Franchising is one of the most important aspects of a business. It gives the franchisor a chance to expand their business with the minimal amount of investment, and gives a franchisee the freedom to run a business model according to him/her and not start a business from Level Zero. It has been observed in the past that chances of a franchisee surviving in the market are higher than that of a new business. To break the myth: Franchisor is not the parent, and the franchisee is not a child. They both work independently and do not meddle with the other’s work. A franchisee seeks support from the franchisor as and when needed and the franchisor provides support, business model, and other equipment and material so business can be carried forward.
Franchising in the education sector is as important as it is in other sectors. Although, in the education sector, it is not merely about expanding the business; being a part of sector brings many responsibilities along. Unlike franchisees in another sector, it cannot be just shut down if it doesn’t work for the franchisee owner. It has to be handled with extreme care. If the franchisee owner, for some reason, decides to shut down the franchisee in the middle of a term, then the students may face dire consequences as their whole year will get wasted, and because of that one franchisee, many parents will not trust the brand again. Thus, franchising in the education sector is not only crucial but also sensitive. Now the question is:
WHY FRANCHISING IN EDUCATION?
As mentioned earlier, franchising in other sectors may purely be for business, but it cannot be so in the education sector. Though money, as we all know, is essential for survival, it cannot be the prime aim in the education sector; else, it will not succeed.
Starting an educational institution is a lot tougher than it seems. In other sectors, when a new business starts, they initially do not have much longevity to the staff and they come & go before it finally begins to get stable. In an educational institution, it has to be consistent and stable from the very first day or the future of the students is jeopardised.
Purchasing a franchisee is a more feasible and stable option in education sector than to start something anew. Franchisor, in this case, and others, acts as a supporting hand. A franchisor does not promise stability of the staff, but they do offer training programs to get the teacher accustomed to the syllabus and teaching methods. A teacher is an employee of the school and, thus, an employee should be satisfied with his/her employer. Being a franchisee is beneficial for the employer too, because a person (teacher) will be more inclined to join a known brand than a new school because the franchisor has a name in the market and it stands for quality.
Besides the training for teachers, a franchisor also provides its business model and methods to attract more customers. So while the franchisor focuses on improvement of the currently attained quality, the franchisee is focused on selling those. It distributes the work equally among the franchisor and the franchisee.
This lifts the burden off the franchisee to find the right syllabus and teaching methods; the franchisee already has tried-and-tested methods of teaching and the books that will only have the fruitful result.
Education and poverty are two of the weakest points in the development of the country. If you even focus on one, the other can be taken care of automatically. Through a proper planning, franchising can help a company reach out to remote places where there are no educational institutions.
FUTURE OF FRANCHISING IN EDUCATION
The bond between a franchisor and a franchisee is very vital, but the bond is not restricted. Through associating with a franchisor, a franchisee is indirectly connected to other franchisees too. This makes the whole chain of educational institutions one big team. Franchising reduces the competitive spirit and promotes the teamwork; and in the education sector, teamwork is important. When a company invests its time and money on getting ahead of its competitors, the quality of education will be compromised.
On the other hand, if a company works as a team and divides its work where one is focused on quality and the other on selling, that company has a higher success rate than others.
Franchising will not only help reach out with education to remote places but will also help children get good quality education.
It is hard to establish a trust on a new company, especially if it is a school or any other education institution; but a brand stands for quality. As any person is more likely to be an employee of a known and trustworthy company, a parent is more likely to get their child enrolled in a school that is established and has experience in the field.
Franchising is the modern synonym to unity. Working as a team towards a fixed goal will always lead to productive result for everyone and has lower risks of failing. As Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, once said, “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is a progress and working together is a success.”
About the author:
Ajay Gupta is the founder and Director of SK Education Pvt. Ltd. He is an influential magnate in the field of education with two chains of schools under his supervision. Bachpan…A Play School (Bachpanglobal.com) is a chain play schools with over 1000 schools all over India that is known to lay a strong foundation for children who are just beginning their educational journey. Academic Heights Public School (Academicheights.in) is a chain of formal schools with over 100 schools throughout India and many more under progress.
