Have you ever heard of the 80 - 20 business principle? It's something I've become aware of very recently so wanted to share my thoughts.

At it's core, the principle says that - in terms of cause and effect - 80% of effects (purchasing customers, for example) come from 20% of effort (the time I spend trying to get customers, for example).

The remaining 20% of my customers come from a massive 80% of my time and effort! Is this something you've noticed in your life or business activity?

On the plus side, the vast majority (80%) of clients are pretty low maintenance, but on the flip side, a smaller number of clients (20%) are very maintenance and in fact, might never be happy even though they're given 80% of the support time!

Of course every client / customer is important so I for one always give 100% effort trying to keep all my students happy (enjoying my lessons and feel they are making progress).

Best wishes and stay safe!

Not a bad explaination!!!

Have you ever heard the saying "it's too good to be true!"?

As an example, if a work colleague tells you that your manager has recommended you get a 500 euro pay increase, would you automatically assume that the information is 100% correct? I'm not sure I would!

Why? Because it is "too good to be true" - life (and the manager) isn't always that generous!

The reason I mention this particular saying is because recently I have paid for a new bicycle. Don't ask me anything about the bike because I've yet to receive it, having ordered it from an online shop.

But why might it be "too good to be true"? Well, it was advertised as a adults 21-gear mountain bike with rear suspension - and the price? The princely sum of 30 euros! Yes, 30 euros including postage and delivery.

I don't have any hopes that the bike will be as good as I hope - after all "if it's too good to be true, it probably is!" - but lets see what arrives, eh? Fingers crossed.

Keep well and safe.

Have you come across the saying "what gets measured gets done?"

It's a very common saying - especially in teaching: a teacher really needs to know precisely what progress their students are making.

A while ago, I mentioned that one of my personal targets this year is to try to lose some weight and in some ways, a weight management journey is a little like learning a new language. I make some progress, then something happens and I lose confidence for a while - I feel like I'm going backwards. I'm sure many of you have felt this at times with language learning and other personal projects.

My early morning weigh-in is important. A change for the better gives me the motivation to continue doing the right thing for the day. When there is change in the wrong direction, I try to understand what happened and take remedial action. No-one ever said it would be easy!

In summary, whatever your personal objective is, make sure you know the Reality of your progress, and reward yourself when appropriate!

Best wishes and stay safe!!!
#motivation #onlineenglishteacher

What has been your biggest professional challenge this last 12 months?

For me, it's difficult to know quite where to start! This time last year we had been hearing about an awful virus that had been raging around China and starting to spread to Europe - most notably Italy, but little did most of us know the massive impact it would have on our personal and professional lives.

At that time, I was enjoying my life as a freelance teacher - mostly with very friendly colleagues at language school in Valencia - but I was looking to establish my own academy and had just acquired what seem like a suitable property. Hurrah!!!

Of course, in March, the first lockdown was imposed and it became clear that teaching online would be a sustainable option and slowly I migrated my programmes into an online delivery format based on my websites:
www.targetonenglish.com and
www.ieltt.com

English language teaching seems to work pretty well remotely, but TEFL teacher training programme has become more difficult.

Fundamentally, in my view, in order to be sure that someone will be a great teacher, it's necessary to actually see them teach! Yes, that might sound a bit radical :-) and 'live' in-person teaching practice opportunities became very limited.

Fast-forward to February 2021 - at the moment, I'm teaching adults and quite a few young people (typically aged 7/ 8 - who would have guessed!!!) and enjoying the experience - though a slightly flaky internet link poses it's own challenges. Hand on heart, I can't wait to do some more teaching live and in-person as soon as it is practical to do so, but will things return to how things were February 2020? It's highly unlikely.

What do you think? Do you prefer to study with a teacher online or in-person? Let me know!

Keep safe!!!