I Opened an English School in Brazil — And Learned More Than I Taught

The Unexpected Venture

I was in my third year of law school when the idea came. I was already teaching English individually—going to homes, giving private lessons to kids and teenagers. It was stable. I earned enough to help with university bills.

But I thought: why not scale up?

At that time, English was a luxury in interior Brazil. Presidente Prudente didn’t have many language school options. There was demand. There was interest. There were families willing to pay.

And I had the product: a native American, living in Brazil, who could teach not just the language, but American culture.

I decided to open my own English school.

What Nobody Told Me About Business in Brazil

My law school friends thought it was crazy. “You’re in law school! How will you manage a school?”

But that’s exactly when I began understanding something no Business Law class could teach me: how things really work in Brazil.

Opening a business in Brazil is a process. There’s paperwork. There’s bureaucracy. You need a CNPJ—a business registration number. You need to register with the city. You need to open a business bank account. You need an accountant.

All of this seemed simple in theory. In practice, it was a series of discoveries.

First, I discovered you can’t just “decide to open a school.” There are regulations. There are operating permits. There are rules about physical space, about safety.

Second, I discovered the world of Brazilian relationships. You don’t go to a government office with your documents and wait. You go to a government office, find the responsible person, build a relationship. You ask your friends, “Who do you know?” You ask for a referral. It’s all very personal.

“I have a cousin who works in city hall,” a classmate said. “I’ll talk to him.”

Magically, things that seemed complicated became simple.

The School Takes Off

Once I got the right permits (thanks to the right connections), the school went from paper to reality. Renting a space. Buying desks, chairs, whiteboards. Hiring other teachers.

And it started working very well.

Students began arriving. Parents who wanted their children speaking English. Teenagers preparing for university. Young children wanting to start early.

It was profitable. Much more profitable than teaching private lessons. A business scales. You’re teaching multiple students at once, multiplying your time value.

But it was exactly then that I learned the next lesson about business in Brazil: how to deal with people.

The Human Side of Business

Managing employees in Brazil is different from anything I expected. Your teachers aren’t just employees—they’re work colleagues, they’re friends, eventually they’re confidants.

You hire someone and soon you’re hearing about their personal life. Your teacher is having relationship problems? You know. Financial difficulties? You know. Dreaming of leaving Brazil? You hear all about it.

This isn’t a separation between work and personal life—it’s a completely different integration than what I experienced in America.

I offered my teachers not just salary, but flexibility, support, friendship. One was a musician who needed work that respected his rehearsal schedule. We worked that out. Another was a single mom who needed adapted hours. We adapted.

I formed genuine friendships with my teachers. I still talk to some of them.

How Business Really Works

During those school years, I learned more about how a business works in Brazil than any management class could teach.

I learned about inflation—how to keep prices high enough to profit, but low enough that families continue paying.

I learned about marketing—not expensive advertising, but word of mouth. Satisfied customers bring new ones. A happy mother with her child’s progress tells five friends.

I learned about bank loans—how to negotiate with banks, how to justify a loan, how to work with interest rates.

I learned about taxes—how complicated Brazil’s tax system is. You need to file reports, pay percentages, keep records.

I learned about finding physical space—where to rent, how to negotiate leases, how to deal with landlords.

All these things you don’t learn in school. You learn them by living them.

But This Wasn’t My Dream

After a few years, the school was growing. It was successful. It was making money. It had a team. It had reputation.

But I realized something important: I’d never wanted to be an English school owner.

I wanted to be a lawyer.

The school was a detour—a lucrative detour, an educational detour, but a detour. It appeared in my life because I needed income while studying. But it wasn’t my passion.

I decided to sell my part of the school. I passed it to the next entrepreneur—someone who really wanted to build it.

I don’t regret it. I owe that business experience to the school. I understand how companies function. I understand an entrepreneur’s mindset. When, years later, clients came to me with legal problems about their businesses, I understood—not as a lawyer reading books, but as someone who lived it.

What I Took With Me

Opening an English school in Brazil taught me that the country is, in many ways, a land of opportunity. If you have a skill, there are people willing to pay. If you work hard, you can build something.

It also taught me that nothing is black and white in Brazil. Everything is relational. Everything has layers. You don’t just follow the rules—you understand the rules, but you also understand the people who make the rules, and you work with both.

This lesson would become crucial when I started practicing law.

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Final Reflection

Many immigrants who arrive in Brazil with a skill—whether English or another profession—open businesses. Some become very successful. Others fail.

Brazil offers opportunities. But it also offers complexity. Bureaucracy. Relationships that matter as much as competence.

If you’re thinking about opening a business in Brazil, or you’re already managing one and facing legal challenges, ZS Advogados understands both the law and the practical reality of doing business here. I’ve lived on both sides—as an entrepreneur and as a lawyer. I can help you.

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Related Reading

• The Definitive Guide to Immigration to Brazil
• What No Immigration Guide Tells You About Living in Brazil
• Five Years in Law School
• Brazilian Citizenship and Naturalization

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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Each case has specific circumstances that should be analyzed by a qualified attorney.