Most modern parents at least once in their lives used the services of a variety of children's development centers.
Surveys show that in almost all large cities more than half of parents with children aged 8 months to eight years are going to take or are already taking their kids to special developmental classes.
If until quite recently visiting such centers was quite expensive, today such services have become available to most people with an average income. It is for this reason that owning your own developing children's center is a fairly profitable business.
Despite the fact that there is fierce competition in this segment, opening such a business is quite a profitable and attractive investment of money due to the fact that there are more young children every year, and there are not enough good preschool childcare facilities for everyone. If you said to yourself: “I want to open a similar center!”, then you will have to thoroughly prepare.
Video about the opening of a children's development center
What do you need to open?
Before you open a children's development center, you need to conduct a small marketing research, which is best entrusted to a specialized organization.
Marketing research
If you do not want to spend money on professional advice, then the study can be done on your own. You need to find out the number of such organizations in your area or city.
You can interview potential customers, ie. parents in clinics, playgrounds and gardens.It is recommended to ask questions about where it would be more convenient for them to take their babies, as well as what kind of developmental programs they are interested in. The main purpose of the survey is to find out what exactly they are guided by when choosing a children's center.
Registration
Recently, a new law “On Education” was issued, which allowed individual entrepreneurs to officially conduct educational activities if there are employees with a pedagogical education. Now, to open a children's center, it is enough just to open an individual entrepreneur and obtain a special license.
To do this, you either need to have a pedagogical education yourself, or hire employees with such qualifications.
In addition, you will need to develop a program according to which your institution will work, and submit it to the education department.
Children's development center from scratch
To organize a developmental center for children, you need a suitable room. Most start-up entrepreneurs prefer premises with a small area - 50 m2.
Location
The main criteria to be followed when choosing are its location (best in the city center or in the center of a large residential area), the minimum need for repairs, and the availability of a place where parents can wait for the completion of classes and a bathroom.
The choice of the location of your children's center directly depends on the target audience for which your institution will be designed. And also on convenience and your preferences.
Before you rent a room, you need to assess your own financial capabilities. If your children's center claims to serve wealthy parents, then it must have excellent repairs, highly qualified teachers and a professional administrator. Be prepared that this will cost you dearly.
Remember that a premium class establishment simply has to be located in the central part of the city, so renting a room will be quite expensive.
If you decide to open a children's center with a low cost of services provided, then you can rent a room on the ground floor of a multi-storey building in one of the city's residential areas. You should decide in advance in which particular area it is best to open a children's center, while taking into account the distance from your place of residence, the presence of direct competitors and the solvency of the population.
The area of rented premises directly depends on your tasks and goals. As a rule, the area of the training room should be at least 30m2. A good place for a kids club are shopping malls and office buildings.
The main requirement for the rented premises is its location on the ground floor so that the kids and their parents do not have to take the elevator or stairs.
When organizing a kids club in a shopping center or office building, you will need several study rooms, as they will most likely have a small area.
In addition to the main premises, a children's early development studio should have a waiting room. Some managers, trying to save money, try to do without such a room. In this case, parents will have to wait for their children on the street and most likely they will stop going to your institution.
Thus, taking into account the training room, the waiting room and the bathroom, the area of the children's center should be at least 50 m2. If you do not have the necessary amount to rent such a room, you can open a children's center consisting of one study room, but this will significantly limit the scope of services provided.
Recruitment
For the correct opening of such an institution, qualified personnel will be required. This applies not only to teachers, but also to administrators.
Statistics show that it is much easier to find a professional administrator than a teacher who understands and loves children, and who will also be able to captivate with classes and find an approach to each child.
For the position of administrator, who will receive visitors, answer customer calls, schedule all classes and solve other organizational issues, you can take recent graduates or students.
You will need at least two administrators to work in shifts. At the beginning, you can perform the duties of an administrator yourself until you find a suitable candidate. With qualified teachers, the situation is much more complicated.
Professional teachers with experience in preschools or schools will cost significantly more than administrators. In addition, it is worth remembering that having a diploma of higher education, diplomas and certificates does not guarantee that the teacher will be able to find a common language with the kids and will not discourage them from visiting the training center and developing.
Practice shows that graduates of the pedagogical challenge can quickly find a common language with children and ensure more effective development of the child than more experienced teachers.
Interviewing all potential employees is best done in person. Be sure to pay attention to the appearance of applicants, as well as their manner of communication, try to evaluate their initiative, dedication to work and innovation.
In some cases, mothers of babies apply for the place of teachers. They do not have a specialized education, but they are fond of a variety of developmental methods and attend various seminars and courses, as well as new trends in the field of preschool education. Having an appropriate diploma is, of course, a very important factor, but in some cases it can be neglected.
Furnishings, equipment
You will also need to purchase furniture and a variety of types of equipment depending on the types of services you intend to provide. You will also need furniture for the waiting room so that the parents of the children feel comfortable.
All purchased equipment must be made of environmentally friendly materials so as not to harm the health of children.
Toys and Consumables
To operate a children's development center, you will need a variety of toys, such as constructors, cubes, mosaics, puzzles and pyramids. They must be of high quality so as not to harm the health of children. In addition, you will need a variety of materials, such as notebooks, albums, cards, felt-tip pens, etc.
You can buy such items in bulk, because they quickly become unusable. Look for suppliers on the Internet, ask your friends. This will help you save a lot.
Attracting clients
Children's centers are of different types. You will have to determine on your own what types of services you are going to provide, it will directly depend on which clients you will have to work with.
Profile selection: additional classes or replacement for kindergarten
The most optimal areas in the activities of such centers are preparing children for school, as well as developing skills that are useful for the future life of the baby, such as communication skills and leadership qualities.
If you plan to carry out classes with groups of kids once or twice a week, then a small room is enough. This is convenient for mothers on maternity leave - they are engaged in a useful activity with a child, but it is not expensive.
The developmental center, in which the children will be all day, will require an additional bedroom, kitchen and increased staff. In this case, your studio will be called a private kindergarten, and, therefore, you must arrange it accordingly: with all the necessary certifications, permits and commissions. To start an educational career, this is a troublesome and not entirely acceptable option.
Developmental methods
You will also have to choose which developmental methods you will use in your children's center. It is recommended that you independently master the basics of child development methods in order to choose the most suitable option and have the opportunity to control the educational process.
The most common methods that ensure the development and creativity of the child are:
- systems of N. A. Zaitsev,
- waldorf method,
- Glen Doman System,
- Montessori method.
With all the abundance of pedagogical technologies, the best results are obtained by a combination of several methods and an individual approach. It's great if your employees have both theoretical training in this matter and are able to create something of their own on this basis.
Advertising
Do not forget about advertising. At the initial stage, to attract customers, you can use the distribution of leaflets, posting ads, as well as advertising on the Internet on thematic sites and forums. In addition, free classes contribute to the growth of the client base, as they allow parents to decide whether your center is suitable for them or not.
Nothing will bring more clients to your center than showcasing your abilities and word of mouth. As an option: take part in any social events with your pupils. Or hold an open thematic lesson on the playground.
Business plan
Issue price
So, let's calculate the starting costs. First of all, you will need:
- to rent a room and carry out repairs there ( from 150 thousand rubles),
- purchase the necessary equipment about 200 thousand rubles),
- buy toys and supplies ( from 80 thousand rubles).
- For the salary of an administrator, teacher and cleaner, you will have to spend approximately 65 thousand per month,
- utilities will cost you about 15 thousand rubles.
In total, the first month of your children's center will cost about 510 thousand rubles.
Benefit
The average cost of a subscription for eight visits is about 2,000 rubles, or 250 rubles per visit.
Given that the attendance of an average children's center operating in two shifts is thirty people per month, the average income is 30 * 250 * 30 = 225,000 rubles.
Thus, the full payback of the children's development center comes in about a year.
The nuances of the work of the children's development studio
Is it possible to open a child development center in an apartment?
If you want to save money, you can organize your own children's center in your own apartment. The only downside to this approach is that if you work with children at home, you won't be able to take on many clients due to the small amount of available space.
The other side of the coin: the SES authorities may refuse to issue you a permit. Then either deal with the children "underground", or bring everything in line with the instructions of the inspectors.
Age categories of children
As a rule, children in developmental centers can be divided into three main categories:
- Toddlers who are not yet in kindergarten can visit your center in the morning.
- Older children will come to you after 18:00, since that is the time they are taken from preschools.
- Primary school students - for them, you can offer additional classes in a foreign language, art lessons.
Opening by franchise
A good option for creating your own business is to open a franchise children's center. Thus, at the initial stage, you will not have problems with customers, because thanks to a well-known brand, visitors will trust you. In addition, you will definitely be helped with teaching materials and developing equipment.
However, for such "courtesy" you will have to pay tribute regularly. This is about 15-20%. Consider all aspects of such a job well before agreeing to it.
A child development center can be a profitable business for its owner. But a person who does not understand anything in the upbringing of children should not be led by him. This is a very complex industry. Opening such a center must necessarily be at least a little enthusiastic about their work.