Not being a business consultant, I would urge you to do extensive research before purchasing any franchise or buying a business. That said, my personal experience with the tutorial services industry has lead me to believe that it has tremendous potential for growth. The tutorial services industry is fueled by a serveral factors:
1) Our dissapointing school systems- parents are trying to supplement their children's education through private tutoring.
2) Increased competition for prestigious universities- As the competition to gain entrance to UC and Ivy League schools gets tougher, parents are hiring tutors to help their children keep up with the honors courses and advanced classses the kids are cramming into their schedules. SAT/ACT tutoring is in high demand.
3) Learning Disability assistance- ADHD is just one of the many spectrum-like issues that are preventing some children from getting a full educational experience in a traditional school setting. Private tutoring is often the answer to helping a child succeed academically. The last factor, the one that has really poured out clients for friends of mine who own tutoring franchises, is:
4) Legislation- The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), signed in 2001, is an initiative geared at improving the test scores of U.S. students. It authorized federal funding to be used to provide free tutoring to qualifying children who failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for more than three years. As you can imagine, many children fell into this category. Local tutoring companies found themselves swamped with new government sponsored contracts. An associate of mine who operates a tutoring franchise had more students than he could find tutors for. He had to scour colleges and universities and offer signing bonuses to secure new tutors. His business was booming.It is impossible to know what the future of the NCLB will be, if portions of it will be reviewed or changed in the future. As with any business, a significant amount of time must be spent researching opportunities before diving in. Advertising, marketing, and a great sales team will be just as vital to your business as trends in the market.
The old saying, "If you build it, they will come" is rarely true in business. Draw up a plan for attracting and keeping clients based on your local market. Talk to teachers and parents to find out what they want, need, and already have. Good luck!Bunmi
Bunmi Zalob is founder and president of
MommysCompany.com, an online magazine for entrepreneurial moms, and
BusinessMom.net, a network for business-oriented moms. She's also the founder of
UnbusyMom.com, where she offers a workshop that teaches peaceful living and rehabilitates hectic women.
