The concept of preschool franchising has become an appealing overture for the upcoming class of edupreneurs. Each day more and more people are getting inclined to the education sector as this sector offers immense scope for growth & development. Although at first, opening a preschool seemed a pretty tedious task but with the advent of preschool franchising, it has simplified a lot. Without the franchise model, good quality preschools would have been restricted to limited areas and limited schools. Moreover, the quality of preschool education in our country had been of very poor quality & standards for a long period of time. But with the appearance of so many different companies in the preschool franchise sector, the situation has improved a lot. The franchise model has contributed loads towards the growth and development of the education sector in India.
Usually the parents sent their kids to the nearby play school at their early stages of education. This unorganized sector comprising of neighborhood preschools captured almost 75 per cent of the market as per some estimates. But due to the growing number of preschool franchisees in our nation, the parents inclination towards a branded play school for their tiny tot is on the rise. They prefer to have their kids go to a school which provides them a whole new experience in life & increase their inclination towards education & other co-curricular activities. With the increasing number of people in the middle and the upper-middle class in the Indian society, the number of parents preferring a branded play school for their kids has achieved new heights.
Earlier people were hesitant of entering into the education sector due to the complications of running a school. Around 20 years back, there were hardly any people who were aware of the term franchising. A decade later when several companies were offering franchisees to people, their main concern was to choose whether to own a franchise or run a business on their own. But with the growing number of companies in the preschool sector in todays world, people are mainly confused choosing between various brands offering franchise. Their major worry is to select the right franchisee for starting their school. The idea of opening a school on ones own almost seems impossible in todays world with the numerous options of franchisee available.
Moreover, owning a play school franchise & entering the education sector seems to be the wisest business decision in todays world because the demand for playschools will remain strong. With practically no barriers, growing middle class population, increasing income of the people & the growing number of working women, the education sector is most beneficial to invest in. There is increase in the need for quality preschool educational institutions.
The sector is even more appealing to people because of the flexible work timings. Especially women are much more comfortable & relaxed working in an environment where they can easily manage work & home. Moreover, the people working in the education sector get a lot of regard in the society due to their valuable contribution to the society.
On the part of franchisor, it is definitely a great deal offering tremendous growth. There are not many regulations on entering into the preschool business and it always yields good results & profit. Not just that, it is a relatively safe business proposition due to the low capital investment requirement & the constant returns. Pre-schools are quite evident in society and the success in pre-school arena can clearly predict the success of many upcoming brands and entrepreneurs in this field. So, all these factors result in a constant stream of new franchisors wanting to cash in on this boom.
However, the sector is plagued with the greedy franchisors where the issues spill over into disputes. Major reasons of disputes include over commitments before signing ,not giving each pre-school adequate space, renewal charges on agreements, hidden charges, etc. So, at the time of royalties payment, all these issues surround the franchisor of the school and hamper their goodwill. At the end, all these disputes results in the exit by the players who are unable to reach a critical mass of happy franchisees!