Contract help for non- teaching job

[Da Dan]

G`day all

I am talking with a gentleman that just opened a language center & western style Bed & Breakfast in a pretty popular tourist area in China. He wants someone to help him promote his Chinese classes & also his B&B to English speaking peoples..

I¡¯ll help him design his website,
Write advertisements in English,
Help to make sure the house & staff is up to ¡°Western¡± standards as far as what he provides & the cleanliness of the B&B,
Help putting together package deals for short & long term students of Chinese, emersion type classes with outdoor activities around Hainan,

I¡¯ll also help him find good English teachers as the need arises.

Many other things that I will surely do for him to get his company known by English speaking folks in China & those that will be coming.

All of what I do will be long term for him, I might only be here a year or less but what I do will stay.
I¡¯ll make his web site a catch all for people interested in Hainan on their own without having to deal with a travel agency, what¡¯s available, costs & times to come. Of course hic B&B¡¯s & Chinese classes will be the main goal of the site.

With his being Chinese, I¡¯m not sure how to talk with him about what our contract should contain, most of what I¡¯ll do are things that will pay off in the long run.
He¡¯ll need to be convinced to look & plan ahead.....
He has an MBA from University of Leicester in the U.K & is a really nice guy with a pretty open mind when dealing with foreigners; all the ones living here like him & have no horror stories about him.

His English is very good but he is not good on the computer nor does he know a lot about western style marketing.
That is where I¡¯ll come in, do a lot of it for him while teaching him what English-speaking foreigners expect & want...
& Setting up programs he can implement on his own after I am gone.

How should I approach him on the salary part of this?

Anyone who might have ideas & suggestions, Please don¡¯t hold back..!

Also... I will be available to him to teach classes if he needs a teacher to fill in for the English classes he has at his school too but that is simple hourly work.

TIA for any advice you give, I¡¯ll have more questions after I see more of what he wants.

Danny

[con's fly is open]

Let's start with a baseline:

1. What does an FT make in Hainan?
2. How much harder will you work than an FT?
3. How many more skills than an FT do you bring to the table? Western marketing is a huge thing, by the by.
4. Given that it sounds like a riot, are you willing to come down a smidgeon on the salary?
5. What are your long-term plans? Have you considered buying in?

[Da Dan]

sorry fer not gittin back to ya sooner, went out last night & couldn't connect this morning.
`thanks for replying

I have only been here a short time but have talked with a few FT's that have been here a while, they say the going rate is the normal 3500 for gov schools & around 5 - 6000 for private schools - learning centers... pretty standard I believe.

100 an hour for side work & over time if you're not owned & plenty part time illegal (non-licensed) work.

This gent is paying FT's 5000 in his school for 18 class hrs with 3 out of class hrs a week, room, air & normal perks included.
He's a real nice guy too, fair & honest, a pleasant suprise for this kind of school.

He has a solid basic business plan, a very nice house (Real house) in Haikou & nice apartments in other locales.

I'm sure I'll put in more hours than a teacher but they will be more easy, mostly computer time with me setting my own working hours. Probably have to "say" I'll do a certain amount of hours but there is no way to keep track...

Not sure it can be compared to teaching cause they are so different.
I know it's quite expensive to have a web site set up in English & to use one of the Chinese companies that do what I'll be doing. I'll do a better job too...

But he wasn't planning on using one of them anyway.... (Chinese style of opening first then taking it as it comes) Once we talked, he is liking my ideas though.

I'll be bringing a Lot more skills than what the normal teaching job allows one to use.
I know marketing pretty well & know it's value. I did a lot of it with my past life in Hawaii & know I can do a lot for this guy.

That is part of my concern, the gent I'll work for is like most Chinese & doesn't know how powerful the internet can be when used correctly.
I have a lot of experience in targeted marketing for a small business on the internet & also a lot of tourism experience.
I Know what people want in a B&B & how to find them.
I know pretty much what people want in a Chinese class & will learn more as I talk with people & by learning the language myself.

& Yes!
This has potential to be Great FuN for me, it'll be kind of laid back work too.... but it IS work & he'll get a lot from me that will last & bennifit his business plenty over time...

I¡¯m not greedy but also don't want to end up feeling like I wasn't paid enough....

I ¡°think¡± I'll stay here awhile, it seems like a pretty good place (Not like the rest of China in many ways) & I'm already used to island life.

I won't be ¡°buying in¡± on his school, that requires money that I don¡¯t have

I plan to do tourism things on my own here in time, this will allow me to meet many connected people on this island that will help me in my own things.

& I can use this as a referance for future work of this sort if it all works out well.

I believe what I'll do for him is worth more than a teacher, I'm sure he does too...

I'm finding myself not being able to discuss it as openly as I would with an English speaking person, I don't know if his ¡°yes¡± means yes or if it is a Chinese yes meaning he might mean yes or he doesn't know how to say no politely.

We'll go have beers & discuss it this week, I'm just looking for things to say so we can both be satisfied.

I'm thinking of asking for a fairly low monthly & larger payments in stages as we go.

Has anyone done this work for a Chinese company before..?

[Jollyjunklass]

Hey Dan,

I am not sure if you want to give this guy a try. But he seems to know his way around Hainan, he has been there for years. His name is Eddie Mills and his email is [e-mail] I don't know him personally but have spoken with him a few times, he wanted me to check out a kindergarten there.

His title is the Director of the International Education Exchange Association. He has been there for 11 years I believe. He seemed like a pretty straight forward guy to me. He deals with the Chinese a lot and may give you some clues as to how to deal with these issues, payment and such.

Like I said, I don't know him personally, so cannot vouch for him. But he sure seems to know his stuff around the island. He also seems to get on quite well with the Chinese.

Maybe don't bring up all your plan up to him, get a feel for him first. I know for sure, he is helpful though.

Just found his website if you want to check him out first. www.ieea-china.org/

[Da Dan]

`Thanks Millana

He looks like a nice guy in his photos on his site.
I'll ask around about him first to see what the folks I know here say about him, maybe one of them can introduce us in person, Haikou isn't very big & it appears many of the foreigners know each other.

My boss just bought another big ol house next door to this one in Haikou, nearly a million Yuan....
One will be for school / classrooms & one for living.

`Looks like we'll surely be looking for foreign English teachers for winter & summer camps now.

It sounds like I'll have a lot to say about what is done during them.
His wife is a long time Chinese teacher in a prominent middle school & will arrange the class / lesson hours part so the Chinese parents will accept it...
but I¡¯ll get to make it `FuN fer All! ;D
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`I think.....

[con's fly is open]

You know, Dan, this gig sounds idyllic. Just get paid like a foreigner should.

[Da Dan]

Funny thing is....

I thought my question was....

What Should a foreigner get paid for This kind of work....

I wrote up a fairly detailed list of what I can do for his company & will discuss everything with him soon.

With luck....

I'll be teaching a few programs at his school, tourist & communicative business classes I'll put together.

They will be hands on courses where we travel the island with me being their tour guide, showing what English speaking folks want in a holiday.

& How to find clients of their own explaining how to communicate with them Before & after they get here.

I'll ask for these to be paid separately on top of the other things I do for his school / B&B.

I'm a little worried that classes at the beaches, mountains, restaurants & hotels might be a little demanding & not very fun considering whom the student body might be... ;D

[con's fly is open]

A thought: why not ask for a commission on whatever the website brings in? If the boss has a low regard for its potential, he may go for it: no skin off his nose if it does nothing... a windfall for you (and him) if it does.