May of us are language professionals who have decided to work for ourselves.

I’m wondering... 

Is this because being self-employed is an escapable part of our persona and being an entrepreneur is something we’ve always been driven to do, or do we find ourselves in this situation because an opportunity arose that we simply couldn’t turn down.

Recently in a networking group I run, I asked:

“If you had to give a percentage value to the relative importance of having excellent business acumen versus being an engaged and passionate teacher to be truly successful, what would you say?”

That answer? “You have to be 100% into the business, 100% into teaching”.

We work in a passionate industry: to be a teacher is to be a giver, and to be a language teacher is to immerse yourself in the topics of linguistics, culture, society: subjects that run deep.

But passion is not enough. 

With freedom comes responsibility.

Having the autonomy, independence and liberty to grow and shape your own business is a wonderful thing, but it only happens (successfully) when underpinned and reinforced by a solid understanding of business management.