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If I were you I would try to be realistic and cut my losses. Follow the advice of getting an accountant and focus on what is important for your company. If you
by Treegarden 8y ago
If I were you I would try to be realistic and cut my losses. Follow the advice of getting an accountant and focus on what is important for your company. If you had a good reason to start it then you should persist if it is appropriate, however if you where dreaming too much either change your priorities or cut your losses. Its your money at the end of the day.
As in terms of career wise I dont think a failed business is such a problem - as long as you can sell it in a positive light. Career wise being an English teacher is the bigger problem I think. Many People that I know from Asia - foreigners and natives - look down on these so called "white monkey jobs".
Also its strange that you use "suicide" and "my actions to reflect badly on other foreigners in Japan" in the same paragraph. If you are depressed you shouldn't care how other foreigners look by your actions.
- Kremlin987 8y agoIf you haven't lived in that kind of high-visibility group-centric culture, you don't understand. Depression comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes and there is no 'should' - the term is meaningless. You might as well say 'you "should" feel better because how you feel isn't really real', right? That's not how depression and mental illness works.
- adeadman 8y agoIf you haven't lived in a high-visibility, group-centric culture like this, you don't understand why it's not strange for those two things to go together at all. There is no "should" with depression and mental illness. You could well say 'you "should" feel better because it's just chemicals in your brain and what you are feeling isn't really real', right? But depression comes in all shapes and sizes and doesn't make rational sense, which is why it can't be treated that way.
- Treegarden 8y agoThe way I understood it is: "By failing my business other people will think because I am a foreigner and I failed my business most other foreigners are failures as well and I don't want that" My point is that he shouldn't let hypotheticals like that keep him from doing what is best for him, especially if suicide is in the cards.
- ownerthrowaway 8y agoI feel quite ashamed of being an English teacher too. Whenever I meet someone at a party I always say I'm a software engineer, even though I know that's not really true. When I write my resume I just don't write the months on so it appears I was working at the companies for 1 year instead of 2-6 months. That way I can claim I wasn't an English teacher.
- gidis_ 8y agoHey man, keep your head up. I understand how difficult it can be running a business especially in a foreign country. A good way to keep your cashflow positive is to get contracts and outsource them. You can email me if you need a hand as I am also a software engineer, I could be of help.
- xevb3k 8y agoThere’s no shame in being an English teacher. I’ll be honest, you’re probably providing more valuing teaching English than half the software engineers at most startups.
- DoreenMichele 8y agoIs it possible to make life work there as an English teacher in Japan if you find a way to shut the business down reasonably gracefully?