How to open an English school: personal experience

Premises

Many people think that at the first stage, the most important thing is to find interested people. Talk to them, tell them that a new language school will open soon: “Sign up and wait a little”. In fact, future students are more likely to go to existing courses, since the market is developed and there is enough choice. In addition, no one canceled the factor of surprise. While the premises are being prepared, anything can happen: neighbors flood or workers stop communicating. In the event of force majeure, it will not be possible to fulfill obligations to students.

We ask students to leave feedback online after graduation. Most often they write on Zoon and Flamp. Interesting fact: the students who learned about us from the reviews admitted that the sincerity of the written words bribed them. So they said: it is immediately obvious that they are real and sincere.

Word of mouth helps a lot. Satisfied students come to study for the next level, bringing relatives and friends.

Try the types of advertising that you think are effective, measure the results.

There was a bad advertising experience for a popular blogger. We paid 5,000 rubles for an advertising post, but the statistics turned out to be worse than ever: there are few conversions, there are practically no likes. Perhaps they did not hit the target audience or expected too much from the promotion in this way. Therefore, it is worthwhile to carefully approach the choice of a blogger for advertising: check his audience and study the account for possible cheating.

For promotion, we also considered the Biglion coupon generator, but there are very strict conditions. I think this site is not for language schools.

Learning process and responsibility

A language school is not an easy business. If you are not ready to devote all your time to this business, it is better not to start. The head of the school is responsible for everything that happens within its walls. Not enough erasers? Confused about your schedule? The leader is to blame for everything. At the very least, he did not build a system of accounting and quality control.

How do I control the educational process? It's just that I can come to the lesson at any time. I follow the work of teachers and the emotions of students, I write down comments. At the planning meetings, we conduct debriefing. This is a normal process, you should not be afraid to point out to people the shortcomings in their work.

The quality of teaching is inherent in the KPI of teachers. There are enough means for motivation: salary, reasonable workload and career growth. Our goal is to open a network of schools. It is in the interests of the school to put experienced and proven teachers at the head of the branches.

At different times of the year, the work is structured differently, but it continues. In my opinion, the seasonality of language schools is a stereotype. If you work yourself and actively look for new students, then no recession will happen. For some, it is more comfortable to study in the summer, others take a vacation and spend it with the benefit of language practice. This summer we organized a language camp for schoolchildren. The school was packed from morning till night.

Legal aspects

It is easy to get the status of a businessman, it is more difficult to correspond to it. Go to the tax website and register as a sole proprietor. Everything. You can work: provide paid services, rent premises and hire staff. From the point of view of the law, these will be advisory courses, that is, students will not be able to issue full-fledged certificates.

When the school gains scale, it is worth thinking about an education license. Getting it is a long and laborious process. Get ready for the routine and paperwork to open a non-governmental educational institution (NOU) or LLC. An additional bonus - clients will be able to return personal income tax, and this is a strong advantage.

Teachers

Better to cover more destinations. As a teacher, I work in three: with adults, adolescents and in preparation for language exams (OGE, USE, IELTS, TOEFL). For children's courses and other areas, I found good teachers.

There are many strong specialists in the labor market. It's another matter whether the person is suitable for your school. Our teachers go through two stages of interview. On the first one, the candidate is waiting for an interview in English and a test. Its purpose is to confirm the level of knowledge of the Advanced language. After that, the teachers are taught the author's teaching methodology. If you have mastered it without any problems, start to work.

Universal Tips

Your engagement is an important factor. Sitting in the director's chair and monitoring the processes will not work, the format of the language school obliges you to work “in the field”. Therefore, answer two questions: do you know English that well and are you ready to teach on an equal basis with other teachers? Even an experienced teacher will have to be retrained to fit the format of the school, and that's okay. Better to speak the same language with him.
The idea distinguishes a school "for one season" from one that will stay on the market for a long time. More often it is expressed in innovative teaching methods. Answer honestly: why should the client go to study with you?
The market is competitive and aggressive. If you stop developing in business and English, you will instantly drown.

Love what you do and think about student success. Then your school will be successful.