Becoming a French Tutor for the businessmen

Sounds interesting, Sleidia. You might want to put a link to this thread over in the language forum.

Hi ossobuco,

Your idea sounds interesting but I'm afraid it would be off topic since my question is more about the business side of teaching.

I'm sooo weak when it comes to business and regulations

I mentioned it since at least one person who participates there has taught english to business people in Brazil, and others may have tutored language elsewhere. Roberta, for example, has tutored english to people in New York City.

I don't mean to switch the question over there, but to give a link to this topic. I'll check and see if there's an appropriate thread there to put a link to this topic, and if there is, I will.

I looked in both the Other Languages and English forums and I see most of the many topics seem to have to do with translations. Never mind!

Yeah, I was under the same impression

Let's see if there are business minded people here !

Thanks ! :wink:

The best that I can make out from your description is that you would have one client. One rich client. In a sense, a full-time French teacher, living in or nearby. Available in the evening and possibly during the day.

You would have to find one extremely wealthy person who is overeager to learn French.

I'd like to answer your questions as best I can:

1) Do you think such a independent business could catch on? I don't see how you could possibly have more than one or, at most, two clients. You would have a devilish time finding such clients. You would need to find an extremely wealthy person who is desperate to learn French. My guess is that if a wealthy person wanted to learn French, or any other language, he or she would hire a qualified, experienced teacher, with references.

2) Would I need to be a registered company? No, you would not be a registered company, which in essence is a corporation. You would, in effect, be self-employed.

3) Do you think I might run into problems considering the fact that I would teach to my clients under a tourist visa? The problem here might be one of longevity. How long is your visa good for? I'm unfamiliar with restrictions on tourist visas. You'd have to find out about any such restrictions, as well as tax laws that might apply to your business.

4) Do you think my clients will ask me to show diplomas or such? ( I have no real qualification to be a teacher ). Yes, I think that most sensible, reasonable people, rich or otherwise, would want some references, qualifications, information on your background and ability to do the job.

Hi Roberta :wink:



Well, I am an experienced web designer and I'm planning to create a website ( and to promote it heavily! ) for this business. I think that with a targeted promotion and targeted prices as well, I could possibly find clients who need someone for conversations and cultural/practical knowledge about France. I mean, who on earth is currently offering to stay at your place and to follow you everywhere in order to have you speak French all day long in a country where almost nobody gives you the opportunity to speak this language?

I really want to hear the cons of such an idea



Unfortunately, as a French citizen, I'm sure those rules don't apply.
It looks like I have to start an "individual company" here in France.



The biggest problem here is that I don't want to limit myself with one country. So, I would have to know the tax system and immigration rules for each country visited !

teach french to the wealthy
your expereinces are very valuable i am an american employer and would like to learn french and i would like to know if your website is up

Hi Asher

Since I'm not allowed to send PMs, here is my reply to you.

Unfortunately, I haven't found enough time to build that teaching business yet.

EDIT: MODERATOR: LINK REMOVED

A bientôt peut-être !

The simplest way to teach French to adults would probably be to be hired by a company who already provides this kind of services (an equivalent of the Wall Street institute for French learning). As a native speaker, it won't be that difficult to find something.
Good luck. :wink: