Michael Daly

Working with a culturally-diverse clientele from around the world and having the opportunity to visit many of their countries is perhaps the most interesting and rewarding part of my job. There are many places I have visited and memorable experiences I have had that no other job would have afforded me.

I own America Education Partners. Working for myself, I am a one-man operation responsible for all aspects of business operations, accounting and marketing. Much of the delivery of post-school acceptance services provided to clients is through a network of reputable independent providers based near the schools where the students have been placed.

In addition to my office in the U.S., I have a representative office in Beijing, China operated as a joint venture with an established local company. The main source of my business is through a network of independent overseas advisers with whom I have agreements to promote my company's services and partner schools. Revenue comes from school placement, advising fees, school referral commissions and miscellaneous post-acceptance student service and support fees.

Here’s a bit of what we can cover in our PivotPlanet session(s):
• How to determine whether starting a business or entering international education is right for you - the ups and downs and ins and outs.
• How to start your new business - checklist of what to do before starting a new business in international education.
• How to effectively manage your business - what to do yourself, what to outsource to a professional.
• How to develop a professional network in international education.
• How to find your target market and develop a marketing plan.

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In 1993, I did a post-college English teaching stint in Japan. Before starting my business, I worked in a variety of jobs in the field of international education including ESL teacher, director/regional director for a private ESL program, high school and college placement advisers. I learned very quickly after starting my work as an ESL teacher that international education and student advising was the career field for me.

Starting my business was not a change of careers, but a continuation of my career, only working for myself. Now I am in control of virtually everything inside and outside of work, and I have learned a lot about owning a business: be prepared for the start-up lean times; don’t get discouraged; be willing to try new things and don’t let your business own you.

I'm very much an intrinsically motivated person who prefers to fly under the radar and try to have my work and efforts make a difference one person at a time.

Because most of my clients are sleeping during the daytime here in the U.S., I have the luxury of planning my work hours virtually any way I want. I can go to the gym at different times of day; have a long lunch hour; read a book; pick my kids up from school; and help coach their sports teams.