Speaking (Friends & Business)

Idioms & Expressions:

entrepreneur (noun; this is someone who starts their own business, which is called a startup)

At one point, Mark Zuckerberg was a young entrepreneur and Facebook was just a startup.

rat race (a noun that refers to the competitive workplace environment)

For my sanity, I had to leave the rat race and quit my job.

corporate grind (noun; used to describe the effect that working very hard has on a person)

The corporate grind was starting to take a toll on his health.

9-5 (noun, refers to a traditional job where one is expected to work from 9 in the morning until 5 in the evening)

I hated my 9-5, so I quit and moved to a new city.

work 24-7/work around the clock (expressions that means to constantly work on something)

We worked 24/7 to get the shop ready for its grand opening.

from the ground up (an expression that means to build something entirely, from the beginning to completion)

Steve Jobs was fired from Apple, even though he built the company from the ground up.

go broke/go out of business (verbs; these mean to run out of money or to have a business fail)

Unfortunately, his startup went out of business and he had to move back in with his parents.

Part I: Group Discussion

1. How often do you like to hang out with your friends?

I’m an introvert, so I like to spend about 20% of my free time with friends and the other 80% by myself.

2. Who do you usually like to hang out with?

I hang out with my housemates – seven other Westerners. I have a few other friends from the West who live here too. I have a lot of Vietnamese coworkers who are fun to spend time with, as well.

3. Where do you like to go when you hang out with your friends?

We don’t really do anything special. We like to hang out at a café or a bar, or head to the rugby pitch to play some matches with each other.

4. Do you like to go out with a big group of friends or just few friends?

I guess I like both. On big weekend nights, I like to see a lot of people and mingle more. During the week, I like to keep it quiet and just see a few people.

Part II: Individual Presentations

Describe a small business that you would like to have. Please say:

          What is it?
Where and why would you do it?
What will you need to start it?

I don’t really want to own a business. I don’t have the talent or inclinations for it. I would like to work on the creative end of some business – perhaps a website or a magazine. If I were on the ground floor, I would have to help set it up. To do that I would just need a few friends, a laptop, and enough money to register a website, and I think that would be it. I would not like to be in charge because I think I need someone who understands marketing and business to call the shots and run the boring aspects of a business.

Part III: Class Discussion

1. What are the qualities required for a businessman? Why do you think they are necessary?

A businessman has to be innovative, clever and also be pretty lucky. To go out on your own and run your own business also requires tenacity and perseverance. If you don’t have those things, you might not success.

2. Do you think a businessman needs more practical or theoretical knowledge? Why?

Practical knowledge I think is the most helpful, because it’s the day-to-day situations that you’ll have to tackle most often.

3. What are the advantages of owning a business rather than working as an employee?

If you’re a business owner, you can “make your own hours” and “be your own boss,” which are things people often say in the West. And people don’t like to answer to someone else; they don’t like a boss telling them what to do.

4. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

I think if you can be a successful businessman, it can be very rewarding. But the big downside of taking that path is that most businesses fail, and then you can find yourself in a very difficult situation.