business plan to set up a school

How To Start A School in 2024 Step-by-Step Guide

by Cindy Lumpkin | How to Start a School , Learning

How to Start a Private School

Are you a teacher who is interested in how to start a private school ? Maybe you are a parent or religious group who feels your community needs more options.

If so, you are not alone.

As you are aware, teachers are leaving the field of education like wildfire. But many of them don’t want to quit teaching . 

Instead of abandoning their passion for teaching, some educators are discovering that they can still do what they love—teach—by starting their own schools and educational businesses. 

How do I know? Because I did just that, I started a small private school . I didn’t have a lot of money and no big names were backing me.

I discovered that I could still do what I love and, at the same time, avoid what I hated about the school system: bureaucracy, red tape, testing, and stress . 

It came as a total shock when thousands of people- teachers, and a few parents, found a Youtube video I did explaining how I started my own school . 

They couldn’t believe that a teacher, like them, with little funds and resources, started a school that was fully accredited.

Many of them also asked me if I could share with them how I started my own school.

In this article, I will do just that- step by step. 

I will share the exact things you will need to do in order to start your own school and put you in the BEST position to be successful. 

Most information on starting a school will say that it’s a lengthy, expensive, and complicated process. My experience was different.  

I wouldn’t say it’s easy. It is work! This will be an investment of your time, money, and faith. But it’s totally doable and I want to help you on your journey. 

If you have this limiting belief, put it to rest now. This doesn’t have to be a super expensive proposition, depending on your strategy and how you decide to scale.

I am going to take you step-by-step through what you have to do to start the process of starting a school. 

Please keep in mind, however, that some things will differ by state and you will have to do research on your own in those instances. 

Before you start, take the time to watch the video below. I want you to know why I am giving all this information away…for FREE and why I charge for some products.

Make no mistake about it—this isn’t some bait and switch. Following these steps will help you create the school business of your dreams and you DON’T have to buy anything.

Nevertheless, teachers and others who are ready to take action will eagerly invest because it will save them so much time. 

When you purchase any of my products, you are paying for convenience. 

I couldn’t dare charge for the process because I believe in this movement for every teacher who has been burned out by an unrealistic, outdated school system and for every child who has not benefited from the promise of “No Child Left Behind.”

In addition, this 12-step process that I’ve designed can be used by anyone who wants to open micro-schools, nonaccredited schools, learning pods, and even homeschools.

It will also help with online school programs. 

Just know that depending on what your vision is, some things may or may not need to be done.

This will be a very long article. So I’ve included the steps up front and each step is clickable so that you can find your place more easily.

12 Steps on How to Start a School of Your Dreams

There are twelve steps to take to start a school; however, there are only eleven if you’re not going to get accredited. Here is a complete list:

• Find Community
• Determine Type of School 
• Create An Advisory Board
• Design Your School’s Curriculum
• Requirements To Open A School (Legal/Operational)
• Develop A Fundraising Strategy 
• Create Your Budget And Business Plan
• Address Your Staffing Needs
• Select The Right Facility To Start Your School
• Develop Your School’s Policies and Procedures
• Select an Accrediting Body (Optional)
• Develop a Marketing Plan

As you go through these steps, some will be accompanied by a video. Other times I may point you to another source or even share documents with you. 

As I mentioned above, I may even offer some resources at a small price to take the load off you. However, they are optional and only designed to help you along. 

You can totally do this without buying anything from me.

It would benefit you to watch these videos, however, as they will give more details where writing will not be able to communicate everything.

Before we get started, let me address this search term that I’ve seen way too much.

How To Start A School Without Money

Although there are some strategies you can take to start a school that will not require a lot of funds, one can’t expect to start a school without any money.

Your school is a business. Any serious entrepreneur knows that there will be some type of startup investment cost, even if it’s just for basic business management tools .

However, many of the steps above can be completed without spending anything. 

So, if you are serious, you can start the process to ensure it’s truly something you want to do before making a considerable investment of money. 

There will come a time, however, when you will have to make investments.

If you are someone who is low on funds, I suggest going through all the steps and completing as much as you can. 

Next, I highly suggest that you watch this video to understand and determine where you are in the process of being ready to start a school business.

Now you are ready. Let’s jump in!

How To Start A School Business 

Step 1. find community .

If you truly are determined that you are all in on this process, the first thing I suggest you do is find other people who are taking this journey. 

This is my number-one piece of advice. Still, many will ignore it. Please don’t let it be you. This journey can be so lonely. 

It doesn’t matter if they are across town or out of state. But it is vitally important for several reasons:

• It provides support. Trust me you will encounter moments of discouragement. Having a community will help you fight feelings of hopelessness that may come on this journey. It can also help celebrate those small victories. It’s one thing to have support from family and friends, but it’s another thing to have it from people who know and understand.
• It provides connection and belonging. Togetherness is so critical to our experience as humans. Connecting with others who share some of our values, interests, and worldviews helps us understand we are not alone.
• It provides an opportunity for us to share, give back, and learn from one another. Let’s face it, teachers are some of the most giving people there are. It’s in us to want to give back. I believe it’s an innate desire. There is so much I am still learning from the many teachers in our Teacher School Builders Community . For example, people are often finding new, easier, and less expensive ways to do so many things as it relates to creating and running private schools. I can’t possibly keep on top of all the changes. But I come close because of connections who share their ideals.  

Don’t underestimate the importance of finding a crew who understands and who can speak to you wherever you are. 

The networking opportunities among you will prove to be invaluable. Besides, if you have questions about these steps, you can find me in Teacher School Builders (wink). 

I wish I could give you an open invitation to our community. We want to be a safe place for serious, committed, and passionate people interested in taking this journey together.

Only those who invest in any of my products will be invited to join our community. However, you are totally welcome to sign up for my newsletter . 

I’ve been known to give out freebies to those who read and keep up-to-date with my emails. Also, I still give LOTS of helpful resources and value to my list.

Step 2 . Determine what type of school you want.

This step is twofold. I don’t want to assume that we are on the same page, knowing what type of school I am trying to position you to start. Therefore, let me make it clear.

Ideally, one can start a charter school. This is NOT the type of school I help teachers create. 

A charter school is a HUGE undertaking. In addition, it’s expensive and, in some situations, will need to be approved by your local school board. The application is ridiculous too.

We are not even building your typical, well-established, rooted-in-money private school. (It could for sure turn into one.) 

Although what I am helping you to create is technically a private school , you most likely are a one- or two-man team.

Right now, you may not have a lot of resources, but your business structure will be that of a private school. We will talk more about your business structure later.

Thus, for many of you, it will be a micro-school. In other words, a small school that serves generally 5 and upwards of 150 students.

It can be religious or non-religious. Some of you will want a for-profit, while others will choose to start a non-profit. Some of you will take the extra step to become accredited.

If you want to call it a learning pod or homeschool, so be it.

I encourage you to watch this video if you haven’t already. It talks about this more in context. (This video has been on my channel for a while, so you may have seen it.)

Now that we are on the same page, what type of school do you envision? Will it be K–12? How about a middle school or high school only? Who will you serve? 

Plan With The End In Mind

This is the fun part! I am a dreamer and I hope you are too. 

This is where you get to dream up the best school you can imagine to serve your ideal student(s) well.

Maybe you want a day school or virtual program. Is your vision a Montessori or a specialized school for students with learning differences?

It’s ok, create your ideal school on paper. Dream big! 

Your vision may be to one day operate a K-12 program, but you may start off with either elementary, middle, or high. 

You may even start with K-12 in a more modern one-room schoolhouse concept. 

The possibilities are endless. 

I would start with the end from the beginning here. However, actual implementation may be in stages. Again, dream big on paper.

Just know that it’s better to actually start a small school business and grow into your long-range vision of your school. 

The cool part about this is that you are the architect.  

I totally went against the grain and started with high school first. However, I knew from the beginning that I would work with 3rd-12th by the time my dream was fully realized.

Within about two years, I worked my way down to middle school. Eventually, I will start to teach elementary.

Before I walk you through creating your school’s identity, let me take the time to answer a question I get asked A LOT .

But how did you know what type of school to start ?

People often ask me, “How do I arrive at knowing what type of school is needed or wanted?” 

Well, I have two different answers for you to consider. Knowing what school to create can come from what I call a calling and/or a business strategy. 

The business person in me says, “Search for parents who are interested in having an alternative education for their children.”

Survey these parents and maybe even some teachers in the area too. What is it that they want or need for the area?

How are the schools in the area? Are they meeting the needs of all students? If not, where they are not may be an opportunity for you.

My friend and fellow school founder, Tiffany of The Village Schools , realized in her area there was a need for quality Christian schools that were also culturally relevant. She fills the gap.

I have another friend and fellow school founder, ToNya of Kipe Academy , who realized in her area that the local school system wasn’t meeting the needs of students who had learning gaps and learning disabilities very well. 

By focusing her school on strengthening skills, she fills that gap.

A good business move or sound business decision is to start a school that there is demand for in your area. 

Trust me! Just because you build it doesn’t mean that they will come. So you may want to make sure your school is wanted.

On the other hand, I allowed my Call from God to determine the type of school I created . 

I LOVE working with students who learn differently. 

More specifically, I LOVE working with those from middle- and lower-income households who can’t afford the “traditional” private schools but desperately need their flexibility and smaller community where everyone is seen and heard.

I want you to follow your passion, and I want you to succeed too. However, assess the actual need for a school in your area. 

Are the public schools performing well or poorly? Can families in your community afford to pay tuition? 

Depending on where you live, a private school may or may not generate enough interest. Seriously, consider this. 

Knowing what type of school you want will help you decide what type of curriculum you will use later. So it’s important to establish this now.

Don’t worry! Nothing is set in stone; if you need to change it later, you can.

Let’s Create Your School’s Identity

When you are creating your school’s identity, you need to do the following:

• Identify your niche.
• Choose a school name.
• Create your school’s brand

Remember: “Brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time.”

When creating your brand, start with the end from the beginning. You don’t want to leave any stone unturned. 

In order to do this, you have to develop a strong brand. Your name matters. Who you are building your school for matters and even colors matter.

It would be too much to help you build the perfect brand here so I am sharing the video I created for teachers who paid to be in my Beta Course to fill this gap. 

By the way, against the advice of many, I decided not to create the course and sell it. It just didn’t feel right. 

Anyway, don’t skip the video!!! Seriously!

It will walk you through questions and things you need to think about to create a solid school identity, including your brand.

In the video, I referenced “homework” and you can find that information here .

I do advise using this resource after watching the video. 

I actually use my school as an example for you to help make the process easier. Allow it to help your creative juices flow.

Step 2 Wrap-up Checklist

This step has really laid the foundation for your school. 

So please, please ensure that you have completed it. It will only make it harder later on if you don’t. 

The information will eventually build on each other. Much of the information in this step will be needed for other areas later on. 

If you do it now and do it right, I PROMISE it will make it easier when you are developing your business plan, applying for grants, and getting your marketing materials together.

Ensure that you have done the following:

• Did you read this entire section?
• Did you watch the entire video?
• Did you access the “homework” mentioned in the video? Click here!
• Did you leave no stone unturned? 

Great! We are ready for the next step. It’s a process I know, but if you be one of the few who actually do the work, you will eventually have yourself a school.

Step 3. Create an advisory board

Please understand the difference between an advisory board and a community as I discussed above in step one. 

Many of you, like me, are the visionaries of your school. You are the founder. We need to be in a community with each other but need other people to help carry our vision out.

When you form your board you will seek people who are in support of your vision. 

They will hopefully use their gifts and talents to help you achieve your vision for the school. 

This group will empower you. But they will have less stack in your business. Most likely they will not see the daily ends and outs.

Who are the ideal people you need on your advisory board? 

I would ask a few parents and other influential people in the community. 

It would be great if they had a heart for education or young people. However, they don’t have to. But they need to have skills that will help you develop your school business.

I would ask members of your community who have financial, legal, management, and building experience. 

You can ask people who are on the boards of other foundations or people who work for these foundations. 

Why? Because they know what you don’t know. Or, they know the people you don’t know but need to know.

Connections are key. One of these people could very well connect you to a resource that you will need. You are always one connection away from what you need.

This group can become the core of your first board of directors. We will talk about this later. 

In the meantime, an advisory board can give you advice in their specific areas of expertise. 

They can provide feedback as you make decisions about your school and help you navigate legal and technical things.

Reaching Out To Get Your Advisors On Board

Now you should know exactly who you potentially want on your advisory board. 

It’s time to reach out to them and make the BIG ask. 

Do you remember the work you did in step two? Now you will be using some of it.

Although I call this the BIG ask, it’s not what you think. Don’t ask them for their skill set or money just yet.

You want to invite them to a meeting to learn more about your school and how they can be on your board of advisors. 

There are several ways to do this. Just select the way that is more comfortable for you or more appropriate for the way you may or may not know the person. 

Send an email, make a phone call, or invite them to lunch.

Before doing so, you will want to create a one-pager. 

Using the information from step two , describe your mission and the need for your school. Don’t forget a short introduction of yourself. Make it compelling . 

You want to make it as short as possible. People don’t like to read anymore. 

Do make it long enough, however, to explain this awesome endeavor you are embarking on that will benefit the community.

Please DO NOT overload them with all the information from step two. 

Just give enough to get to a group in-person or Zoom meeting where you will go into more detail about your school and your vision for it.

It will be at this meeting where you will talk more about why they are needed and invite them to use their skill and wisdom to help you complete the process of building your school.

If they are interested, be sure that you get a commitment of time,  financial support, or their skills donated to your organization. 

If you are a non-profit or going to become one, their donation(s) of time and money may become a write-off for them.

Step 3 Wrap-up Checklist of How To Start A Private School

Completing this step will save you time and money. TRUST me! People always want to help a good cause. You just need to find the ones that do and make the Big Ask .

Before moving on, ensure you have done the following:

• Watched the video .
• Created a list of idea advisors 
• Reached out to this group
• Set your meeting date to cast your vision and get them on board 

Step 4 Design Your School’s Curriculum

“In America, we have 19th-century school conditions and a curriculum that prepares our kids for the 1990s.” 

These words were spoken by Heidi Hayes Jacobs and there has never been anything stated that was truer. 

I am convinced that the curriculum/standards (pacing) are a huge part of why children are not learning as they should and why well-meaning teachers are pulling their hair out.

I will actually link another video from our Beta Class that will go into this subject in detail below.

However, here is where you have the opportunity to be very innovative and create a program that will truly speak to the type of school you are building.

Understand that you don’t have to use the same curriculums that you used in public education. In fact, I warn against it- at least in some instances. 

Instead, truly use things that will support your learners and would further your school’s mission.

Some people develop their own curriculum, if this isn’t your wheelhouse, don’t do it. It can be more headache than it’s worth.

I use a variety of things. I go into detail in the video below.

Step 4  Wrap-up Checklist of How To Start A Private School

• Study the curriculum requirements of starting a school for your state.
• Create a one-pager of your curriculum.
• Start the process of creating a course catalog, especially if you are doing high school.
• Research learning and management systems. 

Step 5 Requirments To Open A School (Legal or Operational)  

Another key step is to determine what your business structure will be. Will you be a sole proprietor? 

I do not recommend this. It’s best to put separation between you and the school.

With that said, you will most likely be a limited liability company or a partnership if someone is working with you. There is also the option of being a non-profit. 

File incorporation papers with your Secretary of State. You can have your business formation done for you accurately, quickly, and affordably for convenience.

The lawyer on your advisory board, if you have been able to get one, should be able to handle this for you or point you in the right direction to someone who can. 

If you have to do it on your own, it’s not hard. I filed on my own, howbeit I had to make a few changes to the amendments, but I got it done.

There are costs associated with the filing, but nothing outrageous. But if you do have a lawyer on your team, he or she could donate their legal services to the cause.

For Profit or Non-Profit

Deciding for or against a nonprofit is critical. As a nonprofit, it’s much easier to fundraise. People will give money much more readily to a legal entity or institution as opposed to a person. 

If you decide to establish your own proprietary school, you will be on your own when it comes to raising money.

If you do decide on the nonprofit, you will have to apply for tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status from the IRS. 

This is a process. For your sake, I hope your lawyer can handle this application. I actually hired someone to do mine. Money well spent, as I didn’t have time to learn that process. 

No matter who does it, submit it as early in the process as you can so that you can begin to solicit tax-deductible contributions. 

People and businesses will definitely take your fundraising efforts much more favorably if you are a recognized tax-exempt organization.

Tax-exempt status might also help with local taxes. Check your individual state.

I go into more detail as well as discuss other legal requirements in the video below:

Video Coming

Advertising Disclosure: A few links in this article may contain affiliate links. I earn a small amount of commission if you decide to go with my recommendation at NO COST to you. I recommend services that I trust and that is why there are very few in my articles. Funds are used to continue to grow my micro-school.

Step 5  Wrap-up Checklist of How To Start A Private School

• Study the requirements of starting a school for your state.
• Watch the video I did for my beta class on this topic.
• Read this detailed post I wrote to help you understand your options for a business structure and get your business formation done at an affordable rate.
• Optional: Coming Soon…

Step 6 Funding Options Develop A Fundraising Strategy 

Most of your school’s income will come from tuition at the beginning. Of course, this is outside of your start-up cost. 

I have plans to develop a mini course that will guide you through thinking about different funding options. Let me know in the comments if you might be interested.

It will cover grants (some you don’t have to be a nonprofit to get) and cost-effective strategies you can use when starting with a lower budget. 

In fact, read this article on the best business management tools I use. Omella allows me to collect 100% of my tuition without ANY platform or transaction fees.

Nevertheless, you will need a well-thought-out plan of how you will generate money from multiple streams.

Sorry, bake sales and car washes are not going to cut the mustard. Although they may still have their place, you will not have enough students to make something like that successful.

Developing A Fundraising Strategy 

You need a strategic fundraising plan. Ideally, you and the team can work together to come up with a well-thought-out, creative plan that will work for your specific school.

At Triumph School , we love to include the kids. We like to show them off. So we hosted a Nightmare on Main Street , which was a haunted schoolhouse in the month of October. 

Here is how we did it:

Although I wasn’t as strategic when we did Nightmare on Main Street, it was still a huge success in terms of the overall impact on our students’ learning. Also, did I mention we raised a little over $1K?

For fundraisers we completed after that, we tried to be more purposeful and strategic by actually creating a plan beforehand. 

What to Include in Your Plan

Over at Donor Box , they identified the following steps as a starting point for creating a strategic plan:

• Include your mission
• Create objectives
• Build a team
• Find funding options for different donor types
• Use new marketing techniques
• Research campaigns by others
• Start online fundraising 

Including well-planned appeals to foundations and local philanthropists in your plan can pay off. If you can afford it, I would hire a professional to help write proposals and identify donors. 

These documents are the gifts that keep on giving because you can use them over and over again.  

If you do have to change them, it would only be small things. Nevertheless, you will use them over and over again. 

A well-thought-out and implemented plan can pay off big time.  

However, I totally wrote my first few grants myself. Triumph has been awarded over $200K on my efforts alone.

I am just starting to seek “professional” help because it can be time-consuming. 

I hope that passing it on to someone who is more knowledgeable will help in the long run with getting more money and causing me fewer gray hairs.

Nevertheless, not only can a well-thought-out plan help you meet your fundraising goals, but it can also help you build a deeper connection with your donors.

The Village Schools

Establishing a connection with your donors is powerful. To give you an example, I donated to The Village Schools because I just love the founder and her vision and mission. 

About five days after making my online donation, I got a package in the mail. It was from The Village Schools. 

Inside the package was a little stuffed animal with the following written on his shirt, “Thanks for being a friend of The Village Schools. 

She hooked me! I felt so important and like a friend …I felt a connection. It most likely will not be my last time donating. 

Nevertheless, she wants everyone to walk away feeling like I did. 

It’s part of her strategic fundraising plan. She also included a handwritten letter. This is also part of her plan. Super creative!

I learned all this the hard way and one of the hardest lessons I learned was building long-term relationships with donors.

They gave a donation; I said thanks and that was it. In the beginning, I had no way to keep track of them and follow up with them. 

Now I know better! I update my donors every so often on new and exciting things we are doing and/or the latest progress with our students. 

I send birthday greetings, I was just thinking of you or anything to let them know I value them and not just the check they write.

In order to do this, I needed an easy way to store their information to make it easy to send these updates. That is where Donor Box comes in.

You can research it yourself; however, it has been the lowest cost management plan I’ve found to date to easily accept donations and keep up with my donors. 

There are no contracts and no set-up fees. You can ask your donors to pay the fees and when they do, it costs you nothing. It is also really easy to use.

Step 6  Wrap-up Checklist of How To Start A Private School

• Book recommendation- The Little Book of Gold – This is an amazing book and although it’s geared to nonprofits the information can be used by any educational business.
• Create a fundraising plan. To see how this looks when actually applied to a fundraising event watch this video.  **Video Coming Soon….
• Research Donor Box and set up an account (no contracts or fees to set up) and start asking for donations.
• Determine if the mini-course (Coming Soon) can help you by shortening your learning curve.

UPDATE: I just discovered Give Lively , and I am still researching it; however, I am now realizing that although Donor Box advertises a “free” version, it charges a platform and processing fee.

However, Give Lively only has the processing fee. Now, Give Lively isn’t a CRM whereas Donor Box does act as one.

Step 7: Create Your Budget And Private School Business Plan

Don’t stress! You got this and I am here to help.

Guess what else? You will pull some of the information you completed in step two to help you complete this document.

Can you see how this is all coming together now? I sure hope so. Moving on… 

A business plan is important because it will serve as your blueprint for how your school is going to operate. 

However, it doesn’t have to be perfect nor do I believe you have to outsource this, at least not right now.

The reason why I don’t feel it’s a life-or-death document at this point is that I wouldn’t recommend getting a loan. But I do recommend you put one together. 

People will take you more seriously as you work to establish your first board. 

Your plan will show how well-prepared you are. It can also keep you focused as you cast your vision to the community as well as others from whom you seek support.

In addition, this would be a great project to lead your advisory board through. 

It would be awesome to have someone on your advisory board who is an expert who could actually complete this or take the lead on leading your advisory board through completing one. 

If not, no worries! 

I have an excellent resource for you that will help you put yours together with all the components you will need right now.  

School Business Plan Sample PDF Template

If you are in need of a private school business plan (PDF) template that will guide you with instructions to create your own school business plan please consider supporting me by purchasing here .

My private school business plan sample template has it all outlined for you with instructions on what to put in each section. 

If you are interested, you can purchase the business plan template or you can purchase both the template and budget template, which you will read more about below. 

Create Your Budget  

Great news here! If you do your business plan well enough this will be done. 

However, you should still read this first. 

The budget which is part of the business plan is extremely important. I don’t want to minimize this.

When I developed my budget, I focused on 3 years operating budget. You can do the same or focus on one year at a time.

I was very detailed with my expenses and income projections. 

I feel like you are a little tired of me talking about this advisory board, but the financial person on your advisory board should be responsible for developing this critical document. 

So hopefully you have someone in mind for this. If not, my template you time. 

In fact, even if you had someone create it, it will still save them time on researching line items that will need to be included.  

As you project your assumptions about income from tuition, fundraising, and grants, be conservative. Factor in some wriggle room in case things don’t go as planned.

I separated expenditures into three categories. I’ve seen some that only do two. 

If you are in need of a budget that lists everything you will need starting out and in the future, please consider supporting me by purchasing my template ***Coming soon…

Step 7  Wrap-up Checklist of How To Start A Private School

Video Coming Soon….

• Business Plan PDF Template

Step 8: Addressing Your Staffing Needs

You are most likely starting small. I still suggest laying the groundwork for when you are ready to hire staff.

I also suggest avoiding being the one-man show. This may mean you have someone part-time or, better yet, a volunteer who can give you a few hours a week.

Will You Be Head of School?

I have assumed that you will be the Head of the School. If you are not going to be the one who will run day-to-day operations, I suggest you identify someone soon.

It is critical to attract skilled faculty and your Head of School should be involved in that process. 

So, if this person isn’t you, identify them as soon as possible.

Start by writing job descriptions for the Head of School position. Do the same for faculty positions. 

These descriptions should be specific to your vision/mission and the type of school you are creating.

I recommend that you look for self-starters who enjoy building something from scratch. 

Ideally, most will shoot for certified instructors, but in many states, they don’t have to be. 

I have hired amazing certified and non-certified teachers and some not-so-amazing of them both.

Please understand that a certified teacher doesn’t equate to an excellent teacher and a non-certified teacher doesn’t equate to a bad one or one who isn’t as good.

The question you should be asking is, “What Makes an Effective Teacher?” Hire effective teachers. Click on Effective Teachers in Microschools , to learn what to look for in your staff.

One way to attract great employees and volunteers is to sell them on the vision of your school. 

If your school is filling an identifiable need in the community, people will love the opportunity to be a solution.

You may be worried about paying competitive compensation. It can be an issue, but I also think there are many people who like the idea of flexibility. 

I also think retirees are a good group that goes untapped for volunteer and paid part-time positions.

Watch the video below to find out how and where to get volunteers, leads on where to find potential teachers for paid positions, and determine what staff may look like for future growth.

In addition, as a bonus in the upcoming mini-funding course, I will create and share several affordable ways you can incorporate certified teachers without breaking the bank and models to attract talented staff.

Step 9: Select The Right Facility To Start Your School

Step 10: develop your school’s policies and procedures, step 11: select an accrediting body (optional), step 12: develop a marketing plan.

You can’t afford to get this wrong. Many times we think we can just build it and they will come. Well, that is NOT true. Not by a long shot. 

You have to promote, promote and promote some more.

A marketing plan includes all your school’s marketing goals and objectives combined into a single comprehensive plan. 

If you’ve developed your business plan already, much of that information can be pulled from there. 

The plan will include detailed information on how it’s going to achieve its marketing goals. 

Part of that plan could be advertising for students using billboards and using ads on social media. 

Designing a website and setting up a mailing list to keep interested parents and even current parents in the know should also be a part of the plan. 

The website doesn’t have to be an expensive one. You could do it yourself. I would suggest having a blog attached to your website too.  

The best marketing is FREE and a blog can help you get in Google’s search engine. Too much to go into here, but maybe one day soon I’ll create a video to explain more.

Having a mailing list is essential. I use Convert Kit because they have a free plan for up to 1,000 emails. I’ve used MailChimp in the past, but it’s too complicated for me.

Using Convert Kit, allows me to send monthly newsletters easily. 

You want to keep your parents and potential parents updated with what’s going on in your school, especially those parents who are on the fence about your school.

I’ve had parents “date” me for an entire year before enrolling their child. But what convinced them, in the end, was all the success stories in my newsletters. 

Having a mailing list just makes it so much easier. Convert Kit does a lot of awesome things too. You can great landing pages too and more.   

Marketing is one of those things where you need to be consistent. You may not see any results from your labor immediately, but it does pay off. 

It can be expensive, but it’s more expensive NOT to have a plan and not follow it. You have to be creative to get it all done.

I believe in working smarter, not harder. I created a marketing presentation. Unfortunately, I have yet to do a complete “professional” marketing plan.

However, with the information in my business plan and my marketing presentation , I am good for right now. But I am always improving my knowledge of the marketing process.

I recently wrote an article that will help you increase your enrollment using some simple marketing strategies. You can find it here .

Anyway, I like the way the marketing presentation is laid out. It’s not a lot of reading, which most people don’t like to read. 

I use it in live presentations and I actually send this to people when I am trying to get sponsorships, backing from small community businesses, and recruiting board members. 

If you are interested, you can find it here . Right now it’s a PDF, but in the future, I will make it so that you can customize it to fit your brand. With the PDF version, you will still get to see the same strategies I use to market my school and the key points donors want to know. 

Congrats!!!! You’ve Done It- Well A Lot Of It

**If this has been helpful, please consider giving me a tip . It helps me to be able to continue to devote time to giving away free content. Click here! **

Wrap-up how to start a school .

At the beginning of this article, I promised I would share steps on how to start a school. I identified and went into detail on the following steps:

• Determine Type Of School
• Design Your School Curriculum
• Funding Options
• Develop Your School’s Policies And Procedures
• Select An Accrediting Body (OPTIONAL)
• Develop A Marketing Plan

This process can seem overwhelming. It looks more intimidating than it really is. 

I tried to beat the horse over the head with the different members you may consider for your advisory board. 

Unfortunately, I personally did these steps by myself. However, I would NOT recommend you do that. In fact, I am going back now to try to establish a solid board. 

Your success will be greater as you get others to buy into your vision EARLY. 

So, take the time needed to sell your advisory board, parents, community, and staff on the school’s vision.

Lastly, if this article has been helpful, please let me know below with a comment and share it with ALL the teachers you know who are interested in starting their very own school business. 

Also, here is a complete list of the products I have for sale. 

Remember, these are to cut your learning curve so that you can get through this process faster. However, I am always appreciative of your support when you invest in my products.

List of products: More Coming Soon….

• Marketing Presentation PDF
• Business Plan Template PDF
• School Identity Homework PDF

I hope this was helpful. If you don’t know me, you can learn a little more h ere .

61 Comments

This was some GREAT information! Thank you Cindy! I will be sharing this with my colleagues

Thank you and please do. My goal is to be a wealth of information for anyone wishing to embark upon this journey.

Thank you for taking the time to write this out. This is extremely helpful for me to keep what you have learned and tried already as my base line.

I’m interested

Amazing, I am interested and it’s really helpful for me.

Happy I can be of help!!!

I am thrilled by your start.

Thank you!!!

I want to build my school

Go for it!!!

I have just completed a 8000 word true story regarding why we started our own Afterschool Program that ran for 20 years and brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars in Grant Money in Jersey City, New Jersey. This program ran for over twenty years and serviced hundreds of minority children. In New Jersey there is money available from both State and Federal sources if you are a Registered Non-Profit Corporation and have the guts to apply and operate the project. If interested on how we did it get in touch with me at [email protected] and I’ll send along my true story.

We started this project because several teachers were removed from the Bd. of Ed. afterschool jobs and replaced with ‘favorite sons’ so to speak. We moved on and they failed.

This is wonderful. I would love to hear your story.

Cindy, I just came across this great information by chance. Thank you so much for sharing.

You are so welcome. I see that you are Rev. David Chanda. By chance are you looking to start a school via your church? I personally believe that there is a gap in education that the Church could help fill for kids via microschools. I would love to hear your vision if you are interested in starting a school. My I reach out?

You are so welcome.

I discovered you on YouTube because I started my own Non-Profit/ Private School 15 years ago and it’s going great. I’m currently expanding and deciding to invest in a building. I’m also trying to decide to I want to switch to charter school or public school to get the funding to help the students to attend the school if they do not have the funding. Your video is very helpful. Keep up the work.

Thank you and what is your school name? Do you have a website or social media platform where I can connect? Charter might be a little work, but it is worth it to get the funding. I would just need a team of people and I am not there yet. Also, does your state have school choice voucher programs? I get funding from this.

Hey Cindy. I came on again to refresh myself so I can be better prepared to respond to the group you created. Thank you for sharing your expertise free. If a school builder follows the knowledge you have shared, I have no doubt they will be successful. You have provided some real hope to some educators that desire to be school builders. As we know, the pandemic has magnified the need for parents to have choices. To me educating a child should not be the same for every child. It is not like everyone wears the same size shoe. I am an advocate for “choice” in education. For too long, public education has been the dominant choice. There are so many other entities to consider such as private school, homeschool, micro school, co op schools/programs, charter schools, hybrid schools and more. Again thank you for this valuable resource that makes the journey of becoming a school builder possible. I am a cheerleader for life.

Awww… such an encouraging post for me and it lets me know I am on the right track for what’s next. This article will be updated even more within the next two to three weeks. Sign up for the newsletter and I will announce it there. But the videos I did for the Beta course back in the spring will be released…for free. At the end of the day, I am not a sales person, I am a teacher who believes in this wave of choice and even more for teachers starting their own small schools. I know how passionate I am about education, but how ineffective I felt I was in the system. My kids are so much better off in my small school than they ever were in public schools. All teachers desire the opportunity to be their best and educate kids the way they need it to be their best. Thanks for your kind words.

Powerful information. Am now good to go. I can see clearly now where I want to go

Thank you!! I am happy it has helped!!

Thank you for all of this information. I definitely will be using the steps to start planning my dream school.

Good luck!!! You got this.

My wife asked me to assist her with her idea of building a boarding school that will focus on leadership and entrepreneurship here in South Africa. The school will accommodate 90% of paying learners and 10% non-paying learners from poor families.

This is amazing!!! I hope all goes well and that this helps!

I am a 55 year old missionary in Zambia, Africa. I taught school in the states for ten years.

I am building a private Christian School by faith in “the bush” with no electricity and a hand pump for water. I am currently conducting classes in two small classrooms at the back of a church. The village where I stay has approximately 400 families; a good manageable amount of children for a small rural school. I believe, we will eventually become a boarding school, but we have to walk one step at a time.

I truly believe God is going to send the provision for us to build a k-12 school this year. 🙂

Sizwe Mkhaliphi, can you give me any advice?

Our students are 100 percent supported by sponsors. I have been begging my friends and family back home to support a child at 150.00 per year so that I can finance the project until we can establish a cotton patch and a cloth factory for the villagers to make the school dependent on the business. There are so few opportunities in the bush for employment and I believe this will greatly increase the lives of all the villagers.

Thanks for taking time to read. God bless. Susan Stout

This is awesome!! I will add my prayers of agreement. Do you have any social media platforms I can follow?

Very informative . But please is it advisable to start a school while you still have a job or for an effective start you need to quiet the job, or can you partner someone to start whiles you still keep your job?

I am ALL for partnering, period!! Here is the thing, you can plan your school and get everything in place while you are working. One of the teachers in my group has done just that. She started last January and this is her last year teaching in public school. She was very intentional about putting everything in place while she was still working; however, when she opens doors this coming school year she would have resigned from her teacher position. Of course, if you wanted to have students someone would need to be there to teach them. So, if not you are still working and would like to open you would have to have someone there. I don’t think it much matter, it generally depends on your situation. Hope this helps!!

Hi I was reading your article about starting your own private school and it said there were some things we could buy that would make the process easier for us, however I couldn’t find where those items were. I am super interested in buying anything that will help make the process of starting a school easier for me. Please let me know thank you

Hello Kahley, I hope all is well. So, yes; however, the article and some of those products are still in progress. However, I do have some ready. They are actually linked in the blog. The process is all written in the blog and the free checklist will help. Before buying anything, I would go through step by step and complete the steps and buy once you get to that point. If you need coaching, I might be doing that later on. The demand right now is just to great. If you have questions, list them here and I will do my best to answer them if I can do so via responding back. Here is what I have so far:The check list is free: https://subscribe.theldcoach.com/sign-up

The school business plan: https://subscribe.theldcoach.com/products/school-business-plan

The marketing plan: https://subscribe.theldcoach.com/products/marketing-presentation-pitch

Links to these are all in the blog.

I like to open my computer school for children. Where should i start and register. I have computer qualification and i want to pass to the coming generation. Must i start at department of education? Then for certificate where must i consult to show that they passed

The first one

Read the article, it should give you direction.

Great advice.

Thank you!!

I am in the process of opening a school in africa,. I truelly find courage and inspiration in you article

Please keep me posted. I would love to follow any social media platforms you have.

Hi I learned a lot and I like to open a school like after care to help them with homeworks Because some children they are slow ,I will like to help them so that they must enjoy school .

Yes!! Like a learning center. i encourage you to do it. Parents are looking for places like this. We are getting ready to start-up our TRIUMPH after-school tutoring program in the fall. We will tutor reading and math and do homework help.

How can I speak to you further? I would love to open my own private school for my community. I already own a childcare center

Danielle that is wonderful. I love to hear this and it will be an easy transition. I no longer have the capacity to speak with everyone individually. I do try to answer people’s questions on my videos and this blog when I see it. I am also activate on my Facebook page Cindy Lumpkin, The LD Coach. Join my newsletter and I will start doing pop-up Zooms. But I can’t promise when it will be.

I’m glad to hear information about new opportunities. I like to find out if you can assist though I’m in South Africa

Hi, I am sorry. However, I only know how things work in the US with starting a school.

I am so excited about beginning this journey of starting my own school. I have ideas but having someone guide you through the process is exciting. I have been a certified teacher for almost twenty years. I have a Master’s in Elementary Education and Administration and Supervision. I have been through a Leadership Academy. However, I don’t want to work for a district, I want to create my own educational business. I have prayed about this for a few years, but I have been hesitant about stepping out of my comfort zone. I feel that now is the time.

Go for it!!!! You will do an amazing job.

Hi Cindy This is a great inspiration not just for teachers but for us homeschooling moms and dads. I would love to share my story and get some feedback from you. I live in Massachusetts so the Private school rules are a bit more flexible.

Sorry it has taken me so long. I would love to hear your story!!!

Hi Cindy I am interested in this as business but the interest is to start university now starting from uniform school that will feed the university

Amazing idea!!! I use to want a university too, but focusing with my k-12 until is stable without me.

This is very helpful. Will definitely follow it and adapt to my environment here in Africa

Awesome!!! I don’t know the specifics, but yes there is a lot of general information you can use to open a wonderful school in Africa. Please keep me posted on your progress.

Wonderful!!! Let me know of other things that I can help you with, especially if I can write about it.

Great ideas for those who desire to create school and currently in education bussiness. Thank you!

You are so welcome!!!

Hello Cindy, So I read this book called Explorer Academy and I thought to myself wow I wish there was a school like that. So I decided to make that school real. This post was very helpful to me and I hope someday someone gets famous for what they accomplished at my school.

Sincerely, Joe

As the eternal optimist that I am, I believe it will happen. What is your school’s website? I love learning about other programs.

How can I get in touch with you.

After finding you on YouTube I am very much motivated to start a small private school. This is my email address and I would like to buy the sample of your business plan and others. Email: [email protected]

Am happy to hear form you soon.

Thank you. Miss. Kiniye Lepi

Hello, I don’t have my personal plan for sale; however, their is a link to a business plan template with complete directions for each part.

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ZenBusinessPlans

Home » Sample Business Plans » Education » School

How to Write a Private School Business Plan [Sample Template]

Are you about starting a private school (nursery, primary or high school)? If YES, here’s a complete sample private school business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE. Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a private school.

We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample private school marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for private schools. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.

Why Start a Private School?

One of the best things that can happen to anyone is to have a private school. This is one very lucrative business that will continue to rake in money for its owners. As an aspiring entrepreneur who is looking towards starting a business, you should ensure that whatever business you intend to start, you make sure that it is located in an appropriate place.

For example; if you want to start a private school, it will be a wrong business judgment if you decide to site the school close to an industrial area or close to a market. Aspiring entrepreneurs therefore are urged as a matter of necessity to ensure that they carry out a thorough market research and feasibility study of the industry they intend to go into before investing their hard earned money and time.

It is known fact that the demand for private schools is driven by the fact that most public cum government owned schools cannot accommodate every students or potential students in a given geographical location. In some cases, students with special needs cannot cope in public schools hence the need for private schools.

If you think starting a private school business sounds like what you want to do. Then you may want to use the business plan below as a guide.

A Sample Private School Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

Private schools which is also known in the united states as independent schools, non-governmental, or non – state schools are schools that are not administered by either the local, state or the federal governments; hence, they have the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students tuition fees, rather than relying on mandatory taxation through public (government) funding.

Some private schools have structure in place that offer scholarships to some students, which makes the cost cheaper, depending on a talent such as sport scholarship, art scholarship, academic scholarship the student may be brining to the private school, financial need, or tax credit scholarships that might be available.

The Private Schools industry comprises of primary that is kindergarten through sixth grade and secondary that is seventh through 12th grade) educational institutions that are predominantly funded through enrollment and tuition fees from students and of course from other private sources.

Recent reports released by IBISWORLD shows that the revenue for the Private Schools industry is expected to increase, as the economy continues to recover. The indicated that during the five years to 2016, enrollment decreased, which was a trend attributable to rising costs and competition from charter schools.

However, going forward, in the next five years, household income is anticipated to increase, making it easier for families to afford private-school tuition. Additionally, enrollment declines will lesson, resulting in more stable demand for private schools

In the United States of America and of course in most countries of the world, The Private Schools industry is indeed a large and thriving industry. Statistics has it that The Private Schools industry in the United States of America, is worth $52 billion, with an estimated growth rate of 0.1 percent.

There are about 25,742 registered and licensed (accredited) Private schools scattered all around the United States of America and they are responsible for employing about 644,320 people.

Aside from Catholic schools, which is the second largest sector after government schools, with around 21 percent of secondary enrollments, no other private school can boast of dominating the market; every player in the industry can comfortably compete in the industry.

It is important to state that the barriers to entry into the Private Schools industry are high. As a matter of fact, the private school industry is an industry in which it is pretty difficult for new entrants to establish themselves. So also, the reputation of the private school is of utmost importance, as private schools that have a good history of getting students into prestigious colleges often have the best reputations hence good enrollments.

With this, it is obvious that a new entrant in to the private school industry cannot offer this. Reputation indeed is imperative to parents’ decisions when shopping for private school for their wards. This is so because the quality of education cannot be assessed until well after it is complete. As a major marketing tool, schools need to show parents a track record of admission to elite colleges and universities.

Even though this might seem like a saturated industry, the industry is still pretty much open for aspiring school proprietors and proprietress to still come in and compete. As a matter of fact, if you conduct your research and feasibility studies very well before starting your own private school couple with impressive profile of your faculty members, you are likely going to struggle less to make headway in the industry.

2. Executive Summary

Rolland Gyros International Private School is an international private school that will be located in a well – populated residential estate in Ashville – North Carolina, United States of America. We are a standard private school that is composed of primary (kindergarten through sixth grade) and secondary (seventh through 12th grade) educational institution that will be predominantly funded through tuition fees and levies from students and of course from other private sources.

Rolland Gyros International Private School is a client-focused and result driven private school that provides broad-based learning approaches and experience at an affordable fee that won’t in any way put a hole in the pockets of our clients (students and parents alike).

We will offer standard and professional teaching services in a highly secured and conducive learning environment to all our students that is primary (kindergarten through sixth grade) and secondary (seventh through 12th grade). We will ensure that we work hard to meet and surpass all our students’ expectations and educational goals whenever they enroll in our tutorial college.

At Rolland Gyros International Private School, our students’ overall best interest would always come first, and everything we do is guided by our values and professional ethics. We will ensure that we hire professional educationist cum teachers in various subjects who are well experienced and passionate in imparting knowledge to students at various learning ladder.

Rolland Gyros International Private School will at all time demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as an educational organization, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible.

We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our students’ needs precisely and completely. We will cultivate a working environment that provides a human, sustainable approach to earning a living, and living in our world, for our partners, employees and for our students.

We have plans to offer learning platforms to people with both learning disability and physical disability (especially the blind, the dumb and the deaf). Our overall business goal is to position our private school to become the leading tutorial brand in the educational industry in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina, and also to be amongst the top 30 private schools in the United States of America within the first 12 years of operations.

This might look too tall a dream but we are optimistic that this will surely come to pass because we have done our research and feasibility studies and we are enthusiastic and confident that Ashville is the right place to launch our private school.

Rolland Gyros International Private School is founded by Dr. (Mrs.) Irene Rolland Gyros and family. She is an educationist per excellence and she has won many awards in the education sector in the United States. Dr. (Mrs.) Irene Rolland Gyros has both the academic qualifications and experience to run a private school that can favorably compete with other leading private schools not only in Ashville – North Carolina, but also throughout the United States and Canada.

3. Our Products and Services

Rolland Gyros International Private School is going to offer varieties of educational services within the scope of the education board in the United States of America. Our intention of starting our private school is to soundly educate people in various subjects and of course to make profits from the education cum private schools industry and we will do all that is permitted by the law in the US to achieve our aim and business goal.

Our service offerings are listed below;

• Teaching basic literacy and numeracy
• Establishing foundations in science, mathematics, geography, history and other social sciences
• Constantly working hard to meet regulatory accreditation standards
• Administering private funding efforts
• Providing access to extracurricular activities
• Retailing of Educational Books and Materials

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision is to build a highly competitive private school that will become the number one choice for both parents and students in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina.
• Our vision reflects our values: integrity, service, excellence and teamwork.
• Our mission is to provide professional and conducive learning environment to students at different level of learning.
• Our overall business goal is to position Rolland Gyros International Private School to become the leading private school brand in the educational cum private school industry in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina, and also to be amongst the top 30 private schools in the United States of America within the first 12 years of operations.

Our Business Structure

It is a known fact that, the success of any business is to a larger extent dependent on the business structure of the organization and the people who occupy the available roles in the organization. Rolland Gyros International Private School will build a solid business structure that can support the growth of our private school.

We will ensure that we hire competent hands (teaching and non – teaching staff members) to help us build the private school of our dream. The fact that we want to become one of the leading private school brand in the industry in the whole of the United States of America makes it highly necessary for our organization to deliberately build a well – structured business from the onset.

We will work hard to ensure that we only attract people with the right mindset to help us achieve our business goals and objectives in record time. Below is the business structure that we will build Rolland Gyros International Private School;

• Head of The Private School(School Proprietress)

School Administrator

Tutors for Various Subjects – Secondary (seventh through 12th grade)

Tutors for Various Subjects – Primary (kindergarten through sixth grade)

• Accountant / Bursar
• Client Service Executive / Front Desk Officer

Security Officers

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Head of the Tutorial College / School Coordinator:

• Responsible for providing direction for the college
• Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for handling high profile clients and deals
• Responsible for fixing fees and signing business deals (partnership)
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the tutorial college
• Coordinates all arms of the tutorial school (tutorial center, adult education, home tutors and special education)
• Evaluates the success of the tutorial college
• Reports to the board of the tutorial college
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the tutorial school
• Designs job descriptions with KPI to drive performance management for tutors (teachers)
• Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders (parents and member of the school board) to review the effectiveness of the schools’ Policies, Procedures and Processes
• Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
• Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
• Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out staff induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Oversees the smooth running of the daily activities of the private school.
• Effectively teach subject / subjects as assigned by the school administrator
• Accesses the progress of students under their care
• Ensures that students abide by the rules and regulations of the private school
• Contributes his / her quota towards growing the private school
• Receives complaints from parents and channel it to the appropriate quarters
• Handle any other duty as assigned by the school administrator.
• Ensure that students abide by the rules and regulations of the school administrator
• Handles any other duty as assigned by the school administrator.

Marketing Executive

• Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new students, and business opportunities et al
• Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of development projects.
• Writes winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’ policy
• Responsible for handling business research, market surveys and feasibility studies for clients
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding increase sales
• Documents all customer contact and information
• Represents the company in strategic meetings
• Helps to increase sales and growth for the school

School Bursar (Accountant)

• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for Rolland Gyros International Private School
• Serves as internal auditor for Rolland Gyros International Private School

Client Service Executive

• Welcomes / receive parents and students by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
• Ensures that all contacts with parents and students (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the parents and students with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with parents and students on the phone, uses every opportunity to build parent’s interest in the schools’ products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the HR and Admin Manager in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to parents and students when they make enquiries
• Receives parcels / documents for Rolland Gyros International Private School
• Distribute mails in the organization
• Handles any other duties as assigned by the School Administrator.
• Responsible for cleaning the school facility at all times
• Ensures that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
• Cleans both the interior and exterior of the schools facility
• Handles any other duty as assigned by the school administrator
• Ensures that the school facility is secured at all time
• Controls traffic and organize parking
• Gives security tips to staff members from time to time
• Patrols around the building on a 24 hours basis
• Submits security reports weekly
• Any other duty as assigned by the school administrator

6. SWOT Analysis

Rolland Gyros International Private School engaged the services of a core professional in the area of business consulting and structuring with bias in the education sector to assist us in building a well – structured private school that can favorably compete in the highly competitive education cum private schools industry in the United States.

Part of what the team of business consultant did was to work with the management of our organization in conducting a SWOT analysis for Rolland Gyros International Private School. Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Rolland Gyros International Private School;

As a private school, our core strength lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team with excellent qualifications and experience in the educational sector. We are well positioned in a community with the right demography and we know we will attract loads of students from the first day we open our doors and welcome students for enrollment.

As a new private school in Ashville – North Carolina, it might take some time for our organization to break into the market and gain acceptance via reputation in the already saturated education cum private schools industry; that is perhaps our major weakness.

• Opportunities:

The opportunities in the education cum private schools industry is massive considering the number of parents who would want their wards to perform excellently well in their education and go ahead to be admitted in Ivy league colleges. As a standard and international private school, Rolland Gyros International Private School is ready to take advantage of any opportunity that comes her way.

Every business faces a threat or challenge at any part of the life cycle of the business. These threats can be external or internal. This shows the importance of a business plan, because most threats or challenges are to be anticipated and plans put in place to cushion what effect they might bring to the private school.

Some of the threats that we are likely going to face as a private school operating in the United States of America are unfavorable government policies that might affect private schools, the arrival of a competitor within our location of operations and global economic downturn which usually affects spending / purchasing power.

There is hardly anything we can do as regards these threats other than to be optimistic that things will continue to work for our good.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

The trend in the private school line of business is that the key to attracting students is the educational performance and the pass rate of their students in national exams. Any private school that has good records will always thrive. The demand for private schools is driven by the fact that most public cum government owned schools cannot accommodate every students or potential students in a given geographical location.

In some cases, students with special needs cannot cope in public schools hence the need for private schools. The economic downturn hasn’t really affected this industry, especially in countries that believe in the efficacy of education.

The areas you would need to spend heavily on is in ensuring that your school is up to standard, your advertisements, and on insurance policy cover. Lastly, it is trendier to find private schools engaging in extra – curricular activities and as a matter of fact, a private school that thrives in sports can leverage on that to attract students who are sports inclined.

8. Our Target Market

As a standard and international private school, Rolland Gyros International Private School is going to offer varieties of educational services within the scope of the education board in the United States of America. Our intention of starting our private school is to soundly educate people in various subjects and of course to make profits from the education cum private schools industry

Our target market as a private school cuts across people (students) of different class and people from different culture background whether African, White, Caucasian, Latinos, Indians, and Asians. We are coming into the education cum private schools industry with a business concept that will enable us work with the students at different learning stages residing in and around Ashville – North Carolina.

Our competitive advantage

Indeed the private schools industry is highly competitive and the entry barriers are high. As a matter of fact, the private school industry is an industry in which it is pretty difficult for new entrants to establish themselves. So also, the reputation of the private school is of utmost importance, as private schools that have a good history of getting students into prestigious colleges often have the best reputations hence good enrollments.

We are quite aware that to be highly competitive in the education cum private schools industry means that you should be able to deliver consistent quality service, your students should be able to experience remarkable difference and improvement and you should be able to meet the expectations of both students and parents alike.

Rolland Gyros International Private School might be a new entrant into the education cum private schools industry in the United States of America, but the management staffs and owners of the private school are considered gurus. They are people who are core professionals, licensed and highly qualified educationist / teachers at various levels of learning in the United States. These are part of what will count as a competitive advantage for us.

Lastly, our employees (teaching and non – teaching staff members) will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category (startups private school in the United States) in the industry meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our business aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Rolland Gyros International Private School is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the education cum private schools industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to attract students on a regular basis.

Rolland Gyros International Private School will generate income by offering the following tutorial services;

• Teaching High school students various subjects in our private school

10. Sales Forecast

One thing is certain, there would always be parents and students who would need the services of private schools to be able to achieve their educational goals and as such the services of private schools will always be needed.

We are well positioned to take on the available market in Ashville – North Carolina and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income / profits from the first six month of operations and grow the private school and our student base.

We have been able to critically examine the private schools cum education market in the United States of America and we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast.

The sales projection is based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to similar startups in Ashville – North Carolina. Below is the sales projection for Rolland Gyros International Private School, it is based on the location of our tutorial center and of course the wide range of tutorial services that we will be offering;

• First Fiscal Year-: $250,000
• Second Fiscal Year-: $450,000
• Third Fiscal Year-: $750,000

N.B : This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and natural disasters within the period stated above. So, there won’t be any major competitor (private school) offering same additional services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

We are mindful of the fact that there is stiffer competition amongst private schools in the United States of America; hence we have been able to hire some of the best marketing experts to handle our sales and marketing concerns. Our sales and marketing team will be recruited base on their vast experience in the industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall goal of the private school.

We will also ensure that our students’ excellent results from national exams and other exams speaks for us in the market place; we want to build a standard and first – class private school that will leverage on word of mouth advertisement from satisfied clients (both individuals and corporate organizations).

Our goal is to grow our private school to become one of the top 30 private schools in the United States of America which is why we have mapped out strategy that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with not only in Ashville – North Carolina but also in other cities in the United States of America.

Rolland Gyros International Private School is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;

• Introduce our private school by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to schools, parents / household and key stake holders in Ashville – North Carolina.
• Print out fliers and business cards and strategically drop them in schools, libraries and even student organizations.
• Creating a website, allows parents to be able to look you up, and also allows you to post general study tips, giving you an added advantage.
• Use friends and family to spread word about our private school
• Introduce Rolland Gyros International Private School to learning specialists, school coaches, school administrators, teachers, guidance counselors especially as they are with students everyday
• Post information about Rolland Gyros International Private School on bulletin boards in places like schools, libraries, and local coffee shops.
• Placing a small or classified advertisement in the newspaper, or local publication about Rolland Gyros International Private School
• Using tutorial referral networks such as agencies that will help match students with Rolland Gyros International Private School
• Joining relevant association or body that will enable you network and meet others in same industry.
• Advertising online by using an advertising platform such as Google Adwords, that will allow us place text advertisements alongside on websites with related contents, and along results from search engines.
• Advertise our private school in relevant educational magazines, newspapers, TV stations, and radio station.
• Attend relevant educational expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
• Engage direct marketing approach
• Encourage word of mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied clients

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We are aware of the potency of a good publicity strategy hence we have been able to work with our brand and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market.

We are set to become the number one choice for both parents and students in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our private school. Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise Rolland Gyros International Private School;

• Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community based events / programs
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
• Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations all around Ashville – North Carolina.
• Engage in road show from time to time in targeted neighborhoods in and around Ashville – North Carolina
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas in and around Ashville – North Carolina
• Passing general information via our school’s social media handles like twitter, Facebook, Google hangouts etc.
• Ensure that all our teaching and non – teaching staff members wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our schools’ logo et al.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Private schools in the United States of America and of course in all the parts of the world charge students per tem / per session and students have the options of either paying their tuitions before resumption or during the school session.

Private schools generally charge students based on loads of factors, locations, services offerings and extra – curricular activities et al At Rolland Gyros International Private School we will keep our fees below the average market rate for all of our students by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance.

In addition, we will also offer special discounted rates to all our students at regular intervals. We are aware that there are some students that would need special assistance, we will offer flat rate for such services that will be tailored to take care of such students’ needs.

• Payment Options

At Rolland Gyros International Private School, our payment policy will be all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them. Here are the payment options that we will make available to our clients;

• Payment by via bank transfer
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via bank draft
• Payment via mobile money
• Payment with cash

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our plans with little or no itches.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

In setting up a private school business, the amount or cost will depend on the approach and scale you want to undertake. If you intend to go big by acquiring a large facility, then you would need a higher amount of capital as you would need to ensure that your employees are taken care of, and that your private school’s environment is conducive enough for the students to learn.

This means that the start-up can either be low or high depending on your goals, vision and aspirations for your business. The materials and equipment that will be used are nearly the same cost everywhere, and any difference in prices would be minimal and can be overlooked.

As for the detailed cost analysis for starting a private school business; it might differ in other countries due to the value of their money. However, this is what it would cost us to start Rolland Gyros International Private School in the United of America;

• Business incorporating fees in the United States of America will cost – $750.
• The budget for Liability insurance, permits and license will cost – $3,500
• Acquiring a large facility that will accommodate the number of block of closes, playing field, staff offices and parking lots et al (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive) will cost – $350,000.
• Equipping the classes and office (computers, printers, projectors, markers, pens and pencils, furniture, telephones, filing cabinets, and electronics) will cost – $50,000
• Launching an official Website will cost – $500
• The budget for the payment of salaries for the first three months of operations: $120,000
• Additional Expenditure such as Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions will cost – $15,000

Going by the market survey and feasibility studies conducted, we came to the conclusion that we will need an average of $750,000 to start a small scale but standard private school in the United States of America.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Rolland Gyros International Private School

Rolland Gyros International Private School is a family business that will be owned and managed by Dr. (Mrs.) Irene Rolland Gyros and her immediate family. They are the sole financial of the private school which is why they decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital for the private school to just three major sources.

These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

• Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings and sale of his stocks
• Generate part of the start – up capital from friends and other extended family members
• Generate a larger chunk of the startup capital from the bank (loan facility).

N.B: We have been able to generate about $250,000 (Personal savings $200,000 and soft loan from family members $50,000 ) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $500,000 from our bank. All the papers and document has been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

It is a known fact that the future of any business lies in the numbers of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and of course the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business (company), then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.

One of our major goals of starting Rolland Gyros International Private School is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running.

We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers (students and parents alike) over is to ensure that we offer nothing less than the best, to offer quality education to all our students so much so that they can favorably compete with students all over the United States and gain admission to Ivy League colleges.

Rolland Gyros International Private School will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and re – training of our workforce is at the top burner of our business strategy.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more as determined by the board of the organization. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

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Business Plan & Budget

Documenting your vision.

A business plan is an essential part of the planning process, helping identify goals and metrics and your plan to achieve them.

• Starting with your objectives
• Business plan vs. a budget
• Business plan types
• Creating your business plan
• Creating your budget

Planning for Your New School

Your business plan and budget are important tools for two reasons:

First, before you invest your time, energy and money in opening a school, it is important that you have a plan for yourself that you can believe in. Opening any business is hard work and carries risk - schools are no exception! Having a plan can allow you to move forward with confidence.

Second, your plan can be helpful to help others understand how you expect to turn you vision from dream to reality. From recruiting staff to recruiting financial backing, a solid plan allows you to build confidence in others, too.

In this section we look at the fundamentals for school business plans and budgets, and how these are derived from your vision and objectives.

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Websites & Admissions

Starting with your objectives.

As Lewis Carroll so playfully points out: you need to first know where you want to go, and then you can build a plan to get there.

If you’ve not already started with the work outlined in the school identity section of this guide, now is a great time to review the topics on core values and mission. Once your core values and mission are clear, you can begin to set objectives by examining questions such as:

Who are the students and families you want to serve? There are any number of ways you might think about this: are you intending to provide services for an underserved population or a group with particular needs that aren’t being met in your community? Are you wanting to bring together families with a common interest or ideology, whether that is an academic focus, religious conviction, academic philosophy, or opportunity for particular experiences?

What is the ideal size for your program? Even knowing you won’t get there right away, do you ultimately want to remain a small community of 18 or 24, or does your objective require a population of 300 or 500 or 1000 students to support the diversity of programming, staff expertise and varies programs you’d like to offer?

What role do you want to create for yourself? This can be a particularly tricky question, but it is crucial to step back and consider as part of your plan. If your first love is working in the classroom, you should have a plan that allows you classroom time. That may mean splitting time between administrative tasks and a small class workload, or it could mean having a large enough enrollment to bring in a full-time administrator. If you are excited by strategy and operations, and enjoy building a team, recruiting parents, and overseeing the day-to-day running of the school, keep yourself in an administrative role. There are dozens of roles you might choose to play: why not use this opportunity to ensure you put yourself in your dream job?

Once you’ve worked through your objectives (and written them down!) you’re ready to move on and begin planning.

Business Plan vs. Budget

A common misconception is that a well-defined and detailed budget is essentially the same as a business plan. While a solid budget is an important component of a business plan, a true business plan looks beyond just the projected income and expenses to answer questions about both strategy and tactics. 

The Role of a Business Plan

Business plans can seem daunting if you’ve never had to write one before. It is a must-have document, though, as it serves as a road map for your new school. Although there are many things that are going to be a part of the business plan, it is there to explain what you hope to accomplish with your school and how you are going to accomplish it. Additionally, business plans serve as important documentation for financial institutions or investors to see whether your school is worth investing in.

The Role of a Budget

Budgets, on the other hand, are primarily internal documents you’ll use to track your income and expenses and determine where your spending should take place. If you need new textbooks or want to give someone a raise, your budget will guide you through your decisions and help you determine if you have the money to do so, or what you need to accomplish to make it happen.

Business Plan Types

Creating a business plan can take time, but the good thing is that they tend to follow a consistent format – so you can basically work from a template to create yours. There are two common approaches used today:

Traditional "Full" Business Plan

A traditional, full business plan tends to be comprehensive and detailed. Creation of a full business plan can be time consuming but going through the process will help identify areas of planning that you may not have considered, and the resulting plan should provide sufficient details to be used when talking with banks or investors. For full business plans, the US Small Business Administration has a great  step-by-step guide  that walks you through each section of your business plan, along with some examples to look at.

Start-Up "Lean" Business Plan

An alternate approach is the lean start-up plan, which is faster to write and focuses more on high-level plans and a few key elements. Lean plans can be a good place to start, with the assumption you will update and revise the plan frequently.  Particularly if soliciting funding, you may require additional time and detail later. Tim Berry, one of the leading experts on lean business plans, provides a good overview in his  What's a Lean Business Plan  article.

Creating Your Business Plan

There are lots of options for online business plan templates and most share a lot of common characteristics. There’s nothing wrong with picking one based on personal taste. Any of the following are excellent options as a starting point:

growthink (non-profit business plans)

Rocket Lawyer

My Own Business Institute

InvoiceBerry

US Small Business Administration

That there are many internet-based companies that offer business plan writing or editing, specifically. Here are just a few that you might want to check out:

Cayenne Consulting

Go Business Plans

Wise Business Plans

Many of the same companies that provide the business plan templates we highlighted are business consultants, not just business plan writers. Consultants can help you in your overall plans, particularly in areas where you may need guidance.

Professional organizations and associations for private schools, as well as your local chamber of commerce are also great resources for finding business consultants to assist you in creating your business plan and beyond.

Creating Your Budget

Understanding your costs.

The costs you’ll incur as a new school are really dependent on the choices you make in facilities and staffing. You’ll find a lot of useful information in those sections of this guide and they will help you get a clearer picture of the various expenses you’re going to face as you open up your school.

One of the great things about a budget is that, as long as you can easily read and understand it, the format isn’t going to make or break you. That said, staying organized and keeping track of everything takes a good system. One of the most popular methods is using a spreadsheet or system of spreadsheets to plan your income and expenses. Smartsheet has an excellent business budget template that you can modify to meet the needs of your school.

Once you are up and running, insight into actual income and expenses can be generated by your accounting software. Some accounting packages include budgeting tools as well, easing the work of comparing your plan to your actual numbers.

Tools to Assist With Budget Creation

Several excellent resources exist that can help you develop a budget, including:

The American Association of School Administrators has put together a  School Budgets 101  document that outlines common expenses and budgetary considerations for schools

The Guardian published  A beginner's guide to planning and managing school budgets in 2016, which explains several important budgeting principals.

Helping Educators Do the Work That Matters

Guide Quick-Nav

Introduction

We’ve developed these 10 topics to help you along the way. Take them all in at once, or start with the areas most relevant right now.

School Identity

There’s plenty you can do to develop your own brand, starting right from your personal ideals and goals for your school.

Our curriculum pages include ideas on where to go to find materials, and different associations and educational models you may want to consider.

Legal & Operating Requirements

You need to know the requirements at both the federal level and for your state. Here are the basic details for every state.

Funding & Finance

Here we share ideas for possible funding sources, and ways you might be able to start with less than you thought necessary.

Having a plan for how you’ll operate and a budget to predict and allocate funds is critical for all businesses, schools included. We’ve pulled together resources here to help with both.

What facilities are right for your school? We encourage new schools to get creative, and have compiled some considerations to take into account.

How can you find and recruit the right talent for your school? What qualifications or certifications are required?

Policies & Procedures

Thinking about more than just a student handbook and conduct code, we've included recommendations & templates to help you develop your school policies & procedures

Marketing & Online Presence

Associations

School Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

School Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your school business plan.

We have helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their schools.

Sample Private School Business Plan

Below is a school business plan template to help you create each section of your own education business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Southside Academy, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a private school that has been providing quality education to the community’s school children since 2017. Southside Academy teaches elementary, middle school, and high school students in a wide range of subjects including mathematics, science, and history. We aim to provide a welcoming and inviting environment where every student can reach their highest potential.

We promote academic, artistic, and athletic excellence in a close-knit learning environment, with a challenging curriculum that cultivates intellectual curiosity. Furthermore, we offer a low teacher-to-child ratio, where teachers can build close connections with their students as they help them excel. We develop confident, continual learners by establishing behavioral supports and the social culture needed for students to achieve social, emotional, and academic success.

Service Offering

Southside Academy offers a premium private education at an affordable tuition fee. We provide a challenging education where students can explore their true potential and a safe space where they can freely discover and express themselves. Our students range from 1st grade to 12th grade and we teach a wide variety of subjects including:

• Basic Mathematics
• Physical Education

Customer Focus

Southside Academy primarily serves families within a 5-mile radius of the school’s location. The area is home to thousands of middle and upper-class families looking for high-quality education for their children. Before the school was built, the area was underserved and many children had to travel far to attend quality private schools.

Management Team

Southside Academy’s founder is Mike Brown who has been working as a teacher for more than 20 years. Mike has taught at several public schools in the region but saw a great demand for private education. He noticed that the current location of the school was underserved and set out to create a school to serve this population. Mike Brown has successfully led Southside Academy as its principal since the school’s inception and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Mike Brown is supported by a team that has experience teaching students, managing finances, and running businesses. Specifically, our team has solid experience in being effective teachers, connecting to different types of students, and achieving key goals.

Success Factors

Southside Academy is able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Location: Southside Academy’s location is near the center of town, giving members of our community easy access for parents and their children.
• Passionate and Skillful Teachers: Southside Academy hires teachers with strong academic backgrounds who are skillful in handling all types of children.
• Low teacher-to-student ratio: We provide a low teacher-to-student ratio so that every student gets personal attention from teachers to reach their highest potential.
• Affordable, quality education: Most of the schools in the area offer their services at a very expensive price. Our fees will be moderately low so that good education is accessible to all families.

Financial Highlights

Southside Academy is currently seeking additional donations of $600,000 in order to fulfill our mission. The breakdown of the funding may be seen below:

• Salaries: $200,000
• School Materials (books, toys, desks, chairs, etc): $180,000
• Administrative Expenses: $120,000 to pay for lease costs, ongoing operational expenses, and marketing.
• Working capital: $100,000

The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for Southside Academy.

Company Overview

Who is southside academy, southside academy’s history.

Southside Academy started as an idea from a group of school teachers, including Mike Brown. The teachers were university pals who are passionate about teaching and children. They have seen the gaps in education in St. Paul, Minnesota, and wanted to create a school that elevates the academic environment for the children of this area.

Their plans to build a school started in 2015, but it was only until April 2016 that they finally completed all the paperwork and met the legal requirements. Since then, Southside Academy has achieved the following milestones:

• Found a location and built the school
• Developed the school’s name, logo, and website
• Determined curriculum
• Hired teachers and other key employees

Southside Academy’s Services

Industry analysis.

Education is an essential foundation for a thriving society. It’s more important than ever before that every child has access to affordable, high-quality education. While public schools are an essential option for many low-income families, the education provided by private schools often results in higher test scores and more students moving on to top-tier universities.

The private school industry has experienced steady growth in the past five years. The key industry drivers are economic growth, the rise in numbers of K-12 students, an increase in the number of families with both parents working, and government initiatives to support education.

According to Polaris Market Research, this growth is expected to continue with a forecasted compound annual growth rate of 6.6% from now until 2030. This shows that Southside Academy has great potential to keep growing and expanding. We will have ample opportunities to grow our curriculum and offer services to students that help them reach their highest potential.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

Southside Academy serves the families and children of St. Paul, Minnesota. The area is mostly populated by young couples and new families that have disposable income and can pay a premium for their children’s education.

The precise demographics of the town in which our location resides are as follows:

Customer Segmentation

We primarily target the following three customer segments:

• Young children
• Young couples

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Southside Academy faces competition from other schools with similar profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.  

Waters Independent School

Founded in 1968, Waters Independent School is a non-profit and tax-exempt independent school system. The school is governed by an independent Board of Trustees and offers preschool through eighth-grade programs. WIS is accredited by the state’s Council of Independent Schools (FCIS).

Waters Independent School has small class sizes with low student-to-teacher ratios. Further, WIS’ Programs include a strong academic foundation coupled with programs in the arts, physical education, media/technology, foreign language, and extracurricular areas.  

Hill Preparatory School

Founded in 1923, Hill Preparatory School is a private, non-sectarian, coeducational, college preparatory day school. It offers PK-12 programs in a safe, student-centered environment. HPS supports its students through the challenges of the school year with one-on-one attention from dedicated faculty, robust services like The Learning Center and the College Center, and the most advanced educational technology. The campus spans 28 acres and has a new 60,000+ square foot facility.  

Future Leaders Preparatory School

Founded in 1968, Future Leaders Prep is a private school for PreK3-8th grade. FLPS offers preschool, elementary school, and middle school programs and offers the International Baccalaureate program of study for all students. Teachers are endorsed in gifted education through a master’s level grant with [local University]’s College of Education Gifted Program. In addition to the school, Future Leaders offers community programs such as music, dance, art, and theater lessons through the Community School of the Arts, youth sports in the Community School for Sports, and the 7-week summer camp.

Competitive Advantage

There are many schools in St. Paul, Minnesota but none of them provides the same quality of education that Southside Academy provides, specifically the following:

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

The Southside Academy brand will focus on the school’s unique value proposition:

• Providing premium education at an affordable price
• Providing a supportive and challenging place for children to learn
• Giving parents the assurance that their children will reach their full potential

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Southside Academy is as follows:

Social Media

Southside Academy will invest heavily in a social media advertising campaign. The school will utilize social media accounts and invest in ads on all social media platforms. It will use targeted marketing to appeal to the target demographics.

Publications

The school will place print advertisements in key local publications, including newspapers, area magazines, and business newsletters. Additionally, Southside Academy will print brochures and place them in specific locations frequented by target individuals.

Website/SEO

Southside Academy will invest heavily in developing a professional website that displays all of the features and benefits of Southside Academy. It will also invest heavily in SEO so that the school’s website will appear at the top of search engine results.

Direct Mail

Southside Academy will blanket neighborhoods with direct mail pieces. These pieces will provide general information on Southside Academy and incentives to enroll.

Southside Academy prices its tuition at a moderate price so our students and their families feel they are getting great value when choosing our school.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for Southside Academy.

Operation Functions:

• Mike Brown is the school Principal. He manages the teachers, directs the direction of education, and serves as the head of the school.
• Mike is joined by Amanda Johnson who acts as the Administrative Assistant for the school. She helps Mike with the operations of the school as well as the marketing and administrative functions.
• Mike has hired an extensive team of highly qualified educators. Together, they teach dozens of subjects, including biology, chemistry, social studies, and mathematics. Every teacher that works for Southside Academy is passionate about education and pushing their students to reach their highest potential.

Milestones:

Southside Academy expects to achieve the following milestones in the following six months:

• 3/202X Kickoff of promotional campaign to attract new students
• 4/202X Start donation campaign
• 5/202X Hire new teachers for the upcoming year
• 6/202X Achieve donation/funding goal
• 7/202X Finalize list of incoming students for next year
• 8/202X Start next school year

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

Southside Academy’s revenues come from student tuition fees and donations from both individuals and corporations.

The major costs for the company will be staffing, marketing expenses, location maintenance, equipment, and materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Southside Academy is currently seeking additional fundraising and capital of $600,000 in order to fulfill our mission. The breakdown of the funding may be seen below:

Key Assumptions

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and to pay off the startup business loan.

• Year 1: 200
• Year 2: 300
• Year 3: 400
• Year 4: 500
• Year 5: 600
• Tuition rate per year: $10,000

Financial Statements

Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, school business plan faqs, what is a school business plan.

A school business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your school business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can easily complete your School business plan using our School Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of School Businesses?

There are a number of different kinds of school businesses, some examples include: private K-12 school, charter school, virtual schools, independent schools, primary school, secondary education, or preschool.

How Do You Get Funding for Your School Business Plan?

School businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

What are the Steps To Start a School Business?

Starting a school business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop A School Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed school business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.  

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your school business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your school business is in compliance with local laws.

3, Register Your School Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your school business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws.

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your school business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 

7. Acquire Necessary School Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your school business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your school business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising. 

Learn more about how to start a successful school business:

• How to Start a School

Other Helpful Business Plan Templates

Nonprofit Business Plan Template

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• How to Write a Business Plan for Starting a School – 6 Steps

Every kind of business, regardless of its size, needs thorough planning to ensure success in the long run. According to research stated in BPlans.com, some 11,046 companies had excellent business performance due to extensive planning. Another study also found on the same site shows that businesses that do thorough planning grow 30% faster than others that don’t. As you can see, planning is indeed an essential element in running a business.

Download this Free How to Write a Business Plan for Starting a School - 6 Steps Article in PDF

Start with the executive summary, state your vision and goals, integrate your market analysis, talk about your school’s possible locations, elaborate on your financial strategies, explain your action plan in detail, more in school, business plan layout template, business plan guidelines template, one page business plan template, basic business financial plan template, simple startup business plan template, business plan executive summary template, market analysis template in business plan, business plan startup cost template, small business plan financial template, business plan chart template.

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How to Start a School

Starting Your Own School

Anyone can start a school. All you need is an idea and the drive to make it happen. But there are a few things you need to know before you get started. In this article, we will outline the steps you need to take, the permits and licenses you need, and how to find funding.

Importantly, a critical step in starting a school is to complete your business plan. To help you out, you should download Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template here .

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here

14 Steps to Starting a School

Choose the name for your school.

The first step to starting a new school is to choose your school’s business name.

This is a very important choice since your business name is your brand and will last for the lifetime of your business. Ideally you choose a name that is meaningful and memorable. Here are some tips for choosing a name for your school:

• Make sure the name is available . Check your desired name against trademark databases and your state’s list of registered business names to see if it’s available. Also check to see if a suitable domain name is available.
• Keep it simple . The best names are usually ones that are easy to remember, pronounce and spell.
• Think about marketing . Come up with a name that reflects the desired brand and/or focus of your school.

Develop Your School Business Plan

One of the most important steps in starting a school is to develop your business plan. The purpose of a business plan is to ensure that you fully understand your market and your strategy. The plan also provides you with a roadmap to follow and if needed, to present to funding sources to raise capital for your school.

Your business plan should include the following sections:

• Executive Summary – this section should summarize your entire business plan so readers can quickly understand the key details of your school.
• Company Overview – this section tells the reader about the history of your school and what type of school you operate. For example, are you a private school, religious school, charter school, boarding school, Montessori school, or a type of trade school such as a cosmetology school or welding school? You should also include information about the grade levels of your students.
• Industry Analysis – here you will document key information about the education industry. Conduct market research and document how big the industry is and what trends are affecting it.
• Customer Analysis – in this section, you will document who your ideal or target students are and their demographics. For example, how old are they? Where do they live? What do they find important when paying for educational services like the ones you will offer?
• Competitive Analysis – here you will document the key direct and indirect competitors you will face and how you will build competitive advantage ({i.e., small class size, new facilities, low tuition fees, unique mission or curriculum, etc.)
• Marketing Plan – your marketing plan should address the 4Ps: Product, Price, Promotions and Place.
• Product : Determine and document what products/services you will offer
• Prices : Document the prices of your products/services
• Place : Where will your school be located and how will that location help you increase sales?
• Promotions : What promotional methods will you use to attract students to your school? For example, you might decide to use pay-per-click advertising, public relations, search engine optimization and/or social media marketing.
• Operations Plan – here you will determine the key processes you will need to run your day-to-day operations. You will also determine your staffing and faculty needs. Finally, in this section of your plan, you will create a projected growth timeline showing the milestones you hope to achieve in the coming years.
• Administrative Team – this section details the background and key qualifications of your school’s administrative team, key staff members and faculty members and their job descriptions.
• Financial Plan – finally, the financial plan answers questions including the following:
• What startup costs will you incur?
• How will your school make money?
• What are your projected sales and expenses for the next five years?
• Do you need to raise funding to launch your school?

Choose the Legal Structure for Your School

Next you need to choose a legal structure for your school and register it and your business name with the Secretary of State in each state where you operate your school.

Below are the five most common legal structures:

1) Sole proprietorship

A sole proprietorship is a business entity in which the owner of the school and the business are the same legal person. The owner of a sole proprietorship is responsible for all debts and obligations of the business. There are no formalities required to establish a sole proprietorship, and it is easy to set up and operate. The main advantage of a sole proprietorship is that it is simple and inexpensive to establish. The main disadvantage is that the owner is liable for all debts and obligations of the business.

2) Partnerships

A partnership is a legal structure that is popular among small businesses. It is an agreement between two or more people who want to start a school together. The partners share in the profits and losses of the business.

The advantages of a partnership are that it is easy to set up, and the partners share in the profits and losses of the business. The disadvantages of a partnership are that the partners are jointly liable for the debts of the business, and disagreements between partners can be difficult to resolve.

3) Limited Liability Company (LLC)

A limited liability company, or LLC, is a type of business entity that provides limited liability to its owners. This means that the owners of an LLC are not personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of the business. The advantages of an LLC for a school include flexibility in management, pass-through taxation (avoids double taxation as explained below), and limited personal liability. The disadvantages of an LLC include lack of availability in some states and self-employment taxes.

4) C Corporation

A C Corporation is a business entity that is separate from its owners. It has its own tax ID and can have shareholders. The main advantage of a C Corporation for a school is that it offers limited liability to its owners. This means that the owners are not personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of the business. The disadvantage is that C Corporations are subject to double taxation. This means that the corporation pays taxes on its profits, and the shareholders also pay taxes on their dividends.

5) S Corporation

An S Corporation is a type of corporation that provides its owners with limited liability protection and allows them to pass their business income through to their personal income tax returns, thus avoiding double taxation. There are several limitations on S Corporations including the number of shareholders they can have among others.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

Secure startup funding for your school (if needed).

In developing your business plan, you might have determined that you need to raise funding to launch your new school.

Secure a Location for Your School

Having the right space can be important for your school, particularly if you’d like to meet clients there.

To find the right physical space, consider:

• Driving around to find the right areas while looking for “for lease” signs
• Contacting a commercial real estate agent
• Doing commercial real estate searches online
• Telling others about your needs and seeing if someone in your network has a connection that can help you find the right space

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Register Your School with the IRS

Next, you need to register your school with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which will result in the IRS issuing you an Employer Identification Number (EIN).

Most banks will require you to have an EIN in order to open up an account. In addition, in order to hire employees, you will need an EIN since that is how the IRS tracks your payroll tax payments.

Open a Business Bank Account

It is important to establish a bank account in your school’s name. This process is fairly simple and involves the following steps:

• Identify and contact the bank you want to use
• Gather and present the required documents (generally include your company’s Articles of Incorporation, driver’s license or passport, and proof of address)
• Complete the bank’s application form and provide all relevant information
• Meet with a banker to discuss your school’s needs and establish a relationship with them

Get a Business Credit Card

You should get a business credit card for your school to help you separate personal and school-related expenses.

You can either apply for a business credit card through your bank or apply for one through a credit card company.

When you’re applying for a business credit card, you’ll need to provide some information about your school. This includes the name of your school, the address of your school, and the type of school you’re running. You’ll also need to provide some information about yourself, including your name, Social Security number, and date of birth.

Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits

Every state, county and city has different business license and permit requirements.

Nearly all states, counties and/or cities have license requirements including:

• General Business License : getting your Articles of Incorporation as discussed above
• Sales Tax License or Tax-Exempt Status : for selling products and/or taxable services or to establish if you are a nonprofit organization
• Zoning Approval : typically at the city or county level, this provides authorization for construction or use of a school building or land for a particular purpose
• Food Service, Processing and/or Warehouse Licensing : to ensure safe food preparation
• Health Facility Licensing & Certification : to ensure safe rendering of healthcare services
• Fire Department Approval : a process by which the local fire department reviews and approves the installation of a fire alarm system.

Get Business Insurance for Your School

Other business insurance policies that you should consider for your school include:

• General liability insurance : This covers accidents and injuries that occur on your property. It also covers damages caused by your employees or products.
• Commercial auto insurance : If a vehicle is used in your business, this type of insurance will cover if a vehicle is damaged or stolen.
• Workers’ compensation insurance : If you have employees, this type of policy works with your general liability policy to protect against workplace injuries and accidents. It also covers medical expenses and lost wages.
• Commercial property insurance : This covers damage to your property caused by fire, theft, or vandalism.
• Business interruption insurance : This covers lost income and expenses if your business is forced to close due to a covered event.
• Professional liability insurance : This protects your school against claims of professional negligence.

Buy or Lease the Right School Equipment

The equipment and tools you need will depend on the type of school you start. In general, you will need to buy or lease:

• Classroom furniture and equipment, such as desks, chairs, measuring tools and other items that are necessary for your students
• Lab instruments and equipment, such as microscopes, telescopes, beakers and other supplies that are required to perform experiments in science classes
• Teaching aids for your elementary school teachers
• Office equipment, including computers, printers and other tools that are useful for administration
• Laptop or desktop computers for your students to use in the classroom

Develop Your School Marketing Materials

Marketing materials will be required to attract and retain students to your school.

The key marketing materials you will need are as follows:

• Logo : Spend some time developing a good logo for your school. Your logo will be printed on company stationery, business cards, marketing materials and so forth. The right logo can increase customer trust and awareness of your brand.
• Website : Likewise, a professional school website provides potential students with information about the products and/or services you offer, your company’s history, and contact information. Importantly, remember that the look and feel of your website will affect how students and families perceive your school.
• Social Media Accounts : establish social media accounts in your company’s name. Accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and/or other social media networks will help students and others find and interact with your school.

Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your School

Most schools need accounting software and student information systems to manage and track their student enrollment, grades, and schedules.

For accounting, you will need software that can generate invoices and track inventory and expenses. Your software should also allow you to create purchase orders and track vendor discounts. While there are many different software options available, some of the most popular programs for accounting include QuickBooks and Xero.

Most schools require their teachers to use a student information system (SIS). An SIS is a centralized database that manages class rosters, attendance records, grades, and more.

The right SIS will make your job as a school administrator easier, improve the efficiency of record keeping and reporting, and provide valuable insights into your students’ learning experiences.

Open for Learning

How much does it cost to start a school.

In general, the costs for starting a new school can range from $200,000 to $1,000,000 depending on the type of school you are starting.

The cost of starting a school will generally include:

• Inventory and equipment rentals for traditional lab-based classes
• Curriculum design and books
• Marketing expenses
• Licenses and permits
• Business insurance
• Administrative overhead (salaries for your administration team, staff and faculty, computers, software licenses)

How to Finish Your Business Plan in 1 Day!

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your business plan?

With Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

5 Steps to Start a School-based Enterprise

School-based enterprises (SBEs) are effective educational tools to prepare students for college and career readiness. For many students, their work in an SBE is their first work experience; for others, it is an opportunity to build management, supervision and leadership skills. An SBE can be an essential part of the curriculum since the enterprise's primary function is to be an educational lab where marketing, finance, hospitality, business management, and entrepreneurial curriculums are put into practice.

Are you ready to get started? Follow these five steps to bring an SBE to your school.

1. CONDUCT MARKET RESEARCH

Market research blends consumer behavior and economic trends to confirm and improve your business idea. It is crucial to understand your consumer base from the outset. Market research lets you reduce risks even while your business is still just a gleam in your eye. Gather demographic information to better understand opportunities and limitations for gaining customers. This could include population data on age, wealth, family, interests, or anything else that is relevant for your business.

Then answer these questions to get a good sense of your market.

• Demand – Is there a desire for your product or service?
• Market Size – How many people would be interested in your offering?
• Economic Indicators – What is the income range and employment rate?
• Location – Where do your customers live and where can your business reach?
• Market Saturation – How many similar options are already available to consumers?
• Pricing – What do potential customers pay for these alternatives?

You will also want to keep up with the latest small business trends. It is important to gain a sense of the specific market share that will impact your profits. You can do market research using existing sources or research yourself and go direct to consumers (students at your school).

Existing sources can save you a lot of time and energy, but the information might not be as specific to your audience as you would like. Use it to answer general and quantifiable questions, like industry trends, demographics, and household incomes. Check online or start with our list of market research resources.

Asking consumers yourself can give you a nuanced understanding of your specific target audience. But, direct research can be time-consuming and expensive. Use it to answer questions about your particular business or customers, like reactions to your logo, improvements you could make to the buying experience, and where customers might go instead of your business.

Here are a few methods you can use to do direct research:

• Questionnaires
• Focus groups
• In-depth interviews

2. CREATE A BUSINESS PLAN

An effective business plan will give you a "sneak preview" of your venture's potential success. A realistic business plan will give you and your students great insight into your school-based enterprise's future success.

A business plan is a written document that clearly defines a business's goals and outlines the methods for achieving them. The business plan describes what a business does, how it will be done, who has to do it, where it will be done, why it is being done and when it has to be done. Most importantly, the business plan will tell you if your ideas make sound fiscal sense.

Below is an outline for a start-up business plan.

• Executive Summary – One-page summary of the business model
• Problem – List the top three problems your product/service is addressing
• Customer Segments – Who are the target customers?
• Unique Value Proposition – What is the single, clear, compelling message stating why your product/service is different and worth buying?
• Solutions – What are the top three features of your product/service? ‍
• Channels – What are the pathways to customers? ‍
• Revenue Streams – What is the revenue model and what are the lifetime values? What is the revenue and the gross margin?
• Cost Structure – What are the customer acquisition costs, distribution costs, human resources costs and other additional costs?
• Key Metrics – What are the key activities that must be measured?
• Competitive Advantage – What about your product/service means that it cannot be easily copied or bought?
• Conclusion – Specific request for financing, summary of key points supporting the financial request
• Bibliography
• Appendix – An appendix is optional. Include exhibits appropriate for the written entry, but not important enough to include in the body. These might consist of sample questionnaires used, letters sent and received, general background data, or minutes of meetings.

Creating a business plan offers numerous and unlimited ventures for use in your classroom. Connect to DECA's guiding principle of applying learning to provide meaningful and realistic educational opportunities. Related activities are virtually endless for the creative teacher as each topic in the business plan offers numerous assignments and will give a chance to apply learning for your students.

3. GET SCHOOL SUPPORT

Your business plan will help you figure out how much money you will need to start your business. If you do not have that amount on hand, you'll need to either raise or borrow the capital. Use the steps below to request support and funds from your school administration.

• Identify the purpose and goals of the school-based enterprise.
• Share your business plan.
• Identify the ideal SBE location.
• Share a breakdown of your start-up costs, including equipment, product and any refurbishing the identified location may need.
• Identify your accounting system and bookkeeping procedures.
• Discuss how revenues will be used.
• Address store security concerns and precautions.
• Identify the organizational structure and employee responsibilities.
• Share employee training plans.
• Share your proposed timeline for opening the SBE.

4. Apply for Licenses

Business activities that are commonly regulated locally include restaurants, retail and vending machines. Some licenses and permits expire after a set period of time. Keep track of when you need to renew them — it is often easier to renew than apply for a new one.

You will have to research your state, county, and city regulations. Industry requirements often vary by state. Visit your state's website to find out which permits and licenses you need. You will need to work closely with your administration to determine policies, procedures and guidelines for your district/school, especially for SBES focusing on food operations.

5. CONNECT TO AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE

An advisory committee should provide the school-based enterprise will realistic suggestions as to the store policies, procedures, equipment, and facility needs and usage. Their input on how to provide the best possible learning experience for students would be provided through their expertise and knowledge. The advisory committee for your SBE could also connect to an established school advisory committee for your program.

Congratulations, now you are ready to open your doors!

For more detailed information, this comprehensive guide for managing an SBE covers all facets of starting and managing a school-based enterprise. Whether you are already operating an SBE, or are considering implementing one in your school, this guide covers all the key topics vital to the success of an SBE, such as writing the business plan, holding job interviews, establishing operating policies and procedures, etc. Utilizing this guide will help build a solid framework for opening an SBE learning lab or will help existing SBEs refine their procedures to ensure the continued success of the SBE not only as a business but also a relevant extension of classroom instruction.

Debbie Taylor is DECA's leadership manager. In this role, she implements a comprehensive student leadership program for both the high school and college divisions. She is responsible for the Emerging Leader Series, student recognition programs and leads the DECA Inc. executive officer teams and elections.

Discussion Questions

Classroom connection, career cluster:, instructional area(s):, performance indicators:.

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DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe.

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How to Create a Business at School

Last Updated: November 3, 2023 Approved

This article was co-authored by Helena Ronis . Helena Ronis is Co-founder and CEO of AllFactors, a unified web analytics software to drive company's marketing and business growth. She has worked in product and marketing in the tech industry for over 8 years, and studied Digital Marketing & Analytics at the MIT Sloan School of Management Executive Program. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 85% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 114,832 times.

Schools are often a good place to learn and increase your knowledge about commerce and trade. Whatever level of school you’re at – primary, secondary, undergraduate or graduate – there are a lot of opportunities to make money. Not only do you have a captive audience in other students, but other students will generally have some money to spend in the form of allowances, stipends, or financial aid. If school rules permit, it might be possible to sell sweets, chocolate, or any kind of product your fellow students might be interested in, and you might have found a way to increase your pocket change.

Identifying Your Market Niche

• Games, toys, or collectables.
• Information like study guides.
• Services like tutoring or dog walking. [1] X Research source

• A low price means more potential customers.
• A larger customer base means higher profits at a lower margin.
• If you do pick a higher price point or more premium goods or services, make sure that the margin or markup is high enough to make it worth the fact that you’ll be relying on a much smaller pool of potential customers. [2] X Research source

• Going with a high volume, low margin product. This might include candy, food, or similar items. These are items that you won’t make too much money on, but that people will buy repeatedly from you, possibly several times a week.
• Picking a low volume, high margin product. This could include tennis shoes, collectables, or clothes. These are items you’ll only sell a few of, but you’ll make decent money selling them.
• Selling a number of things that are “hot.” There might be a new toy, game, or electronic that everyone wants for Christmas but is sold out in your area. If you have the ability and resources, you can travel to a neighboring city and purchase these products there. Then, at home, you can resell them to people at school.
• Offering a service, like tutoring or something similar, that will gain you reliable and repeat customers. [3] X Research source

• Don’t limit yourself to just selling products out of your backpack.
• Consider selling information, like notes, test-tips, or similar services.
• Consider creating a webpage that offers a novel service if you’re in a school that is large enough. [4] X Research source

• If you’re offering a good or service on a college campus, you should contact the appropriate authority on campus to see if you can exchange goods or services on campus.
• Consider advertising at school, but exchanging money for goods or services elsewhere. This might enable you to get around any rules or regulations your college or school might have.
• Make sure you don’t need a business license to operate. In many places, you can do a certain amount of business (under a certain dollar figure) without actually having to apply for a business license. However, if your business is successful and you want to expand, you might need to apply for a license.

Building Your Business

• If you’re selling a product, make sure you have enough on hand to meet daily or weekly demand without investing too much money in stock that you might not sell if your business fails.
• You should be very cautious at first before you know the market and specific demand for your product. Don’t over invest – you might wind up eating those 500 candy bars instead of selling them.
• If you’re offering a service, like tutoring or mowing lawns, you need to figure out the maximum amount of time you can devote to your business. You definitely have other obligations, so don’t over-extend yourself.
• If you think you’ll be booked up right away, consider hiring someone else to share the work with. [5] X Research source

• Price your product or service competitively with others who offer the same product or service.
• If you think your product or service is better, price it somewhat higher, but make sure you can communicate to customers why your product or service is better than that of the competition.
• Keep cost and profit in mind. [6] X Research source

• Compiling a list of potential vendors for the product you want to buy, then calling them to see who sells cheaper.
• Traveling outside your city to buy your products at wholesale pricing.
• Ordering your products from an internet wholesaler. [7] X Research source

• Practice offering your service to someone. If you’ll be tutoring, tutor a friend a couple of times so you’ve worked out the kinks in your tutoring approach. If you’ll be offering dog walking or lawn care services to your peers parents, practice those services before you even have your first customer.
• Make sure you’ve sat down and thought about all the questions potential customers might have about your service. You don’t want to be left not being able to answer a question from a potential customer.
• If you have one, check out your website and test it for kinks. If you’re doing something web-based, make sure you’ve tested your website several times before opening it to the public. Invite all of your friends and family on to the website as testers. Chances are, they’ll find something you might not have thought about. [9] X Research source

Doing Business and Dealing With Customers

• Print off flyers and pass them out to your friends and peers at school. Make sure that this is okay with the school authorities before you do this.
• Put up posters or flyers on designated advertising boards at your school or on your campus. Often times, schools and colleges will designate certain areas for the posting of advertisements. Post your flyers there.
• Advertise your business through word of mouth. Tell everyone about the service your offering or the product you’re selling. After all, it might be your friends and the people you see every day who wind up making up your customer base. Rely on these people, and ask them to tell others they know.
• Promote your business on social media. Use social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to advertise your business. This will probably help you get the word out the quickest, especially if you have friends promoting your business for you. [10] X Research source

• Go to the bank and get plenty of cents, quarters, dimes and nickels.
• You don't want to be given a $5 bill, and not have the change.
• To avoid the problem of change, try to price your product in a way that will make it easier for people to pay. Avoid selling a candy bar for 95 cents when you can charge a dollar. Don’t sell something for $4.35 when you can sell it for $4 or $4.50.

• Never carry more money than you need on any given day.
• If you’ve had a lucrative morning, lunch period, or afternoon, deposit excess money somewhere safe if you can. At the very least, separate larger bills from smaller bills and put them somewhere different than where you keep your change.
• Don’t keep your change in your wallet or purse. Make sure you have something specific, like a money pouch that you use to hold the money you’ll need for your business.
• Don’t flash your money around or tell your friends or anyone else how much you make every day. The less people know, the better.
• If someone tries to rob you, don’t fight them. It’s better to lose a day’s worth of money than to have a trip to the hospital or infirmary. [11] X Research source

• Do the math on faulty products. How often do you expect to sell something that unbeknownst to you is broken or spoiled? In the course of normal business, you will definitely come across customers who will come to you wanting a refund for something that is “not right.”
• If it makes economic sense, offer your customers a replacement and a refund. This will make them extremely happy, and chances are they’ll come back to you again.
• Always apologize and never blame the customer. Arguing or being rude to your customer will just lose you business.
• Accept feedback and ask for feedback. No matter whether your customer is offering negative or positive feedback, you should accept it and try to internalize it. Also, if you have regular customers, ask them for feedback about how you can better serve them.

Expert Q&A

• Don't reveal too much about your business to your customers. Don't reveal where you bought your items, how much you paid for them, or how much profit you're making. Thanks Helpful 3 Not Helpful 0
• Consider this a serious business. You could learn a lot of things that will come in useful when you set up a real business later in life. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• Be prepared for competition. If someone sells the same products as you for a cheaper price, lower your prices, but never dip below your cost ever. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

Tips from our Readers

• Maybe ask the principal and offer 10% to the school. If the principal says yes, it's more likely that teachers will buy from you and you will have even more money. Plus if you are doing it without permission, someone is going to tell and you may get in trouble.
• Don't let teachers see you because you could get in big trouble at some schools—especially elementary schools. Ask permission before you start selling items.
• Buy items from the store when they are half off. That way you can earn more money.
• Try making your product instead of buying it. That way you can make more money.
• Make and sell slime! Its really easy to make and trust me everyone loves slime!!!

• Track your money carefully and don’t mix it with your personal money. Thanks Helpful 47 Not Helpful 3
• Don't eat your inventory. Thanks Helpful 220 Not Helpful 30
• Don't do this without asking for permission from your parents and your school. Thanks Helpful 118 Not Helpful 81

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/78778
• ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/michellegreenwald/2015/01/12/top-11-innovative-products-and-services-of-2014/#55e31edc492f
• ↑ http://www.infoentrepreneurs.org/en/guides/price-your-product-or-service/
• ↑ http://www.businessinsider.com/are-you-really-getting-a-better-value-when-you-buy-in-bulk-2011-10
• ↑ https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2287002/website-launch-checklist-25-things-to-test-before-your-site-goes-live
• ↑ http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/slideshows/10-inexpensive-ways-to-advertise-your-small-business.html
• ↑ http://articles.latimes.com/1992-09-28/local/me-206_1_street-vendors .

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How to Write a Business Plan: Step-by-Step Guide + Examples

Noah Parsons

24 min. read

Updated March 18, 2024

Writing a business plan doesn’t have to be complicated. 

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn how to write a business plan that’s detailed enough to impress bankers and potential investors, while giving you the tools to start, run, and grow a successful business.

• The basics of business planning

If you’re reading this guide, then you already know why you need a business plan . 

You understand that planning helps you: 

• Raise money
• Grow strategically
• Keep your business on the right track 

As you start to write your plan, it’s useful to zoom out and remember what a business plan is .

At its core, a business plan is an overview of the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy: how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

Most business plans also include financial forecasts for the future. These set sales goals, budget for expenses, and predict profits and cash flow. 

A good business plan is much more than just a document that you write once and forget about. It’s also a guide that helps you outline and achieve your goals. 

After completing your plan, you can use it as a management tool to track your progress toward your goals. Updating and adjusting your forecasts and budgets as you go is one of the most important steps you can take to run a healthier, smarter business. 

We’ll dive into how to use your plan later in this article.

There are many different types of plans , but we’ll go over the most common type here, which includes everything you need for an investor-ready plan. However, if you’re just starting out and are looking for something simpler—I recommend starting with a one-page business plan . It’s faster and easier to create. 

It’s also the perfect place to start if you’re just figuring out your idea, or need a simple strategic plan to use inside your business.

Dig deeper : How to write a one-page business plan

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• What to include in your business plan

Executive summary

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally just one to two pages. Most people write it last because it’s a summary of the complete business plan.

Ideally, the executive summary can act as a stand-alone document that covers the highlights of your detailed plan. 

In fact, it’s common for investors to ask only for the executive summary when evaluating your business. If they like what they see in the executive summary, they’ll often follow up with a request for a complete plan, a pitch presentation , or more in-depth financial forecasts .

Your executive summary should include:

• A summary of the problem you are solving
• A description of your product or service
• An overview of your target market
• A brief description of your team
• A summary of your financials
• Your funding requirements (if you are raising money)

Dig Deeper: How to write an effective executive summary

Products and services description

This is where you describe exactly what you’re selling, and how it solves a problem for your target market. The best way to organize this part of your plan is to start by describing the problem that exists for your customers. After that, you can describe how you plan to solve that problem with your product or service. 

This is usually called a problem and solution statement .

To truly showcase the value of your products and services, you need to craft a compelling narrative around your offerings. How will your product or service transform your customers’ lives or jobs? A strong narrative will draw in your readers.

This is also the part of the business plan to discuss any competitive advantages you may have, like specific intellectual property or patents that protect your product. If you have any initial sales, contracts, or other evidence that your product or service is likely to sell, include that information as well. It will show that your idea has traction , which can help convince readers that your plan has a high chance of success.

Market analysis

Your target market is a description of the type of people that you plan to sell to. You might even have multiple target markets, depending on your business. 

A market analysis is the part of your plan where you bring together all of the information you know about your target market. Basically, it’s a thorough description of who your customers are and why they need what you’re selling. You’ll also include information about the growth of your market and your industry .

Try to be as specific as possible when you describe your market. 

Include information such as age, income level, and location—these are what’s called “demographics.” If you can, also describe your market’s interests and habits as they relate to your business—these are “psychographics.” 

Related: Target market examples

Essentially, you want to include any knowledge you have about your customers that is relevant to how your product or service is right for them. With a solid target market, it will be easier to create a sales and marketing plan that will reach your customers. That’s because you know who they are, what they like to do, and the best ways to reach them.

Next, provide any additional information you have about your market. 

What is the size of your market ? Is the market growing or shrinking? Ideally, you’ll want to demonstrate that your market is growing over time, and also explain how your business is positioned to take advantage of any expected changes in your industry.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write a market analysis

Competitive analysis

Part of defining your business opportunity is determining what your competitive advantage is. To do this effectively, you need to know as much about your competitors as your target customers. 

Every business has some form of competition. If you don’t think you have competitors, then explore what alternatives there are in the market for your product or service. 

For example: In the early years of cars, their main competition was horses. For social media, the early competition was reading books, watching TV, and talking on the phone.

A good competitive analysis fully lays out the competitive landscape and then explains how your business is different. Maybe your products are better made, or cheaper, or your customer service is superior. Maybe your competitive advantage is your location – a wide variety of factors can ultimately give you an advantage.

Dig Deeper: How to write a competitive analysis for your business plan

Marketing and sales plan

The marketing and sales plan covers how you will position your product or service in the market, the marketing channels and messaging you will use, and your sales tactics. 

The best place to start with a marketing plan is with a positioning statement . 

This explains how your business fits into the overall market, and how you will explain the advantages of your product or service to customers. You’ll use the information from your competitive analysis to help you with your positioning. 

For example: You might position your company as the premium, most expensive but the highest quality option in the market. Or your positioning might focus on being locally owned and that shoppers support the local economy by buying your products.

Once you understand your positioning, you’ll bring this together with the information about your target market to create your marketing strategy . 

This is how you plan to communicate your message to potential customers. Depending on who your customers are and how they purchase products like yours, you might use many different strategies, from social media advertising to creating a podcast. Your marketing plan is all about how your customers discover who you are and why they should consider your products and services. 

While your marketing plan is about reaching your customers—your sales plan will describe the actual sales process once a customer has decided that they’re interested in what you have to offer. 

If your business requires salespeople and a long sales process, describe that in this section. If your customers can “self-serve” and just make purchases quickly on your website, describe that process. 

A good sales plan picks up where your marketing plan leaves off. The marketing plan brings customers in the door and the sales plan is how you close the deal.

Together, these specific plans paint a picture of how you will connect with your target audience, and how you will turn them into paying customers.

Dig deeper: What to include in your sales and marketing plan

Business operations

The operations section describes the necessary requirements for your business to run smoothly. It’s where you talk about how your business works and what day-to-day operations look like. 

Depending on how your business is structured, your operations plan may include elements of the business like:

• Supply chain management
• Manufacturing processes
• Equipment and technology
• Distribution

Some businesses distribute their products and reach their customers through large retailers like Amazon.com, Walmart, Target, and grocery store chains. 

These businesses should review how this part of their business works. The plan should discuss the logistics and costs of getting products onto store shelves and any potential hurdles the business may have to overcome.

If your business is much simpler than this, that’s OK. This section of your business plan can be either extremely short or more detailed, depending on the type of business you are building.

For businesses selling services, such as physical therapy or online software, you can use this section to describe the technology you’ll leverage, what goes into your service, and who you will partner with to deliver your services.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write the operations chapter of your plan

Key milestones and metrics

Although it’s not required to complete your business plan, mapping out key business milestones and the metrics can be incredibly useful for measuring your success.

Good milestones clearly lay out the parameters of the task and set expectations for their execution. You’ll want to include:

• A description of each task
• The proposed due date
• Who is responsible for each task

If you have a budget, you can include projected costs to hit each milestone. You don’t need extensive project planning in this section—just list key milestones you want to hit and when you plan to hit them. This is your overall business roadmap. 

Possible milestones might be:

• Website launch date
• Store or office opening date
• First significant sales
• Break even date
• Business licenses and approvals

You should also discuss the key numbers you will track to determine your success. Some common metrics worth tracking include:

• Conversion rates
• Customer acquisition costs
• Profit per customer
• Repeat purchases

It’s perfectly fine to start with just a few metrics and grow the number you are tracking over time. You also may find that some metrics simply aren’t relevant to your business and can narrow down what you’re tracking.

Dig Deeper: How to use milestones in your business plan

Organization and management team

Investors don’t just look for great ideas—they want to find great teams. Use this chapter to describe your current team and who you need to hire . You should also provide a quick overview of your location and history if you’re already up and running.

Briefly highlight the relevant experiences of each key team member in the company. It’s important to make the case for why yours is the right team to turn an idea into a reality. 

Do they have the right industry experience and background? Have members of the team had entrepreneurial successes before? 

If you still need to hire key team members, that’s OK. Just note those gaps in this section.

Your company overview should also include a summary of your company’s current business structure . The most common business structures include:

• Sole proprietor
• Partnership

Be sure to provide an overview of how the business is owned as well. Does each business partner own an equal portion of the business? How is ownership divided? 

Potential lenders and investors will want to know the structure of the business before they will consider a loan or investment.

Dig Deeper: How to write about your company structure and team

Financial plan

Last, but certainly not least, is your financial plan chapter. 

Entrepreneurs often find this section the most daunting. But, business financials for most startups are less complicated than you think, and a business degree is certainly not required to build a solid financial forecast. 

A typical financial forecast in a business plan includes the following:

• Sales forecast : An estimate of the sales expected over a given period. You’ll break down your forecast into the key revenue streams that you expect to have.
• Expense budget : Your planned spending such as personnel costs , marketing expenses, and taxes.
• Profit & Loss : Brings together your sales and expenses and helps you calculate planned profits.
• Cash Flow : Shows how cash moves into and out of your business. It can predict how much cash you’ll have on hand at any given point in the future.
• Balance Sheet : A list of the assets, liabilities, and equity in your company. In short, it provides an overview of the financial health of your business. 

A strong business plan will include a description of assumptions about the future, and potential risks that could impact the financial plan. Including those will be especially important if you’re writing a business plan to pursue a loan or other investment.

Dig Deeper: How to create financial forecasts and budgets

This is the place for additional data, charts, or other information that supports your plan.

Including an appendix can significantly enhance the credibility of your plan by showing readers that you’ve thoroughly considered the details of your business idea, and are backing your ideas up with solid data.

Just remember that the information in the appendix is meant to be supplementary. Your business plan should stand on its own, even if the reader skips this section.

Dig Deeper : What to include in your business plan appendix

Optional: Business plan cover page

Adding a business plan cover page can make your plan, and by extension your business, seem more professional in the eyes of potential investors, lenders, and partners. It serves as the introduction to your document and provides necessary contact information for stakeholders to reference.

Your cover page should be simple and include:

• Company logo
• Business name
• Value proposition (optional)
• Business plan title
• Completion and/or update date
• Address and contact information
• Confidentiality statement

Just remember, the cover page is optional. If you decide to include it, keep it very simple and only spend a short amount of time putting it together.

Dig Deeper: How to create a business plan cover page

How to use AI to help write your business plan

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can speed up the business plan writing process and help you think through concepts like market segmentation and competition. These tools are especially useful for taking ideas that you provide and converting them into polished text for your business plan.

The best way to use AI for your business plan is to leverage it as a collaborator , not a replacement for human creative thinking and ingenuity. 

AI can come up with lots of ideas and act as a brainstorming partner. It’s up to you to filter through those ideas and figure out which ones are realistic enough to resonate with your customers. 

There are pros and cons of using AI to help with your business plan . So, spend some time understanding how it can be most helpful before just outsourcing the job to AI.

Learn more: 10 AI prompts you need to write a business plan

• Writing tips and strategies

To help streamline the business plan writing process, here are a few tips and key questions to answer to make sure you get the most out of your plan and avoid common mistakes .  

Determine why you are writing a business plan

Knowing why you are writing a business plan will determine your approach to your planning project. 

For example: If you are writing a business plan for yourself, or just to use inside your own business , you can probably skip the section about your team and organizational structure. 

If you’re raising money, you’ll want to spend more time explaining why you’re looking to raise the funds and exactly how you will use them.

Regardless of how you intend to use your business plan , think about why you are writing and what you’re trying to get out of the process before you begin.

Keep things concise

Probably the most important tip is to keep your business plan short and simple. There are no prizes for long business plans . The longer your plan is, the less likely people are to read it. 

So focus on trimming things down to the essentials your readers need to know. Skip the extended, wordy descriptions and instead focus on creating a plan that is easy to read —using bullets and short sentences whenever possible.

Have someone review your business plan

Writing a business plan in a vacuum is never a good idea. Sometimes it’s helpful to zoom out and check if your plan makes sense to someone else. You also want to make sure that it’s easy to read and understand.

Don’t wait until your plan is “done” to get a second look. Start sharing your plan early, and find out from readers what questions your plan leaves unanswered. This early review cycle will help you spot shortcomings in your plan and address them quickly, rather than finding out about them right before you present your plan to a lender or investor.

If you need a more detailed review, you may want to explore hiring a professional plan writer to thoroughly examine it.

Use a free business plan template and business plan examples to get started

Knowing what information you need to cover in a business plan sometimes isn’t quite enough. If you’re struggling to get started or need additional guidance, it may be worth using a business plan template. 

If you’re looking for a free downloadable business plan template to get you started, download the template used by more than 1 million businesses. 

Or, if you just want to see what a completed business plan looks like, check out our library of over 550 free business plan examples . 

We even have a growing list of industry business planning guides with tips for what to focus on depending on your business type.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

It’s easy to make mistakes when you’re writing your business plan. Some entrepreneurs get sucked into the writing and research process, and don’t focus enough on actually getting their business started. 

Here are a few common mistakes and how to avoid them:

Not talking to your customers : This is one of the most common mistakes. It’s easy to assume that your product or service is something that people want. Before you invest too much in your business and too much in the planning process, make sure you talk to your prospective customers and have a good understanding of their needs.

• Overly optimistic sales and profit forecasts: By nature, entrepreneurs are optimistic about the future. But it’s good to temper that optimism a little when you’re planning, and make sure your forecasts are grounded in reality. 
• Spending too much time planning: Yes, planning is crucial. But you also need to get out and talk to customers, build prototypes of your product and figure out if there’s a market for your idea. Make sure to balance planning with building.
• Not revising the plan: Planning is useful, but nothing ever goes exactly as planned. As you learn more about what’s working and what’s not—revise your plan, your budgets, and your revenue forecast. Doing so will provide a more realistic picture of where your business is going, and what your financial needs will be moving forward.
• Not using the plan to manage your business: A good business plan is a management tool. Don’t just write it and put it on the shelf to collect dust – use it to track your progress and help you reach your goals.
• Presenting your business plan

The planning process forces you to think through every aspect of your business and answer questions that you may not have thought of. That’s the real benefit of writing a business plan – the knowledge you gain about your business that you may not have been able to discover otherwise.

With all of this knowledge, you’re well prepared to convert your business plan into a pitch presentation to present your ideas. 

A pitch presentation is a summary of your plan, just hitting the highlights and key points. It’s the best way to present your business plan to investors and team members.

Dig Deeper: Learn what key slides should be included in your pitch deck

Use your business plan to manage your business

One of the biggest benefits of planning is that it gives you a tool to manage your business better. With a revenue forecast, expense budget, and projected cash flow, you know your targets and where you are headed.

And yet, nothing ever goes exactly as planned – it’s the nature of business.

That’s where using your plan as a management tool comes in. The key to leveraging it for your business is to review it periodically and compare your forecasts and projections to your actual results.

Start by setting up a regular time to review the plan – a monthly review is a good starting point. During this review, answer questions like:

• Did you meet your sales goals?
• Is spending following your budget?
• Has anything gone differently than what you expected?

Now that you see whether you’re meeting your goals or are off track, you can make adjustments and set new targets. 

Maybe you’re exceeding your sales goals and should set new, more aggressive goals. In that case, maybe you should also explore more spending or hiring more employees. 

Or maybe expenses are rising faster than you projected. If that’s the case, you would need to look at where you can cut costs.

A plan, and a method for comparing your plan to your actual results , is the tool you need to steer your business toward success.

Learn More: How to run a regular plan review

Free business plan templates and examples

Kickstart your business plan writing with one of our free business plan templates or recommended tools.

Free business plan template

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How to write a business plan FAQ

What is a business plan?

A document that describes your business , the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy, how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

What are the benefits of a business plan?

A business plan helps you understand where you want to go with your business and what it will take to get there. It reduces your overall risk, helps you uncover your business’s potential, attracts investors, and identifies areas for growth.

Having a business plan ultimately makes you more confident as a business owner and more likely to succeed for a longer period of time.

What are the 7 steps of a business plan?

The seven steps to writing a business plan include:

• Write a brief executive summary
• Describe your products and services.
• Conduct market research and compile data into a cohesive market analysis.
• Describe your marketing and sales strategy.
• Outline your organizational structure and management team.
• Develop financial projections for sales, revenue, and cash flow.
• Add any additional documents to your appendix.

What are the 5 most common business plan mistakes?

There are plenty of mistakes that can be made when writing a business plan. However, these are the 5 most common that you should do your best to avoid:

• 1. Not taking the planning process seriously.
• Having unrealistic financial projections or incomplete financial information.
• Inconsistent information or simple mistakes.
• Failing to establish a sound business model.
• Not having a defined purpose for your business plan.

What questions should be answered in a business plan?

Writing a business plan is all about asking yourself questions about your business and being able to answer them through the planning process. You’ll likely be asking dozens and dozens of questions for each section of your plan.

However, these are the key questions you should ask and answer with your business plan:

• How will your business make money?
• Is there a need for your product or service?
• Who are your customers?
• How are you different from the competition?
• How will you reach your customers?
• How will you measure success?

How long should a business plan be?

The length of your business plan fully depends on what you intend to do with it. From the SBA and traditional lender point of view, a business plan needs to be whatever length necessary to fully explain your business. This means that you prove the viability of your business, show that you understand the market, and have a detailed strategy in place.

If you intend to use your business plan for internal management purposes, you don’t necessarily need a full 25-50 page business plan. Instead, you can start with a one-page plan to get all of the necessary information in place.

What are the different types of business plans?

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. Here are a few common business plan types worth considering.

Traditional business plan: The tried-and-true traditional business plan is a formal document meant to be used when applying for funding or pitching to investors. This type of business plan follows the outline above and can be anywhere from 10-50 pages depending on the amount of detail included, the complexity of your business, and what you include in your appendix.

Business model canvas: The business model canvas is a one-page template designed to demystify the business planning process. It removes the need for a traditional, copy-heavy business plan, in favor of a single-page outline that can help you and outside parties better explore your business idea.

One-page business plan: This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business. You’ll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences. It’s most useful for those exploring ideas, needing to validate their business model, or who need an internal plan to help them run and manage their business.

Lean Plan: The Lean Plan is less of a specific document type and more of a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, test, review, refine, and take action based on performance. It’s faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your plan is always up-to-date.

What’s the difference between a business plan and a strategic plan?

A business plan covers the “who” and “what” of your business. It explains what your business is doing right now and how it functions. The strategic plan explores long-term goals and explains “how” the business will get there. It encourages you to look more intently toward the future and how you will achieve your vision.

However, when approached correctly, your business plan can actually function as a strategic plan as well. If kept lean, you can define your business, outline strategic steps, and track ongoing operations all with a single plan.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.

Table of Contents

• Use AI to help write your plan
• Common planning mistakes
• Manage with your business plan
• Templates and examples

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After-School Program Business Plan

Free Business Plan Template

Download our free business plan template now and pave the way to success. Let’s turn your vision into an actionable strategy!

• Fill in the blanks – Outline
• Financial Tables

How to Write an After-School Program Business Plan?

Writing an after-school program business plan is a crucial step toward the success of your business. Here are the key steps to consider when writing a business plan:

1. Executive Summary

An executive summary is the first section of the business plan intended to provide an overview of the whole business plan. Generally, it is written after the entire business plan is ready. Here are some components to add to your summary:

Start with a brief introduction:

Market opportunity:, mention your services:, management team:, financial highlights:, call to action:.

Ensure you keep your executive summary concise and clear, use simple language, and avoid jargon.

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2. Business Overview

Depending on what details of your business are important, you’ll need different elements in your business overview. Still, there are some foundational elements like business name, legal structure, location, history, and mission statement that every business overview should include:

About the business:

Home-based childcare:, child care center:, preschool child care:, school-age child care:.

• Company structure of your after-school program business whether it is LLC, partnership firm, or others.
• Location of your after-school program and the reason why you selected that place.

Mission statement:

Business history:, future goals:.

This section should provide an in-depth understanding of your after-school program business. Also, the business overview section should be engaging and precise.

3. Market Analysis

Market analysis provides a clear understanding of the market in which your after-school program business will run along with the target market, competitors, and growth opportunities. Your market analysis should contain the following essential components:

Target market:

Market size and growth potential:, competitive analysis:, market trends:, regulatory environment:.

Some additional tips for writing the market analysis section of your business plan:

• Use a variety of sources to gather data, including industry reports, market research studies, and surveys.
• Be specific and provide detailed information wherever possible.
• Include charts and graphs to help illustrate your key points.
• Keep your target audience in mind while writing the business plan.

4. Products And Services

The product and services section of an after-school program business plan should describe the specific services and products that will be offered to customers. To write this section should include the following:

List the services:

Give a thorough explanation of the after-school program services provided in this section. The particular activities that will be offered, such as:

• Help with homework,
• Extracurricular activities,
• Enrichment activities,
• Social & emotional support, and
• Other potential programs

Describe each service: For each service, provide a detailed description of what it entails, the time required, and the qualifications of the professionals who will provide the service.

Provide information on staff and facilities:

Give a succinct description of your staff’s credentials, mentioning both their training and pertinent work experience. Additionally, give details about the program’s facilities, along with any tools or materials that will be required.

Overall, a business plan’s product and services section should be detailed, informative, and customer-focused. By providing a clear and compelling description of your offerings, you can help potential investors and readers understand the value of your business.

5. Sales And Marketing Strategies

Writing the sales and marketing strategies section means a list of strategies you will use to attract and retain your clients. Here are some key elements to include in your sales & marketing plan:

Develop your unique selling proposition (USP):

Determine your pricing strategy:, marketing strategies:, sales strategies:, customer retention:.

Overall, the sales and marketing strategies section of your business plan should outline your plans to attract and retain customers and generate revenue. Be specific, realistic, and data-driven in your approach, and be prepared to adjust your strategies based on feedback and results.

6. Operations Plan

When writing the operations plan section, it’s important to consider the various aspects of your business processes and procedures involved in operating a business. Here are the components to include in an operations plan:

Hiring plan:

Operational process:, curriculum:.

By including these key elements in your operations plan section, you can create a comprehensive plan that outlines how you will run your after-school program business.

7. Management Team

The management team section provides an overview of the individuals responsible for running the after-school program business. This section should provide a detailed description of the experience and qualifications of each manager, as well as their responsibilities and roles.

Key managers:

Organizational structure:, compensation plan:, board of advisors:.

Describe the key personnel of your company and highlight why your business has the fittest team.

8. Financial Plan

When writing the financial plan section of a business plan, it’s important to provide a comprehensive overview of your financial projections for the first few years of your business.

Profit & loss statement:

Cash flow statement:, balance sheet:, break-even point:, financing needs:.

Remember to be realistic with your financial projections, and to provide supporting evidence for all of your estimates.

9. Appendix

When writing the appendix section, you should include any additional information that supports the main content of your plan. This may include financial statements, market research data, legal documents, and other relevant information.

• Include a table of contents for the appendix section to make it easy for readers to find specific information.
• Include financial statements such as income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. These should be up-to-date and show your financial projections for at least the first three years of your business.
• Provide market research data, such as statistics on the size of the industry, consumer demographics, and trends in the industry.
• Include any legal documents such as permits, licenses, and contracts.
• Provide any additional documentation related to your business plans, such as marketing materials, product brochures, and operational procedures.
• Use clear headings and labels for each section of the appendix so that readers can easily find the information they need.

Remember, the appendix section of your business should only include relevant and important information that supports the main content of your plan.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

This after-school program business plan sample will provide an idea for writing a successful plan, including all the essential components of your business.

After this, if you are still confused about how to write an investment-ready business plan to impress your audience, then download our after-school program business plan pdf .

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Frequently asked questions, why do you need an after-school program business plan.

A business plan is an essential tool for anyone looking to start or run a successful after-school program. It helps to get clarity in your business, secures funding, and identifies potential challenges while starting and growing your business.

Overall, a well-written plan can help you make informed decisions, which can contribute to the long-term success of your business.

How to get funding for your after-school program business?

There are several ways to get funding for your after-school program business, but one of the most efficient and speedy funding options is self-funding. Other options for funding are:

Small Business Administration (SBA) loan

Crowdfunding, angel investors.

Apart from all these options, there are small business grants available, check for the same in your location and you can apply for it.

Where to find business plan writers for your after-school program business?

There are many business plan writers available, but no one knows your business and idea better than you, so we recommend you write your after-school program business plan and outline your vision as you have in your mind.

What is the easiest way to write your after-school program business plan?

A lot of research is necessary for writing a business plan, but you can write your plan most efficiently with the help of any after-school program business plan example and edit it as per your need. You can also quickly finish your plan in just a few hours or less with the help of our business plan software.

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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How to write a business plan for a music school?

Creating a business plan for a music school is an essential process for any entrepreneur. It serves as a roadmap that outlines the necessary steps to be taken to start or grow the business, the resources required, and the anticipated financial outcomes. It should be crafted with method and confidence.

This guide is designed to provide you with the tools and knowledge necessary for creating a music school business plan, covering why it is so important both when starting up and running an established business, what should be included in your plan, how it should be structured, what tools should be used to save time and avoid errors, and other helpful tips.

We have a lot to cover, so let's get to it!

In this guide:

Why write a business plan for a music school?

• What information is needed to create a business plan for a music school?
• What goes in the financial forecast for a music school?
• What goes in the written part of a music school business plan?
• What tool can I use to write my music school business plan?

Being clear on the scope and goals of the document will make it easier to understand its structure and content. So before diving into the actual content of the plan, let's have a quick look at the main reasons why you would want to write a music school business plan in the first place.

To have a clear roadmap to grow the business

Running a small business is tough! Economic cycles bring growth and recessions, while the business landscape is ever-changing with new technologies, regulations, competitors, and consumer behaviours emerging constantly.

In such a dynamic context, operating a business without a clear roadmap is akin to driving blindfolded: it's risky, to say the least. That's why crafting a business plan for your music school is vital to establish a successful and sustainable venture.

To create an effective business plan, you'll need to assess your current position (if you're already in business) and define where you want the business to be in the next three to five years.

Once you have a clear destination for your music school, you'll have to:

• Identify the necessary resources (human, equipment, and capital) needed to reach your goals,
• Determine the pace at which the business needs to progress to meet its objectives as scheduled,
• Recognize and address the potential risks you may encounter along the way.

Engaging in this process regularly proves advantageous for both startups and established companies. It empowers you to make informed decisions about resource allocation, ensuring the long-term success of your business.

To get visibility on future cash flows

If your small music school runs out of cash: it's game over. That's why we often say "cash is king", and it's crucial to have a clear view of your music school's future cash flows.

So, how can you achieve this? It's simple - you need to have an up-to-date financial forecast.

The good news is that your music school business plan already includes a financial forecast (which we'll discuss further in this guide). Your task is to ensure it stays current.

To accomplish this, it's essential to regularly compare your actual financial performance with what was planned in your financial forecast. Based on your business's current trajectory, you can make adjustments to the forecast.

By diligently monitoring your music school's financial health, you'll be able to spot potential financial issues, like unexpected cash shortfalls, early on and take corrective actions. Moreover, this practice will enable you to recognize and capitalize on growth opportunities, such as excess cash flow enabling you to expand to new locations.

To secure financing

A detailed business plan becomes a crucial tool when seeking financing from banks or investors for your music school.

Investing and lending to small businesses are very risky activities given how fragile they are. Therefore, financiers have to take extra precautions before putting their capital at risk.

At a minimum, financiers will want to ensure that you have a clear roadmap and a solid understanding of your future cash flows (like we just explained above). But they will also want to ensure that your business plan fits the risk/reward profile they seek.

This will off-course vary from bank to bank and investor to investor, but as a rule of thumb. Banks will want to see a conservative financial management style (low risk), and they will use the information in your business plan to assess your borrowing capacity — the level of debt they think your business can comfortably handle — and your ability to repay the loan. This evaluation will determine whether they'll provide credit to your music school and the terms of the agreement.

Whereas investors will carefully analyze your business plan to gauge the potential return on their investment. Their focus lies on evidence indicating your music school's potential for high growth, profitability, and consistent cash flow generation over time.

Now that you recognize the importance of creating a business plan for your music school, let's explore what information is required to create a compelling plan.

Information needed to create a business plan for a music school

You need the right data in order to project sales, investments and costs accurately in the financial forecast of your music school business plan.

Below, we'll cover three key pieces of information you should gather before drafting your business plan.

Carrying out market research for a music school

As you consider writing your business plan for a music school, conducting market research becomes a vital step to ensure accurate and realistic financial projections.

Market research provides valuable insights into your target customer base, competitors, pricing strategies, and other key factors that can significantly impact the commercial success of your business.

Through this research, you may uncover trends that could influence your music school.

1. Your music school may experience an increase in demand for online courses, as more people seek to learn remotely. 2. Market research might indicate that potential customers may be looking for more affordable and flexible payment plans for music lessons.

Such market trends play a significant role in forecasting revenue, as they offer valuable data about potential customers' spending habits and preferences.

By incorporating these findings into your financial projections, you can present investors with more accurate information, helping them make informed decisions about investing in your music school.

Developing the sales and marketing plan for a music school

Budgeting sales and marketing expenses is essential before creating a music school business plan.

A comprehensive sales and marketing plan should provide an accurate projection of what actions need to be implemented to acquire and retain customers, how many people are needed to carry out these initiatives, and how much needs to be spent on promotions, advertising, and other aspects.

This helps ensure that the right amount of resources is allocated to these activities in order to hit the sales and growth objectives forecasted in your business plan.

The staffing and capital expenditure requirements of a music school

Whether you are starting or expanding a music school, it is important to have a clear plan for recruitment and capital expenditures (investment in equipment and real estate) in order to ensure the success of the business.

Both the recruitment and investment plans need to be coherent with the timing and level of growth planned in your forecast, and require appropriate funding.

A music school might incur staffing costs such as salaries for teachers, administrative staff, and janitorial staff. The school might also need to purchase or rent instruments, music stands, and other equipment required for classes and performances. Additionally, the school might need to purchase or rent audio and lighting equipment for performances, and computers and software for administrative and music production purposes.

In order to create a realistic financial forecast, you will also need to consider the other operating expenses associated with running the business on a day-to-day basis (insurance, bookkeeping, etc.). 

Once you have all the necessary information to create a business plan for your music school, it is time to start creating your financial forecast.

What goes into your music school's financial forecast?

The financial forecast of your music school will enable you to assess the profitability potential of your business in the coming years and how much capital is required to fund the actions planned in the business plan.

The four key outputs of a financial forecast for a music school are:

• The profit and loss (P&L) statement ,
• The projected balance sheet ,
• The cash flow forecast ,
• And the sources and uses table .

Let's take a closer look at each of these.

The projected P&L statement

The projected P&L statement for a music school shows how much revenue and profits your business is expected to generate in the future.

Ideally, your music school's P&L statement should show:

• Healthy growth - above inflation level
• Improving or stable profit margins
• Positive net profit

Expectations will vary based on the stage of your business. A startup will be expected to grow faster than an established music school. And similarly, an established company should showcase a higher level of profitability than a new venture.

The projected balance sheet of your music school

The balance sheet for a music school is a financial document that provides a snapshot of your business’s financial health at a given point in time.

It shows three main components: assets, liabilities and equity:

• Assets: are resources owned by the business, such as cash, equipment, and accounts receivable (money owed by clients).
• Liabilities: are debts owed to creditors and other entities, such as accounts payable (money owed to suppliers) and loans.
• Equity: includes the sums invested by the shareholders or business owners and the cumulative profits and losses of the business to date (called retained earnings). It is a proxy for the value of the owner's stake in the business.

Examining the balance sheet is important for lenders, investors, or other stakeholders who are interested in assessing your music school's liquidity and solvency:

• Liquidity: assesses whether or not your business has sufficient cash and short-term assets to honour its liabilities due over the next 12 months. It is a short-term focus.
• Solvency: assesses whether or not your business has the capacity to repay its debt over the medium-term.

Looking at the balance sheet can also provide insights into your music school's investment and financing policies.

In particular, stakeholders can compare the value of equity to the value of the outstanding financial debt to assess how the business is funded and what level of financial risk has been taken by the owners (financial debt is riskier because it has to be repaid, while equity doesn't need to be repaid).

The cash flow forecast

As we've seen earlier in this guide, monitoring future cash flows is the key to success and the only way of ensuring that your music school has enough cash to operate.

As you can expect showing future cash flows is the main role of the cash flow forecast in your music school business plan.

It is best practice to organise the cash flow statement by nature in order to show the cash impact of the following areas:

• Cash flow generated from operations: the operating cash flow shows how much cash is generated or consumed by the business's commercial activities
• Cash flow from investing activities: the investing cash flow shows how much cash is being invested in capital expenditure (equipment, real estate, etc.) either to maintain the business's equipment or to expand its capabilities
• Cash flow from financing activities: the financing cash flow shows how much cash is raised or distributed to financiers

Looking at the cash flow forecast helps you to make sure that your business has enough cash to keep running, and can help you anticipate potential cash shortfalls.

Your music school business plan will normally include both yearly and monthly cash flow forecasts so that the readers can view the impact of seasonality on your business cash position and generation.

The initial financing plan

The sources and uses table or initial financing plan is a key component of your business plan when starting a music school.

It shows where the capital needed to set up the business will come from (sources) and how it will be spent (uses).

This table helps size the investment required to set up the music school, and understand how risks will be distributed between the business owners, and the financiers.

The sources and uses table also highlights what the starting cash position will be. This is key for startups as the business needs to have sufficient funding to sustain operations until the break-even point is reached.

Now that you have a clear understanding of what will go into the financial forecast of your music school business plan, let's have a look at the written part of the plan.

The written part of a music school business plan

The written part of a music school business plan is composed of 7 main sections:

• The executive summary
• The presentation of the company
• The products and services
• The market analysis
• The strategy
• The operations
• The financial plan

Throughout these sections, you will seek to provide the reader with the details and context needed for them to form a view on whether or not your business plan is achievable and your forecast a realistic possibility.

Let's go through the content of each section in more detail!

1. The executive summary

The first section of your music school's business plan is the executive summary which provides, as its name suggests, an enticing summary of your plan which should hook the reader and make them want to know more about your business.

When writing the executive summary, it is important to provide an overview of the business, the market, the key financials, and what you are asking from the reader.

Start with a brief introduction of the business, its name, concept, location, how long it has been in operation, and what makes it unique. Mention any services or products you plan to offer and who you sell to.

Then you should follow with an overview of the addressable market for your music school, current trends, and potential growth opportunities.

You should then include a summary of your key financial figures such as projected revenues, profits, and cash flows.

Finally, you should detail any funding requirements in the ask section.

2. The presentation of the company

As you build your music school business plan, the second section deserves attention as it delves into the structure and ownership, location, and management team of your company.

In the structure and ownership part, you'll provide valuable insights into the legal structure of the business, the identities of the owners, and their respective investments and ownership stakes. This level of transparency is vital, particularly if you're seeking financing, as it clarifies which legal entity will receive the funds and who holds the reins of the business.

Moving to the location part, you'll offer a comprehensive view of the company's premises and articulate why this specific location is strategic for the business, emphasizing factors like catchment area, accessibility, and nearby amenities.

When describing the location of your music school, you may want to emphasize the potential for growth. The area could have a strong demand for music instruction and a steady influx of students, as well as a supportive local community that could welcome and sustain the school. You could also highlight the potential for collaborations with local organizations and businesses that could help the school to thrive. Finally, you could suggest that the area has a range of cultural and recreational activities that could attract a diverse student base and keep them engaged.

Lastly, you should introduce your esteemed management team. Provide a thorough explanation of each member's role, background, and extensive experience.

It's equally important to highlight any past successes the management team has achieved and underscore the duration they've been working together. This information will instil trust in potential lenders or investors, showcasing the strength and expertise of your leadership team and their ability to deliver the business plan.

3. The products and services section

The products and services section of your business plan should include a detailed description of the offerings that your company provides to its customers. 

For example, your music school might offer private and group music lessons, instrument rentals, and music theory workshops to its customers. Private lessons can help students build their skills quickly and allow for a more tailored approach, while group lessons can be a great way to learn social skills and develop collaboration. Instrument rentals provide an affordable way for students to get started without having to buy new instruments, while music theory workshops can help students develop a deep understanding of music fundamentals and improve their creativity.

When drafting this section, you should be precise about the categories of products or services you sell, the types of customers you are targeting and how customers can buy them.

4. The market analysis

When outlining your market analysis in the music school business plan, it's essential to include comprehensive details about customers' demographics and segmentation, target market, competition, barriers to entry, and relevant regulations.

The primary aim of this section is to give the reader an understanding of the market size and appeal while demonstrating your expertise in the industry.

To begin, delve into the demographics and segmentation subsection, providing an overview of the addressable market for your music school, key marketplace trends, and introducing various customer segments and their preferences in terms of purchasing habits and budgets.

Next, shift your focus to the target market subsection, where you can zoom in on the specific customer segments your music school targets. Explain how your products and services are tailored to meet the unique needs of these customers.

For example, your target market might include parents of young children who are interested in learning an instrument. These parents may be looking for a way to provide their children with the opportunity to learn music in a structured and supportive environment. They may be looking for an experienced instructor who can teach the basics of music theory and playing an instrument to their children.

In the competition subsection, introduce your main competitors and explain what sets your music school apart from them.

Finally, round off your market analysis by providing an overview of the main regulations that apply to your music school.

5. The strategy section

When writing the strategy section of a business plan for your music school, it is essential to include information about your competitive edge, pricing strategy, sales & marketing plan, milestones, and risks and mitigants.

The competitive edge subsection should explain what sets your company apart from its competitors. This part is especially key if you are writing the business plan of a startup, as you have to make a name for yourself in the marketplace against established players.

The pricing strategy subsection should demonstrate how you intend to remain profitable while still offering competitive prices to your customers.

The sales & marketing plan should outline how you intend to reach out and acquire new customers, as well as retain existing ones with loyalty programs or special offers. 

The milestones subsection should outline what your company has achieved to date, and its main objectives for the years to come - along with dates so that everyone involved has clear expectations of when progress can be expected.

The risks and mitigants subsection should list the main risks that jeopardize the execution of your plan and explain what measures you have taken to minimize these. This is essential in order for investors or lenders to feel secure in investing in your venture.

Your music school could face the risk of losing income if students are unable to afford tuition. During difficult economic times, it may be difficult for your school to continue to bring in enough money to stay afloat. Additionally, your school could be at risk of facing a lawsuit if an employee or student is injured on school property. This could be a costly issue that might significantly reduce the financial stability of the school.

6. The operations section

In your business plan, it's also essential to provide a detailed overview of the operations of your music school.

Start by covering your team, highlighting key roles and your recruitment plan to support the expected growth. Outline the qualifications and experience required for each role and your intended recruitment methods, whether through job boards, referrals, or headhunters.

Next, clearly state your music school's operating hours, allowing the reader to assess staffing levels adequately. Additionally, mention any plans for varying opening times during peak seasons and how you'll handle customer queries outside normal operating hours.

Then, shift your focus to the key assets and intellectual property (IP) necessary for your business. If you rely on licenses, trademarks, physical structures like equipment or property, or lease agreements, make sure to include them in this section.

You may have a library of musical scores, books, and recordings to provide students with resources to help them learn music theory and composition. Additionally, you could have a roster of highly experienced faculty members who have years of expertise in teaching music. These faculty members might also have relationships with other music schools, orchestras, and industry professionals that could be beneficial to students.

Lastly, include a list of suppliers you plan to work with, detailing their services and main commercial terms, such as price, payment terms, and contract duration. Investors are interested in understanding why you've chosen specific suppliers, which may be due to higher-quality products or established relationships from previous ventures.

7. The presentation of the financial plan

The financial plan section is where we will include the financial forecast we talked about earlier in this guide.

Now that you have a clear idea of the content of a music school business plan, let's look at some of the tools you can use to create yours.

What tool should I use to write my music school's business plan?

In this section, we will be reviewing the two main options for writing a music school business plan efficiently:

• Using specialized software,
• Outsourcing the drafting to the business plan writer.

Using an online business plan software for your music school's business plan

Using online business planning software is the most efficient and modern way to create a music school business plan.

There are several advantages to using specialized software:

• You can easily create your financial forecast by letting the software take care of the financial calculations for you without errors
• You are guided through the writing process by detailed instructions and examples for each part of the plan
• You can access a library of dozens of complete business plan samples and templates for inspiration
• You get a professional business plan, formatted and ready to be sent to your bank or investors
• You can easily track your actual financial performance against your financial forecast
• You can create scenarios to stress test your forecast's main assumptions
• You can easily update your forecast as time goes by to maintain visibility on future cash flows
• You have a friendly support team on standby to assist you when you are stuck

If you're interested in using this type of solution, you can try The Business Plan Shop for free by signing up here .

Hiring a business plan writer to write your music school's business plan

Outsourcing your music school business plan to a business plan writer can also be a viable option.

Business plan writers are experienced in writing business plans and adept at creating financial forecasts without errors. Furthermore, hiring a consultant can save you time and allow you to focus on the day-to-day operations of your business.

However, hiring business plan writers is expensive as you are paying for the software used by the consultant, plus their time, and their profit margin of course.

From experience, you need to budget at least £1.5k ($2.0k) excluding tax for a complete business plan, more if you need to make changes after the initial version (which happens frequently after the initial meetings with lenders or investors).

You also need to be careful when seeking investment. Investors want their money to be used to grow the business, not spent on consulting fees. Therefore, the amount you spend on business plan writing services (and other consulting services such as legal services) needs to be negligible relative to the amount raised.

The other drawback is that you usually don't own the business plan itself: you just get the output, while the actual document is saved in the consultant's business plan software - which makes it difficult to maintain the document up to date without hiring the consultant on a retainer.

For these reasons, outsourcing the music school business plan to a business plan writer should be considered carefully, weighing both the advantages and disadvantages of hiring outside help.

Ultimately, it may be the right decision for some businesses, while others may find it beneficial to write their business plan using online software.

Why not create your music school's business plan using Word or Excel?

I must advise against using Microsoft Excel and Word (or their Google, Apple, or open-source equivalents) to write your music school business plan. Let me explain why.

Firstly, creating an accurate and error-free financial forecast on Excel (or any spreadsheet) is highly technical and requires a strong grasp of accounting principles and financial modelling skills. It is, therefore, unlikely that anyone will fully trust your numbers unless you have both a degree in finance and accounting and significant financial modelling experience, like us at The Business Plan Shop.

Secondly, relying on spreadsheets is inefficient. While it may have been the only option in the past, technology has advanced significantly, and software can now perform these tasks much faster and with greater accuracy. With the rise of AI, software can even help us detect mistakes in forecasts and analyze the numbers for better decision-making.

And with the rise of AI, software is also becoming smarter at helping us detect mistakes in our forecasts and helping us analyse the numbers to make better decisions.

Moreover, software makes it easier to compare actuals versus forecasts and maintain up-to-date forecasts to keep visibility on future cash flows, as we discussed earlier in this guide. This task is cumbersome when using spreadsheets.

Now, let's talk about the written part of your music school business plan. While it may be less error-prone, using software can bring tremendous gains in productivity. Word processors, for example, lack instructions and examples for each part of your business plan. They also won't automatically update your numbers when changes occur in your forecast, and they don't handle formatting for you.

Overall, while Word or Excel may seem viable for some entrepreneurs to create a business plan, it's by far becoming an antiquated way of doing things.

• A business plan has 2 complementary parts: a financial forecast showcasing the expected growth, profits and cash flows of the business; and a written part which provides the context needed to judge if the forecast is realistic and relevant.
• Having an up-to-date business plan is the only way to keep visibility on your music school's future cash flows.
• Using business plan software is the modern way of writing and maintaining business plans.

We hope that this practical guide gave you insights on how to write the business plan for your music school. Do not hesitate to get in touch with our team if you still have questions.

Also on The Business Plan Shop

• In-depth business plan structure
• Key steps to write a business plan?
• Free business plan template

Know someone who owns or wants to start a music school? Share this article with them!

Founder & CEO at The Business Plan Shop Ltd

Guillaume Le Brouster is a seasoned entrepreneur and financier.

Guillaume has been an entrepreneur for more than a decade and has first-hand experience of starting, running, and growing a successful business.

Prior to being a business owner, Guillaume worked in investment banking and private equity, where he spent most of his time creating complex financial forecasts, writing business plans, and analysing financial statements to make financing and investment decisions.

Guillaume holds a Master's Degree in Finance from ESCP Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Business & Management from Paris Dauphine University.

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Starting a School in India – Business Plan, Procedure & Cost Estimation

Schools in India come under the Non-Profit Organizations and are registered under the section 8 of the Companies Act 2013. One can also open a school under the Societies Act of 1860. Opening a school in India depends on various laws regulated both by the center and the state. It also depends where you are starting your school and which board of education you are adopting. Here is a brief guide on how to start a school and its cost estimation in India.

Make a Brief Blueprint of Your School

There are various factors involved in the opening of a school in India. The first important point is that there are various levels of categorizations on which a school is opened. Schools can be for lower KG, upper KG, from class 1 to 6 or from 1 to 8, from class 1 to class 10 or from class 1 to class 12 th . If the class exceeds up to 9-12 th then you require your school to be registered from a certain board operating in India. Opening a school also depends on the place where you are starting your school. If you are opening your school in metro cities then there are different rules whereas opening school in towns or rural areas require different categorization.

Based on all such issues here is the list of issues that must be address while opening a school in India.

Requirement of Land for Starting a School

One definitely needs a good space to open up a school. Requirement of land depends on two factors. The first factor is the status of the place where you want to open the school. For example, the minimum requirement for opening a school in metropolitan city is different from that of a town or rural area. The second factor is the board through which your school is affiliated. There are basically 4 boards that majorly operate in India. They are:

• Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)
• Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (ISC/ICSE)
• International Board (IB)
• State Boards of 29 States in India

Requirement of Land Based on Place and Board: CBSE Board

• In a Metropolitan City: If you want to open up a school in cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai or Bangalore then you need to have a minimum requirement of 1 Acre land or 4000 sq. meter of land for operating school from pre-primary to class 12 th . For operating school from pre-primary to class 10 th you need to have at least half an acre of land or 2000 sq. meters of land.
• City with the Population of more than 15 Lakhs: From Pre-primary to class 12 th a minimum requirement of 1 acres of land or 2047 sq. meters of land
• Other Cities: A minimum of 1.5 acres of land is required to run a school in small cities based on CBSE norms.

CBSE also caters a category level for schools like A+, A and B category schools. An A+ category schools should have permanent affiliation with land area not less than 2 acres.

Requirement of Land Based on Place and Board: CISCE

For a school affiliated to CISCE, a minimum requirement of 2000 sq. meter of land is necessary with each classrooms to be not less than 400 sq. feet in size.

State boards have their own requirement which can be read on their respective websites.

Construction of School Building

Based on the board guidelines school building should be constructed. Like a minimum class size should be of 400 sq. feet with a library, arts room, amphitheater, science lab, computer lab, stage, playground, etc.

Starting a School and NOC

After the construction of school building is over it is time to open the school. For this there are various process through which one has to go. The first requirement is to get a Non objection certificate from the state government. Only after getting an NOC you can operate your school. Many schools are operating in India without NOC and one should avoid going by that method as at the time of applying for affiliation you will be asked for NOC.

To apply for NOC you need to visit the state education department where there are different departments from where you need clearance. The method is transparent and it requires some basic documents like land details, land size, budget, etc.

Affiliation to Board

A minimum of one years of operation is required for schools to apply for CISCE and CBSE board while for IB it is three years. Before that you can open your school from pre-primary to class 8 th but only after the school is operational from more than a year it will get affiliation. The respective boards also have their rules and parameters based on which they grant permission like land size, building construction, classroom size, playground, number of teacher, teacher’s qualification, EPF account, and other criteria mentioned in the board’s guideline that you can access on their website.

Setting up of School Structure

From appointment of Principal, head master, Vice Principal, associate teacher, assistant teacher, accounts department, lab assistants, computer experts, peons, supportive staffs, drivers, etc. to organizing each class, arranging infrastructure and furniture, purchasing basic devices, buying books for library, setting up of science lab, apparatus, models, computer labs, etc. requires a lot of time and capital. You have to do all of them. Try to go slow with time as setting up everything at once is neither possible not it is viable.

Appointment of Teacher and Principal

If you are going to apply for affiliation for any board then you must appoint teacher based on their parameters. There is a basic qualification requirement for each board like a teacher must be a post graduate, qualified NET, CTET, NTT, PGT, PTI, TGT, and B.Ed. For the appointment of principal many boards require at least a B.Ed. in addition to Masters. M.Phil. graduates are also the most viable candidates for the post of Principal.

Setting up of Accounts and EPF for Your Staff

An organization with more than 19 staffs should have a must EPF account. Nowadays every school wants their staffs to have a bank account where monthly salary is transferred. CISCE board also requires a mandatory condition of having EPF account of each staff for affiliation process.

Admission of Students and Parameters

Admission of student invites a test which is conducted by the school administration. The board also gives a standard which must be followed to admit students. Not more than 45 students be there in each classroom. Try to start your school slowly from lower KG and increase gradually to standard 8 th and beyond. Parameters like a definite school uniform, school curriculum, syllabus, rules and regulation must be set up.

Fees Structure

You can decide the fees based on your expense and place of school. Based on the per capita income in the region you can determine the school fees. Private schools in metropolitan cities charge whooping sum of money per month. Determine the fees after taking advice from learned management graduates.

Cost of Starting a School in India

If you are planning to start a pre-nursery school then cost will be quite less. For a well structure affiliated school, startup cost estimation is quite huge. Take at least 2 crores a minimum sum to start your school and it can go further based on the place of operation, living standard, etc. Setting up a standard school will have its own implications like money spent in arranging furniture, gadgets, electronics, computer, maintenance, and other requirements.

Time Investment

Running a school requires a good investment of time. It will take at least 2-3 years to build a school and start it. At least 4-5 years will be needed to get NOC and affiliation from the day of foundation ceremony. The capital investment being huge also pushes the return on investment time further. Only after few years of operation one can accept any profit.

Running a school is a challenging job which requires investment of time, resources, capital and human labor. But it has its own advantages. After the gestation period you will be serving the society by imparting education, employing people, nourishing new minds and after all getting decent return. Based on your skills of running a business you can excel your profit.

The steps involved in starting a school in India are: 1. Research the Concept 2. Develop a Business Plan 3. Choose a School Location 4. Develop the School Infrastructure 5. Obtain Government Approval 6. Recruit Staff and Teachers 7. Admit Students 8. Evaluate and Improve the School

There are various Indian laws which set out the requirements for establishing and maintaining a school in India. The main pieces of legislation are: 1. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. 2. The Employee State Insurance Act, 1948. 3. The Factories Act, 1948. 4. The Building and other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996. 5.The Nationalacksurydation of Secondary Schools Rules, 1966. The requirements for setting up a school will vary depending on the type of school and the level of education offered. For example, setting up a kindergarten will require different approvals and compliance with different regulations than setting up a higher education institution.

The costs associated with starting a school in India vary depending on the type of school, the location, and the size. However, some of the general costs include the cost of land, construction, furniture, and equipment. Additionally, the school will need to be registered with the local authorities and the cost of textbooks and other teaching materials will need to be considered.

There are a number of challenges involved in starting a school in India. These include: 1. Finding a suitable location for the school 2. Securing the necessary approvals and licenses from the government 3 Procuring the adequate furniture, equipment and resources 4 Hiring experienced and qualified staff 5 Promoting the school and attracting students

There are many ways to make your school stand out in the Indian education market. One way would be to offer a unique curriculum that is not offered at other schools in the area. Another way would be to have a strong reputation for academic excellence.

One of major trends in the Indian education market is to increase parental involvement in their children’s education. Research shows that increases in parental involvement, including parental monitoring of children’s school performance and homework and providing support for their children’s learning, are associated with increased student achievement, better retention in and completion of school, and fewer behavioural problems among students. In addition, parents are increasingly turning to private tutors and schools to supplement their children’s education. The number of families using private tutors has nearly doubled in the past decade, and the number of private schools has also been growing rapidly.

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3 Tips for Starting a Business in College

So, you think you want to start a business while in school? That’s great! However, balancing the demands of a new venture with your studies can be challenging. Being passionate, smart and hardworking alone won’t ensure success. You need to have a fully developed idea. Why are you starting a company? Do you have an idea, or are you just interested in being an entrepreneur? Here are three ways to get started whether you have a dream or a concrete idea.

1. Set Your Goals

If you’re interested in entrepreneurship but don’t have a venture in mind, work on building a well-rounded skill set. College is an opportunity to learn what entrepreneurship entails. Dana Professor of Management & Entrepreneurship and Academic Director of Berry’s Entrepreneurship Program Paula Englis points out that liberal arts colleges are ideal because they take a comprehensive approach to education that can be beneficial for budding entrepreneurs .

“Entrepreneurs need to know how to market their company, how to put a business plan together, how to approach a bank about a loan and how to get investors,” says Englis. “Because different areas of expertise are required, a liberal arts degree acts as a great foundation.”

If you do have a business in mind, start by setting specific short-term and long-term goals. Is this a side business to earn money during college, or is this something you plan to continue post-graduation? It could be tempting to drop out of college to spend time on your idea. However, research on entrepreneurship points to a link between successful ventures and completing a college degree. Here are questions to get your priorities on track while juggling school and a start-up.

Choosing the Right Major

Ask yourself how your business connects with what you’re studying. If it doesn’t align, talk with your advisor and make sure you’re in the right major and classes. Make your education work for you.

Juggling Competing Priorities

Figure out how your college classes can support the work you need to do for your business. Identify your in-class work and out-of-class priorities to get your business going. If your class work isn't related to your business, figure out how much extra time your business will require and adjust your schedule. Build your business responsibilities into your daily routine. Like a job or a hobby, your venture will need to hold time in your college schedule.

2. Utilize Campus Resources

Secure capital.

Once you set goals and cast a vision for your new company, the most important part of a launch is securing your capital . You can use your savings, seek funding from investors, crowdfund or take out small business loans. However, one of the best parts of starting a business in college is many schools offer funding like Pitch Competitions and resources to entrepreneurs.

For example, Berry College provides two different types of funded experiences for inspiring innovators. The Berry Student Enterprises Program gives students the chance to try out an entrepreneurship ‘laboratory’ where they run small businesses and experience different positions and responsibilities required in the small business market without investing financially. The Center for Student Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Development at Berry offers three ways for students to compete for funding for their own new enterprise.

Leveraged Coursework

Many professors will let you use your business as for-credit projects and homework. For example, you could conduct market research for a class, such as building a landing page to direct traffic through digital ads to gauge interest. Similarly, you could test a product in a design class by building a prototype and receiving feedback. Faculty advisors, the career center and mentors often offer excellent support and advice. Sometimes, you can even design a for-credit independent study related to your business that will benefit your degree and business simultaneously.

Extra-curricular Support

During college you have access to resources that would otherwise come at a cost after graduation. For example, at the library, you will find available research tools, makerspace design labs, and a variety of printing and software materials that are free to college students. Many schools even have equipment such as photography and video gear that you can rent at no charge.

If you can’t find something you’re looking for, ask your librarian. If it’s not a library-specific resource, they will point you to other places on campus where you can access those resources. For example, Berry allocated a separate space for Hackberry Lab, the on-campus makerspace. This decision enables the lab to run independently with flexible hours and a dedicated team of trained lab assistants.

Networking and Mentors

Colleges want to see you succeed, and because they are invested in your future, there will be mentors ready to advise you through the beginning of a start-up. Beyond faculty and the career center, take advantage of the companies attending conferences and career events on campus. Get to know alumni who have successfully built businesses or who work in similar fields. Cultivating professional connections, even informal ones, will help you lay relational groundwork that can support your company for years to come.

3. Build A Foundation

Ultimately, starting a business during your college career is an ambitious and commendable endeavor, but it requires strategic planning. Solidify your idea, set your goals, leverage your campus resources and get cracking on the foundational elements of your endeavor. Soon, your business to-do list will include concrete actions like these:

• Choosing a business structure
• Creating a business plan
• Registering your business
• Obtaining state and federal tax IDs
• Getting necessary licenses and permits
• Filing for relevant intellectual property protection
• Hiring team members

Summing it up, entrepreneur and Berry alum Leroy Hite offers this advice to student entrepreneurs: “Continually strive for perfection and improvement. Be willing to be uncomfortable and to take risks, and as you push yourself, you become more capable, and your goal lines move.”

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Private School Business Plan [Sample Template]

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business Plans » Education Sector » Schooling

Are you about starting a private school (nursery, primary or high school)? If YES, here’s a complete sample private school business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE.

Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a private school. We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample private school marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for private schools. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.

One of the best things that can happen to anyone is to have a private school. This is one very lucrative business that will continue to rake in money for its owners. As an aspiring entrepreneur who is looking towards starting a business, you should ensure that whatever business you intend to start, you make sure that it is located in an appropriate place.

For example; if you want to start a private school, it will be a wrong business judgment if you decide to site the school close to an industrial area or close to a market. Aspiring entrepreneurs therefore are urged as a matter of necessity to ensure that they carry out a thorough market research and feasibility study of the industry they intend to go into before investing their hard earned money and time.

It is known fact that the demand for private schools is driven by the fact that most public cum government owned schools cannot accommodate every students or potential students in a given geographical location. In some cases, students with special needs cannot cope in public schools hence the need for private schools.

If you think starting a private school business sounds like what you want to do. Then you may want to use the business plan below as a guide.

A Sample Private School Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

Private schools which is also known in the united states as independent schools, non-governmental, or non – state schools are schools that are not administered by either the local, state or the federal governments; hence, they have the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students tuition fees, rather than relying on mandatory taxation through public (government) funding.

Some private schools have structure in place that offer scholarships to some students, which makes the cost cheaper, depending on a talent such as sport scholarship, art scholarship, academic scholarship the student may be brining to the private school, financial need, or tax credit scholarships that might be available.

The Private Schools industry comprises of primary that is kindergarten through sixth grade and secondary that is seventh through 12th grade) educational institutions that are predominantly funded through enrollment and tuition fees from students and of course from other private sources.

Recent reports released by IBISWORLD shows that the revenue for the Private Schools industry is expected to increase, as the economy continues to recover. The indicated that during the five years to 2016, enrollment decreased, which was a trend attributable to rising costs and competition from charter schools.

However, going forward, in the next five years, household income is anticipated to increase, making it easier for families to afford private-school tuition. Additionally, enrollment declines will lesson, resulting in more stable demand for private schools

In the United States of America and of course in most countries of the world, The Private Schools industry is indeed a large and thriving industry. Statistics has it that The Private Schools industry in the United States of America, is worth $52 billion, with an estimated growth rate of 0.1 percent.

There are about 25,742 registered and licensed (accredited) Private schools scattered all around the United States of America and they are responsible for employing about 644,320 people.

Aside from Catholic schools, which is the second largest sector after government schools, with around 21 percent of secondary enrollments, no other private school can boast of dominating the market; every player in the industry can comfortably compete in the industry.

It is important to state that the barriers to entry into the Private Schools industry are high. As a matter of fact, the private school industry is an industry in which it is pretty difficult for new entrants to establish themselves. So also, the reputation of the private school is of utmost importance, as private schools that have a good history of getting students into prestigious colleges often have the best reputations hence good enrollments.

With this, it is obvious that a new entrant into the private school industry cannot offer this. Reputation indeed is imperative to parents’ decisions when shopping for private school for their wards. This is so because the quality of education cannot be assessed until well after it is complete.

As a major marketing tool, schools need to show parents a track record of admission to elite colleges and universities. Even though this might seem like a saturated industry, the industry is still pretty much open for aspiring school proprietors and proprietress to still come in and compete.

As a matter of fact, if you conduct your research and feasibility studies very well before starting your own private school couple with impressive profile of your faculty members, you are likely going to struggle less to make headway in the industry.

2. Executive Summary

Rolland Gyros International Private School is an international private school that will be located in a well – populated residential estate in Ashville – North Carolina, United States of America.

We are a standard private school that is composed of primary (kindergarten through sixth grade) and secondary (seventh through 12th grade) educational institution that will be predominantly funded through tuition fees and levies from students and of course from other private sources.

Rolland Gyros International Private School is a client-focused and result driven private school that provides broad-based learning approaches and experience at an affordable fee that won’t in any way put a hole in the pockets of our clients (students and parents alike).

We will offer standard and professional teaching services in a highly secured and conducive learning environment to all our students that is primary (kindergarten through sixth grade) and secondary (seventh through 12th grade). We will ensure that we work hard to meet and surpass all our students’ expectations and educational goals whenever they enroll in our tutorial college.

At Rolland Gyros International Private School, our students’ overall best interest would always come first, and everything we do is guided by our values and professional ethics. We will ensure that we hire professional educationist cum teachers in various subjects who are well experienced and passionate in imparting knowledge to students at various learning ladder.

Rolland Gyros International Private School will at all time demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as an educational organization, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible.

We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our students’ needs precisely and completely. We will cultivate a working environment that provides a human, sustainable approach to earning a living, and living in our world, for our partners, employees and for our students.

We have plans to offer learning platforms to people with both learning disability and physical disability (especially the blind, the dumb and the deaf).

Our overall business goal is to position our private school to become the leading tutorial brand in the educational industry in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina, and also to be amongst the top 30 private schools in the United States of America within the first 12 years of operations.

This might look too tall a dream but we are optimistic that this will surely come to pass because we have done our research and feasibility studies and we are enthusiastic and confident that Ashville is the right place to launch our private school.

Rolland Gyros International Private School is founded by Dr. (Mrs.) Irene Rolland Gyros and family. She is an educationist per excellence and she has won many awards in the education sector in the United States.

Dr. (Mrs.) Irene Rolland Gyros has both the academic qualifications and experience to run a private school that can favorably compete with other leading private schools not only in Ashville – North Carolina, but also throughout the United States and Canada.

3. Our Products and Services

Rolland Gyros International Private School is going to offer varieties of educational services within the scope of the education board in the United States of America.

Our intention of starting our private school is to soundly educate people in various subjects and of course to make profits from the education cum private schools industry and we will do all that is permitted by the law in the US to achieve our aim and business goal. Our service offerings are listed below;

• Teaching basic literacy and numeracy
• Establishing foundations in science, mathematics, geography, history and other social sciences
• Constantly working hard to meet regulatory accreditation standards
• Administering private funding efforts
• Providing access to extracurricular activities
• Retailing of Educational Books and Materials

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision is to build a highly competitive private school that will become the number one choice for both parents and students in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina.
• Our vision reflects our values: integrity, service, excellence and teamwork.
• Our mission is to provide professional and conducive learning environment to students at different level of learning.
• Our overall business goal is to position Rolland Gyros International Private School to become the leading private school brand in the educational cum private school industry in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina, and also to be amongst the top 30 private schools in the United States of America within the first 12 years of operations.

Our Business Structure

It is a known fact that, the success of any business is to a larger extent dependent on the business structure of the organization and the people who occupy the available roles in the organization. Rolland Gyros International Private School will build a solid business structure that can support the growth of our private school.

We will ensure that we hire competent hands (teaching and non – teaching staff members) to help us build the private school of our dream.

The fact that we want to become one of the leading private school brand in the industry in the whole of the United States of America makes it highly necessary for our organization to deliberately build a well – structured business from the onset.

We will work hard to ensure that we only attract people with the right mindset to help us achieve our business goals and objectives in record time. Below is the business structure that we will build Rolland Gyros International Private School;

• Head of The Private School(School Proprietress)

School Administrator

Tutors for Various Subjects – Secondary (seventh through 12th grade)

Tutors for Various Subjects – Primary (kindergarten through sixth grade)

• Accountant / Bursar
• Client Service Executive / Front Desk Officer

Security Officers

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Head of the Tutorial College / School Coordinator:

• Responsible for providing direction for the college
• Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for handling high profile clients and deals
• Responsible for fixing fees and signing business deals (partnership)
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the tutorial college
• Coordinates all arms of the tutorial school (tutorial center, adult education, home tutors and special education)
• Evaluates the success of the tutorial college
• Reports to the board of the tutorial college
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the tutorial school
• Designs job descriptions with KPI to drive performance management for tutors (teachers)
• Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders (parents and member of the school board) to review the effectiveness of the schools’ Policies, Procedures and Processes
• Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
• Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
• Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out staff induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Oversees the smooth running of the daily activities of the private school.
• Effectively teach subject / subjects as assigned by the school administrator
• Accesses the progress of students under their care
• Ensures that students abide by the rules and regulations of the private school
• Contributes his / her quota towards growing the private school
• Receives complaints from parents and channel it to the appropriate quarters
• Handle any other duty as assigned by the school administrator.
• Ensure that students abide by the rules and regulations of the school administrator
• Handles any other duty as assigned by the school administrator.

Marketing Executive

• Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new students, and business opportunities et al
• Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of development projects.
• Writes winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’ policy
• Responsible for handling business research, market surveys and feasibility studies for clients
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding increase sales
• Documents all customer contact and information
• Represents the company in strategic meetings
• Helps to increase sales and growth for the school

School Bursar (Accountant)

• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for Rolland Gyros International Private School
• Serves as internal auditor for Rolland Gyros International Private School

Client Service Executive

• Welcomes / receive parents and students by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
• Ensures that all contacts with parents and students (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the parents and students with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with parents and students on the phone, uses every opportunity to build parent’s interest in the schools’ products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the HR and Admin Manager in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to parents and students when they make enquiries
• Receives parcels / documents for Rolland Gyros International Private School
• Distribute mails in the organization
• Handles any other duties as assigned by the School Administrator.
• Responsible for cleaning the school facility at all times
• Ensures that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
• Cleans both the interior and exterior of the schools facility
• Handles any other duty as assigned by the school administrator
• Ensures that the school facility is secured at all time
• Controls traffic and organize parking
• Gives security tips to staff members from time to time
• Patrols around the building on a 24 hours basis
• Submits security reports weekly
• Any other duty as assigned by the school administrator

6. SWOT Analysis

Rolland Gyros International Private School engaged the services of a core professional in the area of business consulting and structuring with bias in the education sector to assist us in building a well – structured private school that can favorably compete in the highly competitive education cum private schools industry in the United States.

Part of what the team of business consultant did was to work with the management of our organization in conducting a SWOT analysis for Rolland Gyros International Private School. Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Rolland Gyros International Private School;

As a private school, our core strength lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team with excellent qualifications and experience in the educational sector. We are well positioned in a community with the right demography and we know we will attract loads of students from the first day we open our doors and welcome students for enrollment.

As a new private school in Ashville – North Carolina, it might take some time for our organization to break into the market and gain acceptance via reputation in the already saturated education cum private schools industry; that is perhaps our major weakness.

• Opportunities:

The opportunities in the education cum private schools industry is massive considering the number of parents who would want their wards to perform excellently well in their education and go ahead to be admitted in Ivy league colleges.

As a standard and international private school, Rolland Gyros International Private School is ready to take advantage of any opportunity that comes her way.

Every business faces a threat or challenge at any part of the life cycle of the business. These threats can be external or internal. This shows the importance of a business plan, because most threats or challenges are to be anticipated and plans put in place to cushion what effect they might bring to the private school.

Some of the threats that we are likely going to face as a private school operating in the United States of America are unfavorable government policies that might affect private schools, the arrival of a competitor within our location of operations and global economic downturn which usually affects spending / purchasing power.

There is hardly anything we can do as regards these threats other than to be optimistic that things will continue to work for our good.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

The trend in the private school line of business is that the key to attracting students is the educational performance and the pass rate of their students in national exams.

Any private school that has good records will always thrive. The demand for private schools is driven by the fact that most public cum government owned schools cannot accommodate every students or potential students in a given geographical location.

In some cases, students with special needs cannot cope in public schools hence the need for private schools. The economic downturn hasn’t really affected this industry, especially in countries that believe in the efficacy of education.

The areas you would need to spend heavily on is in ensuring that your school is up to standard, your advertisements, and on insurance policy cover. Lastly, it is trendier to find private schools engaging in extra – curricular activities and as a matter of fact, a private school that thrives in sports can leverage on that to attract students who are sports inclined.

8. Our Target Market

As a standard and international private school, Rolland Gyros International Private School is going to offer varieties of educational services within the scope of the education board in the United States of America. Our intention of starting our private school is to soundly educate people in various subjects and of course to make profits from the education cum private schools industry

Our target market as a private school cuts across people (students) of different class and people from different culture background whether African, White, Caucasian, Latinos, Indians, and Asians. We are coming into the education cum private schools industry with a business concept that will enable us work with the students at different learning stages residing in and around Ashville – North Carolina.

Our competitive advantage

Indeed the private schools industry is highly competitive and the entry barriers are high. As a matter of fact, the private school industry is an industry in which it is pretty difficult for new entrants to establish themselves. So also, the reputation of the private school is of utmost importance, as private schools that have a good history of getting students into prestigious colleges often have the best reputations hence good enrollments.

As a major marketing tool, schools need to show parents a track record of admission to elite colleges and universities. We are quite aware that to be highly competitive in the education cum private schools industry means that you should be able to deliver consistent quality service, your students should be able to experience remarkable difference and improvement and you should be able to meet the expectations of both students and parents alike.

Rolland Gyros International Private School might be a new entrant into the education cum private schools industry in the United States of America, but the management staffs and owners of the private school are considered gurus. They are people who are core professionals, licensed and highly qualified educationist / teachers at various levels of learning in the United States. These are part of what will count as a competitive advantage for us.

Lastly, our employees (teaching and non – teaching staff members) will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category (startups private school in the United States) in the industry meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our business aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Rolland Gyros International Private School is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the education cum private schools industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to attract students on a regular basis. Rolland Gyros International Private School will generate income by offering the following tutorial services;

• Teaching High school students various subjects in our private school

10. Sales Forecast

One thing is certain, there would always be parents and students who would need the services of private schools to be able to achieve their educational goals and as such the services of private schools will always be needed.

We are well positioned to take on the available market in Ashville – North Carolina and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income / profits from the first six month of operations and grow the private school and our student base.

We have been able to critically examine the private schools cum education market in the United States of America and we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast.

The sales projection is based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to similar startups in Ashville – North Carolina. Below is the sales projection for Rolland Gyros International Private School, it is based on the location of our tutorial center and of course the wide range of tutorial services that we will be offering;

• First Fiscal Year-: $250,000
• Second Fiscal Year-: $450,000
• Third Fiscal Year-: $750,000

N.B : This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and natural disasters within the period stated above. So, there won’t be any major competitor (private school) offering same additional services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

We are mindful of the fact that there is stiffer competition amongst private schools in the United States of America; hence we have been able to hire some of the best marketing experts to handle our sales and marketing concerns. Our sales and marketing team will be recruited base on their vast experience in the industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall goal of the private school.

We will also ensure that our students’ excellent results from national exams and other exams speaks for us in the marketplace; we want to build a standard and first – class private school that will leverage on word of mouth advertisement from satisfied clients (both individuals and corporate organizations).

Our goal is to grow our private school to become one of the top 30 private schools in the United States of America which is why we have mapped out strategy that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with not only in Ashville – North Carolina but also in other cities in the United States of America.

Rolland Gyros International Private School is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;

• Introduce our private school by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to schools, parents / household and key stake holders in Ashville – North Carolina.
• Print out fliers and business cards and strategically drop them in schools, libraries and even student organizations.
• Creating a website, allows parents to be able to look you up, and also allows you to post general study tips, giving you an added advantage.
• Use friends and family to spread word about our private school
• Introduce Rolland Gyros International Private School to learning specialists, school coaches, school administrators, teachers, guidance counselors especially as they are with students everyday
• Post information about Rolland Gyros International Private School on bulletin boards in places like schools, libraries, and local coffee shops.
• Placing a small or classified advertisement in the newspaper, or local publication about Rolland Gyros International Private School
• Using tutorial referral networks such as agencies that will help match students with Rolland Gyros International Private School
• Joining relevant association or body that will enable you network and meet others in same industry.
• Advertising online by using an advertising platform such as Google Adwords, that will allow us place text advertisements alongside on websites with related contents, and along results from search engines.
• Advertise our private school in relevant educational magazines, newspapers, TV stations, and radio station.
• Attend relevant educational expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
• Engage direct marketing approach
• Encourage word of mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied clients

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We are aware of the potency of a good publicity strategy hence we have been able to work with our brand and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market.

We are set to become the number one choice for both parents and students in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our private school. Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise Rolland Gyros International Private School;

• Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community based events / programs
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
• Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations all around Ashville – North Carolina.
• Engage in road show from time to time in targeted neighborhoods in and around Ashville – North Carolina
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas in and around Ashville – North Carolina
• Passing general information via our school’s social media handles like twitter, Facebook, Google hangouts etc.
• Ensure that all our teaching and non – teaching staff members wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our schools’ logo et al.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Private schools in the United States of America and of course in all the parts of the world charge students per tem / per session and students have the options of either paying their tuitions before resumption or during the school session.

Private schools generally charge students based on loads of factors, locations, services offerings and extra – curricular activities et al At Rolland Gyros International Private School we will keep our fees below the average market rate for all of our students by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance.

In addition, we will also offer special discounted rates to all our students at regular intervals. We are aware that there are some students that would need special assistance, we will offer flat rate for such services that will be tailored to take care of such students’ needs.

• Payment Options

At Rolland Gyros International Private School, our payment policy will be all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them. Here are the payment options that we will make available to our clients;

• Payment by via bank transfer
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via bank draft
• Payment via mobile money
• Payment with cash

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our plans with little or no itches.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

In setting up a private school business, the amount or cost will depend on the approach and scale you want to undertake.

If you intend to go big by acquiring a large facility, then you would need a higher amount of capital as you would need to ensure that your employees are taken care of, and that your private school’s environment is conducive enough for the students to learn.

This means that the start-up can either be low or high depending on your goals, vision and aspirations for your business. The materials and equipment that will be used are nearly the same cost everywhere, and any difference in prices would be minimal and can be overlooked.

As for the detailed cost analysis for starting a private school business; it might differ in other countries due to the value of their money. However, this is what it would cost us to start Rolland Gyros International Private School in the United of America;

• Business incorporation fees in the United States of America will cost – $750.
• The budget for Liability insurance, permits and license will cost – $3,500
• Acquiring a large facility that will accommodate the number of block of closes, playing field, staff offices and parking lots et al (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive) will cost – $350,000.
• Equipping the classes and office (computers, printers, projectors, markers, pens and pencils, furniture, telephones, filing cabinets, and electronics) will cost – $50,000
• Launching an official Website will cost – $500
• The budget for the payment of salaries for the first three months of operations: $120,000
• Additional Expenditure such as Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions will cost – $15,000

Going by the market survey and feasibility studies conducted, we came to the conclusion that we will need an average of $750,000 to start a small scale but standard private school in the United States of America.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Rolland Gyros International Private School

Rolland Gyros International Private School is a family business that will be owned and managed by Dr. (Mrs.) Irene Rolland Gyros and her immediate family.

They are the sole financial of the private school which is why they decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital for the private school to just three major sources. These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

• Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings and sale of his stocks
• Generate part of the start – up capital from friends and other extended family members
• Generate a larger chunk of the startup capital from the bank (loan facility).

N.B: We have been able to generate about $250,000 (Personal savings $200,000 and soft loan from family members $50,000 ) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $500,000 from our bank. All the papers and document has been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

It is a known fact that the future of any business lies in the numbers of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and of course the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business (company), then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.

One of our major goals of starting Rolland Gyros International Private School is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running.

We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers (students and parents alike) over is to ensure that we offer nothing less than the best, to offer quality education to all our students so much so that they can favorably compete with students all over the United States and gain admission to Ivy League colleges.

Rolland Gyros International Private School will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner of our business strategy.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more as determined by the board of the organization. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

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Middle East latest: Aid group 'coordinated movements' with IDF before deadly airstrike; Iran pledges 'harsh' response to Syria attack

Seven aid workers, including one from the UK, have been killed in an IDF strike in Gaza. Meanwhile, the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, has been "destroyed", with two senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders killed. Iran has promised a "harsh" response.

Tuesday 2 April 2024 09:10, UK

• Israel-Hamas war

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• Briton among seven aid workers killed in Israeli strike - group says it 'coordinated movements' with IDF
• Iran promises 'harsh' response to strike on consulate in Syria - with top commanders among seven killed
• Residents describe 'total destruction' as IDF withdraws from Gaza's largest hospital
• Palestinians expected to try again for full UN membership
• US agrees to send more bombs to Israel
• Sean Bell: US weapons will embolden Netanyahu's negotiating position

 Palestinians are expected to send a letter in the next few days with a request for full membership in the United Nations.

The news comes from UN Security Council president, Malta's UN ambassador Vanessa Frazier.

Ms Frazier, whose country took over the rotating president's role this week, said the letter is likely to be discussed in a closed meeting after it is received.

The council's monthly Mideast meeting on 18 April is expected to focus on the war and stalled efforts for a ceasefire.

The Palestinian request for full membership is also expected to be raised at this meeting.

Back in September 2011, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas delivered the Palestinian Authority’s application to become the 194th member of the United Nations to then Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

That bid failed because it did not get the required support of nine of the security council's 15 members. Even if it had managed this, the US - Israel's closest ally and a veto power in the council - had vowed to veto any resolution backing Palestinian membership.

Poland's foreign affairs ministry has expressed "sincerest condolences" to the family of the Polish volunteer killed in what appears to have been an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.

The volunteer, who has not yet been named, was working with World Central Kitchen to bring food to the people of Gaza, where so many have been pushed to the brink of famine.

Six other aid workers were killed in the strike, including a Briton and an Australian.

Poland's foreign affairs ministry said in its post: "We express our sincerest condolences to the family of the volunteer who provided aid to the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.

"Poland objects to the disregard for international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians, including humanitarian workers."

Former Foreign Office official Charlie Gammell has told Sky News that Israel's attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus could be an attempt to get the US back on side.

"There is something within Israel that says 'if we can expand this war, if we can peg this war to a broader conflict with Iran, that is going to get America back on our side'," he says.

But he adds: "Embassies are sovereign territory and the attack on a diplomatic premises in another country is tantamount to attacking another nation's soil."

Earlier this morning, we reported a British national was among seven aid workers killed by what appears to have been an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.

The British Foreign Office said just a few minutes ago: "We are aware of reports of the death of British national in Gaza and are urgently seeking further information."

Iran's official IRNA news agency says Tehran has sent an "important" message to the US following an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria.

The strike killed two Iranian generals and five officers.

Iran sent the message via a Swiss envoy in Tehran - Switzerland has looked out for US interests in Iran since the US Embassy hostage crisis in 1979.

The IRNA report did not give more details about the message, but said Iran claimed the US had "responsibility" for the strike.

Meanwhile, Iran's envoy to the UN has asked for an "immediate" UN Security Council meeting to discuss the strike.

By Alistair Bunkall , Middle East correspondent

Yesterday morning, the IDF announced they'd finished their operations in al Shifa hospital and withdrawn.

In a briefing with journalists their spokesman heralded the success of the operation and lauded the efforts taken to not harm patients or civilians. However, the pictures and stories that then emerged from the hospital told a different story and showed the medical complex in utter ruins.

Then late last night, the news that seven aid workers had been killed by an Israeli airstrike travelling on the main north-south highway. 

That some of them were foreigners, including a Briton, should be of no special significance but it will naturally bring greater attention to the immense risks faced by humanitarian workers operating in Gaza, and accusations they are either being deliberately targeted or hit as a result of reckless soldiering.

This incident is a tragic example of a major, unresolved problem with deconfliction which is having a significant impact on aid and humanitarian efforts.

A senior member of the United Nations told me over the weekend that a location was bombed when some of their workers were present, despite the UN having notified the IDF of their presence.

Aid convoys attempting to reach northern Gaza have either been forced to turn back or simply not made the journey because the risk of being hit by Israeli fire was too great.

Israel has not admitted responsibility for last night's attacks, however in past incidences when they've been confident of their innocence, robust and angry denials have been quick to come.

Instead they have announced a "thorough review at the highest levels" – whether that will be enough to reassure foreign governments and humanitarian organisations, I'm not sure.

Unless something is done urgently, following this latest attack, aid workers will understandably grow increasingly wary about where they move around in Gaza , and of course the people who will be impacted most by that, will be the desperate. 

Iran has blamed Israel for a deadly air strike on its consulate in Syria, in which two of its senior military commanders were killed.

Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) elite Quds Force, died in the explosion, which destroyed the Iranian consulate building in the  Syrian  capital, Damascus.

Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, a deputy commander in the Quds Force, was also killed, along with five other officers, according to the IRGC.

They are the most senior leaders of the force to be killed since the US assassination of  Qassem Soleimani  in Iraq in January 2020.

The IRGC blamed Israel for the strike, as did Iran's foreign ministry, which labelled it an "abhorrent" and "brutal" attack.

Tehran's ambassador to Damascus, Hossein Akbari, who was not injured in the strike, promised the Iranian response would be "harsh".

Read the full story here ...

Australia's prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has confirmed 44-year-old aid worker Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom was the Australian national killed in the IDF strike overnight.

He said his government had contacted Israel to demand those responsible be held accountable.

"This is a human tragedy that should never have occurred, that is completely unacceptable and Australia will seek full and proper accountability," he told a press conference on Tuesday.

Mr Albanese said innocent civilians and humanitarian workers needed to be protected and repeated his call for a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza along with more aid to help those suffering from "tremendous deprivation".

In a tribute reported by Australian broadcaster SBS, Ms Frankcom's family described her as "brave and beloved".

"We are deeply mourning the news that our brave and beloved Zomi has been killed doing the work she loves delivering food to the people of Gaza," they said.

"She was a kind, selfless and outstanding human being that has traveled the world helping others in their time of need.

"She will leave behind a legacy of compassion, bravery and love for all those in her orbit."

World Central Kitchen says it is "devastated" to confirm seven members of its team have been killed in an IDF strike on Gaza.

The aid group said the volunteers were travelling in two armoured cars branded with its logo and a soft-skin vehicle.

"Despite coordinating movements with the IDF, the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route," it added.

World Central Kitchen chief executive Erin Gore said: "This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organisations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war.

"This is unforgivable."

The foreign nationals killed were from Australia, Poland, the UK and a dual citizen of the US and Canada.

Ms Gore added: "I am heartbroken and appalled that we - World Central Kitchen and the world - lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF.

"The love they had for feeding people, the determination they embodied to show that humanity rises above all, and the impact they made in countless lives will forever be remembered and cherished."

The charity has paused its operations in the region.

The charity employing the five aid workers killed in an airstrike in Gaza has called their deaths a "tragedy".

World Central Kitchen said it was aware of reports that nationals from Britain, Poland, Australia and Palestine, had been killed while supporting its humanitarian food delivery efforts.

"This is a tragedy. Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should NEVER be a target. EVER," it wrote on X. 

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