One door closes..
I was very excited about this course. Because of the changes and the uncertainty about my job in China, I decided that the ideal thing for me would be to start my own online teaching business. Although the pandemic had abruptly changed how I was teaching my classes from in-person to online, my teaching path in China had already had a bit of a hiccup.
Prior to teaching in Wuhan, I had been teaching at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS), in Guangzhou. What made this school special was that, apart from being housed in an exciting city in a cozy apartment close to a large park, was the international environment. As the top language school in southern China, there were teachers from Spain, Brazil, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Indonesia, and more, many of them working on masters or doctorate degrees through their home university. When we got together, we would joke about it being the United Nations. I felt that it was a time of growth for me since we shared teaching ideas and had a lot of fun together.
However, when the school tried to renew the visas, there was a glitch. New Chinese visa regulations enacted a point system and I no longer qualified because I didn't qualify as an A or B talent. This impacted around 10 teachers at the school, some of which had been there for over a decade. I believed that my days of teaching in China were over and examed my options. I wasn't qualified to teach at a Canadian school, and I looked into starting an ESL business. I felt overwhelmed by the bureaucracy involved in providing visas and other necessities for students. At that time, I hadn't even considered the option of an online school.
I did manage to get another job in Hubei province since there was a shortage of teachers there and they would be able to bend the rules. But the idea of starting my own business had been planted and I didn’t settle into this position in the same way as I did in the one in Guangzhou.
Could I start a business?
Now in my ideal egalitarian world, people would all contribute as best as they could and have all their need met. The world would be one big happy commune and I question if this is a good foundation for a businessperson or do I have to be more of a capitalist in order to be successful.
I know that this is the only reason that the community TV shows that I was producing in Vancouver failed. You see, after I finished my diploma in Documentary Film, I was offered 30 minutes of airtime in which to produce a program. Shaw would help to train any people who wanted to learn to use the camera and edit equipment, but we would get no direct financial help. I went to local film schools and offered to air the videos, thereby giving local filmmakers some exposure. I recruited volunteers to work on the program and at one point there were over 100 volunteers. The joke among new volunteers was that there were there because they “Met Paula on the bus.”
This project was my baby. It filled a big void in my life created by family turmoil. It was so important to me that people had a voice and we filmed stories on climate change, poverty, women’s issues and we showcased local musicians. But the money. Shaw suggested that we fundraise, but I felt that it would make it a commercial venture and we would have an obligation to the funders. I could no longer put in the volunteer hours to make this viable and I had to stop producing the show. I had learned quite some valuable transferable management skills, but I hadn't learned enough.
The artifact
I choose this artifact because I am extremely proud of my work on the business plan. This is not because it is perfect, but rather because I worked so hard and progressed so much in my understanding of the various components of building a business. For assignment 3, we had to build on what we learned through a business analysis report (Assignment 1) and a strategic plan (Assignment 2). We were able to redo assignments and resubmit them, and it was an exercise in perseverance for me right from the start as I learned and reworked the documents.
The end product was a business plan that I could take to a funding agency and implement, including an executive summary, a detailed description, a marketing plan, a financial plan, and a timeline that showed the details of a five-year plan. This is something that I would not have even envisioned at the beginning of the course.
Discussion of competencies
I had picked up books and looked online about writing a business plan, but I wasn’t successful in coming up with anything meaningful. I was really looking forward to MDDE 605 because I felt that it would be the key to what I needed to know about starting an online ESL business (1.1).
The way that the course was set up was that we would build on the work from the previous assignments. I felt quite confident as I wrote the business proposal as we followed an outline and addressed specific points and questions (4.1, 5.1) The feedback was particularly detailed, and I was extremely impressed by the amount of time and effort that was put into the advice. The main revision was addressing the fact that I was not building a business, but rather just create a job for myself. The Instructor suggested I look into The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber, and after listening to the audiobook, and searching online for more information (1.4). I started to reframe my role. That was the key to realizing that I would have to clearly define the roles of technician, manager, and entrepreneur and delegate tasks since I can't do everything myself (1.5, 1.9). I thought back to the TV program and reflected on the fact that this had worked because of all the volunteers. I realized that would need a team to make the business successful, but If I wanted to retain them I would have to pay them (1.12). I also acknowledged that I deserve to be paid for my work (6.2). I realized that people could study English at little to no cost by using YouTube or one of the available MOOCs. I had to make sure that there was a synchronous component to the lessons (6.1). Thankfully, I was able to rework the material and resubmit it.
I had never heard of a SWAT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunity, and threats) analysis, let alone done one. And SMART goals...? I learned that this meant Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and time-bound when we had to produce a timeline showing how a team would build the business. Although I had learned a little about marketing through my BA in Communication, times have changed. Further, I learned about creating a budget showing start-up costs ongoing expenses (6.2). Wow! No wonder that it takes so long to get an MBA.
Reflection
In the end, I had a clear business plan and a timeline of what must be done (6.3). There will be bumps along the way, but I will develop a good team to help me, although it might not be from riding the bus. I feel very comfortable charging money to customers knowing that I have a solid, well-researched, and effective business (6.4).
I have never really worked in a position that deals with finance. In truth, it always felt too corporate, and that is not where my interest lies. I have thought of starting a small business in the past because I like the freedom that I would have, I feel like a natural leader, and I particularly like bringing an idea to life. I went from envisioning a job for myself to creating a viable plan and the power to carry it through.
My core value for empowering people by giving them a voice is an intrinsic part of the business. I will be helping designers, teachers, marketers, and other people to get ahead. I will be empowering students to speak English and that will help them to succeed in a global context.
Competencies
Problem Solving, Analysis, & Decision Making
1.1. Recognize problems
1.4. Find and access information
1.9. Recognize the wider implications of specific knowledge
1.12. Reflectively analyze and apply learning experiences to current and future situations
Communication & Interpersonal Skills
4.1. Write clearly and in a style appropriate to purpose (e.g. assignments, reflective essays or journals, published documents, eportfolios, and theses)
Research
5.1. Frame effective and meaningful research questions
Management, Organization and Leadership
6.1. Analyze the current and future climate of the open and digital education and distance learning industry, and formulate strategies to respond to that climate
6.2. Describe and analyze the business and administrative functions in open and digital education organizations and critically discuss how business decisions affect financial and non-financial work results
6.3. Make considered recommendations regarding the selection of appropriate learning technologies and assure that these selections meet organizational needs
6.4. Outline and critically compare the relative costs of appropriate technology-based communications methods in open and digital education and ensure that the organization is receiving a good return on investment
6.5. Manage workload, other commitments, and information needs within time and structural constraints (in both personal and team management situations).