How NOT to Kill a School Business in 10 Easy Steps
Joy Avelino-Filipovic
April 04, 2008
You may have a false notion that a school business is a lucrative investment. Maybe or maybe not! If you are thinking that the more enrollees enlisted .... the more money will come to school´s bank account, think again! There is more to that than what goes to the bank.
This assumption has deceived more businessmen to be lured into a trap of opening a school business. Once they hear about the potential profits they may gain out of a school business, they scurry scouting for educators who could join them as partners in this business venture.
However, that isn´t as bad at all as opposed to having business minded individuals venturing into the education business with just a mere goal of syphoning money from the hard working parents´ pockets until drained. At the start of school business, it may not be conspicuous if the school is after educating children or doing a highway robbery to parents as they offer heaps of false promises and lip services that include amazing features of the school, outstanding curricula and teachers with good credentials.
However, a special warning to parents, when all that is presented are too good to be true, stop and pause for a moment before you make your decision to pay. Heed the warnings of old parents. It will not hurt to verify your findings about the school where you will put your child into.
Sooner or later, you will discover some tall tales of disgruntled parents who would come openly to you as new parents revealing that behind the alluring charms of the smooth tongued school owners, the mission and vision of the school is generally to make money primarily rather than to educate or educate while making money or do both at the same time.
I am not saying that it is bad to generate funds in a school business because I know for a fact that school´s operating expenses is way too high.
However, for those businessmen who are investing on school business properly or for those who are intending to do so not knowing what they are getting themselves into. Or if you are into this ball game and a professed first timer in the school business or a long time school owner who pretends that you know everything about school business and yet still groping in the darkness of school management, brace yourselves for the savvy tips that might save you from making your investment in a school business go down the drain.
1.Treat the parents in school with respect.- Parents are basically the ones whom you will have to please first and not the child. They decide first before they put their money down on your office tables.They are the ones who would support you all the way. Pay attention to their needs but don´t over spoil them as they would ask you for never ending and unreasonable demands. Give them a sincere and honest service. Your school program will show if you are after education or making a business out of educating their kids. Establish a friendly relationship with them but don´t over do it. A professional friendly relationship is the most ideal. Learn from your mistakes, what made your parents leave the school? Then find out how you can remedy the situation so as to prevent a snowball effect of parents leaving the school. As Mr. Bill Gates puts it "Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning."
2. Pay your teachers well. – Your school´s soul and spirit are your teachers. They can make or break your school´s reputation. A low paid teacher will surely give a lousy performance in school. Therefore, chances are parents would leave and look for a better option. On the other hand, if your teachers display an extraordinary performance, parents would stick to the school because of the outcome of their performance as reflected on your kids´ knowledge. Consequently, a better paid teacher will think twice before leaving her comfort zone.
3.Avoid overcharging expenses – Field trips, books, uniforms, food, extra curricular activities and other school expenses are inevitable. You may charge the parents but putting an exorbitant amount on their bills would be a turned off to parents. The worse part is if you get busted in over pricing, subsequently word of mouth will spread that you made business out of those requirements.
4.Never ask favors from parents – If you can help it, try not to ask any favor/s to parents. In a school institution, it´s inevitable that you get blessed with parents who hold high position in society or public figure, celebrities whom you could easily nudge to give you a favor or pull their strings for you. However, always remember that there is no such thing as "free lunch". Sooner or later, you will have to do favors for them in return. A simple request of changing a grade of C to A would consequently be hard to refuse.
5.Be professional - Whether you are a school owner, banker, hairdresser or a hooker, it doesn´t matter as long as you are professional in your job. This can easily impress parents on how you do things to give the school a good name. Aim for excellence in whatever you do. Once I have read that your work is like a painting where you put your own signature after a finished job.
6.Hire the best school personnel – I know of a big school who put job advertisement in a work agency that says: "We are in need of teachers, no experience needed." I wonder if what they need is a teacher or a waitress? Doesn´t that sound desperate? Hiring qualified teaching and non-teaching staff is a plus factor in your school. Your staff represents the school and will give a positive or negative impression.. If you have well qualified individuals working in your school, try your best to reward them with attractive compensation and benefits to make them feel satisfied and will therefore stay longer in your institution. Always remember that school business is more about having highly educated mentors teaching the future leaders of the country.
7.Be a good leader – Head Masters are usually school owners as well though not all of them though but most of them have high qualifications that any government gives approval to run a school business. However, having high level of education does not necessarily mean having good leadership skills. Do you agree or disagree? But the good news is that good leadership is not a gift. It is acquired through years of practice, professional development, further readings and a humble attitude to learn from your mistakes. One of the most common mistakes that a school leader commits is learning how to delegate responsibilities.I know one school headmaster who oversees the day to day school operation, manages finances, sells school uniforms and trims the lawn from time to time so as to save a month´s salary for an extra personnel. So when teachers and parents attempt to discuss important issues with him, he becomes crabby snaps at them and retorts: I am busy and I do not have time. So how about that for a"good leadership"?
8. Acquire good personal values as a leader- What we believe in as part of our personal values reflects on our style of leadership. If as a leader you believe that in order to achieve your goals, you can do some shortcuts in life, then your leadership will tell that story.
9.Open your office door to everyone – Some say that a headmaster´s door should literally be opened to invite anyone who would like to discuss anything about school issues. An open door would mean that as a school leader you are accomodating, open and showing willingness to help parents and students anytime.
10.Strive hard to achieve or maintain a good reputation – The best marketing or advertisement that a school could have to achieve high enrollment rate is through word of mouth. It´s not through banners, streamers, leaflets and newspaper write ups but through word of mouth. Word of mouth spreads like wildfire just exactly how we spread gossips. A good school image to the public is manifested through the number of satisfied parents enrolling their first child and siblings in which the impressive word about the school passes on to friends and friends of their friends and and so on and so forth. Isn´t that the easiest and least expensive form of marketing? No sweat!
Getting into school business is not easy and incomparable to putting up a video shop, beauty parlor or a restaurant because you are risking with a child´s future. Providing the best or the worst education to them could mean either giving them a strong foundation or stifling their spontaneity and creativity. Either way would affect the child´s future. Therefore,if your goal is to make money out of your school business, come out of your senses right away. You may want to reconsider your plan of ripping off the parents through educating their kids. As Benjamin Franklin puts it, " An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest"
Do not think about the interest first, go and invest!
This assumption has deceived more businessmen to be lured into a trap of opening a school business. Once they hear about the potential profits they may gain out of a school business, they scurry scouting for educators who could join them as partners in this business venture.
However, that isn´t as bad at all as opposed to having business minded individuals venturing into the education business with just a mere goal of syphoning money from the hard working parents´ pockets until drained. At the start of school business, it may not be conspicuous if the school is after educating children or doing a highway robbery to parents as they offer heaps of false promises and lip services that include amazing features of the school, outstanding curricula and teachers with good credentials.
However, a special warning to parents, when all that is presented are too good to be true, stop and pause for a moment before you make your decision to pay. Heed the warnings of old parents. It will not hurt to verify your findings about the school where you will put your child into.
Sooner or later, you will discover some tall tales of disgruntled parents who would come openly to you as new parents revealing that behind the alluring charms of the smooth tongued school owners, the mission and vision of the school is generally to make money primarily rather than to educate or educate while making money or do both at the same time.
I am not saying that it is bad to generate funds in a school business because I know for a fact that school´s operating expenses is way too high.
However, for those businessmen who are investing on school business properly or for those who are intending to do so not knowing what they are getting themselves into. Or if you are into this ball game and a professed first timer in the school business or a long time school owner who pretends that you know everything about school business and yet still groping in the darkness of school management, brace yourselves for the savvy tips that might save you from making your investment in a school business go down the drain.
1.Treat the parents in school with respect.- Parents are basically the ones whom you will have to please first and not the child. They decide first before they put their money down on your office tables.They are the ones who would support you all the way. Pay attention to their needs but don´t over spoil them as they would ask you for never ending and unreasonable demands. Give them a sincere and honest service. Your school program will show if you are after education or making a business out of educating their kids. Establish a friendly relationship with them but don´t over do it. A professional friendly relationship is the most ideal. Learn from your mistakes, what made your parents leave the school? Then find out how you can remedy the situation so as to prevent a snowball effect of parents leaving the school. As Mr. Bill Gates puts it "Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning."
2. Pay your teachers well. – Your school´s soul and spirit are your teachers. They can make or break your school´s reputation. A low paid teacher will surely give a lousy performance in school. Therefore, chances are parents would leave and look for a better option. On the other hand, if your teachers display an extraordinary performance, parents would stick to the school because of the outcome of their performance as reflected on your kids´ knowledge. Consequently, a better paid teacher will think twice before leaving her comfort zone.
3.Avoid overcharging expenses – Field trips, books, uniforms, food, extra curricular activities and other school expenses are inevitable. You may charge the parents but putting an exorbitant amount on their bills would be a turned off to parents. The worse part is if you get busted in over pricing, subsequently word of mouth will spread that you made business out of those requirements.
4.Never ask favors from parents – If you can help it, try not to ask any favor/s to parents. In a school institution, it´s inevitable that you get blessed with parents who hold high position in society or public figure, celebrities whom you could easily nudge to give you a favor or pull their strings for you. However, always remember that there is no such thing as "free lunch". Sooner or later, you will have to do favors for them in return. A simple request of changing a grade of C to A would consequently be hard to refuse.
5.Be professional - Whether you are a school owner, banker, hairdresser or a hooker, it doesn´t matter as long as you are professional in your job. This can easily impress parents on how you do things to give the school a good name. Aim for excellence in whatever you do. Once I have read that your work is like a painting where you put your own signature after a finished job.
6.Hire the best school personnel – I know of a big school who put job advertisement in a work agency that says: "We are in need of teachers, no experience needed." I wonder if what they need is a teacher or a waitress? Doesn´t that sound desperate? Hiring qualified teaching and non-teaching staff is a plus factor in your school. Your staff represents the school and will give a positive or negative impression.. If you have well qualified individuals working in your school, try your best to reward them with attractive compensation and benefits to make them feel satisfied and will therefore stay longer in your institution. Always remember that school business is more about having highly educated mentors teaching the future leaders of the country.
7.Be a good leader – Head Masters are usually school owners as well though not all of them though but most of them have high qualifications that any government gives approval to run a school business. However, having high level of education does not necessarily mean having good leadership skills. Do you agree or disagree? But the good news is that good leadership is not a gift. It is acquired through years of practice, professional development, further readings and a humble attitude to learn from your mistakes. One of the most common mistakes that a school leader commits is learning how to delegate responsibilities.I know one school headmaster who oversees the day to day school operation, manages finances, sells school uniforms and trims the lawn from time to time so as to save a month´s salary for an extra personnel. So when teachers and parents attempt to discuss important issues with him, he becomes crabby snaps at them and retorts: I am busy and I do not have time. So how about that for a"good leadership"?
8. Acquire good personal values as a leader- What we believe in as part of our personal values reflects on our style of leadership. If as a leader you believe that in order to achieve your goals, you can do some shortcuts in life, then your leadership will tell that story.
9.Open your office door to everyone – Some say that a headmaster´s door should literally be opened to invite anyone who would like to discuss anything about school issues. An open door would mean that as a school leader you are accomodating, open and showing willingness to help parents and students anytime.
10.Strive hard to achieve or maintain a good reputation – The best marketing or advertisement that a school could have to achieve high enrollment rate is through word of mouth. It´s not through banners, streamers, leaflets and newspaper write ups but through word of mouth. Word of mouth spreads like wildfire just exactly how we spread gossips. A good school image to the public is manifested through the number of satisfied parents enrolling their first child and siblings in which the impressive word about the school passes on to friends and friends of their friends and and so on and so forth. Isn´t that the easiest and least expensive form of marketing? No sweat!
Getting into school business is not easy and incomparable to putting up a video shop, beauty parlor or a restaurant because you are risking with a child´s future. Providing the best or the worst education to them could mean either giving them a strong foundation or stifling their spontaneity and creativity. Either way would affect the child´s future. Therefore,if your goal is to make money out of your school business, come out of your senses right away. You may want to reconsider your plan of ripping off the parents through educating their kids. As Benjamin Franklin puts it, " An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest"
Do not think about the interest first, go and invest!