When you opened your own eikaiwa, were you leaving a previous teaching job in the area? Did any of your previous students come to your school? Any ramifications?
That’s pretty much my situation. I’d like to open my own school but don’t want to get in trouble with my current employer with “stealing” their students. What happens if students choose to quit their classes and come to my school? How about any kindergarten contracts they have? Same situation.
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Surely if you start your own company you would then no longer be working for your previous company? Do you mean just teaching freelance lessons on the side?
Poaching would be sitting in your current eikaiwa classroom and giving those students your new school contact information, and/or standing outside your current eikaiwa pitching your new school to your former students as they arrive for class.
If you open a school, and your former students find you by word of mouth, or if you run into them away from the school, that’s not poaching.
However, even if you do engage in blatant poaching, your current employer is unlikely to do anything about it. This is because (especially if you work for a major eikaiwa chain) they know they are unlikely to lose those students permanently.
That is to say, you shouldn’t count on your current students to follow you to your new school even if they tell you directly that they will. Some probably will. Fewer will stay for more than a few lessons, and barely any will become long term students.
So, you’ll need a 6 month plan for building a good student base on your own. Even if you do somehow manage to retain a larger portion of your former employer’s students, having a goal like this makes good business sense.
I was in a similar situation a few years ago – I decided to approach my employer directly and tell him my plans. We had a good relationship, so we worked out a settlement which meant I could legitimately approach my students and take those who wanted to come with me.
My previous employer even helped me with finding premises and sorting out documents etc. We were both very pragmatic about getting the best out of the situation; he was grateful I didn’t go behind his back, and I was happy to have access to his experience and advice.
This very much depends on the personality of your current employer, and how you think they would react if you approached them. There is a risk in being honest to the wrong person, but in my case it was the right decision to be open about it.
Just keep it low key. In your last couple of weeks, just slip your favorite students a flyer with your information on it.
Be prepared for someone grassing you up though.