Open a language school where to start. Business for a linguist: how to open a school of foreign languages

How to open an English school - 3 competitive advantages + 5 ways to promote + 5 working secrets from business professionals.

Capital investment in the school: from 150,000 rubles.
Payback period: from 6 months.

It is often asked by people who themselves know it perfectly.

To start, a relatively small capital investment and staff are required.

At the same time, the demand for the service remains stable.

More and more people are learning English for career growth, travel abroad and just general development.

However, desire alone is not enough in a highly competitive environment.

It is important to conduct marketing analysis, choose advertising methods, correctly register activities and calculate costs.

What documents are needed to open a language school?

In order to open an English language school, it is enough to register as an individual entrepreneur (IE).

The procedure for obtaining papers is simple.

Therefore, even beginners will be able to cope without resorting to intermediaries.

Language courses are an educational program, the existence of which is possible only after obtaining a license.

Only she gives the right to hire training personnel.

The good news is that this document no longer needs to be renewed every 5 years.

Once you get a license, you can use it for life.

If only you will teach, registration of an individual entrepreneur is enough.

Do not forget that you will also need to register with the tax office.

How to open an English school: marketing analysis

Interesting fact:
Although English is only the third most popular language, the total number of English speakers is over a billion. This is about every seventh earthling.

The demand for learning foreign languages ​​is currently not fully satisfied, despite the active competition and the richness of this segment.

In addition to English, French, German, and Italian are popular.

People need to improve their level of knowledge in order to improve their working qualifications, travel to other countries, for emigration abroad, distance learning in foreign educational institutions.

To open English language courses, it is important to first analyze the situation in your city and in the market in general.

Analysis of the target audience of the English language school

For example, teaching young children or preparatory courses before passing international exams.

In general, the target audience of English courses is made up of the following categories:

• tourists;
• children from 3 years old;
• emigrants;
• employees of firms in which English is necessary for career advancement;
• people who learn English for self-development;
• future teachers.

List of competitive advantages for the school

It has been mentioned more than once that the competition in the segment is very high.

So that the demand for language courses does not pass by you, it is important to highlight several powerful competitive advantages.

Before starting an English school, it is important to make sure that it has distinctive features:

Certificate.

A big plus if, after completing the courses, you can issue certificates of learning to students.

Of course, it will not work to issue an international diploma.

But here's the usual praise sheet or internal certificate - yes.

For students, this is an incentive to learn better, an opportunity to show off to acquaintances, and a document that can beautify a resume.

If you are just about to open courses, dumping prices is a justified step.

Affordable prices always attract customers.

And this will allow the launch of word of mouth, which is the best method of advertising.

Native speakers.

As you know, the best foreign language is learned during practice.

A significant competitive advantage is the presence of a native speaker in the classroom, who will improve live speech with students.

Often people know English very well, but they are embarrassed to speak it.

Learning with a native speaker will help overcome this difficulty.

English School Promotion Methods

Of course, word of mouth is the most effective method.

But for the rumor about you to start spreading in all directions, you need to attract the first visitors.

Use the following advertising methods to promote your English language school:

No organization seriously positioning itself can do without its own website.

It will become your representation in the virtual space.

Internet promotion attracts with its financial availability.

The site needs to be optimized, filled with interesting content, and promoted using contextual and banner advertising.

This task should be entrusted to specialists.

But if you are striving to save money, you can take matters into your own hands and independently learn the basics of virtual promotion.

You should not completely abandon the standard promotion methods.

English courses are an area of ​​business where promotions and contests work well.

For example, you can offer a client an impressive discount (20-30%) for an invited friend.

1. If the main clientele is children, it makes sense to conclude cooperation agreements with ordinary educational institutions, kindergartens and other places where young parents can gather.

How to choose a room to open an English school?

Then the rental price will be significantly lower and you will get more funds to invest in educational materials.

In general, when choosing a place, you should not face any difficulties.

This should be a room that customers can easily reach by car and public transport.

For big cities, renting a place in the center is not fundamentally important.

Indeed, due to high competition, it may happen that a client turns to the company that is simply closer to home.

However, for small towns, accommodation in the center is really more convenient and prestigious than in the outskirts.

In addition, as a rule, you can quickly and easily get to the central region from almost any part of a small settlement.

What equipment do you need for an English school?

To open an English language school, you will need a not so extensive list of necessary equipment.

To create a "base", it is enough to purchase the necessary manuals, classroom furniture, a blackboard, equipment for the rest room.

The larger the number and the higher the declared level, the more equipment will be required.

And the more solid the investment will be.

How to choose staff for the school?

You can open an English school on your own, using family members for help.

However, for the development of the business, the staff cannot be less than 2-3 teachers.

In addition, you will need to do administrative work, hire security, etc.

Also find specialists to create a website and promote the school on the Internet.

How much does it cost to open an English school?

Considering that former teachers and tutors often decide to open an English language school, the issue of financial investments becomes the most important.

How much it costs to open a school depends on a number of factors: the area of ​​the rented premises, the number of clients, the advertising methods used, and others.

Consider the average cost estimate to open a language school.

Capital investment in an English school

Regular investments

Payback time of an English school

Income, and therefore the payback period, depends on the occupancy of your English language school.

On average, if there are only 2 teachers in the staff and an ideal 100% workload, the business will bring the owner 150,000 - 200,000 rubles.

As you can see, this amount is slightly higher than the monthly spending.

With such indicators, the payback will come, approximately, in six months.

It is possible to increase the profit margin due to scaling: invite new teachers, introduce additional classes, open additional points.

To open a successful English school,

Watch a video from an interview with an experienced entrepreneur in this business area:

5 Pro Tips on How to Start a Successful English School

Dealing with fierce competition is easier, oddly enough, in big cities.

There, for many, the item “proximity to home” will be added to the competitive advantages.

People love to learn in a playful way.

Enter days for interactive teaching, movie watching, discussion club sessions.

Good language learning requires regular work, not just a couple of times a week when a client comes to class.

Enter homework and remote support form.

So students will learn faster, and loyalty to the English school will increase.

A nice bonus for an English school is to open a break room with a cafe.

Pupils over a cup of coffee will be able to chat, finish assignments, wait for the beginning of the lesson.

Such loyalty systems are very active in attracting new customers.

If a person comes to the first lesson with a discount and receives the highest level of service, then he will definitely come back for more.

How to open an English school so that the business allows not only self-realization, but also brings income?

In addition to investing forces and funds in opening a school, it is important to regularly engage in its development and promotion.

No amount of competitive advantage will force clients to become permanent if the level of education is low, as well as the qualifications of teachers.

Staff development courses, thematic events, an online advertising campaign will create a constant stream of students.

In this case, no competition will be fatal to the business.

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Tatiana Lepassar , specially forExecutive . ru

In 2016, paid services (transport, communications, medicine and education) accounted for 2/3 of the added value of GDP. The growth of the share of paid services in the structure of the added value of Russia's GDP grew steadily in line with the global trend. It is important that in the context of the ongoing recession in 2017 and against the backdrop of falling demand for durable goods, the outlook for the development of the industry by 2018 is generally positive.

What is the driver of demand, what are the points of growth for a company that provides paid educational services in the context of a new economic reality and new trends in education - says Anna Berkovich, owner and director of a network of foreign language schools Alibra school.

English in 5-8 months

Tatiana Lepassar:Your company has been on the market for 17 years and you can already be called experts. What trends have characterized the market over the past few years?

Anna Berkovich: Among the trends typical for the market of paid educational services, I would single out the growing interest in the so-called "blended learning" - blended learning. The new economic reality requires people to be flexible: in planning their lives, in learning, traveling, - in everything! Speed ​​and efficiency, the main trends of the time, reflect the essence of our product: we offer intensive English language training in 5 months.

The Alibra blended learning format is most similar to the Face to Face Driver model: that is, the main material is given in face-to-face classes, and electronic services are used to consolidate and deepen knowledge. We work according to our own unique methodology. Thanks to her, we were able to reduce the training period from 2-3 years to 5-8 months. During this period, our students reach the "above average" level and successfully pass the Cambridge exams four times faster than students from other schools.

Another trend is that today training courses are becoming not only a place to study, but also a real community of interests.

T.L .: How is your school different from others?

A. B .: We have know-how - a unique method of fast learning, without cramming and boring memorization of the rules. Grammar rules are given in simple and understandable diagrams, which facilitates the creation of an integral structure of the language. In the minds of students, a kind of language matrix is ​​formed, close to the algorithms of thinking of native speakers.

Learning vocabulary - the most difficult and time-consuming task - is solved using direct association. It works like this: we teach a person to memorize not a mechanical translation, but an image of a word. It is very easy to do this with a picture, either with an association or with a context.

To support memory, the 7-repetition method is used, but not the usual, but "smart". For this we have developed mobile applications. Now there are four of them. Three in English is 6,000 words from zero to Advanced and one in German. The apps calculate the repetition days themselves and send reminders at the right time. It remains only to spend 5-10 minutes for repetition.

In addition, we have created an interactive learning platform Alibra online- with her, our students can study English where and when they want. Anyone can purchase an online course. All these are our author's developments. More than 85 thousand people use them already.

In 2000, we assembled a strong team of methodologists and teachers who created this methodology. In the same year, we started cooperation with University of Cambridge and are officially accredited by him.

Our schools are located next to the metro. They are all well equipped, comfortable and enjoyable to learn in every sense of the word. We have a "fad" for working with staff and improving the quality of service and an extraordinary friendly atmosphere, for us this is not a flare, but a reality, forgive me for the pathos.

The demand for foreign languages ​​is growing

T.L .: How would you generally characterize the demand in this area?

A. B .: We are constantly analyzing feedback from our regular customers. We want to get an assessment of the quality of our services, identify demand and categorize it. When answering the question, what foreign language they would like to learn, about 77% answered that they want to learn English, 12% - German, 8% - French and Italian. The rest of the requests are in Chinese and other languages.

Moreover, 46% of those who do not speak foreign languages ​​would like to acquire this knowledge. According to forecasts in 2017–2021. The "digital" part of the market promises to grow by an average of 23.36% per year - faster than the industry as a whole (according to EduMarket)

Traditionally stable demand for children's programs. Parents are ready to invest big money in the development of their children against the background of a conservative state education. And in our opinion, this direction will go online to a lesser extent. With children, there is a rather big problem for online services - children cannot be kept at the computer for a long time. Therefore, in this segment, we also prefer the classic approach. Our courses are designed using the Cambridge English language teaching methodology and taking into account the age characteristics of young students.

T.L .: There are already many large players on the market now, is there a chance for another new school to rise?

A. B .: The competition is high. There are large reputable schools with a good reputation that play leading roles in the market, there are small companies working in a certain region. Private teachers and tutors are still in demand. But the demand for language learning is also high. People need languages, and they are needed not for show, but really - for work, for communication while traveling. Firstly, all large companies require good English and international certificates from applicants, which, by the way, cannot yet be provided by online language courses. Secondly, a foreign language will soon become a compulsory subject in the exam. So there is definitely a chance.

If we take the global context, then in terms of the growth rate of the study of foreign languages, Russia ranks 10th. Among the leaders are China, Romania, Ukraine and Malaysia. At the same time, the EF2013 Index, developed by an international educational center, defines Russia as a country with a low level of knowledge of foreign languages. We attribute this to the fact that the school curriculum and the curriculum of universities are still outdated and fragmented.

These factors are the main points of growth for those who decided to open a business in the field of paid educational services.

How to create a successful foreign language business

T.L .: Are there any "pitfalls" that should be paid attention to those who want to start a business in this area?

A. B .: The most important thing is to monitor the quality of the services provided, i.e. quality of teaching. This is why customers will come to you. We need a strong teaching staff, a good methodological base, well-thought-out programs. If the listeners do not see the results, do not feel the progress, they will leave, no matter what gorgeous conditions you offer them.

The second is the level of service. 60% of our sales are provided by loyal customers. Learning languages ​​is a very good area for repeat sales. Few people stay on the same course. People improve their knowledge or begin to learn a second or third language, attend conversation clubs.

And the third point is compliance with the requirements of the time. Online courses, learning apps, platforms are all relatively new, but all market leaders have quickly adopted these innovations.

In management, you need to focus on marketing - this is unambiguous, to deal with issues of operational efficiency and do it every day. Hire people who know how to do this, attract consultants. This is often written about, but rarely can anyone really bring it to life.

T.L .: And what about those who cannot organize all this?

A. B .: (laughs) Buy a franchise from us! Working under a well-known brand is always easier than starting from scratch.

T.L .: What are the benefits of franchising your language school?

A. B .: Firstly, ALIBRA is a bright brand with clear competitive advantages and a clear strategy, you are not afraid of competition with it. Secondly, it is a small amount of capital investment; thirdly, quick payback.

To start the project, you will need a room with a total area of ​​100 sq. m. Target audience - city population aged 16 to 45, families with an average income.

The volume of initial investments is from 1.3 million rubles. The total net profit for the first year will be from 2.5 million rubles, and the return on sales will be 15%. Upon reaching the planned targets, the initial investment will pay off after 5 months of work.

The Alibra School network of foreign language schools has been on the market since 2000. 170 thousand graduates. Training is conducted in 7 languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese and Russian. Accredited by the University of Cambridge, is the official partner of IELTS MOSCOW.

Find out more about how to open a franchised foreign language school on the Alibra School website.

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For reading 8 min. Posted on 21.01.

Knowledge of a foreign language is becoming a necessary component for running a modern business, diversified trips outside the country and beyond. General globalization has brought the activities of linguistic centers to the category of the most demanded and profitable ones. How to start a foreign language school from scratch? What do you need to know to open a language center? An example of a ready-made business plan for a linguistic center with calculations of costs and payback periods.

Opening a school of foreign languages, where to start? Registration of the linguistic center

At the preparatory stage, determine:

1. Audience of students ... Activities for toddlers, schoolchildren or adults.
2. Range of languages ​​taught ... The greatest demand for English and German, Italian, Spanish. In the future, the language palette can be diversified.
3. Main directions of study : preparation for international level tests, tests for certain systems, a foreign language for communication or for specialized use (in maritime professions, medicine and others).
   The organization of Russian business always begins with registration with the tax structure.

That is, it is necessary to choose the organizational and legal form of future activities:

• more suitable for beginners. Less paperwork. There is an opportunity for the provision of paid services, hiring personnel and renting space. However, the issuance of certificates is not possible. Therefore, the activity of an individual entrepreneur is of a consultative nature, you cannot call it educational from the point of view of the law - the services are provided by a specialist in the field of foreign languages, and not by a teacher.
• A full-fledged educational structure will need the status of a non-state educational institution (NEU) or the format of a commercial institution (LLC). This allows clients who have completed the training course to be issued a document on obtaining additional education - the fact of training is confirmed by a certificate or certificate.

So, they start with the following steps of the organizational and legal type:

1. Business registration - the choice of its form.
2. Registration with the tax service and the Pension Fund (state or non-state).
3. Licensing of the activities of the center of linguistics.

What documents are required for the operation of a foreign language school? Linguistic Center Licensing

In fact, the license confirms the readiness of the linguistic center to conduct classes at the proper level. This concerns the qualifications of the teaching staff, classroom equipment, the quality of teaching methods, and so on. Issuance of licenses under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education (its local branch).

The package of necessary documentation is voluminous.

You must provide:

• Constituent documentation.
• Papers for the premises (lease agreement or a document confirming the ownership of the property).
• Application for a license.
• Receipt for payment of state duty.
• Personnel documentation (diplomas, etc.).
• Certificate of the availability of special literature.
• Study plan.
• Permits issued by the fire service and sanitary and epidemiological supervision.

Of course, the full list requires clarification from the Ministry of Education.
For your information ... All copies are notarized. The term for consideration of the submitted documents is 60 days. No renewal required. For some time now, the license validity period is unlimited.

Where is the best place to open a language center: location and premises for a foreign language school

When choosing a location for a linguistic center, you need to be guided by several parameters:

1. Convenient transport interchange (proximity of stops, metro stations). The client should not experience any inconvenience when getting to school.
2. Availability of parking spaces (preferably free).
3. It is not a bad idea to open in one of the central urban areas, but those with high population density will do as well. In this option, the first clients will most likely prefer the evening form of training. This means that the illumination of the territory is also of great importance.
4. It is important to choose a prominent place - in the first line of houses. This will make it possible to use the cheapest type of advertising - a signboard.
5. Office centers with a pass system are considered only if there is a separate entrance.

A few words about the room itself. To accommodate several classes, 100-150 "squares" are quite enough.

The main requirements mainly concern the issues of comfort:

• Soundproofing of each room. Classes held in one classroom should not interfere with a similar process in another classroom.
• Good classroom lighting.
• Good microclimate system.
• Equipped bathroom.
• The ability to connect to the Internet.

A relaxation room with the opportunity to drink tea and have a snack will not hurt. Many students will come after a hard day.

What is needed to organize the work of a linguistic center: a list of what is required for a school of foreign languages

A school in which foreign languages ​​are taught opens after the completion of certain organizational measures. They relate to the equipment of the premises, interior design, personnel selection, the choice of training methods, advertising events and the definition of marketing policy. Let's deal with everything in order.

Equipment

It is not difficult to guess how to equip classes:

1. Tables and chairs.
2. Shelves.
3. Whiteboards (preferably magnetic marker).
4. Computers (one is enough for a start).
5. Router.
6. Air conditioner, fan, heating devices (if there is such a need).

For greater convenience of students, you need to acquire:

• Cooler.
• Microwave.
• Electric kettle.
• A wardrobe.
• A couch for those waiting to enroll in the course.

Don't forget about the reception. This is a special workplace. It requires a special set of furniture and computer equipment.

Interior decoration

A full-fledged language school needs a corporate identity, a memorable name and logo. The interior is designed based on its own image. Of course, this is a job for design professionals.

1. Mixing of styles (modern and canonical) is acceptable.
2. Use no more than three colors in the design. For example, giving preference to pink, yellow and blue, you can emphasize the compliance with the levels A, B, C. These levels are adopted in the European system in relation to the study of foreign languages.
3. Natural materials for furniture and wall cladding are welcome.
4. On the walls are canvases with various images or sayings in the target language.
5. The abundance of bright colors is excluded, mainly pastel shades are used.

It is important to create a stylish interior that is conducive to learning.

Inventory

This category includes:

• Adequate supply of office supplies.
• Consumables for office equipment.
• Sets from the category of educational (textbooks, manuals, manuals, etc.)
• We'll have to buy a safe for documentation.
• Other little things without which it is difficult to work with students.

Personnel and training methodology

Employees are selected using special services or on the recommendations of friends.

The staffing table of the language school consists of the following specialists:

1. Directors or a general manager.
2. Teachers ... List of requirements: a diploma of higher education, two years of teaching experience (minimum), knowledge of the language (spoken and written), the presence of approved teaching methods, knowledge in the field of cultural characteristics of foreign countries will not interfere.
3. Administrators ... Better to hire a spirit person for shift work.
4. Cleaning ladies ... She will only have a few working days a week.
5. Accountant - remote work option is recommended.

There are only three main methods of teaching languages: commutative, project method, training lessons. Which one to give preference, each business owner chooses independently. As a rule, this activity is carried out by teachers who already have certain experience in this aspect.

Advertising and marketing

• It is better to entrust the creation of the logo and the formation of the brand to a freelancer.
• At first, it is recommended to actively distribute flyers in the area where the school is located. This will be a kind of notification of passers-by about the new educational institution.
• Bonus programs and promotions contribute to the development of a client base. For example, a story about a school on social networks is encouraged by a free lesson, a friend brought to class - a 10% discount, everyone who wants a free 1st lesson, and so on.
• It is difficult to get promoted without your own website or social media page. The Internet resources contain detailed information about the linguistic center with a schedule of classes, information about recruiting for new groups, a list of teaching staff, and so on. This method is great for increasing customer loyalty. It is important not to ignore the seo optimization process and not skimp on contextual advertising.

Many experts consider the impact of word of mouth to be the most effective advertising. It is certainly difficult to argue with the effectiveness of word of mouth. However, first you need to attract students and build a positive reputation. Only after that will the graduates of the language school begin to tell their surroundings about a magnificent educational institution with a cozy atmosphere and a professional teaching staff.

Business plan of the school of foreign languages: calculating the costs and profitability of the linguistic center

Funds required to resolve organizational issues:

Monthly salary costs of employees, including teachers, whose income consists of salary and interest for the lessons taught:

Approximate calculation of current monthly expenses:

Note ... The amount of wages refers to variable costs.

Summing up the costs, we get the initial investment indicator -
873 600 rubles.

Approximate rates:

• The price of group lessons is within 1,5005,500 rubles per month of study.
• The cost of individual lessons is within 2,50010,500 rubles for each month of study.

In this case, the duration of the course is not taken into account. The term of study can be from a month to a year or more. The training period depends on the teaching methodology and the client's goal.

Suppose that on average (in the morning, in the evening, on weekends) five groups of 12 people work each month, and another 25 people work individually or in small groups. For the calculations, we will use the average rates.

Then:

12 x 5 x 3,500 = 210,000 rubles.
25 x 6,500 = 162,500 rubles.

• The total revenue for the month is 372,500 rubles.
• Net profit less current expenses of 324,050 rubles - 48,450 rubles.
• Profitability at the level of 15%. The payback period is 10-12 months.

The success of a business directly depends on quality training and a wide range of languages, which ensures a continuous year-round customer flow.

On a note ... During school holidays, there is a great demand for summer camps, where children learn a foreign language in a relaxed manner.

Knowledge of a foreign language is the key to getting a prestigious job abroad, so an English language school is a fairly promising business idea. This idea can be safely implemented, since such services are in great demand, even during the economic period. Accordingly, the English school will bring you a stable high monthly income.

Business registration

Before opening an English language school, you need to choose a legal form. Novice businessmen usually register an individual entrepreneur. They can hire staff and conduct training for students, but they are not eligible to issue individual entrepreneurship certificates. The work book will contain not a teacher, but a specialist in foreign languages.
If you have a small start-up capital on hand and are confident in your abilities, you can register a company. There are many more different nuances in this matter, but in this case, your school will have a certain status and will be able to issue full-fledged certificates. After that, you should register with the tax office. This process takes 5–20 days.

To engage in educational activities, you must obtain a license from the territorial education authorities. To do this, you need to provide information about the premises and the level of qualifications of teachers.

Choosing a room

It is better to open a center for the study of foreign languages ​​near educational institutions or not far from a shopping center.

You should not locate the school in a residential area, as in such a place you will not be able to find a sufficient number of clients. Also, make sure that there are no similar educational institutions nearby that can take students away from you.

Equipment and furniture

There are no special requirements for the equipment of the premises, since you can learn languages ​​anywhere. But to create an image, you need to purchase stylish furniture, as well as the teaching aids that you will need first.

Each audience needs to buy media materials - video and audio recordings, as well as various interactive programs. Since technological progress does not stand still, the school needs to purchase several laptops in order to offer students new teaching methods.

When the business begins to expand and generate profits, projectors and interactive screens can be purchased.

Teachers

Now you know how to open a private school for the study of foreign languages. It's time to talk about how to find good teachers for her. Your business success is 95% dependent on the work of your teachers. But in order to find highly qualified teachers, you will have to spend a lot of time, since good specialists are always in demand and they are in no hurry to leave their homes.

If you want to open an English language school for children, invite teachers who have worked with students. They must be able to interest children and get their attention. For students and adults, it is better to invite teachers who are native speakers of English.

Advertising

Like any other business, a language school needs advertising. It is best to conduct marketing activities on a global network. Order specialists to develop your own website. It can provide information about teachers, teaching methods, and the benefits of your school. Advertisements can be placed on forums, social networks, or other themed sites.

Standard advertising tools are:

• Radio;
• TV;
• Flyers;
• Advertising banners and posters.

Come up with all kinds of promotions. For example, if a student brings a friend, he can get a 30% discount on tuition. In this type of business, the flow of customers must be constantly stimulated by advertising, so it is advisable to hire an experienced specialist for these purposes.

Choosing a teaching method

This issue can be resolved in three ways:

1. Standard programs;
2. Teacher-created programs;
3. Cooperation with large companies (purchase of a franchise).

Each of the proposed options has its own advantages:

• Standard programs please with the efficiency of the organization and simplicity.
• Training programs developed by employees can be quite effective. In addition, no foreign language school can offer such a system of education.
• The third option provides you with the patronage of an experienced giant who will provide the necessary assistance and give practical advice. But you will be running a business on its terms, so this option is not suitable for everyone.

Children's programs

Special attention should be paid to the development of educational programs for children. Many parents strive to ensure that their child receives quality knowledge at an early age, so children's educational programs are always in great demand. Teachers should use game elements such as sculpting or painting in class. In addition, you can connect outdoor games or soft toys to the educational process.

Toddlers love to learn various songs and rhymes. They sing them and tell them to their friends and parents. On holidays, you can put on theatrical performances in a foreign language.

Expenses

To open a foreign language school, you will have to allocate money for:

• Premises for rent;
• Staff salaries;
• Equipment;
• Cleaning;
• Stationery;
• Payment for utilities;
• Other minor expenses.

All this will have to pay about 600 thousand rubles.

Profit and profitability

On average, the income from a school for the study of foreign languages ​​is 30-60 thousand rubles per month. Bigger companies get better profits. The profitability of such a business is quite low. It is only 8%.

To open a small school, you will need about 100 thousand rubles. Some businessmen invest millions in such educational institutions. It all depends on the financial capabilities of the owner.

conclusions

You can make a good profit from an English language school. Despite the fact that there is a lot of competition in this area, this business remains profitable, since the demand for language services is constantly growing.

Speaking about competitors and the educational services market as a whole, we can safely say that in Russia it is oversaturated with supply and is highly competitive. You can find a service provider for every taste, at any price point.

At the same time, the market is promising and is developing dynamically even in times of crisis. After all, both optimists and pessimists are aware of the need to learn a foreign language. The former believe that everything is stabilizing and do not want to change the usual rhythm of life (fitness, cafes, foreign language courses), while the latter are thinking of leaving the country (and urgently begin to tighten their language).

Therefore, it is profitable to open a school of foreign languages, especially considering that investments at the start are minimal. But due to the high competition it will not be superfluous to study the market. Although, this is not necessary in all cases.

We did not cut the market, because at the time of opening we simply did not have the necessary experience. And, to be honest, we didn't need it, since we already had requests from potential clients.

We have exactly the case when demand generated supply: we knew for sure that we would have a certain number of students. In short, nothing to do with those cases when a company enters the market with a product, not knowing whether it will be in demand at all.

In addition, we were already existing teachers, and to say that we opened a business from scratch is not entirely true. We had few skills directly related to doing business, but we had an idea of ​​how to organize the educational process, and by the time we opened, we had our own client base and teaching experience in a private school.

It was the latter who helped us at the very beginning. We watched how the director of this school conducts business, how contracts are concluded, corporate training is underway, we noticed mistakes that we would not like to repeat. We can say that the only competitor we studied was the school in which we ourselves worked.

Also at the start you need to decide on which audience to work with. Today, foreign languages ​​in private schools are taught by people of all ages, starting from the age of 3. This means that you can work with kids, preschoolers, schoolchildren, students, working people and retirees. Each category needs its own training program, and more than one. You cannot teach a first-grader and a graduate preparing for the Unified State Exam using the same template. And it is almost impossible to reach all segments of the population at the start, so it is better to start working with a category with which you already have experience of interaction.

Personal experience

We started working with adults, and so far I have never worked with children in my life. Because I just do not know the correct approach to them, I can only observe it from the side as a mother. Therefore, we launched the “children's sector” in our schools much later, when I saw the effect of learning on my child and invited a specialist to head the corresponding direction in our school.

If you want to start a business with something that you don't know how to do at all, it is important to hire a good specialist. Moreover, you need to test his method on yourself as a client, wait for the results. Because you can't convince people that your product is good without ever trying it. At the start, you need to do what you can, what you are ready for. This is the only way to provide high quality services.

This also applies to the choice of languages ​​that will be taught in your school. If, for example, you are thinking of launching a Spanish course without knowing it and the advising market, nothing will come of it. You won't even be able to hire good specialists, as they are extremely reluctant to go to unknown schools.

It is best to start with one direction, work it out and test it well, and only after that open new directions: launch courses in other languages, expand the reach of the audience. Something new in a foreign language school should be launched regularly. Trying to sell the same thing for 10 years is very dangerous. From time to time the market sags in every segment. The same English sometimes fades into the background, other languages ​​periodically become more popular, and in turn.

But the palette needs to be expanded gradually, starting from everything at once is the same as being sprayed. This is precisely the problem of many schools that declare many languages, but cannot assemble groups, and as a result, dissatisfied clients, without waiting for the start of classes, either in a month or two, leave. At the same time, they do not just take their money, they have a negative impression, they do not return to this school.

Investment size

Step-by-step instruction

To survive in a competitive environment and not to dump prices, it is necessary to pay the greatest attention to the quality of the services provided. Therefore, after you have studied the business from the inside and collected the necessary amount of investment, you need to think carefully about the issue with the curriculum. First of all, it will depend on what audience you plan to work with at the start. For example, it is better to teach very young children languages ​​through creativity: music, dancing, modeling, etc.

It is somewhat easier with adults in this regard, but they also pursue different goals when they come to a foreign language school: someone wants to emigrate, someone needs a language for work, someone for travel. Accordingly, it is desirable to give different programs for different purposes.

When opening our school, we wrote several programs: business English, conversational English, financial, legal English, English for tourists, etc. We taught all of this before, so the programs were working and tested on people.

Now we have about 65 programs taught in our school, including very narrow areas, such as preparing for an interview. They are all written by professionals. And there is simply no other method except to involve a specialist in writing a program. For example, we now have a methodologist who has a higher pedagogical education and three years of experience in her specialty.

Another way is not to write your own program, but to use modern international-class textbooks - textbooks from publishers such as Macmillan, Longman, Cambridge, etc. They offer their programs, which you can simply download on the Internet and use the presented step-by-step instructions.

The teacher can also draw up a program on his own. But for this you need to spend a lot of lessons, describe them, writing down the terms, results, used textbooks. Only then will it be a truly normal training program.

Personal experience​​​​​​​

It was with the help of our teachers that we launched the teaching of German, French and Italian. Almost all teachers in our school are educated at Moscow State Linguistic University, they all know at least two languages. When we had already formed a staff of our teachers, each of them spoke another language. At this stage, it was easy to launch a second foreign language, because we were confident in the professionalism of our employees.

In general, the teacher is a key figure in this business. This is exactly the person who will "hold" your client. If you make a mistake with a teacher, the client will not stay with you with all the investments, beautiful offices, and gorgeous sales managers.

If the founder of the school himself has a specialized education, "cooks" in this environment, then it will be much easier for him to recruit staff, simply because he can involve his classmates in the work.

Otherwise, you can search for teachers using standard methods, for example, through sites with advertisements. It is also worth "monitoring" students and graduates of local universities. For example, I constantly interact with the Moscow State Linguistic University, I know all the forums, I am present on all the sites where students sit, and I often write to them directly, asking if they want to register with us after graduation.

Do not be afraid to hire young professionals. From the age of 21-22, you can work, while demonstrating all the talents and a high level of language proficiency - C1.

Sometimes applicants come to us, but after the interview, we advise them to start studying at our school at the Intermediate-Upper-Intermediate level, as they make a lot of mistakes in speech. This can often be found on the Moscow market.

Personal experience

Through experience, we found out that the sign is important for the school. Initially, we believed that today people are looking for information, including about courses, on the Internet, which means that signs are not needed. But it turned out that when we rented an office with a frontal sign, 30% of clients came to us just passing by.

At the stage of brand formation, one should not forget about PR: publications, free events, prize draws from partners. Try to find interesting partners and exchange audiences. It is very useful.

Even with the most competent promotion strategy, clients will not work with you if it is inconvenient in time. At the start, my partner and I worked from 7 am to 10 pm ourselves, we looked at what time people are most active. After examining the peaks in demand and recruiting a staff of professionals, we set the working day from 10:30 to 19:30. At the same time, the largest influx occurs in the evening: after work, people come to meetings, testing, demo lessons.

In addition, for the convenience of the client, one has to work on weekends, which at first was a big problem. Therefore, we have developed a duty mode. Now we have a person who works on Saturdays, but does not work on Mondays, and on Sunday one of the training coordinators is always on duty. It turns out that the employee is on duty once a month on Sunday and gets a day off any day he wants. Thus, the office is almost always open, so the client can come at any time.

It goes without saying that long before the opening, you need to attend to the search for a room suitable for the school and its design. And there are a number of rules here as well.

The school of foreign languages ​​must be located in a place with good traffic. We have accepted for ourselves as an axiom that the distance from the metro is no more than 6 minutes of walking. The permissible indicator for Moscow is up to 10 minutes from the metro.

In other cities, it is also worth focusing on public transport stops. One way or another, people should be able to safely reach you on foot, and not ride on the cross-posts. It is highly desirable that the school has its own parking lot, but this can be problematic in the city center.

Many aspiring entrepreneurs think that the office must be in the center. Perhaps there is some truth in this. For example, our central office is always packed on request. But when choosing a room "more central", it is important to consider one point:

Competitors at every corner are in the center

In addition, rental rates in the central regions are quite high and can vary significantly. For example, you can rent a class A office, paying the appropriate price for it, and a competitor literally across the street rents a class B office, which is almost as good in quality, but its price is much lower.

The rental price ultimately affects the cost of the course for your students. Therefore, you need to adequately assess the average check, the budget of your client. Even those students for whom money is not a problem do not want to overpay simply for the building. Before splurging on entourage, consider whether your customers will pay for it.

At the same time, according to the principle “the cheaper, the better,” you should not choose an office either. Too budgetary options may not be entirely "clean" from a legal point of view.

It is advisable to solve the issue with the premises together with a lawyer so that he checks the contract and the building for "cleanliness". Sometimes everything looks perfect, but after a couple of months it turns out that the building belongs to other people, and you may be kicked out day after day. This will seriously damage your reputation.

There are no strict requirements for the purpose and condition of the premises, for repairs in it. It is advisable to avoid the open space format. The walls should be erected initially so that you do not have to divide the room yourself. Otherwise, sound insulation will suffer, and hence the quality of the classes.

The number of classes will depend on the school load. At the initial stage, 4-5 rooms are enough (the total area is about 60-80 square meters, taking into account the entrance and administrative zones). More will not make sense as the classes will be empty. This often makes a bad impression on customers. It is better to eventually move to a larger premises in the same territorial block. Moving to another area is undesirable, since many clients are residents of neighboring houses, who are often not ready to attend their favorite school after moving it.

In the case of registration of a non-governmental educational institution, a number of additional requirements for the premises appear: the presence of a separate bathroom, the presence of a separate entrance, the ceiling height - from 2.6 m, a source of natural light in each class, etc. It is also important to get opinions from firefighters and SES. They will be required to obtain a license to conduct educational activities.

The documents

When organizing a business in Russia, first of all, it must be registered with the tax authorities. And for this, it is imperative to decide on the organizational and legal form of ownership of your future business: to work as an LLC, LEU or as an individual entrepreneur (individual entrepreneur)?

The PI form is, of course, good for beginners. It allows you to provide services to clients on a paid basis, rent premises, hire personnel, but you will not be able to issue certificates to your graduates, and your activity from the point of view of the law will be only advisory, but not educational. Corporate clients will not be available to you. And officially you will be considered only a specialist in foreign languages, and not their teacher.

In order for your school to become a full-fledged educational institution according to the laws in force in Russia today, you should register a non-governmental educational institution or a commercial organization with the form of LLC (limited liability company).

This will allow you to obtain a license to carry out educational activities. Such a document is drawn up in the territorial education authority, and in order to receive it, you need to provide a certain set of documents (the full list is specified in the authority itself). This is usually documentation related to the premises, the qualifications of the teachers, the quality of teaching methods and plans, etc.

At the end of 2013, Russia adopted amendments to the federal law on education stating that private schools with any legal form have the opportunity to obtain a license to carry out educational activities. This is great news! But, unfortunately, the process of obtaining a license has not become easier, and the requirements for a licensee in the form of a small private school are still overstated.

It is best to use the help of specialized law firms to obtain an educational license. But do not confuse obtaining a license with its illegal "purchase". This will inevitably lead to repeated checks and the identification of falsification.

A weighty argument in favor of obtaining a license is the opportunity for your clients to return their personal income tax (personal income tax is a direct federal tax in Russia) from the amount paid for education (which is 13%). This is a significant competitive advantage.

About the necessary for registration of the license

Usually, licenses are required for registration.