I worked in several schools and found the same problems at every language school I worked in. You get what you pay for! - You seen one you seen them all! Don't forget this - What makes your school different then any others?

I met some excellent chinese teachers and foreign teachers. However, they are already working at other schools. So how do you get them to come teach at your school. No one knows your school because it is new and chinese love tradition. They go with what they know, and they go by word of mouth. So expect to pay rent and receive very little income the first year. In other words, you will be in the red.

This is how you make your school special. I recommend you pay Chinese teachers 100 RMB per hour. There are some great teachers out there. Dont choose the pretty girls who are 22-26 years old. Use the young teachers as receptionists until you have time to observe them and let them observe experienced teachers. All receptionists must be teachers. I have met the most useless receptionists who do NOT speak simple english and who could not give me simple directions on how to get to the school. They have no clue of directions or what bus stops in front of their school. They had no idea of landmarks or cross streets.

Pay more and get the mature (Over 28) teachers with experience and knowledge. They will leave the school where they are working and come work for you. Rule #1 - don't be cheap. Treat them with respect and cherish them.

If you pay Foreign teachers 100 RMB then you are just like the rest - Cheap. Good Foreign teachers get 150 RMB per hour in most places. You want good teachers, pay them 200 RMB and they will all flock to your school. Rule #2 - Get teachers with a visa and stay away from tourists and students who only want some spending money. They do NOT care about your school and will drop you in a NY minute. This will also keep you out of trouble with the PSB office who is now giving hefty fines to schools who hire illegal foreigners (NO working visa).

If you follow these simple suggestions you can choose the best teachers. Rule #3 - NO contracts - pay them by the hour for at least 6 months until you know who is good and who is not. I seen a lot of schools give a 1 or 2 year contract to a loser and they are stuck with them.

Finally, reward your good workers. Send your good workers who are NOT english majors to other schools (as students). You pay their fee and when they come back they will be grateful and they can spy on the other school and get ideas of what is good and what teachers are good. You can then use this knowledge to improve your own school and recruit the good teachers who may not have heard about you. This will make your staff LOYAL.

The biggest mistake I have seen is lieing to your staff and paying them different wages. Nothing pisses them off more then to know they have been cheated. All schools have a policy of NOT telling others their salaries. But low and behold, someone always spills the beans and the resentment begins. All are same - chinese 100, Foreiger 200. If someone is NOT good, get rid of them but do NOT keep them and pay them less.

Remember this - Quality will get you Quantity - If you have the best teachers, you will get new students quickly and you will NOT be in the red. Most schools try to get quantity (many students) but they have NO quality (useless teachers).

You need to focus on the Product/Services you provide. Do not worry about business and profit. If you build it, they will come. Build it well and employ only the BEST teachers! I guarantee you will have people at your door.

And when you make a mistake, and you will, for God sakes, Change things and don't continue the SAME mistake. If you already hired teachers and are paying them 100, then Change it NOW.

The Yunnan CDC requires filling out 2 forms in Chinese which is very time consuming (about 30 minutes). Forms are filled out in the first floor and urine samples are dropped off at the 13th floor. When we took the samples upstairs the woman who does the testing harrassed us for 20 minutes trying to convince us NOT to test for Fluoride. We finally had to tell her that we already paid for the services we wanted and we know what we want so please stop trying to persuade us. Also, the machine that tests for Mercury is still broken and they can not test for mercury.

I found the CDC site very inconvenient for testing of heavy metals. The staff are just concerned with giving vaccines and not very helpful.

I went for insects two days before with my native Kunming friend and new French friend. Actually, I'm afraid of them. - Are you afraid of your friends, afraid of the insects, or afraid of both?

Excercise for the day - Jumping to conclusions.

The Donkey Hot Pot restaurants are NOT Muslim.