Phuket Established English Teaching TEFL Business For Sale - Kamala Beach
The only business currently up for sale is the one above, so this is the one we will review first. In fact, it is IslandTEFL, which is well known on the EFL circuit and has been around for over 10 years. It is currently owned by Philip Dunne (aka Phillip Crabb), who is based in the USA, and has sold franchises in various locations in Thailand over the last few years. In our opinion, however, IslandTEFL, Phuket is considerably overvalued at $67,500. We will give our reasons below.
Any buyer needs to first grasp what he or she is really buying. In this case, it is basically rights to a web domain, use of the name and logo, and a teaching manual. Plus, of course, Philip Dunne’s marketing skills, which it must be conceded are certainly formidable.
However, there are many shortcomings. Firstly, IslandTEFL is not actually a registered company in Thailand, and this means the burden will fall on you, the buyer, to register, which is a complicated and time consuming process. If IslandTEFL was already registered, you could register as a branch, in which case you may only need to have one Thai employee, as advertised. However, if you are registering from scratch, the stipulations are actually that you are required to have four Thai employees. Secondly, the TEFL scene is highly seasonal in that numbers are high in April and October, immediately prior to the beginning of school term time, but low for much of the rest of the year. Do not expect to be running fully packed courses all the year round.
The premises are another important area to look at. You need to establish whether they are already there or exist merely as a possibility. There is a good possibility that they are not up and running at present and may fall well below your expectations, which is why it is essential that you check them first. The IslandTEFL website has evolved over several years, and the photos may give an impression of something different from what is actually there. You may envision a company with an HQ, secretaries, accountants and rows of computers. In reality, Island TEFL is a small company with no fixed physical base, basically just Philip Dunne working from a room in San Diego (last known location).
The reason we feel that the price being asked for is too high is because the onus will fall upon you in almost every department. There are also several risk factors if you purchase from Philip Dunne. Firstly, will you really be your own boss? He will almost certainly keep a controlling stake as the franchisor, which may mean the he will drive you from behind. Secondly, he has a reputation for adhering rigidly to contracts, so that if at any point you become "in breach of contract", you risk losing all of your money. Why put yourself in that position when you will be doing all the donkey work and could be completely independent anyway (see below)?
It is also important to note that Thailand is largely unregulated, and that if you did have any dispute, any legal process would probably be long and laborious, with the outcome difficult to enforce. That’s why it’s important to take particular care doing any deal involving Thailand. A "what if things go wrong?" attitude is essential, particularly with such a large sum at stake.
So what we suggest instead is that you simply set up on your own and be your own boss in the true sense of the term. Our recommended course would be to go to Thailand, find some premises, register your company, design your own curriculum, set up your own website and link up with a placement agency. None of these things are difficult to do, particularly if you have a genuine EFL background. In fact, we will be happy to give you advice if you need it. Even the advertising is relatively straightforward. Why pay all that money for something you can do yourself?
Please also read our previous blog and ground advice. Always meet the seller personally face to face. Skype is not an adequate substitute, in our opinion. And make sure that you have checked any contract you are about to sign properly with a lawyer. Make sure there are no ambiguities and that it is evenly balanced. Also, how are disagreements resolved? What programmes can you do and not do? Finally, ask to see a balance sheet for the previous year. Any company that does not offer you that must be considered dubious.
To sum up, we are not recommending Island TEFL at that price on the evidence currently available. Why risk what may be half or even all of your life savings on such a venture? We think it best simply to set up independently. However, if you do decide to buy, in our opinion, Island TEFL Phuket is not worth more than $10,000. We would not risk more than that on it. This, however, is just our personal view.
We welcome comments and questions from anyone who has or would like more information about IslandTEFL.
Good luck whatever you do.
Jill Franklyn
Disclaimer: Please note that the above comments are simply the views and opinions of "TEFL Businesses" and in no way represent incontrovertible truths. All information should be checked and verified by the reader before being acted upon. We also take no responsibility for any comments posted, other than that any comment using foul or abusive language will be deleted.
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