Jennifer
(yes, that's her real name) and I were discussing the
Smith's School of English franchise system the other
night over Mexican and she was finding it fascinating
(the enchilada, I mean).
So, Jenny (that's her real nickname, too) says to me,
"You're building English School 
franchises?
That's so unconventional to my way of thinking. I mean,
it's like everyone either works for the big brand-name
schools or scratches up privates wherever they can.
You know, I've taught English here for a few years and
it still surprises me that language is a real commodity.
It's still hard for me to even imagine selling it. I
mean, I really hate the school I'm working for —
it's a real slave ship; they
rip the students off with the huge initial down payment
and I get paid a pittance. But the idea of a 'franchised
English School'? It's just, so, so unconventional. You
really need to address that issue for all your advertising
to have the compelling impact you want in order to get
more interested prospective franchisees calling up and
then joining the team."
I
listened carefully to her observations and said, "Uh,
huh."
Jens (ditto, above) continued, "I mean, I know that
everywhere in the world, for anyone who wants to start
and run their own business, for anyone with an entrepreneurial
bent, for anyone who wants to make a better life for
themselves, goodness, for anyone who wants to make more
money, a well-run franchise is the safest and surest
path to success. I learned that in business school."
I nodded, "Uh, huh."
"And
compared to trying to put all the screwy parts of a
new business together and making it run all on your
own, with all the inherent risks and fears, not to mention
all the possible things that could go wrong; well, getting
into an excellent franchise will always be the easiest
and kindest way to make a go of it and still be able
to sleep well at night."
"Uh,
huh."
Jenny went on, "I mean, even to my ultra-conventional
way of thinking, it's obvious that a Smith's School
of English franchise, as unconventional as it initially
may seem, is really the most conventional way a foreigner
can make some seriously big money here in Japan."
"Uh,
huh."
"If
you can get THAT message out to the foreign community
and get them talking about it, I'm sure you'll be hearing
from more people that really want to make a change for
the best in their lives. A lot more people."
"Uh,
huh."
"You
should do it," she concluded.
I smiled as I picked up the check, and said, "Thanks,
Jens. You've said it better than I ever could. Dinner's
on me. Let's take a walk and get some ice cream."
