How We Got Here
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The story so far...
How It All Started...
After graduating college with a business degree, I moved to Seoul and began teaching English in 2016.Ā
While working in Seoul I quickly discovered:
1: How kind, motivated, and hardworking Korean people are. I love working with people who have passion and purpose in their lives.
2: Many Koreans deserve much better in their careers. Too many talented people are stuck at jobs they don't really like with demanding bosses and tons of overtime work. Others have dreams of living/working abroad, but need to improve their English to do so.
3: A lot of English classes aren't very good. Whether they're too focused on grammar or general free talking, they don't get people the communication skills/confidence they need to level up their careers.
So while working at FastONE (a ė¹ģ¦ėģ¤ ģģ“ ķģ in Gangnam) I began to develop my own style of lessons where Koreans couldĀ quicklyĀ improve their work-specific communication.
My system organized, work-specific classes were a huge hit, and I quickly became one of the most popular and highly-rated instructors at the entire school.
Perfect Student Reviews
5.0/5.0 average for five months straight
Top Instructor Awards
Multiple time 'Instructor of the Month' and 'Instructor of the Quarter' winner
ģ£¼ģ§ģ Friends
Some of the best people I met in Seoul!
Grant Sundbye: Business English Coaching
By the end of my contract at FastONE, I had a system of teaching that worked.
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I was so impressed with the passionate clients I got to work withĀ that I wanted to share my coaching with as many Koreans as possible.Ā
So, I founded my own online business in 2020 with the goal of helping Koreans all over the worldĀ unlock the fulfilling careers they deserve.
I took the best elements of my coaching at FastONE and added even moreĀ resources to create the ultimate coaching program for Koreans.
The Result?Ā Business English Excellence
The personalized 12-week 1:1Ā business communication program designed to massively increase Koreans' English level, confidence, workplace communication, and global career opportunities.
Over the next 3 years:
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Over 200 incredible Koreans across all industries, English levels, and career stages took the Business English Excellence Program
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From entry-level employees with big dreams to founders ofĀ $50Mil+ startups and country managers of Fortune 500 companies.Ā
I wrote a book on business communication that was published in 3 countries
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Business English Excellence was so successful that around 8 months after launch a publishing company contacted me with an offer to write a business communication book.
The Concept: After spending 1000s of hours coachingĀ 100sĀ of Koreans, explain 150 of the most common English speaking mistakes Koreans make (plus how to fix them).Ā
The book was published in October 2021 and was so successful that after selling thousands of copies in Korea, it was translated and published in both Taiwan and Vietnam in 2022.Ā
I Reached the Top 1% of all Linkedin Users
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I first reached the Top 1% in December 2020 and have maintained that ranking every month all the way to today.
Along the way, I've also gained over 33,000 followers across LinkedIn and Youtube.
Business English Excellence changed the lives of KoreansĀ around the world
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ManyĀ gained dream promotions at top global companies.
Others improved their work communication more in a few months than years of traditional ķģ classes.Ā
Over 90% of Koreans who complete the program either sign up for additional coaching or recommend my programs to their friends/colleagues.
IĀ spent around $10,000 on coaching for myself
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Learning everything I possibly could about marketing, sales, business communication, career development.
I've learned directly from some incredible entrepreneurs and business leaders (Career coaches with over 1 million online followers, bestselling authors on international leadership, millionaire entrepreneurs and more).
Iāve incorporated all these lessons into my coaching programs and continued to make them better and better.Ā
I was the top instructor at FastONE, but I can say with confidence that I'm a much, much better teacher now than I was then.
Your career matters to you. You deserve to work with someone truly committed to helping you achieve something amazing.
Grant Sundbye: Career Coaching
As my business grew, more and more Koreans wanted help writing their English resumes, preparing for interviews, and getting international job/grad school offers.
I also became more and more interested in expanding my services beyond business English coaching.
The entire reason my business exists is to help Koreans unlock the careers they love...so why not offer a new coaching program that does exactly that?!
So, I spent months researching everything I could aboutĀ standing out in the global job market.Ā
I took courses on resume and LinkedIn writing for jobseekers, the best messages to send hiring managers, and how to make a great impression in interviews.
I met directly with recruiters and hiring managers around the world to learn exactly what they look for in candidates.
I combined all of this information with my understanding of LinkedIn, business communication, Korean culture, and personal branding to create the Career Accelerator Program.
I designed this program with a single goal: Create the best coaching service in the world for any Korean hoping to develop their career internationally.
Since the program launch in December 2022, Career Accelerator clients have gotten jobs:
In 14 different countries
At global industry leaders as well as fast-growing startups
Where they earn up to $70,000/year MORE than their salaries in Korea
With fully-remote work options, great work cultures, and improved work-life balances
In 2023, over 90% of all Career Accelerator clients earned at least one international job offer.
Many of these clients had tried and failed to get jobs abroad previously.
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Some had never lived abroad before.
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Many were seriously questioning if their global career goals would ever happen.
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With the right plan, your career goals are 100% possible.
The Career Accelerator system has been so effective that Iāve even been invited to American universities to give guest lectures on career development.Ā
What's Next?
The past four years have been some of the most rewarding times of my life.Ā
I NEVER expected to be here today when I first got on that plane to South Korea as a fresh college grad in 2016.Ā
Hereās whatās ahead in 2024:
- More features added to both my Business English Excellence and Career Accelerator programs so they continue to deliver more and more value
- A 3rd coaching programĀ on business/entrepreneurship (showing exactly how I built my online business from 0)
- More live webinars/guest lectures on all things business communication, LinkedIn, and global career development
And hereās my promise to you:
Whether you become a long-time client, are a fellow entrepreneur, or just a LinkedIn connection, I want to benefit your life in some way.Ā
I hope every program, course, and piece of content I create gives you valuable insight, inspires you to take action, and helps you unlock a life/career that you love.
- Grant
