed to 3 hours a week. Although I should obtain more students which should compensate for that.

- Something happens to me. Either an accident or a catastrophic health event which would prevent me from teaching.

I would use the 1500€ to pay for my website, continue to contact potential clients ( I cover lots of distances by bicycle but occasionally use the train ) and yes I would also use it to cover personal expenses